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.