The first few days...

I arrived at Gwyn and Connie's around 6pm local time.  Gwyn totally understated things when he referred to their 'flat'...an apartment on the 36th floor, 24 hour security/reception, door staff, gym, pool and sauna.  Very palatial and I think I will find the move to cheap hostels a bit of a shock to the system!  It is quite a stark contrast to some of the public housing we saw on the way from the airport, which are characterised by crummy exteriors and washing hanging from windows to dry. 

We headed into Tsim Sha Tsui (about a 10 min ride by shuttle) and wandered through the streets, just soaking up the atmosphere!  It was so busy for a Sunday evening, by NZ standards.  Connie tells me that most shops are open until at least 10pm, 7 days a week.

I spent my first couple of days in Kowloon - the public transport in Hong Kong is fantastic and I found the MTR (underground system) really easy to use.  Headed to the Hong Kong Museum of History which was really interesting, and checked out Ladie's Market in Mon Kok.  As the name suggests, it caters mainly for women - jewellery, handbags, clothing and the like.  Lots of copies of designer hand bags, but Connie says for the best ones they will actually take you out the back and into their residence to buy these. 

We strolled through a wet market, where fruit, veges and meat/fish are sold.  You choose your fish/chicken etc and they will kill and gut it in front of you - can't get much fresher than that!  I even saw frogs, snakes and turtles for sale there.  Surprisingly there were no foul smells, as they were constantly hosing down the area and cleaning up the mess.

The next day I caught the MTR to Diamond Hill and spent the morning in the Nan Lian Garden.  It is so  beautiful and serene, hard to believe it is set in the middle of the urban hustle and bustle!  3 motorway overpasses are above you as you enter, but somehow the noise fades as you enter the gates.  I got told off for eating a banana there though - they don't allow you to eat there as it will attract insects and other pests.  Oops!

Directly behind the garden is the Chi Lin nunnery.  It is a Buddhist nunnery and was absolutely breathtaking.  You enter through 'Lotus Terrace' which has several lotus ponds.  Within the actual complex, visitors can see into rooms which are dedicated to Bhudda and various others.  They all have altars where incense is burned and offerings of fruit sit beneath the statues.  There are several smaller rooms but the main hall was the most amazing - buddha in the middle with bodhisattras and disciples on either side.

Lunch on my first couple of days proved to be a challenge...I didn't want to cheat by heading for the nearest McDs or Pizza Hut, but finding cheap places that had English translations on the menu wasn't easy in the areas I was in.  I managed though, and even asked for the bill in Cantonese!  Although for future reference it's pronounced 'my dun' not 'my dan!'  Dinners were fine as I was always with Connie (a Hong Kong native). 

That night Gwyn and I headed to a Russian restaurant with a  minus 20 degree vodka bar - we donned furs and hats and sampled the extensive vodka menu!  Loads of fun and I had to try the Kiwi flavoured vodka of course.  At that temperature it becomes quite syrupy and is quite pleasant to drink on its own.

The next day I went to Hong Kong Island on the ferry.  Had lunch in Central then I took the Central-Midlevels escalator up to Hollywood Rd (Antique street).  The escalator is the longest in the world and climbs some 800m - and a great alternative to walking the steep and narrow streets uphill!  I wandered down to the Man Mo temple, again lots of statues and incense and people making offerings of fruit.  Met up with Gwyn for dinner then we hit the horse races in Happy Valley...managed to lose on all but the last race, which was a mistake anyway as I had filled out the betting slip wrong!  All in all I was $100 down, which equates to around NZ$25 - not bad for an evening's entertainment!

On Thursday I went to Stanley...a bit of a treacherous bus ride up winding, narrow roads but totally worth it for the view of Repulse Bay!  The markets were much the same as the others I had seen so I checked out Murray House and some of the temples and shrines.  There is a really funny story behind Murray House (I think so anyway...): it is one of Hong Kong's oldest colonial buildingas and was originally based in Central.  It was on a prime piece of land and the government wanted to move it to make way for the new Bank of China Tower.  Because it had such historical value they decided to dismantle Murray House and rebuild it somewhere else.  The government managed to lose some of the pieces, and when these were found some 10 years later they decided to rebuild it in Stanley.  Problem was, the numbers of the different components had faded over the years, and it took 3 1/2 years to put it back together.  When they finished they had 6 leftover columns which they didn't know what to do with, so they now stand in a row outside the main building.

Anyway, I digress.  This is turning out to be a lot longer than I thought it would so I'll sign off now and fill you in on more later!