Londin to Hong Kong

Our last day was a disaster, going through customs one bag was taken aside, and Browny had forgotten to remove cough mixture & perfume from the carryon bag. I was taken to another section with the bag & everything taken out, the bag was checked for explosives, after being given the Ok, the offending bottles confiscated we were allowed on our way. Because Brownt was being wheeled in a wheelchair & in the confusion I lost my Memory stick with passport details on it, My wallet( which I discovered before leaving the area & recovered it. Then just before boarding Browny discovered her Camera was gone, with no time left we reported it to Qantas. As luck happens all the pics had been downloaded the night before apart from a couple taken in Princes Square. The flight to Hong Kong was typical Qantas very good.


HONG KONG.

Arriving in Hong Kong we were transported to our Hotel 'The Kimberly” in Kowloon & after a couple of hours sleep & shower it was down to the pier to a new shopping centre to find a replacement camera. Going to a store recommended by the hotel & being served by a nice young boy we left with a later model of the lost camera at half the price of the original!!!!

The building work going on is amazing, as is the amount of High-rise buildings & a great roadway from the airport.

This is a great city for retail therapy, shop 'til you drop' seems to be the tourist thing, people with LOTS OF BAGS rushing from shop to shop. Gucci, Armani etc but also the touts on the street wanting to tailor you any clothes you like.

We did a tour of Hong Kong calling first at Aberdeen Harbour for a sampan ride around; this showed the contrast between rich & poor. Luxury yacht (including Jacky Chan’s) just across from fisher folk who live on their boats. We went past the big floating Restaurant called Jumbo, HUGE.

We now go on to a jewellery manufacturing outlet owned by the tour operators, where after an informative talk on jewellery we were taken into the showroom where sales people showed you all the stock beautifully displayed. Great marketing. Every conceivable stone in every type of setting. The women loved it while the males cringed as Visa's where handed over.

Then on to Stanley Markets, typical market, lots of novelty stuffed toys, jewellery etc, but I must admit some beautiful silks & cashmere. Then up to Victoria Peak for fantastic views of Hong Kong. To see where they have built high-rise buildings makes the mind boggle as to how it was done. The cost, the effort & the ingenuity to imagine let alone design them was amazing.

Another day & another tour, this time to Lantau Island & “The Big Budda”. This proved to be good with only 4 people on the tour it could be done at a leisurely pace. After being picked up & driven from our hotel in Kowloon through the harbour tunnel to Hong Kong we boarded a ferry to Lantau, crossing the harbour past the working ports, it rained but it cleared before we landed & boarded our coach to tour the Island.

Lantau is a large Island, very mountainous & covered with lush vegetation. It is also the site of the new Airport & Hong Kong Disneyland. After driving for about 20 minutes we arrived at a very pleasant beach for a pit stop, there was nobody swimming but there was at least 3 lifesavers on duty plus 2 women sweeping the sand , another20 minutes took us to a fishing village. Here we boarded a boat to cruise the village where the houses were on stilts which is the traditional way. We then alighted & took a stroll through the shops to the temple. The village was a clutter of stalls selling dried portions of seafood & a good selection & the smell verified it.

Now up to the Big Budda, what an engineering feat this was to build it. We were treated to a vegetarian lunch, I was a bit apprehensive but what came to the table was delicious. After a walk around to take pictures, we were driven to the Cable car Station for our trip to the bottom of the mountain. This Cable car ride takes 25 minutes to cross the valley before descending to the bottom where it took a 90% bend to the station. The ride gave fantastic views of the airport & the Roadway.

The weather here has been hot & muggy which is quite a shock to the system after England, no wonder the locals say they can't live without Air Conditioning

Aberdeen Harbour

Beach Cleaners

Big Buddha

High-rise

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Tai O Temple

Tai O Lane