I now have all 3 visas I need for my Trans-Siberian trip: Chinese, Mongolian and Russian. I’ve managed to get them faster than I expected so although I have no more direct business in Hong Kong I’ll stay until next week so I don’t run out of the 30 days on my Chinese visa.
Not that that is a bad thing, Hong Kong has surprised me by being a great place to visit and there are many things I’ve yet to see and do: the world’s longest escalator, the other side of Hong Kong island and the outer islands, the Star ferry and the trip up the peak at night….
I’ve been lucky that on my second full day here I met Chow Yin Ting (Edith) who spent her weekend and one evening showing me here home town and Cantonese cuisine. We had a ride on the Star ferry, saw a festival special music, fountain & firework display, drinks in the central business district, Tai Po Market, the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree, the Temple Street night markets, the Ladies Market, the Hong Kong Heritage Museam, Thai food in Kowloon City and the Chi Lin Nunnery.
By myself I’ve been up the peak, toured the central district, been to the bar strip of Wan Chai, the live Jazz at Ned Kelly’s Last Stand and had curry at the Chungking Mansions. Chungking is like nowhere else I know of. A large scruffy towerblock with a few floors of small shops at the bottom and residential accommodation above. Except many of the flats have been turned into guesthouses, business offices and Indian restaurants. Its and amazing place though I’m not sure I’d want to stay here. If you want to see something unique do a quick tour of this place before having a curry at the Delhi Club.
I’ll pad out this entry later and add some photos. Finally thanks again to Chow Yin Ting; as I predicted the guesthouses here are not good for meeting people and she has made a big difference to my time here.