Hong Kong! Wow! For those who have been here, you will know why I started like that. For those who have never been here, it is one place you should definitely put on your list of must see places, maybe your Bucket List if you have one. One week is definitely too short to see and do all the things you would want to here. It is not a place one can describe in mere words. You really have to be here. For me, it has been refreshing to come here after two months in deep China, with so many physical, cultural and environmental differences from my homeland. Here in Hong Kong, vehicles drive on the left hand side of the road, cars give way to pedestrians on crossings, both drivers and pedestrians obey the traffic laws - well, as much as they do anywhere. As in London, it is expected that pedestrians will where possible walk on the right hand side of the footpath, and ride escalators on the right. The double decker buses have fully upholstered seats with head rests, and dont bounce and rattle as they do in Zhengzhou. Most people, except a few in the smallest, most Chinese restaurants and stores and a few taxi-drivers, speak some English. Many speak it well. The air is fairly clean, though after the influence of Typhoon Haiyan this week it is still a bit hazy, but not dirty! There is an abundance of international restaurants, not just McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks. I had dinner tonight in a Japanese restaurant. Near my hotel is a Korean restaurant. There are Italian, Thai, Indian, Mexican and French restaurants. I stopped for a snack last night at a bar where most of the staff were friendly Filipino people. They could speak English too! Unfortunately, friendliness amongst service people generally leaves something to be desired. Most of the Chinese people in restaurants, taxis and other stores tend to be rather gruff and unsmiling, with the exception of a beautiful elderly Chinese couple in a tiny shop where I was browsing a couple of days ago. They couldnt have been more kind, patient, friendly and helpful. I finally bought a couple of lovely items there at very good prices, and the lady cheerfully packaged and gift-wrapped them (unnecessarily, as they werent gifts), so they would be kept safe while travelling. In every place, and in every culture, there are always wonderful people who help maintain your faith in the good that is within everyone. Because of the inclement weather earlier in the week, a few of the things I wanted to see had to be left until the last two days. Trying to cram everything in is difficult. I finished an open-bus tour of Hong Kong today, which was delightful, taking us through some of the back streets I would never otherwise have seen, and explaining so much of the culture and history of each part of the city. I took the tramcar up the steep sides of Mt Victoria to the Peak, and enjoyed the magnificent views there. I bought a beautiful original oil painting from a Mr Chan there, who was the actual artist. A pure gentleman, it was a pleasure to hand over $200 HK (about $32 AUD) to him after we had chatted for a little while. Framing is dirt cheap in Zhengzhou, so I will soon have his beautiful painting to hang on one of the drab walls of my apartment. I think original art is one of the best kinds of souvenirs of any place you may visit in the world, and tends not to be very expensive. Tomorrow I will be squeezing in a trip to Lantau Island to take the cable car up the mountain to see Ngong Ping Village and Big Buddha. It will have to be a rush, because if possible I want to take the Harbour Cruise I have actually paid for in my tour package, and constantly run out of time to do! At last, near the end of the day, I will get the ferry back to Zhuhai, meet David Gibbons there to stay with him for the night, going to Shenzhen the following day, and stay overnight in a hotel before getting on the high speed train to Zhengzhou on Sunday morning. And I will also be taking with me my z-visa, my working visa, which I have waited so long to get, so within the next 30 days I can go through the formality of obtaining the official residency certificate to enable me to live and work in China for one year.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:14:02 +0000
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