Hong Kong Phooey

Monday
Having completed two long haul night flights, we all felt that sleeping did not appear to be an option for us, so before hopping the Perth - Hong Kong red eye we decided to see if we could find some pharmaceuticals to help us. The chemist in Perth seemed very helpful and after a bit of a quizzing about my other medication, pills were duly procured. Lorna approved the brand as she had had some experience with the same stuff. The recommended dose was 1-2 tabs, Lorna said that 1/3 of a tablet gave her 6 hours sleep, the chemist suggested trying one, then if that didn’t work take another; so many conflicting bits of advice. We decided to go with 1 and see what happened! Nothing, nix, nada, no sleep but we were only doing 7.45 hours flight this time, we couldn’t take any more so we arrived in HK in the same sleep deprived state that we had arrived in Singapore and Sydney. The journey from the airport was a piece of cake by now, even though we had to negotiate two changes on the MRT. Hotel achieved only to find room not available.
Tuesday
Having had the same experience in Sydney we knew that a wander around was probably not a good idea so we decided to head for the pool, it was pleasantly warm and the sun was breaking through the clouds. We got towels and lockers and made it to the poolside on top of the hotel, 21st floor and fantastic views of HK Island. Thinking we had scored one for the Holdricks we all slapped on the old sun screen and promptly fell asleep. Half an hour later the cloud/fog/smog blew in with an icy blast of wind. There we were in our swimmers, all creamed up and expecting a couple of hours of R&R thwarted yet again. We tried the pool which was refreshing and warmer than the poolside terrace but we couldn’t stay there for 2-3 hrs. A hot shower in the spa helped and we headed back down to the reception area lounge. By this time I was starting to feel very drowsy as though I was walking through treacle, everything ….. Seemed….. Very………. Far……..away …… I think the sleeping aids were kicking in, we tried to play cards to keep us awake but apparently this was frowned on in the lobby so we sat there like three zombies with one two or all of us nodding of at one time or another. What a sight we must have been! I can report that during the course of our three days here it seems that this is a fairly common occurrence so I don’t feel so bad about it now.
After some negotiation we finally got into our rooms which were large and comfortable and had a great view of HK Island. SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. Hunger woke us up in the evening but being too zonked to battle with serious food procurement we gave ourselves to the siren call of a local well known fast food emporium.
Wednesday
Morning and we awoke fresh as daisies hopped on the hotel bus to downtown HK. The first thing on the list was the Star Ferry, iconic it may have been but in Chris’s eyes still a boat and it was a bit choppy. Fortunately the trip was not long enough to do any serious damage to his equilibrium. The 15c bus took us to the next notch on our HK bed; the tram to the Peak. As the weather continued to be cloudy the views from the top could have been clearer but were still impressive. After some serious tat was bought in the mall below, we headed for the bus down. I think it can be said that this was the bus ride of our lives. The boys were sitting in the front seats on the top of a double decker (next to the nutter but thereby hangs another tale ‘there is always one but why do they always sit next to me’ Chris Holdrick). The driver was taking no prisoners and was definitely late for his Tea. I have ridden on some precarious Greek roads in coaches but never before on the top deck. We’re thinking of nominating Lewis Hamilton down in the driving cab for an award, and the boys were looking for a change of underwear. I sensibly sat one seat behind close enough to appreciate the fun but not so close that I might be reacquainted with my breakfast.
Once normality had been restored we had a wander round some of the old street vending stalls, fascinating but we couldn’t persuade L to eat there so we hopped onto the MTR and headed to the next thing on the HK list ….. The cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world ……..
Tim Ho Wan sure was an experience. Having built up our expectations I would like to report with gushing enthusiasm about our foray into true Chinese delicacies. Well it was like the Curates egg -good in parts. The BBQ pork buns were a treat, delicious in every way and the deep fried dumplings passed muster. I pride myself on having a fairly wide repertoire when it comes to food that I can enjoy but I could not cope with the chicken’s feet, although the black bean sauce that they were served in was tasty. The beef with rice and egg was passable once the fried egg was removed from the top (not my taste but Chris ate it and said it was ok) The chicken with mushroom came with one recognisable mushroom which I ate and can confirm it tasted like mushroom it was also accompanied by what looked like tripe although I assume it was some sort of fungus - gelatinous – and avoided after the first nibble. The (what they called vermicelli dishes) were edible but only tasted of soy sauce really, the steamed Prawn dumplings were good and the prawn and pork dumplings were also fine although I did find that a bit of an odd combination, again I put that down to my uneducated palate; when the ‘pudding’ came A jelly creation which I was given to believe contained elderflowers (one of my favourite flavours) I found it hugely disappointing, just cold and rather tasteless. There were a few other things that I would have liked to try - a rice dish that came wrapped in a leaf, the steamed vegetable dish and a cake dish that I could not see on the menu (not sure if it was in the ‘pudding’ section but people around us seemed to be eating it with the savoury stuff). There was a bit of a theme running through the meat - fatty and sinewy. All in all it was an experience we will never repeat, if it hadn’t been for all the hype we would never have set foot in what was obviously a totally authentic local eating establishment and for that reason alone I am glad we went. The area around the place was equally surprising with shop windows full of guns and lively markets going on; a small piece of authenticity in a sea of intercontinental hotels and shopping centres.
We returned to the hotel with an hour to spare before it was time to head out to the avenue of stars, to watch the symphony of lights and music which occurs every evening at 8pm. The light show can be seen from all over the waterfront but it is only at the avenue of stars where you get the true theatre of the spectacle, with commentary and music. There was a crowd down there when we arrived and secured our place not quite knowing what to expect. There were boatloads of people on the water in ferries adorned with lights for the occasion. The buildings lit up and the lasers flashed, the whole event was close but no cigar; it was definitely worth the effort of getting down there but…. Am I just being picky? It could have been better….. Ooh I’m just never satisfied! All I wanted was a few more colours in the Lasers green is just so samey, they could surely have managed a few more! A red and a blue would have done it for me and maybe octarine (just for you Chess) that would have made it truly spectacular.