Hong Kong

Distance from Mumbai: 2,679 miles/4,312 kms.

Around midnight, the brand new Mr & Mrs Akshay Kamath left home for the international airport to board a flight to Hong Kong. Reaching HK took hours during which we dined, watched some movies and kept peeking out of the flight window to see if the view had changed from clouds to anything better.

After a long, long time the clouds gave way to a lovely green ocean far below us. As we got closer I could also see some ships a-sailing and, in the distance, HK airport.

VIEW FROM PEAK TOWER

When compared to Mumbai Airport, HK airport seemed quite boring. But that’s probably because we were very tired and very, very irritated with the authorities at the chinese airport. They were cold, rude and do nothing to put people at ease. We were detained for some ‘routine checking’, they said, but gave no explanation whatsoever about anything nor did they answer any of our queries.

After they were done with us, we found our way to the exit. Having no loose change for the ticket vending machine, we stepped out of the airport and decided to hail a cab. What hit us first was the icy, cold breeze. Apparently, it was mid-winter in HK and we were totally un-prepared for it. Sat huddled together in the cab and stared out at the buildings passing by. Considering that this was my first trip abroad, these were the tallest buildings I’d ever seen. Also the prettiest. HK is really ‘wow’!

Soon, we were in Wan Chai, where we had booked ourselves into the Wharney Guang Dong Hotel. The hotel is quite impressive with a pretty lobby, polite staff and pleasant rooms. Our room was on the 10^th floor and it had a huge window overlooking the main street far below.

NIGHT LIGHTS

Wan Chai is said to be the red light district of HK, but it’s nothing like the red light areas of Mumbai. There are no dingy, crowded quarters with half-clad women standing at the doors awaiting clients. The streets in Wan Chai, like everywhere else in HK, were clean and lined with numerous eating houses and pubs. During the day it’s rather quiet and we could see many stylishly-clad people walking about on their way to work or shopping maybe. All pubs come alive at night. Not only the pubs, the entire city dazzles with innumerable lights. HK at night is a totally different world. It’s like stepping out into fairyland. Everywhere we looked there were brightly lit buildings, stores packed with all sorts of interesting goodies, pubs filled with the sounds of glasses clinking and people chatting and laughing gaily. There are skimpily-clad, yet very pretty women standing at the entrances to many pubs/bars/dance houses offering all kinds of services to anyone interested.

FAST FOOD

But it wasn’t any of these that held our attention. We were drawn by the delicious sight of meats displayed at most of the eating-houses. HK is a non-vegetarian’s paradise that offers the most burp-a-licious food. There’s much to choose from – pork, beef, duck, goose, chicken, squid  but thankfully, no snake. And the portions they serve are huge, much to my delight. There are many options for those who want to dine on genuine chinese cuisine, but for those who pine for something more familiar, there’s always a Subway or an McDonald’s to serve their needs.

During our stay, we frequented a wonderful,little place right across the street from our hotel. It’s called Hay Hay’s Kitchen. The food there is absolutely yummy. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Then we also enjoyed many a ‘beef meatball marinara’ at Subway and, more often than not, after dinner, we ended our days with some heavenly strawberry milkshake form McDonalds.

OUR FIRST CHINESE DINNER

Travelling around in HK isn’t a problem. There are indicators and direction markers at every street corner. Traffic is fairly heavy, but people here follow all traffic rules. There’s no honking, no garbage strewn around, no beggars and almost everybody follows the traffic signals. There are buses, but according to us, the best mode of transport is the MTR. This is an experience in itself. It’s an absolute pleasure!

TEMPLE STREET

Apart from rambling through the streets and eating, we did do a spot of sight-seeing. One evening, we took the MTR to Yau Ma Tei and then, after feasting on the yummiest ‘beef rice’ we had ever eaten, we walked on to Temple Street Market. This is like HK’s version of our Crawford Market, I thought. The stalls start up late int eh evening and go on until way after mid-night. Apart from the usual shoes, clothes, trinkets, and food, this palce is famous for sale of ‘sex toys’. We walked by plenty of street stalls openly advertising and selling a wide variety of those unmentionables. We kept walking until we reached Jordan where Akshay went in for a not-so-enjoyable foot massage before taking the MTR back to Wan Chai.

FROM THE CABLE CAR

What we did like was our visit to The Giant Buddha. To get there we had to take the MTR to Tung Yung station. Next, we had a very long and enjoyable in the ‘crystal cabin’ of a cable car from Tung Yung to Ngong-Ping Village. The village has pretty paved streets lined with many restaurants, souvenir shops and also a Bodhi Tree. There’s also a little theatre that prforms stories from the Jataka Tales.

BUDDHA

 Standing at the feet of the Buddha was a nice experience and I wanted to just sit there for a long time. Not because any religious sentiments, but more because I was very tired climbing the many stairs to get to the giant Buddha. Moreover, the clouds actually floated around us as we stood taking in the beautiful view from up there.

Back at Tung Yung station we decided to try the famous Haagen Dazs ice-cream. Good, but not the best.

ROLLER COASTER, OCEAN PARK

However, the ‘snow cones’ at Ocean Park were worth every icy bite. Also the grilled squid looked delicious, but I tried the fish balls in curry. Tasty, but I was just hoping that they weren’t really what the title said they were. Was a little reluctant to eat them until Akshay convinced me that fish did not have…er..balls. We then enjoyed a few rides and watched a nice dolphin and sea lion show at this amusement park. All-in-all, we thought that Essel World offers much more by way of fun rides and activities. Anyway, purchased some crocodile caps for the kids back home and took a bus to Admiralty and from there, the MTR to Wan Chai.

HK BOTANICAL GARDENS

            We also walked to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden and, after roaming in these well manicured gardens, we took the Peak Tram to Mme Tussauds- the wax museum that houses life like statues of famous personalities, both national and international.

            Then, at the end of our stay in HK, we took the Airport Express that takes you straight into the airport, and awaited our flight back to good ol’ Mumbai.
          
                   
                  
            
             P.S: Pics' by Akshay & Misha