April 5

With this being my last day and with me having no plans at all, I had a look in Lonely Planet and decided to head for Tsuen Wan, in the New Territories, at the end of the train line on which the hotel sits. I decided to seek breakfast when I arrived there.

As ever, the train was packed. There was even a party of adults and children fully equipped with packs, bed rolls etc etc. About two thirds of the way, after the interchange with the Airport Line, the train emptied. From there on, I’m not sure I have ever seen a Hong Kong train with so few people on it. Tsuen Wan station, about 25 minutes from Tsim Sha Tsui, opened into the usual shopping mall. I made a foray along the ground floor and found another Easter Bunny but reached the other end without finding breakfast. The restaurant that I did see looked too posh.
Never seen such an empty train	The biggest bunny yet

On the top floor, I avoided McDonalds and found another huge restaurant with big chandeliers and lots of customers. The tables had beautiful linen and one of the finest pairs of chopsticks I have ever met. Tea arrived instantly in cups with handles. Unusual for these parts.

The waitress (maitre ‘d?) looked at me and rushed off to find the English menu. I pointed to what I wanted and she completed the normal dim sum order form for me.

A huge restaurant	Elegant tableware
Chui Chow dumplings	Shrimp cakes

The Chui Chow dumplings arrived quickly, straight from the steamer. The first one was so soft and glutinous that it glued itself to my chopsticks and then started to disintegrate. The filling was a mix of vegetables and peanuts (I think) and was excellent. The longer they had to cool, the more manageable they became. A good dose of chilli oil made them even more interesting. I must buy a jar of it when I reach the UK.

The shrimp cakes contained quite a lot of corn, which made them different to others I have had. They, too, were excellent.

The restaurant was doing a roaring trade. Perhaps 150 people, chatting, reading the morning papers and generally being sociable. I think I was the only gweilo in the place, normally a good sign. The final bill was about £4, not bad for very good food in very classy surroundings.

A pretty fountain
Ugly elevated walkways	Dwarfed by the tower blocks

Navigating my way out of the mall was non-too easy. Firstly, I found a nice fountain in a garden surrounded by high tower blocks. The opposite direction took me over a series of elevated walkways and, eventually, into the town centre.

As ever, the green grocer’s was fascinating, with so many fruits that I couldn’t identify. Overhead, it was very gloomy and the humidity was high. Rain seemed imminent and I was a trifle concerned about insects. I can only hope that a liberal application of insect repellent-laced sun screen will keep the beasties away. Left: Durian and other fruits

I thought about exploring the covered market, not a handsome building, but decided that the aisles were too narrow and there were too many eggs about for me to be safe.
Tsuen Wan

I found my way back to the station and changed once in order to reach Kowloon Station. I have caught the Airport Express from there but have never had a look around. It is large and new and I took the opportunity the locate the Air New Zealand check-in desk for tomorrow morning.

There were signs to the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. Feeling in need of exercise, a walk along it seemed like a good idea. Finding the start via the maze of overpasses and steps which surround the entrance to the Harbour Tunnel was no easy matter. When I did find it, it didn’t look promising. The path looked scruffy but well marked. It reached the water and followed it for a while before running inland for a short distance. There was a separate cycle path and lots of shady seats. There was even a cycle training area.
The start of an adventure	Kowloon Station
The Harbour Tunnel	Dredgers' graveyard?
Small boats in the mist	The West Kowloon Promenade
Lots of seats for the weary	Even a cycle training area
If the aim of the exercise was to see the beautiful views across the harbour, it was a complete write off as the cloud was very low and the mist was very high.     Right: The Island in the mist

If it was to enable me discover the function of the fascinating yellow structure which I have often seen from the ferry, that too was a dead loss. I stood outside it but could see nothing explaining what it was. If it was to enable me to reach the centre of Kowloon, that too was no good as the path is circular and I ended up back where I started.

I still don't know what it is

It was a good walk, however, perhaps two kilometres, the weather was pleasant, if a trifle humid, and I’m sure it did me more good than all of the walking on crowded pavements that I have been doing all week. The sign warning of toxic beasties was, however, somewhat unnerving!

An encouraging sign	A budding artist?

I was just thinking of returning to the station when I saw a bus heading to Wan Chai. I leapt aboard and it went under the tunnel and then meandered its way through the back streets and into Central. I disembarked about 20 metres from my destination, had tea, a sandwich and free WWW at Pacific Coffee Co, followed by a beer at the Devil’s Advocate. As I walked from the latter, a few spots of rain were falling. Not a good sign. By the time I left the pub, it was drizzling steadily so I walked briskly to the train and headed for home. When I emerged at Tsim Sha Tsui, it was raining hard so I went straight to my room and sulked for a bit.

A couple of hours later, having organised much of my packing, I emerged to find that a fair amount of rain had fallen, leaving puddles on the pavement. I walked towards the waterfront and had a play with the mirror sculpture outside the Museum of Art.

The island appeared again ...	A most peculiar bunny

The island, almost invisible at lunchtime, had appeared again but, with the drizzle strengthening again, I went into the Harbour City Mall to look at the seriously expensive stuff. I can buy New Balance shoes at the outlet shop in Wellington for about NZ$ 130. Here, they were over NZ$ 300. There were expensive watch shops by the dozen, as there are all over the city. The value of the stock held in them must add up to the GDP of many an African nation. I did find another Easter Bunny, this one looking rather odd.

Having decided that I would be mad to do any shopping there – even if I had any more to do – I left to find that the rain had started again and that the buildings on the Island were becoming hidden once more.     Right: It started to vanish again ...

Given the circumstances, I decided that eating in one of the hotels might be the best option and had a beer at the YMCA whilst mulling it over. A quick trip upstairs revealed that the YMCA buffet would actually be cheaper than the dinner I had at Hing Fat yesterday and would include endless quantities of free beer. What boy could refuse an offer like that.

At the appointed time, I walked across the road from my hotel and faced an amazing display of food. My memories of the buffet from four years ago seemed to be accurate.

The mussel, pork and potato soup was delicate and interesting. The seafood was wonderful – the man came to my rescue a bit too late with a pair of scissors and some claw crackers - when I was trying to dismember a huge crab claw. The addition of some pickled ginger gave it all a boost.

A cold fishy assortment ...	... followed by a hot one
The salad course involved all sorts of bits and pieces but didn’t look particularly photogenic. I just piled it high and ate it – just like Garfunkels in days of yore - but much better quality. The cooked fish course wasn’t exciting, although the sight of the whole poached turbot sitting in its bain marie was quite impressive. Some assorted meats of Asian origin, plus a couple of mussels with Thai basil and chilli which weren’t available when I had the fish course, completed the savoury section.
	An assortment of delicacies

Just before 8pm, the lights dimmed and the scene was set for the light show across the harbour.

I tried a few photos but it isn’t really possible from the far side of a crowded restaurant.

Across a crowded restaurant	And poor lighting

Finally, after 90 minutes of serious eating, I had a little cheese and some fruit to make myself feel completely unwell. Not a great meal but containing some interesting elements and offering the chance to re-acquaint myself with a knife and fork after a week of eating with chopsticks.

I staggered outside to find that the rain had stopped and the streets were already drying. Perhaps if I had delayed for a while, I could have eaten in the market. To cap it all, I think I walked off without collecting lots of change. By the time I had thought of this, I was tucked up in my room and wearing very little so didn’t feel that it would be worth getting dressed and walking across the road on the off chance of finding anyone who remembered me and my change.