It’s been another massively busy day, with me running around trying to tick as many things off the list as possible. Again I’ve been left feeling exhausted and with aching feet, but now with the additional inclusion of a nice, crisp, red shiny nose, courtesy of the Hong Kong sun. I have zero legibility to complain about any of this, however, so these things are merely said as an observation 
I started off with another ferry trip over to Hong Kong island, where I jumped on another sightseeing bus on its way to Stanley. I felt less guilty about getting on this time, since the bus was heading where I wanted to go to anyway, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. And an enjoyable journey it was, the commentary on the in-tour headphones mixed with QVC style easy-listening music, somewhat randomly interspersed with Joe Satriani style shred guitar solos. Most odd…
The bus journeyed through the skyscraper side of Hong Kong island, passing the racetrack, and heading in to a tunnel bound for Aberdeen. I can only assume this was some sort of magical tunnel, because soon after we emerged at the other end the landscape changed from bustling city, to hilly greenland, and then just as suddenly to Mediterranean-style beach town. Unusual indeed but it certainly made for a fun ride.
The bus stopped at Stanley, where I took a wander along the seafront before heading to the famous market. Unfortunately the vendors there don’t take kindly to any sort of photography, so no pictures to see from there!
I looked around long enough to pick up a few gifts for people at home, and sent them off there and then. Hopefully those who shall be receiving them soon will enjoy!
After this brief spot of shopping I realised once again that time was very much against me, so I jumped into another taxi and headed for “Jumbo Kingdom”, the famous Chinese floating restaurant a bit further down the coast.
After arriving at Shum Wan pier I took a free ferry ride across the small stretch of water between the restaurant and the mainland.
I was pretty taken back by the design and the architecture of the building, both inside and out. Everything was incredibly detailed and ornate, from the artwork on the walls to the sculpted elements on all the railings and fixtures. I soon realised after seeing all of this, as well as the decoration of the restaurants inside, that there was no way I could afford to eat in a place like this. It looked quite obscenely expensive, and being as I’m travelling solo, and consequently just as content eating a £3 meal in a market street precinct, I gave it a miss. Not only that but I have a feeling that within seconds of entering, the chef would appear in a doorway and start hurling saucepans at me in an encouraging display of his desire for me to leave immediately
So…upon marvelling at the floating restaurant’s splendour, I took the ferry back to the pier, and jumped in a taxi to the tram terminus for Victoria Peak.
At 1:30am it’s far too late for me to give you a history and engineering lecture on the Peak tram service, but suffice to say it’s a pretty impressive ride. It took just a few minutes for the tram to make the climb up the top, moving so fast that my ears popped, and at almost 45 degree levels of steepness at times.
Peak Tram
I lunched on noodles in the Peak shopping plaza before taking an escalator even higher up to the observation deck on the roof of the building, from where one can take in the most spectacular view of all of Hong Kong.
The peak by day
So impressive it was, that I went back again in the evening. By this time there were literally hundreds of people lined up right across the edge, their big SLR cameras set up on chunky tripods, and I almost felt a little bit foolish standing amongst them all with my pocket camera and nothing to lean it on but the wall.
My pics came out alright as well though
I stayed up there until 8:30pm, when I made my way back down into the shopping plaza, getting a quick bite to eat and then heading back down on the tram, taking a taxi to the pier, and boarding the ferry once more to Kowloon pier.
I sat for a while on the other side of the water, taking in the harbour view one more time before heading back to my hotel. I took a few last photos across the bay before walking back to my hotel room, thinking along the way about how I’ve only been here for four nights, and finding it hard to believe.
Tomorrow is my last day in Hong Kong before I fly to Hanoi, and although my time here has been short and hectic, I am very happy that I got the chance to see it. All that remains now is to make the most of tomorrow before heading to Vietnam and starting the next part of my journey, albeit at a slightly slower pace!
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Tagged: Hong Kong, Hong Kong island