Day of the Rat - Hong Kong 2012

Hong Kong Day 1

Arrived after long and largely sleepless journey. The smoothest entry, and the easiest journey to the Butterfly on Wellington Hotel. Airport Express, fast, clean, frequent trains - directly to Hong Kong Central, and but a short taxi ride.

Tim strikes again! The hotel is located in a busy street crammed with people, cars, market stalls, no distance from the Star ferry, or from the best of Central and Western districts of HK Island, and is overlooked by the peak. No room available at 8am, so off to wander the streets....

 Not yet hungry, headed westwards first, and came across a very posh shopping area. Could have been New York really! Rounded back on myself and headed west, and suddenly very clear that this is China. Des Voeux Road West, crammed with shops overflowing with dried fish products, sacks of seaweed, sharks' fins, birds' nests, black things that looked like tongues but turned out to be (well, Tim forewarned me) reindeer tails, good as a remedy for something or other (he'd forgotten what). The smell was overwhelming and all-pervading, and I have to confess quite nauseating on top of the jet lag. 

Onwards to a grey municipal building, selling VERY fresh food. A fish department, dripping with wetness and fish blood, a meat department selling absolutely every part of an animal you could imagine, the long tails still had the skin on, and the pair of eyeballs just purchased by an old man were still connected to each other by furry skin. The poultry department, well, it had me making a quick exit. If you want to ensure freshness, well, you buy it alive. Need I say more?

Some stunning Chinese silk in the Western Market Hall. A quick visit to an incense laden temple amidst the skyscrapers, a glimpse into a coffin shop where the massive coffins appeared to be carved from very solid tree trunks, and a wander back to the hotel where my room was now ready. An hour's most welcome sleep!

An then a walk via Marks and Spencer (couldn't resist!) to the Star Ferry terminal. Hard wooden benches, the backrest flipping for each direction change, and the quick journey across to Tsim Sha Tsui, at a massive cost of 2.5 HKD (approx 20p).

I was worried that it would get dark soon, on an overcast, grey and humid day, with no clue as to how low the sun was. Tim said 5.30, so I hastened to the Aqua bar on the 29th floor of abuilding overlooking the harbour, with the most wonderful views of HK Island, and across to the west where myriads of small bots were ploughing their way through the channels between the islands. A cocktail, an Aqua Spritz with Aperol, apricot brandy and prosecco to watch the dusk deepen and the lights go on across the water. The only trouble was the light didn't really fade, so I had to have another cocktail. And still it remained obstinately grey. Of course it did eventually fade, but not until 6.45, and then the light show was spectacular!

A journey on the MTR to wander through the night market in Temple Street, and then back on the Star Ferry. A walk back via the elevator system that transports millions of people up through Central towards the Peak.

Almost back to the hotel, and hungry at last, I stopped off in the da pai dong treet restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. Sweet and sour grouper fish, a dish of vegetables and a large Tsing Tao beer. The food delicious, prepared from an amazing mid-street contraption of burners, tin cupboards and bare light bulbs, noisy and mechanical, (made me think of a Raold Dahl machine) by one cheerful guy with a hard-working assistant.

All this and only one rat seen! Honestly, it was brilliant! And then back to sleep like a log.... I didn't waste the first day.