Landing in Sydney on a clear morning with the sun glinting off the Opera House, the traffic crawling across the Harbour Bridge, the water of Botany bay glittering as the plane descends, is a hard to beat; as good a way to arrive in Australia as any I should imagine.
My flight from Hong Kong had been quicker than expected and I had even managed a little sleep. I had arranged a day and half to explore Hong Kong and had loved every minute of it. I hadn’t set foot in the city since I was about 14 was very keen to reacquaint myself post ‘handover’.
I checked into a small but very nice hotel in Causeway Bay and immediately set out to explore the city. I took the MTR to Nathan Road on Kowloon side. I remember as a child, being in awe of the size, the shininess and bustle of the shopping centres in Hong Kong. The bustle was still there but the awe had gone. Maybe it was because the same centres can be found is any give suburb in Australia. But then, I hadn’t really gone to Hong Kong to shop. The afternoon was wearing on and I had a few things on the agenda, so I set off to walk to down Nathan Road to the harbour. The traffic, the thousands of people, the neon signs all make Nathan Road an incredible place to wander – even if the experience is somewhat like human pinball on the crowded pavements. The closer you get to the harbour the more salubrious Nathan Road gets. The hotels get bigger, and have more stars; the shops get more fashionable and turn from electronics to clothes; trees start to make an appearance and eventually you are standing beside the Hotel Peninsular and staring at where you think the harbour should be. Instead you see only the pink edifice that is the performing arts complex, a particularly 80s design that grinds slightly with grand Peninsular across the street.
Working my way through a maze of pedestrian subways (beaten in complexity only by the phenomenal underground labyrinth at Elephant
and Castle in London) I made my way to the Star Ferry terminal for a quick trip across to Central on Hong Kong Island. The Star Ferry is a great way to see the city from harbour, and for a pittance. In 10 minutes the ferry cuts across the harbour amongst junks, pleasure craft, barges and flotsam and jetsam to dock in Central.
Living in London I get used to large number of cranes on the horizon, but the number in and around Central is enormous. Beside the ferry terminal alone was a reclamation site that must have had 20 or 30 cranes.
Walking around the mass of construction, I hiked up through the city to the Peak Tram. The sun was starting to set and I was keen to get to the top while there was still a little light. The trip up in the Peak Tram is great. It feels like you are being dragged up a wall. I had to stand on the trip up due to the crowds and found myself braced against a rail to maintain my footing. The Peak is now home to a rather large development with markets, restaurants, shops and of course, right at the very top, a viewing platform. As the light was fading I made my way up countless escalators to the top and found the city sprawling far below in the evening twilight. It was a cool night, but clear, and a perfect opportunity for photography as the daylight faded and the lights of the city came on.
The cool temperature on the Peak and a need to eat, forced me from the view and an hour later, at the recommendation of my hotel, found me strolling along Hollywood Road looking alternately at the menus of the restaurants and in the windows of the now closed antique shops. I settled on nice looking restaurant called Wagyu and found myself unintentionally in an establishment run by Australians. Dinner consisted of and Aussie beef pizza washed down with Chinese beer quite a decent combination in Hong Kong. I had intended to find a decent bar somewhere for a few quite beers – it was only about 8:30pm, but tiredness and the prospect of a very long day the next day – including an 8 hour flight to Australia - changed my mind.
I had arranged a tour for the morning. I had already been to the Peak and was planning to spend the afternoon in Stanley (both on the itinerary of most Hong Kong Island tours), so I chose a
tour to the New Territories. It visited the Buddhist, Bamboo Temple (not made of bamboo anymore) a Wishing Tree, an ancient walled town and the Hong Kong China ‘border’. The view across to China from the lookout was most impressive. The city of Shenzhen sprawls into the distance in a white blur. Nice to know where all those Nike shoes come from!
I decided to take public transport to Stanley to visit the famous markets and have a look at the Hong Kong ‘Riviera’. The road is narrow and windy and steep and slightly disconcerting in a clapped out bus, but the views are beautiful. The palatial houses around Repulse Bay cling to the hillsides amongst tropical greenery. I did not remember this part of Hong Kong from my last visit and was surprised by the white sandy beaches and clean, clear, blue water. Stanley village sits amongst this greenery at the end of a
small peninsular bordered on the sides by sandy beaches. The market was a nice place to stroll and was thankfully rather quite the day I was there, but it was a lot smaller than I expected. I bought a couple of small gifts before retracing my tracks back to Causeway Bay. It was time to head to the airport so I collected my baggage from the hotel and took the airport train…
…and the following morning I was marvelling at the beauty of the place as I landed in Sydney.
The short flight to Brisbane followed where I was met by the parents. It had been almost 6 months since I had seen them last in Istanbul of all places.
So, I was back home. Brisbane was hot and sunny. Brisbane was humid. Brisbane was unchanged. Sure it has a couple of tunnels now; the bones of a couple of new bridges over the river are in place; there are a few new high-rise in the city; and it has more water, but the place hasn’t really changed in a year, thankfully.
The 3 weeks leading up to Christmas were a delightful blur of social activities.
The primary of course being with the family; my parents, my brothers, my great aunt.
Margaret and Richard asked me to lunch. They are avid readers of this dodgy account of my life, having travelled a lot in the UK and Europe, and I was keen to catch up with them face to face. We spend a lovely afternoon, chatting, and dining on most excellent food, and I thank them wholeheartedly for their hospitality.
I had lunch with my former work-mates. A beery lunch the University’s campus club eating the same (slightly dodgy) food I had eaten with them on any give day during the 4 year I worked with them. The place didn’t seem to have changed too much despite some upheavals. By and large the same happy faces were still there, eager to laugh and have a good time.
My former boss and his wife asked me to dinner.
I managed, through some minor miracle, to get all my old school friends in one place at one time and spent a weekend on the Gold Coast with them. The weather was a tad blustery, but we made it to the beach, to the surf club and to numerous restaurants in Broadbeach.
Friend Helen (she happens to adore that reference – sorry Helen) dropped by after Christmas. It was great to catch up and look through some photos of Paris and Switzerland.
The 3 weeks after Christmas were a bit of a bonus - I ended up staying a little longer due to a paperwork delay with my visa. Despite having no plans for this period it seemed to pass in a flash.
I managed a couple of days away in Pottsville. Bruce and Joan had invited me down if I had the time, so I took them up on the offer. Pottsville is a lovely little seaside town; much smaller than a lot of the surrounding towns. It’s basically one small street, a bowls club and a caravan park on the river (I don’t even recall seeing a pub!). But the beach is miles of unspoilt white sand and rolling surf. The countryside around Pottsville is some of the most beautiful you will ever see. I spent an afternoon driving around - through Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby, Bangalow and Byron Bay. I had lunch In Byron, and wandered up along the path around Cape Byron, although I didn’t make it right up to the lighthouse, having parked a little too far away. So I drove back to Pottsville and the next day to Brisbane.
…and 2 days later the time finally came for me to come back. A job and a flat awaited me in London as hopefully does a lot more travelling in 2009.
My flight from Hong Kong had been quicker than expected and I had even managed a little sleep. I had arranged a day and half to explore Hong Kong and had loved every minute of it. I hadn’t set foot in the city since I was about 14 was very keen to reacquaint myself post ‘handover’.
I checked into a small but very nice hotel in Causeway Bay and immediately set out to explore the city. I took the MTR to Nathan Road on Kowloon side. I remember as a child, being in awe of the size, the shininess and bustle of the shopping centres in Hong Kong. The bustle was still there but the awe had gone. Maybe it was because the same centres can be found is any give suburb in Australia. But then, I hadn’t really gone to Hong Kong to shop. The afternoon was wearing on and I had a few things on the agenda, so I set off to walk to down Nathan Road to the harbour. The traffic, the thousands of people, the neon signs all make Nathan Road an incredible place to wander – even if the experience is somewhat like human pinball on the crowded pavements. The closer you get to the harbour the more salubrious Nathan Road gets. The hotels get bigger, and have more stars; the shops get more fashionable and turn from electronics to clothes; trees start to make an appearance and eventually you are standing beside the Hotel Peninsular and staring at where you think the harbour should be. Instead you see only the pink edifice that is the performing arts complex, a particularly 80s design that grinds slightly with grand Peninsular across the street.
Working my way through a maze of pedestrian subways (beaten in complexity only by the phenomenal underground labyrinth at Elephant
and Castle in London) I made my way to the Star Ferry terminal for a quick trip across to Central on Hong Kong Island. The Star Ferry is a great way to see the city from harbour, and for a pittance. In 10 minutes the ferry cuts across the harbour amongst junks, pleasure craft, barges and flotsam and jetsam to dock in Central.Living in London I get used to large number of cranes on the horizon, but the number in and around Central is enormous. Beside the ferry terminal alone was a reclamation site that must have had 20 or 30 cranes.
Walking around the mass of construction, I hiked up through the city to the Peak Tram. The sun was starting to set and I was keen to get to the top while there was still a little light. The trip up in the Peak Tram is great. It feels like you are being dragged up a wall. I had to stand on the trip up due to the crowds and found myself braced against a rail to maintain my footing. The Peak is now home to a rather large development with markets, restaurants, shops and of course, right at the very top, a viewing platform. As the light was fading I made my way up countless escalators to the top and found the city sprawling far below in the evening twilight. It was a cool night, but clear, and a perfect opportunity for photography as the daylight faded and the lights of the city came on.
The cool temperature on the Peak and a need to eat, forced me from the view and an hour later, at the recommendation of my hotel, found me strolling along Hollywood Road looking alternately at the menus of the restaurants and in the windows of the now closed antique shops. I settled on nice looking restaurant called Wagyu and found myself unintentionally in an establishment run by Australians. Dinner consisted of and Aussie beef pizza washed down with Chinese beer quite a decent combination in Hong Kong. I had intended to find a decent bar somewhere for a few quite beers – it was only about 8:30pm, but tiredness and the prospect of a very long day the next day – including an 8 hour flight to Australia - changed my mind.I had arranged a tour for the morning. I had already been to the Peak and was planning to spend the afternoon in Stanley (both on the itinerary of most Hong Kong Island tours), so I chose a
tour to the New Territories. It visited the Buddhist, Bamboo Temple (not made of bamboo anymore) a Wishing Tree, an ancient walled town and the Hong Kong China ‘border’. The view across to China from the lookout was most impressive. The city of Shenzhen sprawls into the distance in a white blur. Nice to know where all those Nike shoes come from!I decided to take public transport to Stanley to visit the famous markets and have a look at the Hong Kong ‘Riviera’. The road is narrow and windy and steep and slightly disconcerting in a clapped out bus, but the views are beautiful. The palatial houses around Repulse Bay cling to the hillsides amongst tropical greenery. I did not remember this part of Hong Kong from my last visit and was surprised by the white sandy beaches and clean, clear, blue water. Stanley village sits amongst this greenery at the end of a
small peninsular bordered on the sides by sandy beaches. The market was a nice place to stroll and was thankfully rather quite the day I was there, but it was a lot smaller than I expected. I bought a couple of small gifts before retracing my tracks back to Causeway Bay. It was time to head to the airport so I collected my baggage from the hotel and took the airport train……and the following morning I was marvelling at the beauty of the place as I landed in Sydney.
The short flight to Brisbane followed where I was met by the parents. It had been almost 6 months since I had seen them last in Istanbul of all places.
So, I was back home. Brisbane was hot and sunny. Brisbane was humid. Brisbane was unchanged. Sure it has a couple of tunnels now; the bones of a couple of new bridges over the river are in place; there are a few new high-rise in the city; and it has more water, but the place hasn’t really changed in a year, thankfully.
The 3 weeks leading up to Christmas were a delightful blur of social activities.
The primary of course being with the family; my parents, my brothers, my great aunt.
Margaret and Richard asked me to lunch. They are avid readers of this dodgy account of my life, having travelled a lot in the UK and Europe, and I was keen to catch up with them face to face. We spend a lovely afternoon, chatting, and dining on most excellent food, and I thank them wholeheartedly for their hospitality.
I had lunch with my former work-mates. A beery lunch the University’s campus club eating the same (slightly dodgy) food I had eaten with them on any give day during the 4 year I worked with them. The place didn’t seem to have changed too much despite some upheavals. By and large the same happy faces were still there, eager to laugh and have a good time.
My former boss and his wife asked me to dinner.
I managed, through some minor miracle, to get all my old school friends in one place at one time and spent a weekend on the Gold Coast with them. The weather was a tad blustery, but we made it to the beach, to the surf club and to numerous restaurants in Broadbeach.
Friend Helen (she happens to adore that reference – sorry Helen) dropped by after Christmas. It was great to catch up and look through some photos of Paris and Switzerland.
The 3 weeks after Christmas were a bit of a bonus - I ended up staying a little longer due to a paperwork delay with my visa. Despite having no plans for this period it seemed to pass in a flash.
I managed a couple of days away in Pottsville. Bruce and Joan had invited me down if I had the time, so I took them up on the offer. Pottsville is a lovely little seaside town; much smaller than a lot of the surrounding towns. It’s basically one small street, a bowls club and a caravan park on the river (I don’t even recall seeing a pub!). But the beach is miles of unspoilt white sand and rolling surf. The countryside around Pottsville is some of the most beautiful you will ever see. I spent an afternoon driving around - through Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby, Bangalow and Byron Bay. I had lunch In Byron, and wandered up along the path around Cape Byron, although I didn’t make it right up to the lighthouse, having parked a little too far away. So I drove back to Pottsville and the next day to Brisbane.
…and 2 days later the time finally came for me to come back. A job and a flat awaited me in London as hopefully does a lot more travelling in 2009.
