April 7
Hong Kong
Considering the amount of beer that I consumed last night, I awoke feeling remarkably perky. Pacific Coffee Company provided breakfast for the first time this trip, a relaxing way to start the day.
I caught the bus to Stanley, a journey of 40 minutes, found the shop where I had located the jewellery box a couple of days before, and bought it. No discount was offered, although it had been suggested on my first visit, but they did pack the box for me in bubble wrap and a cardboard box. This was probably a fair exchange. I just hope that they have done a good enough job.
The Post Office is up the hill in a very old building and the staff were very helpful. They provided a pen, helped me to complete the complicated customs forms and took charge of the package. I hoped that they would do the remainder of the job efficiently. A month after posting, the package has only just left Hong Kong. Goodness knows how long it will take to reach New Zealand! (Two months later and it arrived safely).I had a cold drink and caught the bus back into town.
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This time, I got a front seat upstairs and took lots of photos. The road is barrow, steep in places and goes round lots of sharp bends. It also has an appalling surface. As a result, photography was difficult. In spite of this, I'm sure that there will be enough acceptable shots to give a flavour of the journey.
Earlier in the morning, I had asked about drawer handles in a small hardware shop. The guy there had suggested that I try some shops on Lockhart Road, where I had been the day that I arrived. I followed his advice, and found a row of three shops with suitable looking handles. I bought a set and hope they will suffice.
The shopping success continued when I found lots of razor blades. I should now have enough to last well over a year.
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Under Bridge Spicy Crab was the venue for lunch. As usual, the food was good and the service was terrible. I was put on a table with a youngish lady, who was intent on her phone. After about 20 minutes, she emerged from the phone and said that she was impressed with my chop stick technique and did I live in Hong Kong. I said that I didn't and explained why I was there. We chatted for a while until she left. Quite a compliment, I thought. |
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Not having heard from John, I made my way to Victoria Park, looked at the flowers and the bald lawn, and started to write my diary. At that stage, I spotted some txts, rang John and went towards the Hong Kong Football Ground as fast as I could. Finding the ground was easy. Finding the entrance, less so.
Things got worse. I passed through the entrance, paid my money & tried to ring John to find out were he was. That was when I discovered that I had run out of credit on my phone. I walked backwards and forwards along the front of the stand peering up at the crowd, hoping to spot him. After about 3 passes of the crowd, he spotted me. We spent the afternoon watching the 10 aside rugby, drinking a couple of beers and chatting.
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About 7 pm, we left the ground and joined John's wife, Pauline, and walked for about ten minutes back into Causeway Bay, to a back street full of restaurants. One of them erected a folding table in the gutter. Luckily, there was little traffic. The food was OK but quite expensive given the location.
We then walked at speed to the Wan Chai ferry terminal so that John and Pauline could cross over to the mainland and I could continue along the waterfront to the hotel. Once there, I added some money to my phone!