Hong Kong 29.03

Doing Time in Our Prison Cell

We landed in Hong Kong for the second time on our trip, and navigated our way easily to the hostel. Unfortunately when we got there, we realised we'd made a mistake in the booking. Our booking was for the next night, but thankfully they had a spare room available. We were told to follow this lady to our room.

She led us down the elevator, along the street for a few blocks and then into another building. Here we waited in line for about 10 mins to get the elevator. We were stared at by everyone in line. We were clearly the minority. The apartment building was inhabited almost completely by Indians and Africans.

Once we reached the top floor, we had to walk up another level and through a few doors to get to our room. The room itself was the size of a prison cell, and it smelt like that too. Artur could reach both walls of the room with his hands - longways! The only thing that worked in the room was the aircon, but that powerpoint was specialised for the aircon only. The others didn't work, so we couldn't charge anything.

The City by Night
We escaped our cell to get some dinner. We were close to the ferry terminal, so we had a look at the beautiful view of the skyscrapers on the bay again. We struggled to find somewhere to eat. The Harbour Centre was very upmarket, and the only other eating options were fast food places.

Eventually we found a Japanese place that we liked. The food was great, but we were very surprised to find that most of the alcoholic drinks were cheaper than the non-alcoholic ones. We made the most of it, dreading our return to the room.

From Jail to a Palace
The next morning, we moved our luggage to West Hotel, where we would meet our tour group for the Essence of China Intrepid Tour. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the hotel. It seemed like a palace after the last place we were at. We had a flat screen TV on the wall, a fridge and a blow-dryer, which Loren was absolutely thrilled about!

Electronics Street in Kowloon
We ate breakfast at a Japanese place which was kind of like a fast food place, but with good food! Most of the day was spent shopping for things that we needed. We visited the famous Electronics Street in Kowloon, where everything we saw seemed like something we needed! Some things were half the price we'd pay at home!

We bought a wireless, foldable keyboard so we could update the blog on the mobile, then upload what we'd written onto the internet later. It's been very helpful, although it might not seem like it with all the delays in posting lately! We've had trouble getting internet access on the tour.
The street was full of life! Artur got approached by some girls who wanted to interview him for school, about his opinion of Hong Kong girls. We also saw some beautiful girls in bright coloured vinyl dresses and white boots handing out give-aways to the crowds around them. Artur fought with the others to get one, but it turned out to be a little pad of paper! Pretty funny!

Loren also bought some nail art supplies and has been making all sorts of wonderful artwork on her nails. We also found a tiny calculator which saves a lot of stress when it comes to bargaining in another currency.

Meeting the Tour Group for China
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to meet the group. We were apprehensive, wondering what they were going to be like. We arrived last and saw a crowd of young people. Relief! Especially after being on a boat with just older people on Halong bay.

Our tour guide, Mathieu, is from Quebec, and he has lived in China for 6 years and speaks fluently. There are also two trainee leaders from China, two lovely girls called Ammy and Cathy. There are 2 Australian girls, 4 people from the UK, 1 from Denmark and us.
After hearing about the trip, we went to Hong Kong island for dinner. We got instructions from a friendly local guy for somewhere to eat. We had a place in mind, but decided to go to this place. We couldn't find it in the end, so we ate at a place that served similar food. The food that we were looking for was the traditional hot pot. It was worth the effort!

Antiques and Desserts
The next morning we went back to Hong Kong island after breakfast at the same Japanese place. We went straight to Hollywood Road, to buy an antique souvenir. We found a little snuff bottle that was 40 years old. It was beautifully made.
After this we went in search of the local desserts. Hong Kong has some amazing food, and we were determined to find some of the traditional desserts. We eventually found a place that served Walnut Dew and Lotus Seed Soup. It was very sweet, but Loren liked it. Artur wasn't a big fan, but the Almond Dew and Lotus Seed Soup that he had was even nicer than the Walnut one.
On the way back we found some egg tarts, which taste like custard tarts. They were delicious! We also sampled a dried sausage from one of the many dried food shops along the streets. Loren hated it, but Artur likes those kind of sausages.

We came back to the hotel to meet the group, and there our tour began...