Last(ing) Impressions

So pleased to have found this shop – I so hate it when my stationery is dishonest

Goodbye Hong Kong airport … Linz was really pleased that this was not our next flight ….. it was going to Lagos and we reckoned it was probably 10 tons of mobile phones

Our Impressions of Hong Kong in a nutshell

• 7 million people but extremely efficient
• dynamic and alive, frantic flow of people, trolleys, traffic
• very clean and organised underground train stations
• clean streets – no cigarette butts – amazing considering every second person smokes
• hard workers – 10 and 11 hour days are the norm
• space is at an absolute premium – most apartments are 300 sq feet in total (the size of our lounge & dining)
• don’t waste makeup – it’s so humid it takes 17 minutes for it to slide from its start position on the forehead, to get to its final resting place on the chin

Kowloon

Friday morning we ventured across to Kowloon on the Star Ferry.  We were just sitting deciding where to go when these very polite school children approached and asked if they could interview me.  I prepared myself for a barrage of questions, but they only wanted to know my name, where I live, and if I liked Hong Kong.  They were adorable and most appreciative.  We didn’t spend too long in Kowloon because we quickly got sick of being hassled on every street corner by people trying to sell us tailoring services or Gucci watches.

Bamboozled

All the scaffolding in HK is bamboo – quite scary

This guy was hanging out over the uppermost edge to add more bamboo for another floor …..

….. on this building, which was already 30 stories high – no fear!

This is how the bamboo arrives at the building site – just dumped in the street

… from the street level

whole buildings surrounded in bamboo and wrapped for (?) safety

A City Of Many Faces

Central Hong Kong, dirty buildings, washing hangs out the window for all to see	Mid Levels Hong Kong – exquisite frontage
This gang of street cleaners open up the drains every day and remove “stuff” with a long handled strainer - the smell was unbearable	And opposite the street cleaners – a beautiful flower blooms, barely noticed

Wanchai Street Scenes

Wanchai has a fairly seedy reputation but is a nightlife hotspot. You can get rooms by the hour then jump into a speeding taxi… We also found the world’s smallest real estate office. Can you believe two people work in this all day?

The Tea Museum & Aviary

Lots of walking and steep paths led us to The Tea Museum in Hong Kong Park and a huge covered aviary

Architecture

Two interesting views of these twin towers in the Admiralty area of Hong Kong  They both have the word LIPPO  boldly displayed on top – I thought they should have called the second one SUCTION.

Hong Kong Etiquette

OK, OK,   I buy, I buy

Times Square Queen

An opportunity not to be missed in the lavish Times Square shopping mall…

Hong Kong Street Markets

Just along a bit and round the corner from our hotel we discovered side streets with open air food markets.   A freshly severed fish head in one hand and a fag in the other – this guy made us lose the appetite we thought we had.

Hong Kong Booty

Only in Hong Kong … a dog with pink zip up patent leather boots. The owner said “the streets are too dirty for his feet” .

Hello Hong Kong

#$@%^&*!!!$#%* ah that means ”You Have Made It To Hong Kong – Please No Spitting”