Morse

Morse
Morse & friend

Sunday, 11 June 2017

Hong Kong Dispatch - Sunday, 11th June 2017

 
We are having a wonderful time in Hong Kong & so pleased that we decided to visit here one last time. Our flight was delayed leaving Melbourne, but we were only 30 minutes late arriving here & by the time we had cleared immigration, our bag was waiting for us. We caught the bus to our hotel, as there was a stop in Water Street, right outside – one of many firsts we are attempting this time.

Our 18th floor room is compact, but has a stunning view of the Harbour across to Kowloon & includes a comfortable KS bed, a big TV, free wi-fi & a good shower. The package we took also includes access to the Business area on the 6th floor, with free breakfast, coffee & tea all day & wine & snacks from 5.30pm.

The weather is hot, over 30⁰ each day, with terrible humidity. Yesterday it felt like 40⁰, according to my phone & I think I agree with it. We have been very pleasantly surprised by many changes since our last trip here, where we first met our lovely Sydney friends, Jane & David Knox & Terry McDonald & dear Norma Hutchins from Freo, who died too soon from ovarian cancer.

Everywhere is very clean, smoking is forbidden in many places, nearly everyone we have interacted with speaks English (even cab & bus drivers) & the level of service we have received in this hotel is second to none. Even our room housekeeper speaks & understands a little English.

Long suffering old friends will know that even though I think my needs are very simple, I am, in fact, a pain in the neck at times – especially when travelling. I am in heaven here – congee for breakfast every morning, with lots of interesting accompaniments; Jasmine tea; an Australian TV station that is showing the footy (didn’t discover that until after we paid for a week of Aussie Rules on our computer); quiet, efficient air-conditioning & firm pillows!

On Thursday morning, we decided to walk to the Peak Tram from our hotel in Sai Yin Pun district. We arrived there to discover the Tram was out of action all week, and were encouraged to catch the bus instead. This was another first & we loved it. Up at the Peak we wandered around for a while, but it was too hot to do our usual walk around, so we caught a different bus back to Central. I wanted to get us Octopus cards, and we found we could at any railway station. We qualify for ‘Elder’ status & that reduces the fares considerably.

Back in our hotel, we joined a few others for ‘Cocktails’ which is red & white wine, beer & soft drinks. After a couple of glasses of wine, we headed downstairs to the restaurant here, which had a seafood buffet on offer. A few prawns & lobster tails with salad hit the spot & I finished off with a squid ink pasta, while Wes headed for the ice-creams.

We were replete & unready for the surprise that greeted us in our room. Apparently, we had booked the Romantic Package (we thought we had booked the Explorer Package) & there was a bottle of Prosecco, a bowl of fresh fruit & a dish of chocolate, complete with warming candle & matches. Needless to say, this was all put in the fridge for the next night.

The next morning, we headed to Pier 5 by taxi to catch the fast ferry to our favourite island, Cheung Chau. We first visited it with Jane Danaher, many years ago, and we have continued to enjoy it each time we visit Hong Kong. It cost us $2HK for 35 minutes on the water. We retraced our steps by doing the walk that we first did with Jane & David Knox & on the spur of the moment, Wes decided to enter the traditional barber’s shop & have ‘the best haircut experience of his life’ – for $60HK, about $12AU.






Top to bottom: getting the customer ready; the barber begins; nearly finished & outside the humble establishment

Afterwards we had lunch at ‘Morocco’s’ where we chose Indian curries, which were perfect with the heat. Wes had a beer & I ordered a coconut. On the way back we went by the slow ferry, and sat upstairs in the deluxe area – air-conditioning & tables.

Wes with his new look at lunch

Back at our hotel we discovered that all the trappings of our Romantic Package had been cleared away, so while we enjoyed tea & coffee on the 6th floor, we asked that they be brought back again & they were. We didn’t need dinner after Prosecco & fruit dipped in warm chocolate.

Yesterday we set off on the hotel shuttle bus to catch the Star Ferry to Kowloon. However, we ended up at Hong Kong station instead, where we were able to top up our Octopus cards & discovered we could check ourselves & our bag into our return flights before catching the train to the airport. As the shuttle bus travels to the station hourly, this seems like the perfect way to get to the airport next Friday afternoon. 

Our favourite spot in Kowloon, ‘The Hong Kong Arts & Crafts Store’ was nowhere to be found, but we strolled along Nathan Road looking for a new summer hat for me & a pink shirt for Wes. We found the perfect shirt in Marks & Spencer & celebrated with the most expensive cups of tea ever at Tea WG 1837.



The shop is wonderful to behold & we just loved our big pots of tea with sorbets (mango for me & rose for Wes)

We caught the Star Ferry back & wandered along the various laneways until we reached our hotel, where we were very ready for the air-conditioning & footy!


The business lounge was serving dim sum & other snacks when we headed down & that was enough (with some glasses of wine) for dinner. 

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