First Day Honkers

Up early and a short run around Victoria Park to get the legs working for what was going to be a gruelling couple of days touring Hong Kong. The oldies brigade were out in force doing the Tai Chi thing and the wind from the aforementioned Typhoon made dodging branches necessary.

The first sightseeing assignment was checking out 'The Peak". The Peak Tram made short work of the extremely steep run up Mount Victoria. The views on the way up were awesome although the peak itself was a disappointment. The majority of tourists were herded into the shopping mall whilst we found the viewpoint in the opposite direction. The views of Hong Kong Island and across to Kowloon were well worth the ride. On return to the Peak Tram Station we stepped right onto the bus for the Star Ferry. A little nostalgia as we passed what used to HMS Tamar, the basin where I berthed on HMAS SWAN has now been filled.

The Star Ferry is excellent value although by now the rain was teeming so the views were well hidden behind the plastic windows. The Peninsular, one of the grandest hotels in Asia was worth the walk through and we quickly wondered what it would be like to spend thousands for a room. That thought was quickly excised from our mind as we wandered the magic mile of Nathan Road looking for bargains but was not seduced by any of the gadgets on display. That is until I came across a Philips Digital Picture Frame. One of those please!!!

A quick refreshment stop preceded a run to Times Square for a browse amongst the real shops. Coinciding with Peak Hour it quickly became a sensory overload. Dinner at an Indian/Thai restaurant made up for the disappointment of a so called Indian restaurant at home.

By now Kirsten's feet had given up so I did the MTR thing again to check out the Temple Night markets. Unfortunately our local church markets appear to be a better deal so I headed back to the waterfront to marvel at Hong Kong Island at night and grab a few photos.

Oh, the Typhoon passed without incident.