Dan N Tan took off from Korea to Hong Kong around 8pm on a Wednesday. We had originally planned to stay in a budget hotel in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong for the night but then decided to just sleep at the airport instead. We only had a day in Hong Kong and then we would be off to Bali. We have slept in an airport before (BKK) and knew that this airport was really nice. We later not regret this decision.
So our plane arrived around midnight and we found that the airport was in fact really nice. The architecture was wonderful and inviting. We did a little exploring and then found a nice quite spot with nobody around and made camp. Because the benches have dividers between the seats we were forced to sleep on the ground. It was not difficult for us to do, seeing as our bed in Korea is just as hard as the floor. We used our backpacks as pillows and Latanya used her vacuum safe bag for a bed. That's right Latanya was traveling with a vacuum safe bag in her backpack. A brilliant idea for space, however not ideal for weight on your back.
After our wonderful sleep, kind of, we awoke around 5:30am to find that Latanya had been bitten several times by mosquitoes. Including at least five bites on her ankle alone. Latanya usually has an allergic reaction to mosquito bites so we knew this was not going to be good. We had no idea that we were going to have a mosquito attack in the airport. I guess it's just Latanya's sweet blood that attracts them from far and wide.
So after our shocking discovery we freshened up and got dressed for the day. Our first task was to store our heavy backpacks for the day. We first went to the electronic lockers and found out that you can only gain access to the lockers during certain hours. How stupid is that? So next we tried left luggage and they wanted us to pay $40 for three bags for the day. What, are you crazy! 40 bucks to let are bags sit in a storage room, yeah right. Luckily the night before we were looking into a spa lounge in the airport that also stores luggage. It was much cheaper at $20 but still not cheap enough for me. The lockers were $8 and we paid $5 in Bangkok last year. Oh well, at least it wasn't 40.
Our next task was to get to the center of the city. It was really easy. We went to the counter that said express train to the city, bought two round trip tickets and hopped on the train. The train was really nice and went relatively fast. It took about 25 minutes and we were at Hong Kong Station. A bus would have been cheaper but we wanted to get there faster and not waste any time.
We had a short list of sites we wanted to see and wanted to make the most of our day. We first made our way to Central Station, a main hub, and transfered to another subway line to go a few stops. The Hong Kong subway was easy to ride, functional, clean and efficient. Once we arrived at our destination we walked towards Victoria Harbor and this is when we realized the humidity. It was their monsoon season and we sure could feel it. Luckily we had very little to no rain our entire time in HK. Our walk was nice. It was still earlier in the morning and we saw people either going in early to the office or older people doing their Tai Chi or reading the morning paper. We arrived at our first site. It was a monument named the Forever Blooming Bauhinia Sculpture, which was a gift from China to Hong Kong. The sculpture was basically a golden flower. It was really beautiful. Every morning they have a flag raising ceremony, but because of the luggage situation we were too late. Nearby was another monument representing the reuniting of Hong Kong back to China in 1997. It was really nice to walk along the harbor for a bit and enjoy the morning. It's amazing how quite a city of many millions can be. We were looking out to the other side of the harbor where the mainland is. We were currently on the island of Hong Kong. We were starting to get hungry so we decided to head towards an epic restaurant that is said to serve some amazing Dim Sum. Since we were not in hurry we decided to walk there and explore the downtown some.
We were so impressed with the city center and how nice it was. It was really refreshing to see some actual innovative and inspiring architecture, complete opposite of Seoul. Latanya had to get use to crossing the street and looking the opposite way for traffic. The concept was not easy to get at first, but thankfully on the pavement they had in English, Look Left or Look Right. Our leisure walk took us the distance of about four or five subway stops. We saw the IFC mall which we would go through later. We were able to walk along the walkways that are built above the streets to help ease congestion on the roads. The walkways were super convenient and made you feel less crowded than being on a busy street with people and cars to deal with.
After asking someone how to get to a little tiny street the restaurant is on we finally arrived. At this point we were more than a little hungry. From the outside the place did not look to big. But once we walked in and up the stairs we found a mess hall of about 200 Chinese people, imagine that. We were the only foreigners in the place and all of a sudden we were center stage. Everyone looked at us, it seemed all at once too. We didn't mind in the least, we were used to it by now. By seeing the all the locals and the busyness we knew the food had to be great. We found an open spot near the back and sat down. Our waiter was very nice and told us the table was reserved for a party in about 40 minutes. He said we could sit there as long as we left by that time, we said sure. He brought over some dishes and Jasmine tea along with a dumpling with sausage in the middle and a giant leaf that was wrapped around steamed rice with chicken. Thus far, amazing. We discovered that the food was brought to you on little carts with little old ladies giving you the food from their individual cart. Each cart was different. Some had soups, others dumplings, and some even with chicken feet. All you could ask for, right? You basically picked and chose what you wanted. They would ask you if you wanted it and you said yes or no and they would stamp your bill if you said yes and serve you the dish. We were looking out for the Dim Sum cart. She finally arrived after a few minutes. They were BBQ Buns. Wow, let me tell you they were the most amazing Chinese food I had ever tasted. So delicious. Not only were they huge, the flavor was phenomenal. After our buns it was about time to pay the bill and let them get the table ready for the party. We made sure to get some more Dim Sum to go, for later.
After our amazing brunch we headed towards Victoria's Peak. The peak offers a skyline view of Hong Kong island, the harbor and the main land. In order to get the peak you have to get tickets for a tram that goes up the incredibly steep hillside. We also got tickets to the sky view tower hoping to get an amazing view. As we climbed higher and higher on our tram the city started to disappear. It was then when decided to look up and noticed the thick clouds surrounding the peak. We were still optimistic about our amazing view at the top and hoped we could still see a glimpse of the city. Once to the top of the tower we realized we couldn't see anything. We were disappointed but couldn't help but laugh. In stead of just taking a fogging picture we also opted for a cheesy superimposed photo of the city behind us. And of course when we descended, after eating our Dim Sum to go, we noticed the sky was clearing up. Talk about timing.
Once to the bottom we decided to head to the mainland and check out the Kowloon area. We then relaxed in the Kowloon park, in the shade. It was a really nice area, the park that is. Once we left the park it was not the nicest neighborhood. It was weird, because not even a block away they have all the expensive designer stores such as, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Channel etc. and then close by there were the Chungking Mansions which are tall run down buildings with sketchy looking guys selling knockoffs and you name its. By the way this is where we were going to stay had we gotten a hotel for the night. Latanya was happier with her mosquito bites then having to stay there, that's how bad it looked.
After the mansions we had an appetizer at Outback and then made our way to the harbor. We had a really nice view of Hong Kong island from there. We then had to make our way back to the airport to catch our flight at 7pm to Bali. We got to the airport via the express train again. We were delighted to find our bags safe and sound. Latanya's ankle had ballooned up after all the walking. At this point we just hoped that the swelling would go down for her to go surfing in Kuta. After some medication application we hoped on our plane and headed for our next destination, Bali the Island of the Gods!
