Our Asian Holiday: Part One

2008-02-29T23:38:00.005+10:00

Hi Everyone

This is our first foray into the world of blogging.... so here goes!

Earlier this year we took a 10-day break and visited Hong Kong (6 days) and Singapore (3 days).

Hong Kong

During our time in Hongkers we stayed at the Stanford Hillview in TST (Tsim Sha Tsui). Its one of the most densely populated locations in the world with approximately 40,000 per square km. It was mostly crowded in the shops and on Nathan Road, Kowloon.

Hong Kong Disneyland
Our first full day was spent at Hong Kong Disneyland. Paul was really impressed that the train taking commuters to Disneyland was in Mickey Mouse style. Then at the entrance there was a whale with Mickey surfing on the spout (see pic).

There were the usual things you expect to see at Disney... lots of lines! We enjoyed the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride, Merry Go Round, Jungle Safari Boat Tour and the Jungle Boy Tree House.

It would have been a lot more fun if we had taken a kid with us... any kid!

Many of major rides had lines taking at least an hour. We weren't that keen to go on everything.

The Mickey Christmas parade was an amazing experience also. It lasted for about 20 mins and had dancers and special Christmas themed floats. We were most impressed!

The Big Buddha and Ngong Ping Cable Car

A day after indulging in the worldly pursuits of Disney, we returned again to Lantau Island but this time visited the Big Buddha. On the way we took advantage of the Ngong Ping Cable Car from Tung Chung, over the ocean, over the mountains and down to the village where the Buddha is. Paul had sweaty palms during the entire 20 min journey. He is usually afraid of heights, but he was also aware that one of the cable cars had fallen off the cable line six months previous to our trip. So he was a little nervous! The visit to the Big Buddha was one of the highlights of our trip.

The big Buddha is a massive bronze status on top of a large hill. Inside the statue there is information on the Buddhist religion as well as a visitors shop. It was a good experience.

The Peak
Our next major visit was to the Hong Kong Island Peak. The Peak is approximately 500m above sea level and most tourists take the Peak Tram up a 45 degree incline to the Summit. From

the Peak on a clear day you can see all the way to China. We were lucky it was one of those days. It was a crisp winter's day.

Shopping

During our visit to Hong and Singapore, Paul believed we did quite a lot of shopping. But according to Rebecca they did hardly any! Who would you believe! One of the highlights was for Bec to be measured up by Sam's Tailor in TST. Sam provides the tailored suits for the royal family, presidents and prime ministers of the world. You would not know by the look of the dingy little arcade. On the walls of the small shop are faded pictures of famous people getting measured up by Mr Sam. We found him to be quite a perfectionist and would be a challenging person to work for. He scolded one of his staff in front of us for arriving about five minutes late!

We also had the opportunity to visit the Jade Market. Its located in a place called Jordan on the MTR. When we arrived we could see at least 30 shops selling Jade but it appeared nobody was interested in doing the hard-sell on us. We eventually found a place we were comfortable with and brought some jade bangles.

While staying in TST, Paul found it a real challenge to avoid the street hawkers selling suits, fake Rolex watches and everything else. When leaving the hotel early in the morning or returning late at night there would be the same gentleman approaching Paul to see if he needed a suit or a shirt etc.

There were also night markets which were open until midnight. Rebecca really loved these and if she was with another female would spend much more time shopping!

Macau

Macau is a SAR (Special Administrative Region) and has a very similar relationship to Mainland China as does Hong Kong. The former Portuguese Colony is most commonly known for the Grand Prix and Casinos.

Paul was looking forward to taking Rebecca to visit the old Macau fort, Cathedral Ruins and Mediterranean style streets and buildings. Unfortunately in only a few years Macau has turned into a dirty, smoggy and congested city with very poor public infrastructure. The smog and congestion had taken away much of its former charm.

Church
Paul was keen to visit with the same congregation that he knew while he lived in Hong Kong from 2000 - 2001. The old Kom Tong chapel in the Midlevels has made way for a new building in Wanchai that opened in 2005. http://www.lds.org.hk/english/features/wan_chai_church_building.htm

He recognised a few people, but many had moved away. Hong Kong can be a transient place - especially for Westerners.

Stanley
One of the highlights for us was to visit Stanley. We caught a ride on a double-decker bus, sitting on the top deck enjoying the narrow mountain roads and hairpin turns. Stanley is a coastal community on the southern end of Hong Kong Island. In facing away from mainland China it seems to avoid the pollution that affects other parts of the Island. We visited Murray House which included a maritime museum and bookstore. Murray House has its own interesting history on the following link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_House

Leaving Hong Kong

The first two days we found it a challenge getting accustomed to Hong Kong as a tourist. By day-three we were settling in and taking things at our own pace. We could have stayed longer than six days. There is a lot to see and experience in Hong Kong. But we had a great time.

For the most part we were treated very well by those we came in contact with.

Our taxi to the airport took only 30 mins. It was amazing to see the massive suspension bridges and buildings being built. The Chinese get on with things in a big way.

The second part of our blog will be our visit to Singapore. Stay tuned!

Davies Blog

Our Asian Holiday: Part One