Our day on Thursday
started around 7:30 a.m. waking up to the sound of the Bali birds all around
us. After a leisurely breakfast I sat and finished the novel I was reading (Children of the Revolution by Dinaw Mengestu) so
that I could return the book to Geoffrey and take one last peek at the villa. We
packed up our stuff, checked out, and headed up to the restaurant at the Bali
Dream Café for one last coffee late. This is where Made found us. We made our
way slowly up the lane one last time, waving to the people we knew and saying
“goodbye”. Our luggage followed on the golf cart.
We drove back down
through all the little villages to Denpasar and then across the Mandara Bridge
to the airport. We checked our flight and found it had been delayed by 2 hours
so we had 4 hours to pass at the airport! We went through Indonesian
immigration and security and found a restaurant where we ate lunch as a guest
of Cathay Pacific. After lunch I shopped, spending most of my time looking over
the books in the Periplus book store and writing down the titles that interested
me! We charged our phones; Ray listened to his audio book; we people watched.
It is amazing how quickly the time passes and around 6:00 p.m. we made our way
to the gate. Flight delayed an extra hour. So, instead of 4:00 p.m. departure,
we left at 7:00 p.m.
It was a good flight, on
a Boeing 777 with 79 seat rows! Cathay Pacific must have apologized about 45
times for being late. We had a great dinner and I watched “Spotlight”, the
movie about the Boston Globe’s investigation of the Roman Catholic clergy in
Boston. Superbly acted, and quite disturbing to watch. I listened to my audio book for a little
while, and then we were landing in Hong Kong. It took us quite a while to get
through Immigration and claim our baggage, and Catherine was there,
walking towards us, to meet us! We sped
along the deserted, modern, Hong Kong highways and I think we arrived at her place
somewhere around 2:45 p.m. We all went straight to bed!!
Friday morning we slept
in till about 9:00 a.m. and after a leisurely breakfast we set off with Catherine
to see the sights in Hong Kong.
We took a cab to the
subway station then the MTR to Yuen Po
Streeet – Bird Garden. We walked slowly through the various vendors looking at
the bird cages and the different species of birds that they house. The birds
were colourful, noisy, and ranged in sizes from the tiniest little bird about 3
inches long to a full grown parrot. We were conflicted in our thoughts when we
saw them. On the one hand we just wanted to open all the doors on the cages and
let the birds fly away. On the other hand their cuteness, bird songs, and
beauty captured us.
We found the Mong Kok flower
market and wound our way through bunches, and bunches of yellow, pink, purple,
white, among other colours, flowers. Their floral perfume masked the
street smells of Hong Kong. I wanted to buy them all and take them home, but of
course, we had a long day ahead of us and they wouldn’t have survived the heat
or the flight home! So, I took pictures instead!
We got back on the subway
and headed to the Nan Lian Garden, Kowloon, a classical Chinese garden in the
middle of the hustle and bustle of the 33rd largest city in the
world with a population of 7,208,600 people. The gardens surrounded the Chi Lin
Monastery, an exquisite wooden Buddhist monastery.
After the monastery we
headed over to the Kowloon Cricket Club where we grabbed a late snack, before
heading out to an evening sail on the Aqua Luna, a converted Chinese junk with
a bright red sail. We circled the harbour several times and were dazzled by the
stunning skylines of Kowloon and Hong Kong.
After the cruise we met Jamie and Deborah at the Cricket Club for a
delicious meal and a glass of wine. We headed home around 9 or 10 o’clock and
were in bed just before midnight. A full day filled with the colour of Hong
Kong, birds, flowers, gardens, and monasteries.
On Saturday morning
Catherine made pancakes for breakfast and then we set off by car to the Sai
Kung Country park in the southern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula. We did a
great hike through the Pak Tam Chung Nature Trail – about 4k partly along a
civilized concrete path, and partly a scramble through the bushes along a
stoney trail that resembled the bottom of a river with stunning views over the many
islands in Port Shelter, Sai Kung, and the High Island Reservoir. At the start
of the walk came across a collection of restored cottages which had originally
been Sheung Yiu Village which was founded by members of the Wong clan of the
Hakka ethnic origin who moved there in the late 19th century. The
buildings had been in ruin but are restored to show the dwellings as they were
when the family lived there.
After the walk we drove
straight to Sai Kung and ate in one of the Chinese restaurants, then strolled along
the front of Sai Kung harbour watching the fish marketers (the Tankas), the
dragon boat racing, and investigating all the little lanes and shops of every
description. Sai Kung was originally a fishing harbour and today although the town is
predominantly a typhoon shelter for motorized junks used in the tourist
business, there are still a collection of fishermen who bring their boats up to
the harbour wall and display their fish for sale. Amongst the little lanes in
the town we came across a temporary bamboo structure that would put the Green
School to shame. This is for the Chinese Opera which is held in June and devoted
to the Tin Hau Goddess and the Tin Hau temple where the fishermen go to worship
the Goddess of the Sea. The temple is dwarfed by the temporary Opera House.
We had no sooner reached
the car to head back home than we were deluged with rain. It was great timing!!
Once home we enjoyed Jamie’s delicious pulled pork for dinner, made some notes
for my blog, chatted with Deborah and Rachel, and went to bed around 11.
Did I mention that there
was aTyphoon Level 3 warning when we arrived in Hong Kong which was later downgraded
to Typhoon Level 1. No doubt the rain we
experienced had something to do with the typhoon. The next warning level is Typhoon
Level 8. When this is reached Catherine tells us Hong Kong literally shuts
down. Guess we missed the bullet on that one!!
By Sunday morning the
rain had disappeared. We had Hong Kong style bagels and cream cheese for
breakfast. Yummy!! We set off around
10:30 and drove into Central – the business district on Hong Kong Island. We
had a quick look at the Peak tram but the queue was unfortunately too long so
Jamie drove us up – or so he claims, we claim we walked half way!!! Very steep!
Before reaching the car we stopped off in the Hong Kong Botanical Garden. We
passed through the entrance arch built to commemorate the Chinese who died
loyal to the allied cause in the 1914-1919 and 1939-1945 wars. We met a lovely
woman there who made some suggestions for our visit….all of which Catherine and
Jamie had covered…but very sweet of her to stop and talk to us. We continued on
around the gardens and visited the bird aviaries admiring the brilliant orange
ibis, the flamingoes and various other beautiful birds. Then back into the car
and drove up to the Peak School where we parked and where Jamie works, and
started on the 3.2 k Pok Fu Lam Tree Walk. It was an easy walk on paving and
through the gently drifting haar, we passed palm trees, fig trees, camphor
trees, and an Indian Rubber tree with a hundred roots above the ground. When
the sea-fog cleared we had spectacular views over Hong Kong, Kowloon, Pok Fu
Lam and Lamma Island. We arrived back at the start, and stopped in to a
restaurant for dim sum.
Next on the itinerary was
a trip down to Stanley, a quaint little village at the southernmost peak of
Hong Kong. Japan invaded Hong Kong in 1941 and Stanley Village was one of the
last battlefields. The British surrendered on Christmas Day, 1941. Now populated
by mainly expats the houses and apartments are expensive and gorgeous. First we
stopped in Repulse Bay at the lovely Verandah Restaurant where they serve a
delicious English Tea. The original Repulse Bay Hotel (colloquially referred to
as The Riviera of the Orient) was built in 1920 but was pulled down in two
stages in the 1970s and 1980s. The current building is built on part of the old
hotel grounds and is a replica of the old Repulse Bay Hotel. The old hotel saw
many famous guests: King Edward VIII, Ernest Hemingway, and Clark Gable to name
a few. After dreaming of an elegant dinner at the restaurant, we headed to
Stanley Military Cemetery. The cemetery was opened in the early days of the
Colony for the burial of the Garrison and their families. It was closed for 70
years then it was re-opened in 1942 to bury those who fell in defence of Hong
Kong, as well as civilian internees and prisoners of war. The grave stones are
simple and the small cemetery peaceful in an otherwise city-cacophony.
It was time to head back
home and our route took us across the main dam of the four Tai Tam Reservoirs. The
reservoir is surrounded by the lushly vegetated Mount Butler, Violet Hill, and
Mount Barker which provide another peaceful spot probably not often visited by
the casual tourist in Hong Kong.
Where Ubud is beautiful,
Hong Kong is organization. What was special about being shown over the city by
residents of Hong Kong was that we got to see beyond the organization and into
the quiet spots and the real beauty of the location behind the rapid pace and
concrete structures of the commercial face. There are many things that please
the aesthetic senses such as the birds, the flowers, the monastery, the
temples, and the hills. For the rest it is order and organization over
creativity. Where the air in Ubud is scented with lily flowers, burning
incense, and sweet grasses, Hong Kong’s air is filled with a mixture of sewer
smells, mothballs, and the smell of rotten things…. and … thankfully – no
exhaust!! The emission controls here are very strict. But that is the business
centre, once again out in the hills and on the city’s trails, fresh flower and
vegetation aromas abound. In short, like Vancouver and Rio, Hong Kong is a stunning
city.
We arrived back at
Catherine and Jamie’s flat and ate dinner – Chow Fan, or stir fried rice with
barbecued pork and chicken, Chinese style!! Delicious.
