Hong Kong:

April 22nd, 2005 - April 25th, 2005

Greetings from Hong Kong, the final stop on our journey...

Hong Kong is EXPENSIVE. The cost of 1 night in a room here equals the cost of 25 nights in Vang Vieng, Laos! However, on an excitement scale, Hong Kong would trump Vang Vieng.

Hong Kong is also very clean. It all starts when you arrive at the airport and people follow you around the washroom, cleaning up after your every step. Sometimes you have to battle to get out of the stall before a guy is there with a spray bottle and towel to sanitize the place to death.

They have fines here for spitting and littering - it is an on-the-spot fine of $1500 HKD which is about $240 CDN, not exactly pocket change.

There are constant reminders in the subway to hold the handrail and walk to the left (they drive on the left here) as well as other such safety issues. Basically, compared to the rest of the places we have been, Hong Kong is much more clean, polite, and orderly.

At the airport we purchased an Octopus Card which is basically an all-in-one card that can be used to take the rapid train from the airport to downtown, on the metro, as cash for the bus and even in various retail locations such as Starbucks. In fact, I saw a sign for a parking garage that was no longer going to accept cash, only credit card or octopus card. And you can refill an octopus card just about anywhere.

Our first day in town we spent riding the subway to various stops to check out local markets - we have unlimited subway rides for all three days we are here as part of a tourist deal.

None of the markets lived up to our expectations and we can definitely say the best place for cheap clothes is in Bangkok.

We tried to go for Dim Sum on our second day in town, but this city doesn't seem to work as hard as rest of SE Asia as most shops and stores were closed early in day. Elsewhere in SE Asia, shop keepers started and ended their workday based on the sun.

Having nowhere to go for Dim Sum, we decided to take the metro to the area known as Central which is on Hong Kong Island (we were staying in Kowloon on the other side of the harbour).

One of the main attractions of Central is an 800m long escalator which is proclaimed as the "World's Longest"!!! However, it is really a series of escalators that climb about 800m in total, so according our book of World Records, it is not the world's longest.

At the top of the escalator - which really doesn't seem to serve much purpose other than to save people from having to walk up the hill (imagine walking!!!) - we took a leisurely stroll through the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens which even housed a jaguar.

That took us to the base of the Hong Kong Tram which climbs to the top of Victoria Peak. We were somewhat lucky as the haze lifted just enough to give us some stunning views of the buildings and harbour.

Trying to break the world record for attractions visited in one day to Hong Kong we took a double-decker bus to Stanley on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Along the way we got to see the "other side" to Hong Kong - the lush jungle and beautiful beaches that hide in shadow of the massive buildings.

Stanley had a nice market with a resort-like feel to it and allowed us to take a break from the retail therapy associated with Hong Kong's obsession with shopping.

On the way home we experienced one of the biggest thrills of our time in Hong Kong - riding in the front row of the top deck of a double-decker bus. What a thrill as it navigated the sharp curves and winding hills of Hong Kong Island. Maybe it was a good thing we didn't eat Dim Sum that morning.

Back on the north side of Hong Kong Island we went to the area called Causeway Bay and decided to beat the heat by seeing the movie The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel - reserved tickets, of course.

Tons of cell phone warnings were shown before the movie started, but of course, the locals texted and answered calls throughout the movie.

And another twist, an ad was run before the show urging patrons not to copy movie with video cameras and to turn in anyone that they saw partaking in such activity!

The second the movie concluded we ran to the metro to get to North Point Pier where our dinner cruise boat was set to depart. We made it just on time.

We were treated to a dinner cruise in the harbour with live music and fantastic food including a tasty array of seafood such as giant prawns, mussels, tuna, and even sushi. The evening provided some great views of both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

Today was our final day in Hong Kong and we spent it shopping - imagine that. We finally went for Dim Sum - which quenched our palates.

We checked out Hong Kong's Avenue of Stars which has a tribute to the one and only Jackie Chan among the other Hollywood Stars from Asia, but most of the stars were reserved for local celebrities who were unknown to us.

Well, our 5+ month trip comes to a bittersweet end. While exploring the nooks and crannies of this rather small earth is incredible fun, the time is right to return home and get back to work and a normal, daily routine.

Thank you for reading our updates and viewing the photos. It has been a lot of fun writing them.

For those of you in Vancouver, we shall see you in about 24 hours. For those of you in Toronto, we will be home just after midnight on April 28th and we'll see you shortly after that.

NEXT ENTRY