Hong Kong

1-6 February 2010

Day One
Arrived in Hong Kong and made our way straight to our hostel, located in the Kowloon District inside the infamous Chung King Mansions, a dilapidated building crammed with budget accommodation, curry houses, mobile phone shops and foreign exchange offices. It is absolute mayhem, with stallholders shouting out their wares and hawkers loitering at the entrance to overwhelm visitors with offers of "cheap rooms", "nice suits" or "copy watches, copy bags". Our room was one of the seediest I have ever had the pleasure of staying in - a narrow, windowless cell only just big enough for two single beds and an ensuite. I use this term loosely since it was actually a toilet, sink and shower head squeezed into one square metre of space in the corner of the room. Quite literally a water closet.

Headed out for a look around; strolled up Nathan Road, the main drag in Kowloon, and stopped in a middle-eastern restaurant for dinner. We chose deep-fried spare ribs and minted yoghurt; ratatouille served with warm pitta bread; and a platter of feta cheese, cucumber, tomatoes and olives. It was nice to have fresh salad again - started having withdrawal symptoms in China!

Day Two
Invited to lunch with Roz's family friend SL today. What an experience - a real Chinese banquet. SL ordered a huge variety of dishes so that we could try a bit of everything! We started with cantonese roast pork served with shredded jellyfish which is actually a type of seaweed (I read somewhere that everyone should try this in Hong Kong). I can definitely recommend it - salty and savoury with an unusual texture, soft but substantial at the same time. Dim sum followed shortly after: steamed prawn dumplings and vegetable spring rolls. The main course was stir-fried beef with asparagus, crispy-skinned roast chicken and Chinese greens sauteed with garlic. This was served with fried seafood rice which arrived in hollowed out pineapple. To finish, SL ordered chilled mango pudding, a cross between jelly and pannacotta filled with small pieces of fresh mango, and the best egg tart I have ever eaten. Everything was delicious and there was a real sense of ceremony to the whole meal; jasmine tea was served throughout and Roz and I were always given the first taste of every new dish as it arrived. I just hope our occasional battles with our chopsticks didn't let us down!

Spent the afternoon at Ladies Market dodging the aggressive sales pitch as much as was possible then, in the evening, took the star ferry across Victoria Harbour to meet my family friend Zoe in Lan Kwai Fong, the main bar and restaurant district. We got tipsy on wine while Zoe, who has been living in Hong Kong for several years now, told us about all the must-see attractions in the city. Finished the evening with noodles in a small Peking restaurant in Soho before taking the last ferry back to Kowloon, soaking up the city's illuminated skyline across the water.

Day Three
Visited Lantau Island today to see the Big Buddha. Took the 360 cable car up and luckily the pollution cleared and the sun came out so we got a beautiful view of the green mountains stretching before us. Once at the top, we climbed the 250 steps up to Tian Tan (the big buddha), visited the colourful Po Lin Monastery and walked up to Wisdom Path, a collection of narrow wooden pillars carved with messages from the Heart Sutra, a Buddhist scripture. It would have been a peaceful and scenic spot had there not been construction work going on (story of our lives so far on this trip!) Parts of it were untouched though, the pillars rising ominously out of the mist enveloping the peaks of the surrounding mountains.

That evening, we were taken out to dinner by Brendan, another family friend of Roz (we really are being spoilt in Hong Kong!) Went to an amazing restaurant with turntables and two sets of chopsticks for each diner (one for serving, one for eating - a system which caused us no end of confusion!)

To start, we ate crispy pork dipped in fiery mustard, followed by duck pancakes. The remaining duck was then stir-fried with garlic, ginger, spring onion and mushrooms and served with lettuce leaves and hoi sin sauce for everyone to make their own wraps. It was divine. Main course was razor clams, Chinese broccoli and cantonese beef steak, all of it delicious. To finish, we had out first taste of sweet soup: waterchesnut, which was as a savoury Chinese soup in terms of texture but sweeter in taste, and red bean soup, which was a bit too earthy for my tastes. This was followed by small glutinous doughnuts filled with almond paste, walnut biscuits and fresh watermelon. Returned to our little room feeling very full, more than a little tipsy and clutching a doggy bag!!

Day Four
Repulse Bay today - a picturesque bay on the other side of Hong Kong island. Crossed Longevity Bridge (which promises to prolong life for three days) before taking the bus along the coast to Stanley where there is a market ideal for souvenir hunters.

That evening, we watched the Symphony of Lights across the harbour which somehow wasn't as impressive as it should have been. Personally, I think the waterfront is impressive enough without the additional garish green lighting and music more suited to an amusement arcade.

Day Five
Spent the morning at the Botanical and Zoological Gardens being entertained by the monkeys. Then on to the Peak Tram, a slightly disconcerting experience - how is it possible to travel uphill at an almost vertical angle but at the speed of a milk float? There are even stops halfway up. Thought we might roll all the way back down to the bottom at one point! Arrived at the top and looked out to see mist. Just mist. And lots of it. The view was non-existant and, since the only alternatives seemed to be either shopping or eating, we just had some lunch and headed back down.

Day Six
Final day in Hong Kong. Had an incredible lunch in Lan Kwai Fong, in a Vietnamese restaurant called Nha Trang. The bright airy feel, stripped wooden floors and pale pannelled walls made it feel as though we were eating in a stylish and expensive beach house. The food was incredible. I chose bun - cold vermicelli noodle salad garnished with huge grilled prawns, cripsy fried shallots and crushed peanuts.

After lunch, we went to Man Mo - a tiny temple crammed between the skyscrapers - to light incense sticks and see the huge incense coils hanging from the ceiling. Didn't stay long since the perfumed air had a distinctly choking effect so took a stroll along nearby Cut Street Market, full of antiques and high quality souvenirs, not the gaudy tat available from most. Then it was time to head to the airport and board a plane for the next leg of our adventure - farewell Hong Kong, Australia here we come!