China and Hong Kong

Sunday January 10, 2010

Arrived from Hong Kong International Airport to KL's LCC Terminal in Sepang early yesterday morning after a week-long excursion to Guangzhou in China and then Hong Kong. These damn Air Asia flights might be cheap, but you pay for what you get. I got the seat on the aisle right by the toilet and at the back of the plane, so people were walking by often, it was noisy, and I couldn't recline the chair.

After arriving at Baiyun International Airport two Saturdays ago, we met some relatives for lunch and then they took us to the Lai Family "Village" where my grandparents used to live. My #1 auntie remembered playing in a little lane there, and I believe my #2 auntie was born there too. The "village" is more of a suburban block of houses with pedestrian lanes weaving between them. The entire block houses our extended family - all the people there have the same surname:

I think that's remarkable, and it was certainly a surreal experience.

The next day, we were taken to Guangzhou where all we did for the next few days was eat and sleep. However, we did visit Baiyun Mountain for a much needed walk. The pond there is home to thousands of hungry fish who will literally swarm in a blanket of gold, red, orange, white and black to whatever food you throw into the water. I have never seen so many fish in my life...

On Tuesday, we took the bus to Hong Kong. A two hour ride, the bus trip is rather boring and uneventful, save the customs and immigration offices that require everyone to unload their luggage and reload it once clearance has been obtained. We stayed on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong in Yau Ma Tei, but that night, we met one of dad's friends in Central for dinner and a quick sightseeing tour around town. Unfortunately for us, the mist had settled in, so we couldn't really see a lot.

The next day started off with shopping in the morning. I have exceeded my clothes budget for this decade. But seriously, NZ$1 is approximately HK$5 and the clothes there are excellent quality despite being dirty cheap. Two pairs of Giordano jeans cost me NZ$70 - that's a bargain!

After lunch, I visited the Space Museum with my dad - I think he enjoyed it more than I did, despite his silly injury at the harness of the Moon Gravity Simulator. We took a quick tour through the Art Museum too, and walked around the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront before heading back for a late steamboat dinner.

The next day, we wrapped up the shopping and met dad's friend down by the piers to take a ferry to Lamma Island, where there's a pretty exquisite seafood restaurant. The view of the two waterfronts was fantastic, I love the neon brillance of the Hong Kong sky line. The ride itself was exciting, despite the choppy waves, I had my arms stretched wide on the starboard bow, listening to an appropriately themed song about boats - don't you ever forget.

That night, we also visited the Avenue of Stars, which is basically the Hong Kong equivalent of Hollywood's Walk of Fame. We saw the plaques of heaps of awesome Chinese film stars, including Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

Our final day in Hong Kong was Friday, which was mostly spent walking up the steep Old Peak Road after a wrong turn. Nevertheless, we made it to the Peak Tower for some breathtaking views of the city. We were blessed with clear weather that day, so we took lots of photos of the magnificent sights around us. We also took a gawk at the entrance to Madame Tussauds Hong Kong where I posed with Michelle Yeoh and the awesomeness that is Bruce Lee.

I even have something to say about Hong Kong International Airport! As can be expected with budget airlines, we were delayed for just under an hour, so there was plenty of time to walk around and see the shops at the airport. This one shop is full of those prize-draw slot machine things, where you insert a coin, turn the handle, and a little plastic container with a figurine pops out. Admist all the Japanese anime characters and whatever other things there were, there was a Kirby one, so I tried my luck and obtained a Bomb Kirby figurine, complete with Warp Star!

My last impressions of China and Hong Kong are a bit mixed, but mostly positive. There's a huge number of smokers in China and it's miraculous I didn't get lung cancer or something. What's worse is the driving - at one point, our driver was driving on the FOOTPATH on the LEFT side of the road, bearing in mind that people drive on the RIGHT in China. What's strange is that they drive on the left in Hong Kong, so it must have been weird for the bus driver from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.

The architecture in both is fantastic, with massively tall high-rise buildings in stylish and modern designs, not to mention at night time, when the neon lights come out. I was particularly fond of the MTR system in Hong Kong as well, and its very user-friendly navigation system onboard the train carriages.

I would have loved to spend a bit more time in Hong Kong, visiting the giant Buddha and I've also heard good things about Ocean Park. Ah well...next time.

Oh yeah, yesterday, I finally had the chance to go for a Japanese buffet at the Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, where I literally stuffed my stomach full of salmon and tuna sashimi, fresh oysters, tempura, teppanyaki, yakitori and delectable desserts.

Phew.

Posted by Jeremy at 8:06am on Sunday January 10, 2010 :: 2 comments ::

Where? china, hong kong | What Game? kirby | What? steamboat, shopping, japanese buffet