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May 5 Hong Kong
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A terrible night's sleep. Woke up at about 01.30 and didn't sleep again
until about 04.30. I spent some of the time worrying about the quarantined
hotel opposite and whether or not I should cut and run while I had the
chance. The morning photo showed clouds - perfectly normal here. I breakfasted
at the hotel in order to recover gently from the lack of sleep. The buffet
wasn't particularly good. The congee was not in the same league as at the
YMCA and everything else was a trifle down at heel. I walked out of the
hotel into blazing sunshine. Perhaps I will need my umbrella to act as
a sunshade!
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Out of the window
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The Metropark Hotel
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The Metropark was still under lock and key and under surveillance by a
gaggle of new crews and photographers. I just hope they are feeding them
well in there - although later perusal of the morning paper suggests that
they are not. The café given the contract to cater for the hotel seems
to be ripping them off and supplying definitely substandard meals. Whilst
I can understand the authorities putting people in quarantine but they
have a duty to look after them well for the duration. This appears not
to be happening & has to be a black mark for the tourist industry.
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I crossed over Hennessey Road, took some photos off the footbridge and
found the Post Office. There, I bought stamps - only $3 for postcards to
the world at large. That seems very cheap.
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Hennessey Road over bridge
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The views from the bridge
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I stopped in Harcourt Gardens to admire the scenery, to check the map and
to plan the next hour's travel. I took photos of the trees and flowers
juxtaposed against the huge buildings.
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Above and left: Harcourt Gardens
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Immediately outside the gardens is Pacific Place, a huge and very smart
shopping Mall where there is a China Arts and Crafts. It was too early,
however, 10 am and the shop opened at 10.30.
I gave up, hopped onto a tram
to Central and found Marks & Spencers. This was NOT my reason for visiting
but it made a good photo opportunity.
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Stanley Street is the place to go on the Island for good camera shops. The story
was the same as elsewhere, however - "Sold out. Maybe next week." I think that
the search is over for this trip. I will wait for a few months
and see if the price of the lens falls as its availability increases. I
bought a morning paper and discovered that the $HK had fallen against the
£ and risen sharply against the $NZ. I will have to do some new calculations
when I am shopping.
A hot jasmine tea helped to revive me in a posh café, while I planned the
next stage of the trip. When I last visited the Island a year ago, the
Star Ferry terminal was almost hidden on the edge of a major land reclamation
project. A year later there has been some progress in that the land has
been reclaimed and has become an enormous building site. Gigantic piles
of reinforcing steel and steel pipes lie in wait for the next stage of
whatever is planned.
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Star Ferry Terminal
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Star Ferry Terminal clock tower
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Cause of the world steel shortage?
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Not to mention pipes!
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The ferry rushed me across the harbour, which was very busy with boats
of all shapes and sizes in evidence.
Some major new buildings are springing
up on the Kowloon shoreline. Perhaps it will soon rival that on the Island.
I could also see a large bridge in the haze at the West side of the harbour.
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Victoria Harbour
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A bridge through the haze
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No idea what this is
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As I emerged from one of the underpasses, I found an antique fire engine
parked in a small yard. This was hidden behind a fence and I couldn't approach
it without having the fence poles in my way. Just to prove a point, I took
the photo anyway, interrupted though it was.
Left: Captive fire engine
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My hotel from last time, the YMCA, has a good book shop so I popped in
to buy some post cards, which had been proving surprisingly difficult to
find. I passed by the Peninsula Hotel, with the fountain looking splendid
in the bright sunshine - quite a contrast from the gloom when I was here
four weeks ago. The MTR took me to Mong Kok where I quickly found a new
hard drive for my laptop, about $20 cheaper than I had seen anywhere else.
The next task was to find the shop where I had seen some very cheap cleavers
& other cooking knives on the last visit. This was less successful. As
I had failed to note down or otherwise remember the precise location, it
was needle in haystack territory. I gave up after about a quarter of an
hour of wandering from street corner to street corner.
Feeling the lack of sleep starting to bite, I caught the MTR back to Wan
Chai and collapsed in the Devil's Advocate for a German beer (expensive)
and a small Caesar salad (cheap) and just what I needed. I then retired
to my room to use the internet and to rest.
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Above: Mong Kok chaos
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Lunch at the Devil's Advocate
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followed by a lie down at the Wharney Guang Dong
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Two hours later, I emerged and started the half hour walk along Lockhart
Road to Causeway Bay in the hopes of finding a kitchen shop. I found wall
to wall building supply shops selling tiles, baths etc but no kitchen shops.
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Builder's merchants and chaos on Lockhart Road
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A quick wander around Time Square, which was busy as ever, produced nothing.
Bowrington Street Market is full of things to eat but no tools with which
to prepare it. I did find a smart knife shop on Hennessey Road, selling
hunting knives, pen knives and kitchen knives at prices not too different
from what I would find in a shop in the UK - although cheaper than in New
Zealand.
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Scaffolding store
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Tai Yuen Street Market
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Flowers at Time Square
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Tai Yuen Street Market
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I gave up the search, looked in numerous shoe shops, bag shops and the
Tai Yuen Street Market but came away empty handed. I even investigated
an Indian restaurant listed in the Lonely Planet but it appeared to have
been demolished since the book was written.
Now feeling tired, I had a beer in the local Irish pub and went to the
hotel to change for dinner. Jaffa Road, which runs along the back of the
hotel, contains many restaurants one of which, Cinta J, offers a mix of
Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippino food. I dined there last year
and was impressed so decided to return. I stuck to the Thai and had a medium
red curry which was, by any normal standard, hot. I probably could have
eaten it hot by their standards but it would have done me no good at all.
The food and service were both excellent. I will return.
Below and right: The Cinta J
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As I was about to order the bill, the band arrived. The leader, an elderly,
roundish Chinese with a pony tail, played a couple of amazing blues riffs on his
guitar and I was hooked. Alas, the trumpeter then started and he was to die for
- ie I wish he had died before he took up the trumpet. The leader remained
well clear of the stage, chatting to some friends at one of the tables,
and the band played a range of standards, with the drummer attempting,
but failing, to do a Phil Collins on vocals. Suitably disappointed, I finished
my beer and went home to bed.
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