Our penultimate full day :(

We've had a really long, but excellent day, today.

We set off from the hotel on the 9am shuttle bus to meet C at the ferry terminal. We then boarded the jetfoil for the hour long journey to Macau.

On arrival, we chose one of the shuttle buses that are lined up to take visitors to the many hotels and casinos. We started our day at Wynn Casino, which has a superb show "The Tree of prosperity" twice an hour. I've taken some video which I can't upload until I return home, but here are some still pics to get an idea of the enormity of it.


People throw coins at the tree for luck and prosperity - sadly it didn't work for us!

We had a good look around the hotel and shops, then ate a deluxe lunch in one of the many restaurants!


We then took a taxi to go onto The Venetian, another enormous hotel, shops and casino. The scale of this place has to be seen to be believed - they have a St Mark's Square and Grand Canal inside, complete with gondolas and singing gondoliers!


We bought some superb Italian gifts for ourselves, then had a short while in the casino. The amount of money which is won (and mainly lost) is quite scary. We spent the princely sum of 100 dollars between us - about £8!



We had another taxi ride to Macau Tower, with a taxi driver who obviously doubles as Elvis in his spare time!, and found a very good restaurant for dinner. Some singers came round the tables and serenaded us beautifully between courses.

Then we went around the old part of Macau, which was originally under Portuguese ownership, and is still very European in design.


We saw the Ruins of St Paul's, a bizarre building where only one end wall has survived. The whole building behind it has disappeared, it's a very odd but beautiful sight.



After one more trip into a casino, where C tried to teach me roulette (I still don't understand it, hehe) we boarded the last ferry back to Kowloon. We said our goodbyes to C and look forward to seeing her again on our next visit.

And this is our last night, so the last post for now. We've got the joy of trying to fit everything we have bought into our suitcases tomorrow! So au revoir for now, dear readers. Thank you for all your comments and messages, we'll be back home and online again on Friday.

Tuesday 18th

Just a short blog for today.

We arranged to meet up with some of N_M's old friends today. C, his ex-girlfriend, picked us up from our hotel and we went to a totally vegetarian Buddhist restaurant. I trusted her to make my menu choices for me! We were joined by another of his old friends, and had a very relaxing lunch.


We had vegetable fried rice, (much more exciting than the rice at home!), crispy aubergine slices, broccoli in cheese sauce, and vegetable "crabs claws". I didn't try those, but apparently N_M said they did taste quite uncannily fishy!

After lunch, C dropped us back in Tsim Sha Tsui for a wander around while she went back to work. We did more shopping, mainly for Christmas presents, then went back to the hotel for a rest.


Later this evening, we went on the hotel shuttle bus back to the shops and ended the day by Night_Market buying me a beautiful cashmere pashmina from the Night Market! Everywhere is just putting up Christmas lights, and the pandas in the hotel are already feeling festive.


We have an early start tomorrow, as we're joining C on a trip to Macau. We have to be down at the jetfoil at just after 9am, mustn't forget the passports!

Monday 17th

Today we started by taking the hotel minibus down to Tsim Sha Tsui to visit "Sogo", an upmarket department store having a "Thankful Week" for its 15th anniversary. I had my eye on a nice handbag which N_M bought for me today.

From there we made our way by minibus to Kowloon Walled City Park. We visited the park last year, but had arrived just as it was getting dark. So this year we were sure to arrive in good daylight!

Despite all the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, there are so many places that are truly peaceful and this park is one of them. We had a good look all around, starting in The Yamen, the only remaining historical building.


Whilst viewing the photo exhibition, N_M had a chat with a park official about the original walled city which he had visited many years before.


This guy had been walking round playing traditional music on a wooden flute which gave the park a very authentic feeling.

The gardens are lovely, with several pond areas with various fish in.


There is an exhibition area of bonsai trees which are perfect miniatures of the adult trees.



We also enjoyed the Chinese Zodiac garden, picking out the horse which is N_M's sign, and the bull which is mine.






Near the South Gate entrance is a tree which has obviously been removed from the old city walls and replanted, and is continuing to grow!


From Kowloon, we went back to Sha Tin, Mong Kok and Jordan, for yet more shopping!

Our second Sunday

We've had a most excellent day today!

We decided to make the trip up to Fanling, which is quite close to the Chinese Border. We had 3 changes on the train, and the journey took about an hour. It cost the princely sum of £1 each!

We went to see the Taoist Temple of Fung Ying Seen Koon.


I'm quite drawn to the Taoist way of life - they believe in (a simplified form) no meat, no alcohol, and the reverence of all living creatures. Their temples are always so peaceful and calming.




Here is a picture of the ceiling of the area of worship.






All of the upper floors outside the temple are dedicated to crematoriums. The open fires are kept burning, and then the ashes are stored in walls of small boxes, with a photo of the deceased person on the outside. The most wealthy families have their own "room" of walls, whilst everyone else is laid to rest in smaller boxes on the lower levels. The families bring food and drink to place in shrines alongside the walls.

There was a lovely pond of koi carp by the crematoriums.

It is a very peaceful place to visit.








After leaving the temple, we took a little minibus to Lung Yeuk Tau for a walk along the Heritage Trail. It was quite an exciting ride, through little villages and out into the countryside.

The trail takes you through 12 centuries old villages of the New Territories, some of which are still behind stone walls. We started the trail at Tung Chung Ling Ancestral Hall, which was built in the early 16th Century.

It is being guarded by these two fellows!

Then we went along to the Tin Hau Temple. The main hall of the temple is devoted to the worship of Tin Hau and her guards, Chin Lei Ngan (who is believed to see things a thousand li [Chinese miles] away) and Shun Fung Yi (whose ears can hear sounds as far away as from heaven).


The oldest relics surviving in the temple are two cast iron bells which are kept in the east chamber of the rear hall. One of the bells was cast in 1695 as a gift from the Tang clan to thank Tin Hau after having their sons adopted by her. The other bell was cast in 1700 as an offering to Tin Hau so that the young men of the clan could be blessed during their journey to the city for taking the provincial examinations.


The next monument along is the Lo Wai walled village, built by the Tang Clan, which is not accessible to tourists as all the houses are still inhabited. They all live behind these walls.


We then took the minibus back to Fanling, and the train onto Sha Tin. There we had a lovely shop in the New Town Plaza, picking up some items that N_M had been searching for since we arrived! And now we're back in the hotel having a well deserved rest!

Saturday 15th

We had an "interesting" start to the day today, with the toilet being blocked and the contents pouring all over the bathroom floor! Luckily only clean water from the cistern, but it felt as though it would never stop! A lovely housekeeping lady raced up with industrial gloves and a giant sink plunger, and sorted it out very quickly. Whatever she gets paid, it isn't enough!!

We decided to take a trip back to the Po Lin Monastery today, so after a train ride to Tung Chung, we caught the white knuckle bus ride to Po Lin. The monastery is still as beautiful and peaceful, and they keep the grounds so beautifully with the whole area being full of flowering plants.


The monks were called to prayer while we were there, so we could hear all the chanting and praying.



We then walked just along the road to Ngong Ping Village, where the World Vegetarian Food Fair was being held. Oh luxury, so much food that I could eat and thoroughly enjoy! We shared 5 dishes from 5 different countries - Mexico, India, Italy, Greece and USA.


To get back again I agreed to try the
Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car. Now for
anyone who knows me, (particularly R&A on the Manchester Eye!), I'm not that keen on heights. So this was quite a scary thing! We were put into a pod with 7 Germans and off we went. The views were pretty spectacular despite the weather being hazy and misty with the heat. I was ok until we passed the support pylons, then my stomach ended up in my mouth!




We had brilliant views of the airport and could watch the planes
take off and land from above. It's a 5.7km trip and you are pretty
high up, partly over the mountain tops and partly over the sea. I'm glad I went, although I wouldn't necessarily want to go again!






This evening we've been on the hotel shuttle bus into town, starting in Tsim Sha Tsui and then wandering about in Mongkok. There are so many little shopping arcades with tiny little Japanese shops selling all sorts of collectibles. We manage to find new things to see every night.


There is a chap who busks in Mongkok every night, he plays a
guitar and sings to his little Pekinese dog who sits on a stool next to him. On the floor by his pitch, there are lots of newspaper articles, and we read tonight that this is Danny Hui who was a famous singer in the 1960s. Sadly he became addicted to heroin and ruined his career, so he now makes his living by busking.






A little farther down the road a big crowd had gathered to watch a street artist. This poor guy is very disabled, with only one arm and part of a hand on the other arm. So he paints with the brush between his toes or in his mouth. He was doing some lovely work, which spectators were buying for $100 (about £8).




We're now back at our hotel to get a good sleep ready for tomorrow's planned trip to Fanling.

Thursday 13th

We've had a lovely day today at Ocean Park!

We took the MTR to Admiralty, then bought our entry tickets and bus passes straight to the park.


It's been a really hot day again today, so we started by visiting the aviary. They have some beautiful birds, all flying freely around a large area.




Then we took an early lunch in the Chinese Restaurant in the Middle Kingdom. After lunch we took the very scary escalators up to the top of the park - there are 4 long escalators and I was a real wuss, hanging on for grim death to the handrail and N_M's hand! You do get some brilliant views from the top.


The first place to visit was the Chinese Sturgeon Aquarium, where you walk through with the fish swimming all around. The largest measured about 3 metres long! They can grow to 5 metres, so none were full grown yet.



Then we went to Atoll Reef - this is a great place, where you walk all around the reef just as it would be in the sea.

You get the sting rays, turtles and reef fish at the top,








In the middle are fast moving midwater swimmers, like tuna and surgeon fish.








Right at the bottom are the sharks, potato cod and garoupa. This Moray Eel and shark were particularly good friends!



Around the outside of the reef there are tanks containing some very unusual creatures, like leafy seadragons and weedy seadragons. We have a particular interest in these fish, and were pleased to take some video to take home.

Then we moved onto the Sea Jelly Spectacular, with its massive displays of jellyfish, with lovely lighting and exciting music playing. These are fascinating to watch moving around their tanks.



The cable car took us back down to the ground floor, and the Panda enclosure. The Chinese are very proud of their pandas, and whereas last year we only got a couple of photos of them sleeping, this year they were enjoying their lunch just the other side of the enclosure! It was amazing to see them up so closely, and to watch the way they shred the leaves from the bamboo branches.



When one of them finished eating, he went and had a big drink of water, went up the hillside to have a huge poo over the edge and immediately rolled over and went into a deep sleep - typical man!!


We also visited the Dolphin University, where in 2001 the first Bottlenose Dolphin was born by Artificial Insemination. The dolphins were all playing naturally in their pools and seemed very content,


then the sealions gave a short show. They are extremely well-trained, and while I don't altogether hold with animal shows, these did seem happy and very well cared for.

So we said goodbye to Ocean Park again, and left it with masses of building works going on in the lower level. It will be very interesting to see what else has opened next time we visit!

Going to Causeway Bay on the way back to the hotel, we were intrigued to see two young women offering "free hugs" to passers by. Needless to say, plenty of businessmen took them up on their offer!