The End Is Near ...

Van HongKong+Macau-April2009

yep, that's what it is: the end of our travel is coming near. Today is our last day in Hong Kong, tomorrow we're off to Bangkok, then Athens, and then back home. It was great so far!

What did we do for the last days? Walking and walking, sidestreets and small alleys, sniffing life in this extraordinary city. HL bought himself a stamp with his name in chinese (you know, those red stamps that chinese still use to sign contracts), I got my new toy (a camera) and today I even managed to get a spare battery (which is necessary because this toy is hungry for energy!). We strolled mostly in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon, very authentic chinese.

Overall, I'm impressed by the efficiency of the Hongkies, they know how to get things done (e.g. find this spare battery, justt new on the market). No wonder that their living standerd is comparable to Western Europe. And for HL's tiny bladder, it's a blessing that there are public toilets everywhere: try to find that in Europe!

Today we took the train to Mong Kok East (don't think we are getting lazy: we WALKED all the way back to the hotel), all brand new, shiny and clean, lovely. We bought the spare battery in the Grand Century shopping mall there, and then we walked partly back by the sidestreets of Nathan Road (sidestreets, since the main road is really horrible with all that traffic and persistant Indian boys dragging you to an Indian tailor) and at the park we went left to Chatham Road South ... where HL found an outlet store packed with designers brands at bottom prices ... for less then 100 euro he managed to get not less then 5 pieces hehe ! I'm sure now he loves Hong Kong!

I searched on internet where the gay area here might be, and Utopia directed me to Lan Kwai Fong, on the central island, nearby Central MTR station. We went there this evening, not for sexual reasons hehe, but because the gay districts everywhere are normally quite interesting and fashionable. We were not disappointed: a huge rolling path brought us up the mountain, and from there we did our descent by walking. No gay venues found though, but lots of interesting stuff, art, fashion, restaurants ... we had a bite in the Tsui Wah restaurant, packed with people: the groundfloor and 1st floor were already full, we had to climb to the 2nd floor to find a table! The service was swift and accurate, and for a total sum of 7 euro we had a delicious meal.

There is still so much that we haven't seen in Hong Kong: the temples on the New Territories, the islands of Landu and Lamma, ... if we ever come back, our program will be packed :-)

Although I don't know if we'll stay in the Sheraton ... the complimentary breakfast here is very basic (e.g. no eggs) although the suite is small but cosy and quiet at night (thanks to the double door) and the pool is lovely (28°C) and the jacuzzi's are splendid (but not as glamourous as in the Intercontinental!).

And now it's almost midnight ... HL is already sleeping, and I'll hop to bed too !

nitey nitey :-)

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