We seem to have found ourselves a great hotel here in Hong Kong, well I say “we” but the credit should go to Trailfinders if I am honest. Not only is it well positioned with a great room overlooking the harbour, it also has free wifi, breakfast included and a HK$100 allowance for the mini bar. I can’t remember what we paid now but it wasn’t a kings random.
After breakfast of omelette and fried rice we hit the city or more accurately the heat of the city hit us. I have no idea what the temperature is here but but I am guessing that it is similar to Sydney and Cairns but the difference here is that it is some much more humid.
We caught a bus to Central and then wandered through the heart of the city to the Peak Tram station. Most of the walk was on a high level walkway traversing the city from one high- class shopping centre to another. The air conditioned centres were a welcome break from the sweaty heat outside. We then caught a tram to The Peak which was an interesting experience as it was pretty steep. The top was full of tacky shops but there was a tourist free walk around the top along Laugard and Harlech Roads which had some fantastic views over the city below. Stupidly we convinced ourselves that it wouldn’t be too bad to walk back to the hotel. We were wrong.
In the evening we caught the Star ferry to Kowloon and then a taxi to the night markets. This was a few streets of stalls selling all sorts of knockoff goods and cheap “traditional” Chinese items – it was great! We found a restaurant for some dinner and ordered what would have have had a home. We were delighted to find that special fried rice and sweet and sour pork tastes the same no matter where you are.
We got back to the ferry terminal just as the nightly light show was starting. As you look across the harbour the lights on the skyscrapers opposite flash in time to the music playing – it is a great sight.
Click here for more pictures from Hong Kong Day One