Left Sydney 25 minutes late and after a lazy 9 hours and 30ish minutes arrived to a hazy hot Hong Kong.
Chez came up with the idea of finding 50 new experiences to include on this blog rather than writing a direct account, the timeframe is 25 days. So aside from heat rash (which to be fair is not a new experience) here is a couple to get things going.
1st Experience. Kowloon Park 3rd June.
We thought we would head off, on foot, to the famed Temple street night markets in the Kowloon area. With our map in hand we also managed to stumble across and through Kowloon park right in the centre of town. Amazed at some familiar sounds from home in the summer. Confused as to whether the cicadas and koels we were hearing were real or being played over speakers. A bit of an oasis in the middle of the high rise jungle that is Hong Kong and a popular meeting place for the locals.
2nd Experience. Temple Street Night Markets. 3rd June.
As with most of Hong Kong, Temple Street was a neon wonderland. The usual stalls you find at most asian markets and the culinary delights from local family run eating houses spilling out onto the pavement. After being harassed or was it persuaded by the waitress we dined on very yummy but rather overpriced steamed fish amongst other Cantonese delicacies. Nothing too adventurous though. The giant sea cucumber in the shell served whole on the plate just didn't appeal to the senses.
3rd Experience. Crazy double decker bus ride. 4th June.
Crazy double decker bus ride from the peak tram station back to central ferry wharf. John stuffed about with getting the right money together to pay for the ride, which in hindsight might have added to the drivers level of agitation....don't even think about getting any change! The Victoria peak was something else, there was even a bit of breeze that cleared the smog and haze away so we had a pretty decent view of the surrounds. The tram was pretty crazy too, but only because of the steepness of the track. Thankfully there weren't too many bends on the ride back on the 15C bus cause we would have toppled for sure, motorists beware as the driver decided lanes were for pussies!
4th Experience. Peking duck 4 4. 4th June.
Tang Court restaurant. We could have gone to one of ten thousand cheaper places to eat before jetting off to Milan, but we decide to try the Peking duck at the afore mention Michelin 5star Tang Court cantonese restaurant. Everyone was really friendly and the menu was about the size of the Britannica atlas. But we new what we were having before we sat down, it had to be their world famous Peking duck! This had been recommended to us before we left for HK and the matre'de was especially impressed with our selection. What seemed to go unobserved was the quantity of food involved. Not surprisingly I suppose, the locals seem to think we Aussies can tuck away pretty much a whole cow at each sitting, so didn't bat an eyelid when we ordered something as modest as a duck between 2. When it came out for the dissection process, we noticed they must grow ducks pretty big in these parts. Whilst I will never see a dodo I figure this thing was somewhere between the size of one of those and a petite emu! Anyway needless to say it was all delicious and everyone pandered to our every need. Hopefully the staff had a good feed from the left overs!
1:00am flight to Milan, a mere 12 & a half hours away.
Until next time,
Arrivederci, John & Chez.
No comments:
Post a Comment