Well. this trip is over. We have had a very pleasant time and enjoyed some great scenery and some wonderful sights during our time in Hong Kong.
Yesterday, we had a leisurely day doing some final shopping. We caught the MTR to the eastern End of the island, after adding some value to our very depleted Octopus cards. I have no idea why the public transport system in Melbourne didn’t buy this type of smart card rather than inventing our own. The Octopus card covers trams, trains, MTR, buses, ferries and you can even use it to pay for coffee in Starbucks.It’s far bwetter than our second / third rate system that we have that takes 24 hours to recognise added value.
We had a leisurely ride back, although it was jolting and stop / start on one of the little trams that run the length of the island. They have been running for decades although I seem to remember that the Melbourne Tramways organisation refurbished the line some years ago. The seats are not padded and the wheels sound as if they are square, but they are a fun means of transport. The fare is a flat $HK 2.30 – about $A 45 c.
Once back to Admiralty, we caught the MTR to Mong Kok to buy a few things in one of the street markets. We came across the market in the middle of its 6-block length so we had to make a guess as to which way to walk. I knew that we would be going the right way if we were headed to the South, but I wasn’t really sure how to ask that question. In the end I asked one stall holder which way was it to the Star Ferry. He thought that I was crazy, but he pointed in the direction that we were already going, so I knew that we were going the right way.
We found the same Starbucks store as we had visited the other day and knew that it would have a toilet and a snack.. Whilst there we met up with three Czech women who didn’t know their way around and wanted some directions to some of the sights. I was able to help them and felt quite proud of my visitors knowledge.
Last night, we had a very nice seafood dinner in the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. It was quite expensive, but a nice thing to do on our last night. We were grateful that we had access to the ‘club’ floor of the hotel as this meant that we could go and have drinks after 5.30 pm and it also included a free breakfast and free wifi.
On our last day,today, we finished packing, and met up with David Burren and his wife Jane who were also in Hiong Kong. It was nice to see David again. He was the photographer whose tour I joined to Kenya a couple of years ago.
Then it was time for one last look at the panorama out the window before heading to the Airport Express Station for the airport and the flight home.
