Heading to Hong Kong!

Despite having only been in China two weeks, it was time for a holiday.

Chinese National Day- one
flag for every person

Because visas take ages, I arrived in China a few weeks after the school term began. Near, in fact, to a celebration for the Chinese National Day, which takes the form of a week long holiday.

I guess Chinese National Day is similar to Australia Day for Aussies or Independence Day for Americans. Its not like St. Georges Day for Brits because no one in England seems to care about St. George. Sad face.

So basically the school timetable in China means that this week break is the only time off from school until the beginning of February (!). Sadly, Christmas and New Year aren't really observed here. Therefore it was necessary to make the most of it, and Hong Kong would be a fantastic place to spend a couple of nights during the holiday. Its supposed to be beautiful, exciting and, importantly, its near us.

Well, when I say that its near, do bear in mind that we are in China, so the word 'near' has a different meaning. When I lived in Reading UK, near meant a 15 minute walk away. In London, I'd say that anything within a 30 minute tube ride was near. On account of China being huge, a place that is a 2 hour bus ride is considered near. And that's how far away Hong Kong is. Or so I was led to believe...

"Looking for hookers? Many hookers in here," 

the man said as he gestured 

towards the building we were staying in.

It did take two hours to get to the China/Hong Kong border which was pretty calm, but then we saw the crowds. With it being the first day of a big Chinese holiday, thousands of people also thought that it would be a fine idea to hop over to HK. This meant that there were hordes of people queueing and many actually running through the terminal to get a good position. It was a bit crazy and took 90 minutes- on the way back it took just 15.

Terrapins having a good time at the park

Accommodation had always proven tricky to find for me- navigating the maze of streets that is Athens or being refused help when lost in Venice, but I got to the address on Hong Kong island right away. The problem here was that nobody was in, despite it being the middle of the day, and I had no phone to call the proprietor. It was in a normal block of flats with the hostel occupying apartment on a few of the floors. Apparently its common in Hong Kong where space is fairly limited. 

Thankfully I met a man in the lift who was only too keen to assist. He rang the apartment owner for us and bellowed at her in Mandarin. He was likely being well mannered but people speaking fast, loud Mandarin can often come across as angry when they aren't. He disappeared up the lift after helping me out but it wasn't the last I saw of him- this extremely helpful man appeared in the lift nearly every time I went to use it. The 'Friendly Man' as became known, would happily talk in English about his mother, the weather in New York right now, the economy...

Hong Kong was a fantastic place to visit for a few days, even on the cheap. It sure is an expensive city, with prices being the equivalent of London in many areas, but that does not mean that you can't find things to do for free:

Aviary

Apart form the poo-on-head threat,
its less dangerous than Jurassic Park.
Photo credit: http://www.nikdaum.com/news/hong52.jpg

This aviary reminded me of the aviary in Jurassic Park. Its a walk-in aviary so you can be at one with the birds and they can poo on your head (how authentic). What's particularly special is that you enjoy this ornithological haven from suspended walkways, giving great views of action at tree level.

Some of the residents were fairly tame and danced and paraded on the handrails inches from us quite amusingly. During feeding time a man throws live crickets in to the air and the birds snatch them up in flight, which is savage entertainment. 

Zoological Gardens

These are near Hong Kong Park and in the direction of Old Peak Road, which you take to climb the Peak. The animals here are in decent sized cages which surprised me, though I had to remind myself that Hong Kong is not China. There definitely seems to be an alternative approach to animal rights in China. I've seen live chickens packed into boxes so tightly that they have no room to move. Its not fair really. I also saw a cat with a rope around its neck, tied up outside a shop. 

Victoria Peak is a well loved attraction. Its a big hill that you can hike up, or take a tram if the weather's not cool, and at the summit there's impressive views of Hong Kong island and the skyline. Because the weather was a bit milder when we were there, we took a snaking path up on foot. People always advise not to climb this way when its hot, and I was sweating even though it was temperate.

Hong Kong at night from Victoria Peak

What is a worthwhile idea is climbing up shortly before sunset and then remaining on the peak while the sun goes down. The skyline at night is even more impressive than in the day with many buildings light up in interesting ways.

Don't get your hopes up for Mid-level Escalators though. 'The longest line of escalators in the world' could sound exciting but its not really. I would recommend going there and taking a free ride, because they run through a good eating and bar area, but don't expect to be amazed- they are just normal, fairly grubby escalators that take you up a steep road of shops.

Skyscrapers are art pieces
and they are shiny

A tip for drinking in Hong Kong would be to observe Happy Hour times since this arrangement is common in many bars. After a long climb up and down the Peak, it was time to relax with a drink. Thankfully, Happy Hour prices got us some buy one get one free deals, otherwise they would have been the equivalent of £5 for a small glass of wine. Shots were the equivalent of £4 so they weren't cheap (and we didn't get any). Back in China they can be as little as 50p, even though its fairly ghastly stuff on offer there.

Whilst walking back to the apartment after relaxing in a bar that played a lot of Taylor Swift (perfect) I noticed some lockers outside a construction site for workers to leave their things. It was a pretty smart idea and I said "I'm liking the lockers," as I pointed them out. I feel I would not have been so interested in roadside lockers had I not enjoyed a few drinks- in reality, they weren't that exciting.

But, as I said these words, the man that was walking in front of us spun around. He looked me fully in the eyes and said, "Looking for hookers? M-a-n-y hookers in here". He stretched out the word as if speaking to a toddler, and  was referencing the building where we were staying with an outstretched hand. He was the Friendly Man who we kept bumping in to. No surprise there. I had to kindly explain that I was not looking for hookers.

Farewell HK!

When we left, to very little surprise, the Friendly Man was descending the left when it called at our floor. He said the weather in L.A. could be very cold in winter and that he spends the summer there instead. And with that, he left.

And the next morning, so did we. As Holly and I edged into the lift, legs beginning to feel stiff from the long Peak trek, a familiar face greeted us in the lift. Of course the Friendly Man was here, shadowing our every move as usual.

I don't know if he will be there the next time I visit Hong Kong but the odds are pretty high. For now though, its back to China.


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