I stayed at the Renaissance Kowloon Hotel which was in Kowloon near to Victoria Harbour. The hotel took a deposit of HK$3500 which took half of my moeny to start with and because the prices in the hotel being so expensive I wanted to go to cheaper places but because of this had to use some of it for meals but got my laundry done which I needed to do anyway so not all bad. Instead of walking around with a map I decided to book some tours to different places and on the Tuesday have a stroll around the harbour. I booked to go to Lantau Island in Hong Kong, a tour around Hong Kong, train tickets to go to Guangzhou, tour of Macau and a tour of Shenzhen. I would have liked to have gone to Shanghai or Beijing on the train but it was about HK$4500 return just for a few hours or pay out for a hotel to stay the night so I thought it wasn’t worth it and I would be most of my time on a train when I can be exploring other places.
The tour to Lantau Island set off at 8:25am. The first place they took us to were the Avenue of Stars which is an avenue dedicated to the Hong Kong film stars with hand prints, a little bit like Hollywood. They then took us on a boat cruise to the other side of Lantau Island which wasn’t very good as all you saw was grass and hills. They said we would see dolphins but nobody saw any. When we got to the other side of Lantau Island we stopped off at the Tai O Fishing Village which is a big fish market where they sell all types of fish and other products. The market was very old and the guide told us that the fishing villages are getting fewer due to modernisation in Hong Kong so in a few years the village will have probably been built over. The next place we went to was the Po Lin Monastery which has the biggest Buddha statue in the world called Sakyamuni Buddha. We had a vegetarian lunch in the monastery which was quite nice and then we went to the Ngong Ping Village which has the 360 ̊cable car. We went on the cable car which lasted 25 minutes and took you over Lantau Island. You could see over the entirety of the airport and all the apartments that was on the island. You could also see people walking on the path that went over the hills directly below the cable car. I got back to my hotel at about 5pm. The day was quite good but I felt as if I still hadn’t really seen Hong Kong. Also I had to give my passport in to get a Chinese visa so I can go to Guangzhou which I thought was a bit strange as Hong Kong now belongs to China.
I went on another tour on Tuesday around Hong Kong itself. Firstly you went to the Man Mo Temple which literally means Literature and Martial Arts. The temple is well known for burning lots of incense which people did in handfuls. I could hardly breathe. Next we went to Victoria Peak on the steepest funicular railway in the World. We went to 428 metres in the air and I thought we were going to get some great views but because of the so called haze (smog) we couldn’t see hardly anything which was a shame. After that we went to the Aberdeen Fishing Village which is like the Tai O Fishing Village but for HK$55 you could go on a cruise round the Fishing Village in a sampan and see all the boats and fishermen at work. The tour said we should drive through Repulse Bay but we only got a catching glimpse as we came down a hill so I think that was a bit of a con. Next we went to Stanley Market which was very nice and probably a highlight of the tour. Nice shops with nice people that didn’t hassle you to buy things which is a bit different to what you get in Africa. The tour was alright but nothing special. After this he was supposed to drop us off at our hotels but I got off earlier and decided to walk to Victoria Harbour and go on the Star Ferry. I took a photograph of the clock tower and waited for the boat. I could not prepare myself for what was going to happen next. They called it “A Symphony of Lights” and it is probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Music, lights, Victoria Harbour and some of the best buildings in the World. Just amazing, you would have had to have been there to really take in the brilliance of it all. Probably the highlight of the whole holiday. If you ever go to Hong Kong do all the sight seeing at night as it is quite amazing how all the buildings are lit up.
On Tuesday I decided to go around Hong Kong and take the MTR to Hong Kong Island which is at the other side of Victoria Harbour, I was staying in Kowloon. I squashed myself onto the train as there were lots of people wanting the same train. I went around the 3 most interesting buildings in Hong Kong which are the Central Plaza, Bank of China Tower and the International Finance Centre which is the tallest building in Hong Kong. I went up to the 56th floor in the Central Plaza where there is a city view. I then went back to hotel and relaxed and watched a film. After that I had my dinner and that was my day over.
On Wednesday I went to Guangzhou in China and I could not believe that you had to get a Chinese Visa as I thought Hong Kong now belonged to China but I daredn't complain. They checked your passport coming out and going back in. You had to fill out and immigration card both ways. I got to Guangzhou and I was quite disappointed as the only good thing I could find was the park at the side of the railway station with the high buildings around it Every where else seemed to be closed or dangerous.
On Thursday I went to the Chinese city of Shenzhen which has a population of 12 million people and 1 in 3 mobile phones in the world are made here. The city is full of factories that make cars, mobile phones and other items. The factory workers do a 12 hour day and sleep in dormitories next to the factory. As well as that there are some nice parks to look at. I got on the tour bus at 12:15pm outside the hotel and that took me to the ferry terminal in Hong Kong. We all then had to go through all the procedure of immigration even though we was going to a city in the same country. It took us 2 hours to reach Shekou by boat and then we got on to another coach which took us to the Nuwa statue. The statue is of one of the first Chinese Gods with a lower body of a dragon. Next we went to the Mangrove Forest which was nice but a bit boring as there was nothing there and no real reason why we were there. The we went to Splendid China which is two parks stuck together, one half of the park shows China's different cultures and the other half is a miniture size of the famous places in China such as the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. I found the park very interesting as it showed all of China in the different houses people live in and what there is in China. After looking round the park we had Dinner which was a really nice Chinese buffet. After dinner we went to see the Dancing with the Dragon and the Phoenix Show which was superb and probably with out it the day would of been quite flat and bland. After that we got the train back to Hung Hom, Hong Kong and a coach was there to take us back to our hotels.
On Friday I went to Macau, the city with 28 casinos. The first thing we did was go and see the ruins of St. Paul's Roman Catholic church that got burnt down so many times that they gave up rebuilding it but still stands the facade of the building with original carvings in it. Next we went in the Museum of Macau which was boring to be honest but I am not a museum person unless there is something famous in it. It had sketches and drawings from the artists that lived in Macau. As well as that there was information about the culture and people that live in Macau and the history and what kinds of people lived in Macau when it was founded. On top of the Museum there is an old fortress that Macau used from 1617 to 1626 as a primary defense position as it covered 10,000 square metres. Next we went to the Temple of A-Ma which like all the other temples they burn incense and give offerings. Next we went to the highlight of the tour which was the Macau Tower. We went to the 58th floor which is 223 metres from the ground. I also went even higher to the 62nd floor which has an outside observation deck but because of the haze (smog) you could not see anything. You could see most things on the ground from the 58th floor but you could not see into the distance because of the haze (smog) which was a shame. There was also some glass floors so you would be walking for a few feet and then it would seem that the floor had vanished. Scary. We had a lovely dinner on the top floor of the Babylon Casino in Macau before going into the Casino and seeing some people lose some money which was fun. We then all went back to our hotels and I got back to mine at about 7pm.
Hong Kong is a very nice city and so is Macau but I think that is because it has been westernised. Mainland China is a different ball game completely.Hong Kong and Macau are in China but it is like they are different countries to China with checking passports, going through immigration and the way that you are treated differently in Mainland China than in Macau and Hong Kong. People tend to stare at you, may be because they have been so isolated for so long and haven't seen anyone from other parts of the world. I definitely felt threatened by the gangs of people on the street and the police didn't look very official. I would advise if you go to China on your own to go with a tour or only keep to the big cities such as Beijing or Shanghai as there are tourist spots and things to do there. All the other places really are just for shopping and don't have really anything for a tourist. Hong Kong was superb and I would advise anyone going there to go to every part of the city because there is something every where you go. Macau was alright but there is nothing there really apart from casinos so I would recommend that to all the gambling people. The tower is good but that alone would make you visit Macau but not stay in it.
Next is Singapore for 15 nights so I have the time now to do what I planned to do which is go to Pulau Bintan, Indonesia - Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth (Penang), Malaysia - Bangkok, Thailand. After that I will go around Singapore itself and then hopefully I will have some time to relax as the last 3 weeks has been quite hectic. I will let you know how I get on and put a separate post for each new country.
Take care.
Robert.
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