Despite having been upgraded to a Club Room on the top (18th) floor, despite having a TV in the wall at the end of the bath etc, we woke up to reality this morning. No complimentary breakfast and no guide ad driver to whisk as away on our tour.
We had to go and find a breakfast place, I’d rather starve than pay the hotels US $40 each for a buffet breakfast! After that we had to find the nearest MTR (Metro / Tube / Subway) station an learn how to use it. Hong Kong has a vast public transport system used by over 90% of the population to get to and from work and seems to work very well. We bought an Octopus Card (Oyster for the Brits). It costs HK$50 which you get back when you hand it in after the last trip plus HK$100 for fares. Any unused fare money is also refunded when you hand back the card. With card in hand you just tap it on the gate when you enter and leave a station and it decrease the amount of credit by the cost of the fare and also displays the amount left at the gate.
First we headed up to a market area at Shim Sham Po where there were both fabric and electronics markets. Lyn managed to by a few metres of material, then we headed to the nearby electronics market. Most stalls were closed!!! They didn’t open until 11AM… not amused! There were a few stalls open, enough to prove to me that eBay is just as cheap, if not cheaper. Plus with eBay, if it doesn’t work you have some recourse.
Market Area and Fabric Stall
From there we headed south, under Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island where we got on the Hop-on-Hop-Off bus. Our first stop was he Peak Tram, which climbs up 12ooft in around 1.4km, that should satisfy both imperial and metric users! From the top there should be fantastic views of the area, but the pollution put paid to that today.
The Tram
The Pollution
Back onto the bus for our next stop, Aberdeen Harbour and a Sampan ride.
Sampan
Sampan Driver
Sampan Ceiling
Hong Kong’s Largest Floating Restaurant
We continued on the bus back to our starting point, general views below
hon Kong Eye??
Hillside Cemetery
Beach
Lutheran Church
At the end of the tour we had about an hour to spare before starting on a night tour. I thought there may be some geocaches around, and sure enough there was on 27 metres away, unfortunately it seemed to have disappeared! All was not lost though as there was another one 300 metres away. It was placed under a seat on a pier, unfortunately there were a couple sitting on the seat! Luckily they didn’t seem to appreciate our presence and moved away after a coupe of minutes. Our first Hong Kong Cache
Chinese Junk
Cruise Ship
Lights
Ladies Market at Night.
After Shanghai, Hong Kong’s lights were somewhat disappointing.
We headed back on the MTR and got some some dinner n the way, arriving back some 12 hours after we started.
Time to rest!