Such is the popularity of Chiang Mai (Thailand) with the Chinese, that Air Asia operates direct flights between CM and Hong Kong as well as other Chinese cities. The early flight, which gives more of the day in Hong Kong, unfortunately means a dawn journey to the airport. In fact, I was there so early that the check-ins weren't yet open and we had to wait for staff to arrive before we could pass though immigration too!
On arrival in Hong Kong, I took the Airport Express train (HK$100) then transferred to the underground MTR (Mass Transit Rail system) where I learnt Lesson #1: that the barging to board the train, which I'd experienced at the airport, is not due to 'foreigners' but is how the 'locals' behave - in fact like passengers on the London Underground during peak periods.
Due
entirely to my tiredness (and an errant finger click) when making the online
hotel booking, I ended up staying in a hotel overlooking the Happy Valley
Racecourse on Hong Kong Island, away from one the more central area where I had
intended to stay. Consequently, I
purchased an Octopus travel card as I had no choice but to be a frequent user
of the metro and bus systems for the duration of my stay if I wanted to visit the many attractions the islands have to offer. This card proved invaluable as I could use it
to pay for goods and services too, such as: shopping at 7-11 or buying a museum
ticket.
I was due to meet up with my brother as we had recently realised that our travels could cross paths over this November weekend. Not having seen each other for almost 6 months, we spent the first part of our time together chatting away in an interesting little Chinese place called the People's Book Cafè. The menu was stuck into the pages of a Chinese children's book. It's fair to say that the cafè was really more of a bookshop, selling memorabilia related to Chairman Mao and a fairly eclectic selection of other Chinese books and items. Still, it more than adequately served its purpose.
Bemoaning the worsening state of my iPhone battery life, I perked up when Chris suggested visiting the Apple Store just around the corner. However, as we approached, we could see an extensive queue inside the shop and a pavement full of people selling iPhone 6 and 6+ from boxes and suitcases outside the store.
Apparently, due to restricted supplies, the new phones
are only available for purchasing online from the store from 8am and sell out
within minutes. Many successful
purchasers immediately go outside to resell their new phones at about the equivalent of a £100 mark-up. We haggled a bit but decided it wasn't worth the extra cost when compared with ordering online.
We wandered back through Times Square, noticing the progress in Christmas decorations. Then we headed off towards Victoria Harbour but, because travelling in different time zones seems to trigger hunger for some reason, we found a great restaurant and whiled away a further couple of hours eating, chatting and sampling various cheap beers. The bill was interesting -I think it was just the fact that it came to hundreds of "dollars" that made us think it was massively expensive! On the other hand, having lived in Thailand for a couple of months, anything would seem costly.
The next item on our agenda was a taxi ride up to The Peak. The spectacular views across Hong Kong were being enjoyed by hundreds of people. We could even see the light show around Victoria Harbour. Meanwhile, from other vantage points we could see the lights of ships out at sea. When the breeze got a little cool for us, we headed into the shopping centre for a browse before finally sharing a taxi with a lovely couple from the Phillipines who offered their recommendations for must-see Hong Kong attractions.
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