Thursday 9th December

I didn't think I'd get chance to write anything today, but we had a good day yesterday with lots of photos. So here's hoping the hotel internet holds up so I can post before I have to start packing.

Yesterday morning, we both had things to buy from different places, so NM went off to Fish Shop Street, while I shopped locally in Tseun Wan. They dont seem to see many white women on their own wandering about, so I was pointed at a bit!

After taking my purchases back to the hotel, I joined NM in Mongkok to meet his long-lost friend Tom for lunch. It is so good that these two have found each other again; we all keep talking about the co-incidences that led to the meeting. It surely was fate taking a hand.


After lunch, Ceci picked us up in the family car, so we were able to take a visit to Sai Kung. We had a lovely long walk all around the seafront, and more co-incidences prevailed. We got chatting to an English lady out walking her dogs, she lives in Sai Kung, and her husband was once one of Ceci's boss at Dragonair! Small World or what??




Then we drove back to our hotel and had dinner out locally. Ceci left for home as she had quite a journey to get back, and we took ourselves out again. Our hotel offers a free shuttle bus to it's residents so we hopped off to Tsim Sha Shui. A few more pressies later we came back to our hotel at about 1am.

The Christmas lights at The Peninsula Hotel

And now we have to get packed up, a job I hate every year! We don't fly until tonight, so we've kept the room for an extra day and don't have to rush out by midday. We've had the most brilliant holiday and spent time with great people.

And we've decided that if we go home and start saving immediately, we might just be able to come back again next year....

Wednesday 8th December

This is going to be a very short post today. The internet conection is worse than ever today, more down than up, so I need to be speedy!

We spent Wednesday rushing around, trying to cross things off our "to do" and "to buy" lists. We started by a great bus ride to Tung Chung. Normally we'd take the MTR, which is mainly underground, but as we looked at the bus stops by the station a bus turned up which was going straight there. We got the front seats on the top deck, and some good photo opportunities!

The dry dockyard, where all the HK ships are brought for repair

From Tung Chung we got on the 23 bus, which winds its way up very precariously to the Big Buddha, the Po-Lin Monastery and the Ngong Ping Village, which was boasting a Christmas Village, snow and Xmas Foods. Oh dear! The day we went, the cable car (the Ngong Ping 360) was closed for maintenance, most of the shops were closed for stocktaking or renovation, and the food fair was a tent with "dinosaur legs" alias chicken, sweetcorn on sticks, and hot dog sausages. Not quite the Christmas fayre we're used to!

This water buffalo family have chosen the right place to live, by the monastery, as the Buddhist Monks love animals and are all vegetarian!

The monastery and associated shops has been commercialised, far too much in my honest opinion. I cannot compare the place we first visited 4 times ago with what we found there yesterday. Very sad and diasppointing. So we got almost straight back on the bus to go back down again.

From there we visited Central, and the Man Mo Temple, then the little shops and stalls nearby.

And on to Possession Point Park, where NM remembered seeing a pure white Clarius catfish last year.

He managed to spot it again, this year with a mate, who was black and even bigger than this big boy!





And then back to Prince Edward, Mongkok and the markets. We took a look at the street where the fire was earlier in the week - how very sad. The area is still cordoned off while the emergency services make it safe. You can see the burnt out ruins of the stalls, shops and flats above.

At 8pm we went off to meet NM's brother and sister-in-law for a farewell dinner. We had such a lovely time, chatting non-stop whilst eating humungous burgers, waffle fries and "monkey business" milkshakes! We were in the restaurant almost until their closing time. J&C should be visiting the UK again next summer so we're planning a repeat meal then!

Monkey business milkshake - vanilla icecream, milk, peanut butter, bananas,
whipped cream and peanuts, yum!

From there, the Night Market was calling NM, so although it was way past 11pm we went off to shop a little more. That is what we miss most when we return to the UK; apart from the Trafford Centre, everything closes so early.

Today we are meeting NM's long-lost friend for lunch, and tomorrow we'll be packing to come back home. We've had a fabulous time, done some amazing things, and spent time with great people. We'll miss it loads.

Tuesday 7th December

Oh wow, we had such a brilliant day yesterday I hardly know where to begin. Except to say that I have ached in every muscle of my body all night, despite a hot bath and Nurofen before I went to bed! Yes, it was the day of the Bike Ride!


We got up and went to meet Ceci at Tai Wai Station, where she took us for breakfast/lunch/brunch. I had my trusty cheese and egg sarnie, this time in toasted bread, which was delish. Ceci and NM polished off a large bowl of noodles and spicy beef.

With coffees it all cost me the princely sum of £6.



Then we walked round to the bike rental shop. I don't mind saying that both NM and I were petrified, neither of us had ridden in about 30 years, and neither wanted to let everyone down by not being able to ride or falling off! The guy brought out bikes for us to try, and we wobbled about the pavement before heading off.

And then things got better! There is a complete network of cycle tracks alongside the Shing Mun River, and we cycled the distance of 3.5 MTR stops, about 7 miles, before cycling back.





If we lived here, we'd be cycling every weekend. Or if we had such suitable cycle ways at home I'm sure we'd buy bikes there too. Luckily, yesterday wasn't as hot as it has been, and there was quite a breeze so the journey was pleasantly warm rather than burning!

After dropping the bikes back, Ceci took us up the 1000 steps to the Monastery of 10,000 Buddhas. What an amazing place! This is the view as you approach the climb...



The whole way up is lined with gold buddhas, every one with a different face, pose and position!

He was one of my favourites

When we got to the top, this is what we found

It's a beautiful place, so peaceful, and so far off the ground!!

From here we climbed to another monastery further up into the hill, which is being renovated and certainly has the WOW factor!

This statue of Kuan Yin stands about 30 feet high!

And the hillside is just covered with more buddhas

I have so many more photos I could publish here, but the internet connection is so slow it's taking forever, and we're going out again shortly.

We took ourselves back down to Tai Wai for some refreshments, then back on the MTR to Shatin, where the rest of Ceci's family had arranged to meet us for dinner. There were 8 of us sitting round a table in a very nice restaurant sharing many delicious dishes. The whole Chinese way is so sociable, with everyone sharing and helping each other.


We gave Charmaine, Ceci's daughter, her Christmas present which she was allowed to open. She's the excellent Latin dancer, so we bought her a DVD of Strictly Come Dancing and had great fun trying to explain the concept!

She also had some artificial snow, so she could pretend to be English and a chocolate Advent Calendar which was admired by everyone.





So today we're off to the Po-Lin Monastery and Big Buddha, and the Ngong Ping Village. Tonight we are having dinner with NM's brother and sister-in-law before we return home late Friday night.

Monday 6th December

When we got up this morning, we didn't realise what the day would bring!


Our plans kept changing today, so I ended up going back to the bead shops to finish shopping for my daughter-in-law's wishlist. NM decided to come with me and make sure I went the right way out of the station, haha, then he could go on to do some shopping in Fish Shop Street.

A bead shop, just for Manda :)

After getting waylaid looking at mobile phone cases, we eventually got to the bead shops and he then headed back to the station. On his way through a side street, he bumped into his old best friend from when he lived in Hong Kong. They hadn't seen each other for 12 years! Neither of them would normally have been in that area; it must have been fate.

We all had a drink together and made plans to meet up for a meal and a proper catch up on Thursday before we go home. What a lovely thing to have happened, we are both so excited!

But then, when NM arrived at Tung Choi Street, it was full of fire engines, ambulances and Police. There had been 3 arson attacks at 5am, many shops and stalls in the next street were totally destroyed and about 200 residents had to be evacuated.

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Even 12 hours after the attacks, the emergency services were all still present, and the residents were sheltering in a small park, some of them still in their nightclothes.


My favourite shop must be amongst those destroyed. The majority of the shop and stall owners had no insurance, and their shops were totally stocked up for Christmas. I hope the Police catch the man responsible, and quickly, before he ruins any other livelihoods.


And then this was our tea. Not very Chinese, but delicious all the same. Thanks Pizza Hut!








And today? No laughing at the back, but we're going bike riding through the New Territories!

Anyone who knows us will be laughing hysterically at this point. I haven't ridden a bike for about 30 years, and neither of us are exactly built for the activity any longer, but Ceci thinks it's an excellent idea. It's pretty hot and sunny still, so we have to buy sunhats as well, but carry jackets for later. We've got a busy few final days coming up, with lots already planned, and I can see both of us being unable to move much tomorrow....

Until then, dear readers. Think of us and our saddle sores as you toddle off to work today ;)

Sunday 5th December

We've had a fab day today!

We decided to have a day out using the Hong Kong tram system. The trams are the oldest form of public transport in HK, and they have the World's largest operating fleet of double decker tramcars. And it's incredibly cheap - each trip only costs $2 per adult - about 16p!




But first a geography lesson. For those not familiar with Hong Kong geography (that was me until I first visited), HK is made up of 3 main areas; The New Territories, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. To get between Kowloon and HK Island, you can either drive through one of 3 motor vehicle tunnels, take the Star Ferry or use the MTR (the cheap and extremely efficient, mainly underground, railway).



The Victoria Harbour between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island used to be 2 miles across, but after all the reclamation works which have been taking place in recent years, it is now only 800 metres at its narrowest point. When we were on the Star Ferry last week we had to wait ages to dock, as the ferries get across so much quicker now the distance has been so foreshortened, there's always a queue to "park".

To get across to HK Island to begin our mammoth journey we took the MTR, to pick up the tram at Kennedy Town. They were holding a craft market in Kennedy Town when we arrived, and we bought some great gifts for ourselves and friends.


And there began the start of our 18 mile journey, which took 1 hour 45 minutes and cost the princely sum of 16p each!!

This is a map of the island, tracing our route through.

The view as we left Kennedy Town on the best seats on the tram









A typical shop selling everything as we passed through Sheung Wan









And a little dim sum shop in the street









Here is the Western Market building, which is one of the oldest structures on HK Island and used to be a wet market. It now houses shops and a restaurant.







Now, here is something that absolutely
fascinates me here - the scaffolding on all the buildings. It's all made of bamboo which has been lashed together, there's not a metal pole in sight! And they use bamboo for everything, including the buildings under construction, some 80 or more floors high! I hate heights anyway, but to trust your life to some bamboo poles and string? Brrrrr, no thanks!


The next stops on the journey are in Central District, and this is where the scenery changes. Everywhere is full of people and bustle, and you reach all the huge office buildings and designer shops. There is Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Gucci, Prada and many more, in complete contrast to the majority of the country.



Sunday is the Philipino Maids day off here, so the whole place is full of women sitting out on their flattened cardboard boxes,
chatting; doing their nails; playing bingo; eating; in fact anything they can do all together in massive groups. The noise is unbelievable!

We also saw a Hong Kong Salvation Army band playing Christmas Carols here!

This is a cool photo from Admiralty, the next stage on the journey, of a new building containing the reflection of the old housing on the other side of the road








And this is the view through the front of the tram as it continued its journey through Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, and Tin Hau.


This is a very familiar sight everywhere. Ladies go round all the shops and market stalls (and bins in some places) collecting up the cardboard and tin cans. They squash it all down flat, load it onto their trolly and take it to the recycling departments, where they are paid a small amount for all they have brought.

Sometimes the ladies are very old and quite tiny, but their trollies are huge, piled high and very heavy. It's a tough way of life :(


And now we have arrived at our destination - Shau Kei Wan. we've travelled 18 miles, in 1 hour 45 and paid just 16p each.

This whole country is fabulous, but a place of such immense contrasts. The rich are very rich and the poor very poor. We regularly see very disabled beggars outside the Louis Vuitton shop, oh the irony.

And to end our day, we went back to Mongkok where we saw the strange performers the other evening. Mr Bodypop was having a night off, but Sharon Osborne eat your heart out......

Friday 3rd December

We had a really cool day today!

We decided to stay quite locally to save our feet, as we've walked miles already.


The centre of Tsuen Wan is just up the road, and the first shopping centre went into had this as a wall decoration.

The plants are all real and living, in a sort of tiered wall hanging basket full of soil. I've never seen anything quite like it before.






We did some shopping and I bought some boots ready for the snow at home! The girls here all wear their boots all the time as it's winter here for them. And we're still in short sleeves! NM bought his 5th I-phone case! They have so many to choose from here.

On the way back to the hotel we walked through this beautiful park. They really know how to do calm here, the parks are clean and well kept, and the plants and trees are beautiful.




The Park had originally been Hoi Pai Village, a Hakka Settlement, which was demolished in the 1980s to make way for the park. The Chan Yi Cheung Ancestral Hall was left standing and is now home to the local stray cat families.


In the evening we met up with old friends Ceci and Stella, for drinks and a meal at a really nice bar in Knutsford Terrace, Tsim Sha Tsui. Knutsford Terrace is the Kowloon equivalent of Lan Kwai Fong on Hong Kong side.

We got chatting to some other Gweilos (foreign devils!), alias 2 ladies from Cardiff and Scotland, who live and work in Hong Kong. It was funny to sit amongst the mix of nationalities, chatting about English shops and the snow!



When we got back to the hotel at about midnight there was an awful racket of hammering and banging coming from our floor of the hotel. They have been renovating, but the noise is supposed to stop at 6pm. I rang down to the front desk and when I finally made myself understood (with NM laughing away behind me as I tried to describe "banging" and "hammering" to a young and bemused Chinese guy), he sent the manager to investigate.

We went out into the corridor and met a Chinese guy from the room opposite, who had got himself locked out of his room. He very politely said Good Evening, whilst looking like a Chinese Mr Bean, in his comedy pyjamas. We flew back into our room, and how we laughed! In fact we were still laughing an hour later; he so matter-of-factly told the stern faced managers "I have lost my key". We heard his door opening about 10 minutes later, so he must have got back in :D

Today we are revisiting Fish Shop Street and the Beads quarter, before going to Discovery Bay for a farewell dinner with NM's brother and sis-in-law, and his parents who are due to fly back to the UK tomorrow, snow permitting.