Hong Kong Phuey

Well we had another mammoth airport session to get here, a total of 17 hours in two airports, but here we are, Hong Kong. Arriving at the hotel, this is the view that greeted us from our room.

We went out for dinner that night and were amazed at the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China. Its so modern here and there are little memories of the UK all over the place from the road markings and the driving on the left, to the familiar brands and shops. It felt pretty odd after two and half weeks in China. We keep habitually using the smattering of Mandarin we have learned but of course no one speaks it here (they speak Cantonese) and almost everyone speaks very good English anyway. The lights and street signs are mad! They are so busy there is neon everywhere and it gets pretty confusing as to which way you are supposed to be heading.

The next day we headed out to explore properly and despite the 35 degree heat we decided to take the local tram into one of the many shopping areas and from there we took the Peak Tram (the first funicular railway in Asia) to the Victoria Peak, the tallest hill/mountain on the island. At some points the tram was climbing at an angle of over 45 degrees! From the top you can see for miles in all directions and there are some spectacular views of both Hong kong and Kowloon islands. We also walked a circuit around the peak on pathways through the trees, some of these pathways have been here since the 1800's and were built at the same time as the Peak Tram (around 1880 I think). Again there were some amazing views and we also encountered some of the local wildlife. Nikala took lots of photos of ants, but Ill spare you most of them.

The Peak Tram

The View from the top

Our walk around the peak

On the way back from Victoria Peak, we stumbled across Hong Kong park. The park was so well looked after and in the middle we discovered a Jurassic park like aviary structure. It housed over 600 birds and was free to the public. There were also lakes filled with terrapins and koi carp. Our parks have a lot to live up to - though there was also a public notice warning us of the perils of scarlet fever, so on second thoughts, maybe our parks are pretty good...

Then once again, we had a beautiful sunset to greet us at the hotel before we went out for dinner.