The Last Day

Today is the last day in Hong Kong and in fact the last day of the holiday. Sylvia is ready to be home, a month is a long time to away. After having a little lie-in this morning we decided to have breakfast in the hotel. Although this was a little pricey it was a good buffet that meant we didn't need to eat until we got to the airport. After having a quick walk around the block to look at the harbour and shops we returned to pack. As always we had much more to take back than we had brought but it all got in somehow. We had arranged a late check-out which meant we could stay in the room until 4.00pm but as the car was due at 8.30 this gave us plenty of time to kill.

We spent the early afternoon exploring the pool area, today being the only day when the weather had been good enough. We would have enjoyed these facilities if it had remained dry during our stay. We then returned to the room and watched TV and waited until our baggage was picked up. After spending around an hour in a coffee shop, we sat in the lobby of the hotel watching the comings and goings on a busy Saturday evening. The car arrived early and we were at the airport by 8.45, sat in the lounge eating sandwiches and drinking tea.

I have enjoyed writing about the holiday and I hope that you have all enjoyed reading the entries, even if they were a little boring at times. Thanks to all those who made comments and registered as followers,by the way who is Tigi-S? Now where shall we go for our next holiday????

Day Thirty-One – Victoria Peak

Firstly an apology regarding the layout of yesterday’s entry. I am using “Live Writer” in order that I can compose off-line and only go onto the internet to publish. When I reviewed the page it seemed okay but when it was posted the format changed, it’s something to do with the photos I think!! Having now spent several days in HK without leaving Kowloon we thought it was time to visit HK island. The day had started off promisingly weather-wise so as we walked to catch the Star ferry we thought we had made a good decision. The ferries leave about every 10 minutes and the short journey across the harbour takes about the same time. We walked from the quayside towards the Peak Tram terminus along the covered walkway that leads you through different office blocks,shops and skyscrapers. Without making too many wrong turns we reached the end only to find it had started raining.

The peak tram has been in operation since 1888 and takes you up around 400m to the viewing point. The best views of the city’s skyline and the harbour are reckoned to seen from this vantage point, but not today!!! The following photo shows the view we had.We spent a while looking at the shops and having a cup of coffee, but the situation didn’t improve. In fact the rain just got heavier, so we decided to go back down the tram way. By the time we reached the bottom the rain was torrential and we took refuge in the Royal Bank of Scotland building where a helpful lady advised us on the best way back to the ferry.  This entailed a short walk outside in the rain before returning to the covered walkway, where, after asking directions a couple of times we found ourselves back at the ferry terminal.

Today for lunch we decided to eat at a restaurant in the shopping centre next to the hotel. We had the set lunch menu with Sylvia choosing soup(of unknown variety),beef and vegetable rice, while I had chicken,mushroom and noodles with a mixed meat congee. This was like a thick porridge with some vegetables and actually tasted quite nice but  afterwards I had to check on the internet to find out what it was. When we came back to the room the rain and the mist had cleared and Victoria Peak was clearly visible!!! I’m  not going back up there now though.

Last day tomorrow I’ll try to post from the airport if there’s time.

Day Thirty – A Foggy Kowloon

Every evening at 8.00pm the harbour front hosts “A Symphony of Lights”, a spectacular light and sound show covering more than 40 buildings on both sides of the harbour.  The best views can be had from the Avenue of Stars just outside the hotel and it was from here that we watched it last night. The photos probably don’t do it justice but it is a sight definitely worth seeing. The show lasts for around 20 minutes and the whole of the harbour front was packed even though the night was foggy and damp. Hopefully before we leave we will have the chance to see the display in the clear.

When we woke up this morning the weather forecast said it would be a foggy morning with the chance of heavy rain. I can tell you that this was pretty accurate. At first we couldn’t see the opposite side of the bay and therefore decided that once again it would be pointless trying to go to Peak as there would be no view.  Instead we chose to go to the Hong Kong Museum of History located about half a mile away on Chatham Road, where there is a permanent exhibition telling the story of HK from prehistoric times to the present day. It was a great decision as apart from the hoards of school children we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Admission was a very reasonable 10HK$ (equivalent to less than a pound) and unlike most museums they were perfectly happy for photos to be taken. One of the most interesting exhibits described the opium wars and the Cession of HK to Britain which was a part of history I had never come across before. Sylvia enjoyed the “Folk Culture” section which outlined the colourful customs of the four main ethnic groups through the ages. We also stopped here for lunch Sylvia having a Portuguese Chicken and rice dish and me a duck and prawn(with chips), the total cost including a soup starter and drinks was less than £7 for both. Excellent value and very tasty!!

We started to walk back to the hotel stopping in shops as the mood took us and buying a few souvenirs.  It was while in one of the shops that the heavens opened and I mean opened. A couple who came in from  the rain described how they saw the storm coming up the road with people running in front of it. On our return to the room we sat and watched the lightning over the harbour after which the sky cleared a little giving us the best view yet of Hong Kong island.

Day Twenty-nine – A Damp Hong Kong

We awoke this morning to see a cruise ship,”Rotterdam”, sailing past the window. It seems we can’t get away from the nautical theme this holiday.  Unfortunately the weather  today was pretty poor with fog and drizzle for most of the day, this meant that we really couldn’t do much sight seeing, so spent the day exploring the area around the hotel.

The Intercontinental is brilliantly located on Kowloon overlooking the harbour and Hong Kong island and most of the sights  are within walking distance.  Along the harbour front is the Avenue of the Stars,HK’s answer to the Hollywood walk of Fame, consisting of handprints of many famous Chinese actors. Like the literary walk in Sydney I didn’t know many of the artists excepting , of course , Bruce Lee. (No mention of Hong Kong Phooey though!). These two adjoining plaques amused us.

Shopping is what HK does best and within easy reach of the hotel are several malls including Harbour City , the largest one in Hong Kong. These include all the top-end stores that you would expect alongside some local variants. In addition Kowloon boasts several markets selling designer bags, watches and clothing which if you’re lucky may be genuine.In fact something for everyone and we spent the day looking at most of them. The only downside are the touts on each street corner trying to entice you to tailors or fake watch shops.

Just to show that we do read the comments that you post, firstly for Oliver ,here is the TV and sound system (i-pod not included).

And secondly to Rosemary, the hotel room is fantastic especially the marble bathroom and the marvellous view, but unless you are prepared to spend the children’s inheritance it is better to eat and drink elsewhere.(for example breakfast £28 +10% service charge and that’s not all you can eat!!!!!) Make sure that you stipulate a harbour view room on a high floor if possible, you will be disappointed if you don’t. Tonight we are off to Starbucks to post the blog(20 minutes free wi-fi versus £15 in the hotel!).

Day Twenty-eight – On to Hong Kong

As always when we are travelling we were up early this morning and as we had packed the previous night,we checked out of the hotel by 8.00. The taxi to the airport was quicker than we had anticipated , so much so that when we arrived we were too early to check in. Having waited for about half an hour we checked in and cleared immigration before going to the Qantas business lounge. The facilities here didn’t match the BA lounge in Heathrow with only cereal, toast and a few bakery items on the breakfast menu. If you were a drinker there was a good choice even at this time in the morning. The one good thing was the free internet facility which allowed us not only to check our e—mails but also to chat to Helena in her bed at Victoria’s house.

The boarding of the flight went smoothly and after a slight delay due to some luggage problems we were on our way to Hong Kong. I had a little dilemma when it came to the entertainment on offer as virtually all the nominated Oscar films were available. After choosing to start my film-fest with “The Wrestler” I settled down on my seat. Only about 20mins into the film and there was an announcement that some people were unable to receive the films and the system would need re-booting, an hour later the system came back on. I decided to have a change of pace so watched “Four Holidays” (and before anyone says it ,no it wasn’t Oscar nominated), at the end of which the movie system packed in completely. A number of passengers including me complained and eventually they put on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” onto the system. As the film was beginning to reach its climax the pilot announced we were on the approach to Hong Kong and the entertainment was turned off.A very poor effort Qantas, although the $50 duty free voucher came in handy. The quality and quantity of food on the flight was also poor in my opinion, BA is much superior no matter what Michael Winner says!!!

The arrival at Hong Kong went very smoothly taking only 30 minutes from touch down to getting into our car, and 25 minutes later we were entering our hotel. Sylvia asked on the way into town which side they drive on here. Judging by our driver it doesn’t matter as he changed lanes continually overtaking and undertaking where necessary.  The first impressions of the hotel is that it looks superb with spectacular views over the harbour(The pictures don’t really do justice to it) There is a 37inch Sharp LCD TV together with a BOSE sound system including CD/DVD player and I-pod connector. No TV in the bath though!!!! Watched the light spectacular on Hong Kong island which takes place every night at 8.00pm, I will try to get some photos tomorrow

Day Twenty–Seven – The Last Day in Sydney

It was just a lazy day today as we didn’t want to venture too far,so we redid some walks that we had done before and a couple of new ones.  After breakfast we strolled up the hill at the back of the hotel to the Old Observatory, part of the Powerhouse museum. Although we didn’t go into the building itself the bandstand gave views over both Darling Harbour and Circular   Quay. Like several of the days we have been in Sydney the early morning weather didn't look too good but as always it just got better as the morning went on.Coming down from the Observatory we walked along the quay to the Opera House, where for the first time we walked along the lower concourse. All along the quayside are brass plaques set into the pavement commemorating great authors who have an Australian association. Many of these I have heard of like Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer and Clive James, but many I haven't, also some of the authors such as D H Lawrence seem to have a rather slim linkage to this country.

Everywhere one walks in this area you get a view of the bridge and I don’t know if it’s the most photographed structure in the world but it must be in the top ten.(Editors note:- Actually checking on internet it’s probably not- The Eiffel Tower is number 1 apparently!!!)  It is an impressive structure from whichever way you look at it but it seems to have been built just like a giant  Meccano set. Just look at the size of these nuts.

Around the Rocks area there are a number of sculptures to celebrate the history of the area, one of the most striking of which  is adjacent to our hotel. This  shows the three groups of earliest residents of the area , families, soldiers and convicts.  

Around the corner there is a more modern contribution to the Art in the community project.

Sydney has been a great place to visit with the highlight of the trip being the visit to the Blue Mountains, however the general buzz around circular quay and the Rocks has been brilliant. Overall we couldn’t have wished for a better place to stay. In the eight days that we have spent here we have seen most everything that was on our list so next time it will have to be Melbourne or Perth.

Next stop Hong Kong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day Twenty-Six – An early morning swim & a good walk.

Before you get too excited we didn’t swim but watched hundreds of others doing so as today was the day for the annual Sydney Harbour swim. After hearing on the television this morning of the third shark attack in the area within the last three weeks there was an air of great anticipation in the crowd. After a short celebrity race of 800m , the main event consisted of 1km and 2km races. The 1km race being won by a nineteen year girl who announced that she was going to get a drink and then swim the 2km event, some people do show off. Fortunately there was no sign of any sharks and the swim passed off peacefully.

The race was held from the steps of the Opera House just inside the Botanical Gardens. These gardens occupy around 74 acres in the heart of the city and are home to a magnificent collection of plants,shrubs and trees from Australia and overseas. We decided to walk across the path to the area known as Woolloomooloo and took the following photos on the route.

  

The reason for the walk through the park was to visit one of Sydney’s most famous eateries, Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, a mobile snack van that has been part of the city’s life since 1945. Here I had a bacon & egg roll and Sylvia had a hot dog and we joined the list of the rich and famous who had ate here. These include Elton John,Brigitte Bardot and even Colonel Sanders (probably testing out the opposition) and of course…Rolf Harris. From Harrys it was a short walk to the art gallery of New South Wales, where we had a stroll around the 20th Century Australian exhibition. It was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning but I wasn’t overly impressed by the collection.

The walk continued across the area known as “The Domain”,into Hyde Park to look at St. Mary’s Cathedral. We were unsure as we approached whether this was an Anglican or a Roman Catholic church,  but the statue outside of Pope John Paul gave the game away. We didn’t go in as there was a mass in progress but sat outside and admired the spires which were finished in 2000.

Over the precinct from the cathedral stands the Australian Museum that in addition to being the nation’s premier showcase of natural history, contains a brilliant exhibition of “Indigenous Australians”. This contains many artefacts of the Aboriginal people and explained many of their beliefs and faith known as “The Dreaming”. We also had a presentation of native songs and dances including a performance on the didgeridoo, which was quite remarkable even though I kept thinking he was going to burst into “Sun Arise”.

Across the road and back into Hyde Park we passed the Anzac Memorial,  built to commemorate the Australians who were killed in the wars,before entering a food and drink fair. Here people were sampling wines from all over Australia and food from across the World.As it was now getting quite warm we decided to walk further into town to eat inside. After eating we walked back to the hotel passing several street entertainers on the quay. Of particular note was a female contortionist who attracted a large crowd with her amazing athletics.

It was reported in a Sydney paper earlier this week that one of the few areas that the economy was improving was cruising and today was referred to as “Super Sunday” in Sydney as there were no less than 4 cruise ships in port. At the overseas passenger terminal was “Crystal Serenity”, at Darling Harbour “Pacific Dawn”, and out in the bay “Celebrity Millennium” and “Aurora”. It was no wonder that Sydney has been buzzing all weekend and with another ship  due in the morning it will make eight since “Rhapsody” left on Tuesday night.

Day Twenty-Five - “Seven miles from Sydney….

…….and a thousand miles from care”, is a saying referring to the 7 mile ferry journey from circular quay to Manly, the trip that most Sydney residents would suggest as the single excursion one should do while in the city. Having tried out Bondi, we decided today to travel to Manly to  compare the two famous beaches of the area. The ferry ride takes about half an hour crossing directly over the mouth of the harbour where the water was particularly choppy. From the wharf at Manly it’s a short walk down a pedestrianised street to the beach, where the waves of the Pacific lap onto the sand. The beach didn’t appear to be very big but the tree lined esplanade gave it a much more up-market look than Bondi. There were many surfers and body boarders and along the top of the beach were laid out around 6 beach volleyball courts.

After a pleasant walk along the beach and back we decided to have a drink and muffin at a street side cafe before ambling through a small market. After purchasing a few presents and some shorts for me , we returned to Sydney for the afternoon. Overall I would have to agree that Manly is a much better beach than Bondi.

The afternoon was spent walking around “The Rocks” district where our hotel is located. This is probably the oldest part of modern day Sydney although few of the original structures survive today. The focal point of the area on a weekend is The Rocks market, which consists of over a hundred stalls selling mostly hand made crafts, closing off the top of George Street. It was an interesting walk through the stalls which built up an appetite for tea which was had at “Pancakes in the Rocks”. Sylvia having pizza while I had a Mexican crepe with chips, excellent.

After tea we had a lovely walk along the back of the Rocks on the road that comes off the bridge. This gave us some different views of the bridge and the opera house.

Day Twenty-Four – Bondi to Bronte and Beyond

Of all the beaches in the Sydney area, the one that comes to mind most readily is Bondi beach. Most of the Australians that we spoke to on the cruise suggested that we avoid it , but we felt that we couldn’t come this far without visiting it for a short while.  We decided to catch the local bus and after meandering our way through the city centre traffic found ourselves on the Pacific coast.The bus got really crowded as we got closer to the beach,filling up with young people ready to spend time at the coast. The beach itself was a little disappointing and was no bigger than Porthcawl town beach and the surf was not as good as Rest Bay.

We had decided to complete the  walk to Bronte, this is around 2km long and follows the coastal path. After first walking across to look at the Bondi Pavilion, we climbed the steps that took us past the Bondi baths and the Bondi Icebergs clubhouse. This is a swimming club where prospective members must swim every Sunday, regardless of weather,50 weeks of the year for four years before being allowed to join. We withdrew our application!

The walk took us along the cliff edge and as we turned each corner another bay came into view. The most difficult part of the walk was avoiding the joggers, in their determined efforts to stay fit they forget that walkers have an equal right on these paths. Thankfully not all the people were quite so rude especially the man who kindly took the picture of both of us.

At the end of the walk we had a nice cool drink in a street side cafe and waited for a bus back to the city.  The weather this morning was excellent for walking, with a slightly overcast sky and a gentle breeze from the sea, but  warm sun on your back.

The bus took a different route back to Sydney and we ended up at the main railway station, a short hop away from Paddy’s Market. This is a large indoor market selling both food and clothes that operates from Thursday to Sunday each week. I had seen this mentioned in the guide books and wanted to see it, but was rather glad that I had not made a special trip as it was no different to any other market. We then made our way to Darling Harbour where we caught a ferry back to Circular Quay.

After a refreshing cup of tea and a biscuit back at the hotel, we decided on another walk, this time across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  Now before anyone gets too excited this walk involves walking along a path next to the roadway, and certainly does not involve climbing up the arch!! I would recommend this walk to anyone visiting Sydney, the views that you get across the harbour and city are truly magnificent.

After walking back across the bridge we felt that we needed a good meal so called into “The Rocks Cafe” about two blocks down from the hotel. Here Sylvia had a lovely seafood stir-fry and I was tempted to try kangaroo loin, it was scrumptious. We followed the mains with some lovely sweets and for all you foodies all the dishes are pictured below.

And the sweets……..Yesterday’s visit to the Blue Mountains prompted PJ to send me a picture of the Three Sisters. This was not that of the rock formation but of a sculpture that I had decided not to publish in case it offended my more sensitive viewers, however today I have had second thoughts and here they are.