Yuen Po Street Bird Garden
Visiting the bird garden in Mong Kok is absolutely essential. There’s a real flavour of China about it.
Hong Kong Street Scene
So what’s it like on a normal street in Hong Kong. Hopefully this video will provide an insight.
In which I visit the very Chinese Yuen Po Bird Garden and get shouted at in a goldfish shop.
15 April 2011 - 1802 Hong Kong
Yuen Po Bird Garden and the nearby goldfish markets were a little bit horrifying if, like me, you find looking at animals being kept in tiny cages and tanks a little off-putting. Thing is though, there was palpable love for the animals. Owners were bringing the birds they already owned to the market as if on an outing. The goldfish shops were crammed full of enthusiasts. I got shouted at in one shop for trying to take a photo of one particularly full fish tank. I imagine they know they shouldn’t really be keeping their fish in such conditions and they’re keen to keep things low key.
My feet are killing me. I’m on the tube now on my way to get some food at Tai Koo before heading back to my room. Only three full days left on my marathon trip. Then I have two weeks off work to recover and sort though my photos, of which I must have taken about 1500, if not more.
I’m glad I cut Japan out of this trip. I wouldn’t have been able to cope. HK is enough of a culture shock in my current state. I can’t go on much longer.
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Dinner was ace! Had spicy Kimchi Soup with rice (obviously) and Iced Lemon Kumquat to wash it down.
Peak Tram
In places, the gradient of the Peak Tram to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island hits 27 degrees. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re sat on it, traveling at 6 metres per second and getting neck ache, it feels rather terrifying. Though in a good way.
In which I take a 25 minute cable car ride to the beautiful Po Lin Monastery where I soak in the atmosphere and try Snow Fungus Cake.
15 April 2011 - 1155 Hong Kong
Currently sat inside the Po Lin Buddhist Monastery. It’s all rather nice. Very atmospherically Chinese. Lots of Chinese architecture and signs. Makes for great photos. It took 25 minutes to get here via cablecar. Longest cable car ride I’ve ever been on. I got a great view of the airport as we sailed along.
There’s a lovely smell of incense permeating the air. In half an hour, I’m heading for the monastery restaurant for a vegetarian meal. Exciting.
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I had good reason to be excited. I was served a soup and tea to start with, then after a few minutes, a saucepan (an actual saucepan) of rice arrived with two plates of vegetables and a third plate of spring rolls. Really enjoyed the experience.
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Now for cake. Coconut Lotus Sago Cake, Mango Sweet Agar-Agar and Snow fungus Cake. Mmmm.
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Gurrghh! Too much cake. Really good though. I particularly enjoyed the Snow Fungus cake. It was like mushroom flavoured jelly.
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And that was my visit to Ngong Ping. I’m writing this so I don’t have to make eye contact with the member of staff employed to take photos of everyone. Why do they insist on doing this? They’re terrible photos. Off to a goldfish market when I get back to the city.
In which I take the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, visit Hong Kong Zoo and watch some undesirable behaviour.
14 March 2011 - 1239 Hong Kong
Just had a spot of lunch at Food Republic, a food court run by a Singapore firm. It was okay. Nothing special. £3 though for chicken, rice and soup so no complaints.
Has to be said, people here are damn rude. People blatantly push in front of you in queues, knock into you if you’re in their way, don’t wait for you to get out of lifts or trains before they get in and do that gross nasal grunting thing a lot. I’m going to start shouting at people if it continues. I don’t care if that’s the way things are done here. I will not just accept rudeness. If the people of Singapore can be overflowing with politeness and manners (which they were), the people of HK can be the same.
British people don’t think of themselves as polite as their stereotypical reputation suggests, but we so are! We are so blooming polite.
Also, and I’m not sure why but still, I’m wary of hygiene here. I’m sure I have nothing to worry about but there are a lot of signs up instructing people to cover their mouths when they sneeze, that so-and-so button is routinely sanitised and there are a lot of people wearing face masks. I’ve been lucky to have only been slightly ill once in New Zealand so far on this trip. I reckon I’ll be lucky if I come away from HK without catching something, particularly in my current run-down state.
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At the Peak Tram station for Victoria Peak. It’s much clearer today so I’ll hopefully get to see something when I get to the top. They make everyone pose for photos in front of a backdrop before getting a ticket. I had to say no twice. They’re really after your money here. Most people are falling for it.
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I’m now in HK Zoological and Botanic Gardens. Seems like quite a big place with plenty to see. It’s really cheap to get in to too. Actually, it’s completely free! I’m just having a bit of a rest right now in a cafe. Just got a bottle of tea and a ice cream for £1.50. I’m sorry to keep going on about how cheap everything is here, but everything here is really cheap! There’s a real tropical feel in these gardens. I like it.
The Peak was predictably a tourist trap. The view was ok, but there are two shopping malls selling crap on top and not much more. The tram was fun. It was much steeper than I had imagined. Whatever the steepness you’re imagining right now, double it.
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Having another evening in. Big Bang Theory is on TV. There are two English language channels, each showing an array of mostly cheap imports. The channels themselves are very low budget. Big Bang was preceding by a warning of ‘occasional portrayals of undesirable behaviour.’ Yikes!
Just popped out to the mall to get something sweet to eat. Ended up with a nice cake. I ordered something else but it got lost in translation. Nice though, especially as it was washed down with a creme caramel soy bean drink.
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An ad on tv just now says the minimum wage is being introduced in HK from 1 May. It’s HK$28. Really low!
Hong Kong Vending Machine
Finally, the question of how exciting a video of someone buying a drink from a vending machine using a contactless ‘Octopus’ payment card can be settled. I’ll let you decide.
Telefishion
World TV in Hong Kong doesn’t have much to broadcast in the mornings so instead, they turn your TV into a fish tank. Awesome!
In which Matt does his laundry, laughs at the Symphony of Lights and nearly capsizes on the Star Ferry.
14 April 2011 - 1013 Hong Kong
Sitting outside the in-house laundry mart waiting for my clothes to dry. I have a view of the surrounding neighbourhood from up here on the 12th floor. Bit clearer today so I’m heading to Victoria Peak by tram to check out the skyline.
Went to see the Symphony of Lights last night in Kowloon. It was tasteless and boring I’m afraid. The soundtrack was hilariously bad. Having seen the light show in Singapore and actually been quite moved by it, Hong Kong is going to have to try much harder.
The best things that happened yesterday were (a), riding the double-decker tram. It was really good fun and a great way to see the city; and (b), riding the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour. Upon arrival at Tsim Sha Tsui, the water suddenly became very choppy, pitching the boat into a frenzied sideways dance. Passengers lunged back to their seats, children screamed and the drawbridge was raised again to the sound of staff members yelling into the public address system. For some reason, I felt I was merely an observer to the panic rather than being thrust suddenly into a precarious situation. Perhaps it was the tiredness, but I didn’t even flinch. In retrospect, it was rather good fun.
Gonna wear my shorts today. Far too hot for jeans. Hopefully that’ll keep my temperament on the cool side.
Sat next to a couple of vending machines. One serves hot drinks in a can. Gonna try it I think.
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Lovely! It was Soybean Milk. Seems like the cans are kept constantly warm as it was vended immediately. Really liked it. Theres a similarly designed can next to it only it’s brown so I assume that’s chocolate flavour. I’ll try that one another time.
Not only did it taste good, but the ordering process was really cool. I used my Octopus card to pay for it. I just had to wave the card over the octopus logo on the machine, press the button and out came the drink. Awesome! Cost about 45p too.
Riding The Hong Kong Tram
Within hours of my arrival in Hong Kong, I was riding the double-decker tram through its busy streets. It turned into a bit of an obsession.
