Monday, 20 October 2008

Mums HK diary # 5. Tuesday 7th October 2008

We are in for an adventure because Jørgen and Catriona are off school today. This is the day for remembering dead relatives and visiting graves to clean them in HK. It is a national holiday in Hong Kong. Leaving home at 9am, we took a mini bus to Choy Hung, a train to Mong Kok and changed the train to go to TST station. We went out at exit C1, Peking road. We had a fabulous cheap, tasty Chinese breakfast at a restaurant called 98C in Hankow road. I recommend it and I would like to go again. Be prepared to be pestered a bit on the way to the restaurant as this is the area for immigrants selling copy handbags and watches. We know of people who have been conned into following these sales people and have been locked in a room and forced to buy something they don’t really want. We then made our way to Victoria Harbour to see the HK skyline. Wow! Some experience. Jørgen has a great ability to find his way around and remember the history and facts about various streets and buildings. In addition to this he rarely gets lost and always knows which bus, ferry or train to catch to get from A to Z.
A bit later we took the Star Ferry across to HK island, we walked across all the reclaimed land to the bus terminal. We hopped on the number 6 which took us all the way to Stanley. The bus crosses the mountains on Hong Kong island and comes down on the south side of the island. We passed through Repulse bay where there is a famous building with a rectangular shaped hole in it, which is supposed to be there so the mountain dragon can see the sea. The dragon needs to be able to see the sea because he is there to protect the people and if he can’t see the sea he gets angry.
Stanley was a former pirates nest, but now its known for its big, famous market. Ricky bought 2 rugby tops (we met another New Zealander/Scot in the rugby top shop. He was originally from Aberdeen.) Catriona bought some bedding and I bought pillowcases in high quality cotton. The pillowcases were embroidered with small flowers. After an hour or so of shopping we decided to go for lunch in The Smugglers Inn. We were all weary and enjoyed a nice rest there.
We went home a different way. We took the no. 65 bus from Stanley to North Point then the MTR to Hang Hau, and then the minibus back to Sai Kung. We walked back to Tai Wan village, stopping for another drink in the Beach bar on the way.

In HK an Octopus card can be used on all public transport. It is a really convenient easy way to travel. The card can be topped up in any 7/11 shop’s or at the station. The trains are spotless and seem to be safer than underground trains in London because there is a plastic shield with automatic doors that open as the train arrives at the platform, preventing anyone from falling under a train.
On every train there are maps showing the direction of travel, announcements which are made in English and there is even a little green light which comes on to show which side of the platform people should get off at.

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