Our last few days

Since our trip to Macau, we've been busy back in Hong Kong!

N_M has spent more time in Fish Shop Street - more than 100 shops in one road, all selling tropical and marine fish and all the necessary equipment. And it's all about a quarter or less of UK prices. He's like a kid in a toy shop at Christmas! The trouble is that a lot of his purchases are bulky, so I'm dreading the packing.


On one of our "shopping like a local" trips, we saw a little cat who was obviously being kept as a mouser by the shops, but was incredibly thin. So we went and bought a small tin of Whiskas and went and found her again. It took her about 20 minutes to consume the whole canful of food, bless her.






We have had several trips across the bay on the Star Ferry to get to Hong Kong Island, (that's the view above ^) followed by a ride on the "Ding Ding", the local trams which cost the princely sum of $2 (about 15p) each no matter how far you go.

The public transport here is second to none, efficient, clean and on time. It was rather funny last night as we travelled on the MTR in rush hour and there are "pushers" on each door with long red sticks to push you into the carriages so that the trains can leave, haha.

As I said before, we have lots of the athletes for the East Asian Games staying in our hotel. As I emerged from the lift the other morning I couldn't believe my eyes! There were security guards, Police and all sorts of fellows with radios and cameras all trained on the lift doors and lobby. It turns out that China's top athlete, Liu Xiang the former 110m hurdles Olympic and World Champion, is staying just 7 floors above us. There are roped off press areas and fans areas downstairs, but we are allowed to come and go as we please, albeit watched and no doubt photographed!



Yesterday we went to Causeway Bay for lunch with N_M's parents and a look around. There is a huge Times Square there with lots of very exclusive shops. But just outside Times Square, we chanced upon this little boutique and very happy looking elderly Chinese lady.... hahaha




Last night we met up with our friends for a goodbye meal, then took a long walk along the waterfront. The lights on the buildings are always special, but coming at this time of year they are amazing and must cost a fortune in electricity!



Going back to our hotel we took some snaps as we approached. The footbridge across the road is all lit up,

as is the roundabout outside with Doni and Ami, the mascots for the East Asian Games.


The hotel lobby also has a lovely nativity scene and Christmas decoration.


Well, we come home tonight, so have got most of today to do some last minute shopping and sight seeing. It feels as though we've been away for absolutely ages, but sadly work beckons again on Monday. So au revoir for now, thank you for reading and for your nice comments.

We've been to Macau!

We've had an excellent couple of days in Macau!

We took the jetfoil for the 40 mile trip across to Macau from Hong Kong. The journey takes about an hour, and as we were in First Class, we were fed and watered as well! When we arrived, we took a shuttle bus to the MGM Grand Casino. All the shuttles are free of charge, there are so many casinos battling for business they all want you to get on board their bus.

We left our case with the concierge there and ventured into the casino, whilst Ceci went to check us in to our hotel room. These casinos have to be seen to be believed. It's like a huge very glamorous town, where everything you need is provided to help you to spend as much money as possible. And there was a hell of a lot of money changing hands there. Great shouts going up from tables where people were winning vast sums, and a huge crowd gathered to watch. And massive groans where money was being lost. You're not allowed to take any photographs in there.

We both wagered a little amount on the slot machines (we started with $10 each, about 80p, haha Last of the Big Spenders!) I'm normally pretty lucky in casinos, although I'm not a gambler and never have been, it just doesn't appeal to my cautious nature. As soon as I made a few dollars I cashed in the slip and started somewhere else. We had a couple of hours of slots, and I came out with $30 profit. Whoop!

We then met back up with C and she took us to our hotel. I've stayed in luxury hotels before for my job, but this was something really special. True 6* style.

We had a dressing room, a wetroom with huge round tub and shower,









a sitting room with sofas and huge TV, with a complimentary minibar as well as fresh fruit on the table.
And the biggest, most comfortable, bed I have ever slept in! I could really take to this lifestyle.








After a cracking night's sleep, we sadly checked out of paradise and went back to The Venetian for another look.

That is some place as well! All totally modelled on Venice, with the ceilings painted as though by Michaelangelo. There are rivers running through, with gondolas and their gondaliers seranading, all under blue starry skies. I haven't been to Venice yet, but I feel as though I know it now.





All the time we were in Macau it poured with rain, and I mean really poured like being at home! It is unheard of to rain in the winter here, especially over such a prolonged period of time. So we got rather wet as we wandered around the streets soaking up (in more ways than one!) the local culture.





After some delicious lunch at the Wynn Hotel, and becoming two of their Privileged Casino Members, we headed back to the ferry to return to Hong Kong.








Because Hong Kong is such a 24 hour place, it's not unusual to go out to the shops at 10 or 11pm, so that is what we did! All the shops and shopping centres are decorated with beautiful Christmas Trees and decorations, some of them quite unusual


And now it's Wednesday and we only have 4 days left of our holiday. And more tales to come!

Our latest trips

Friday 4th December

Today we met up with N_M's parents to take a trip up to Victoria Peak. Instead of using the Peak Tram we decided to take the bus, which was a double decker and gave us excellent views all the way up. The weather wasn't the clearest, but we still got some nice pics looking down on Hong Kong.



We met a local grasshopper who was sitting with two of his limbs in the air, cooling off as they do even though it wasn't very warm up there!







Here is another pic looking down, showing just how green and lush it is up on the Peak.








Saturday 5th December

Today is the start of the East Asian Games, which are held every 4 years and this year is Hong Kong's turn. Our hotel seems to have quite a lot of the athletes staying here, and one floor and one lift has been closed off for their private use. We've seen the Mongolian Tae Kwondo team, lots of Chinese athletes and some from Korea and Hong Kong. I wish I recognised them, that would be very exciting! I had my photo taken with a giant pink panda - panda meets panda!

Security is pretty tight downstairs and we have Police vans outside as the athletes come and go.

We watched the opening ceremony yesterday and it was quite impressive, if rather long winded, as these things usually are. This is a photo of two of the singers on a huge lit barge in the Bay. There was a huge firework display at the end, which puts to shame anything I've seen in the UK.





Today we've seen some of the events on the telly, and they are unusual to say the least! Ballroom and Latin dancing Golds were awarded today, as well as Artistic Bicycle riding, both sole and twin events, much like rhythmic gymnastics on pushbikes - very bizarre to the western eye!

Last night we went to C's house out in Tai Po for a party and barbecue. It was my first ever experience of a Chinese party, and boy was it noisy! There were people playing mahjong all night, and poker, and food was cooked on the barbecue for many hours. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and we had a good time.

Sunday 6th December

Today we have had a quieter day in preparation for our trip to Macau tomorrow. We're going to be staying in a 6* hotel for a night, I'm looking forward to that!

So more will follow in a couple of days when we get back.

The last couple of days...

Wednesday 2 December

Yesterday we met up with N_M's parents and took the bus to Stanley, on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Some of the Colonial British buildings have been moved brick by brick from their original location in Victoria Harbour to Stanley.

This is the original Blake's Pier where the Governors of Hong Kong arrived from the UK and left after their tenure here. Chris Patten was the last Governor who left on the handover night, midnight, on 31 July 1997.

And this is the original Murray Building, built in 1846 as officer's quarters, and dismantled and moved brick by brick to Stanley in 2001/2.

We had a look in an Estate Agent's window there; the price of property is almost unimaginable. To get a 4 bedroomed house in Repulse Bay, just next to Stanley, costs 110,000,000 $ (about 9 million pounds) to buy, or 200,000$ per month to rent (about £16000). Totally ridiculous money, but small fry after a flat sold recently in mid levels for 750,000,000$ (yes, that's 50 million quid!!)

After our trip we came back and enjoyed an Italian meal in the shopping centre under our hotel.

Thursday 3 December

Today we took the bus to Ngong Ping to visit the Po Lin Monastery. This was our third visit, but as we left it much later in the day, most of the crowds had left and it was very peaceful.







The carvings on the outside of the building are quite stunning.










And here is the Buddha himself, just as the sun was setting.








After a brief visit to Tung Chung shopping outlet, we took the bus back to Mongkok for a wander round, then onto Jordan.

Hong Kong has a few "Yee Shun Milk Shops" and they're amongst our favourite places to eat. N_M always has the noodles with spam and a fried egg (sounds awful but apparently is ultra tasty!) and I have a cheese and egg sandwich.

How's that for a butty??!!

For pud I have the cold chocolate milk pudding, and N_M has the hot steamed milk pudding, which is made from milk and the white of the egg. The whole meal costs about £5 including Chinese tea and coca cola. Bargain, and extremely delicious!

And now we're back at the hotel ready for bed. We've got a few busy days coming up, so lots to tell afterwards. Laters!

Monday 30th Nov.

And onto Monday. Mr N_M has had a bad foot since we arrived, so I thought it would be good to not go so far today and rest his foot. Remember that detail for later on!!

We walked across to McDonalds at lunchtime, now normally I don't go within miles of Maccy D's at home, but here it is good. I had a large salad with a cup of hot sweetcorn, while Sir had the Mega McPepper burger. That is 2 burgers with black pepper sauce - one of his favourites. Followed by a chocolate sundae for me and a chocolate pie for him. It was all delish!

In the evening we decided to go to Sha Tin, which is a long old trek in terms of miles, but just a few train stops with a couple of changes. We had dinner there, I bought a few bits and we looked round our favourite store - Citi Super, which is a Japanese shop and full of very interesting things. A new store had just opened in the centre, and the tradition is for all the other businesses and local dignatories to send flowers. It was an amazing sight.

On the way back I thought it might be good to get a bus, as they stop near the hotel rather than the fairly lengthy trek from the MTR station. Remember what I said about his foot? Right. So we're standing in Mongkok, looking at the fronts of buses for their destinations, when suddenly he runs for one. As we sit down, I just check with him that we're on the right bus.

Well, he says, it sort of goes in the right direction, but you can never be sure where they will stop. Cue the bus getting on a Highway (which didn't exist when he lived here) and shooting off for many miles past our stop!! We end up in Tuen Mun, the place he lived as a kid, it's now way past midnight and all the buses bar a couple of night buses, have stopped until the morning!

We then walk back and forth, hunting for a minibus or bus that will take us back to where we need to be. Remember his foot? Ha! Eventually we flagged down a minibus and got a ride back to near the hotel. The speed limit is 70kph on the highways, but this bloke is doing 118 kph, with his speed detector beeping until it sounded like exploding, haha. By this time it was almost 2am, and my feet were bloody sore as well as his! We're laughing about it now, but being stranded miles from home didn't feel too funny last night. Plonker!

Today we're meeting up with C and she's taking us out for dinner somewhere in Mongkok. Before that we're off to the computer plaza, alias Geeks Paradise. We may be sometime.......