Last day of travel

On our last night in HK we had asked the hotel staff for some help with restaurants, transport etc. We got chatting and they asked us what we thought of mainland China vs HK. We were polite and diplomatic saying each place had its good and bad points. Our jaws were on the floor though when our hotel man asked us if we didn't think "Hong Kong people were a better class of people than mainland Chinese"? Crikey!! I still can't believe they think like that.....

I had read in the paper about how the HK media loves to pick on mainland movie star Zhang Ziyi, with one sledge accompanying a photo saying "Miss Zhang displays the special trait of our motherland's compatriots" squatting down, her legs splayed. Read the article here. In HK, just as in Macau it had been rare for us to see a squat toilet. I think they're ABOVE squatting in HK.

After an early start we caught the last form of public transport we hadn't yet tried in HK - the bus! The day before we had given their double-decker skinny trams a go. For $2 we were able to go from Hong Kong Island via the Harbour tunnel to near the Hung Hom railway station to go back to Guangzhou. The train ride was very smooth but we were definately back in Chinese territory - there was a squat toilet on the train! I'll say it was a challenge to use it but a well placed vertical rail to hold onto helped LOL! We passed fields, factories and towns and thought about how different life was for those in mainland China compared to the Honkers people with their aspirations for greatness.

In Guangzhou we jumped off the train and onto the Metro for 2 stops. RB kindly let me check if the shoes I'd been chasing were available in GZ. After scouring the shops of the 5 story Tee Mall I let it rest. Time to move! We cabbed it back to Ramada Hotel in the rain and picked up all the other pieces of luggage.... all 5 of them. EEK!

Lunch was a small serve of dim sum treats. Our last meal in China and a good 'un too. So much cheaper than in HK! We had just enough RMB left to pay for a cab to the airport, a bottle of water ($5 AUD ripped off!) and some more souvenirs!

On the flight to Singapore we moved to a more spacious spot at the bulkhead. Unfortunately RB left his shoulder bag on the plane. He'd put it under the seat for landing and forgotten to retrieve it amongst all the other pieces of luggage we had :( After an hour of duty free shopping in Changi airport I noticed our boarding gate said "Last call". Dropping the duty free tequila we were going to buy we raced to the gate to see that we were one of the first to get there. Damn! It was too far to go back and we might as well get on the plane early and get settled. Just as we boarded RB asked if I had the bag inside my backpack where it had been earlier in the day. Nope :( We had his laptop bag, my backpack, my painting, his speakers and no shoulder bag. In a huge rush we alerted the staff, RB left the plane to handle the paperwork, we eventually got the bag back before takeoff, but minus a mobile phone and digital camera :( BUMMMMMMMMMER. I've had some shit flights. I'll notch that one up as one too, as we two kids felt a bit sad about the loss after everything going so smoothly on the trip. Oh well!

I must say I was happy when we landed, counted the luggage getting off the plane, counted it after picking up the other bags off the carousel, and counted it on the footpath outside the house with the cabbie double checking we had all the bags too because RB had tried to tell him we had them all while my huge Mountain Designs backpack sat there in the boot looking at us! The poor tired kids had made it home safe, minus some belongings, but with many new souvenirs and some great memories.

See you back here when I next travel.... or maybe in between then and now ;)

Plans go awry

Today we awoke with a bold plan and many things to be accomplished. This was our last day to buy computer bits, shoes, anything we wanted as well as see some more sights in HK. The plan had been to get up early, hit the shops, take the booty back to the hotel, pick up the camera and go sightseeing until an early dinner and bed.

9am we got down to the shops and saw that many were closed and the one I wanted to go to wouldn't be open until 11am! Bloody! :S Hunger led to grumpy discussions and it was decided to walk to the computer malls and stop for breaky on the way. Luckily we saw the sign for Maxim's yum cha which was on right at that moment and we dashed in to get a table! This was probably the best yum cha I have ever had in my life. We paid about $40 for it, almost the same as we might at home, but the 8 dishes we ate were all so excellent. Many were ones we were familiar with and we marvelled at our they were just that little bit nicer! The staff were lovely even though we didn't speak Chinese and it was lots of fun! With a full tum of yum cha, plans going astray was much easier to take!

Since most of the computer shops were closed also (RB should have realised nerds sleep late after a night of gaming or net surfing) we switched to doing the sightseeing. We took the Peak Tram up to one of the highest points on Hong Kong Island to check the view. This tramway has been running since 1888, taking people up the hill. The best thing besides the view was the rainforest on the top of the island. It was great to walk under the overhanging trees and feel the cool air after the hot humidity down in the town. If I lived in HK I'd be up in the forest all the time to balance the highrise living + working.

The HK Botanic and Zoological Garden was our next stop. From a botanical side it was pretty crap. A few signs on some trees and a glass house with several different orchids doesn't cut it. Singapore still holds the crown for the best Asian botanic garden I have visited. They had a few animals to see. The birds were off bounds because of bird flu fears. Lots of zoos are actually vacinating their bird stocks to keep them safe. The jaguar was sleepy in the near 30C heat. The monkeys were much more vigorous and they had a few cool species I hadn't seen before. I also saw an echidna!

With the first pair of shoes purchased we had another beer around at Lan Kwai Fong and great fries to soak it up. Computer bits were found, and then it was back to the first shop where it had all started. We ended up with 4 pairs of shoes (3XHH, 1XRB), and a discount on them care of the lovely Chinese couple we met while trying on all the shoes. RB was doing a hard bargain and as this couple were paying at the same time the man said, "Use my new discount card to give my friends a discount please!" Woohoo!

I gave up my dreams of buying a pair of green, purple and pink Nike Air shoes after we couldn't get them in my size at 2 stores. We'd already chased across town to 3 shoes for one pair of shoes, so now it was time to get the ones we did have into the backpack to get back to Guangzhou!

HK day two

Tuesday morning we took off for Kowloon on the otherside of the harbour. We had a great walk along the waterfront to get to the ferry terminal to Hung Hom. I had seen some junks (boats) on the harbour yesterday in front of the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre. Weirdly we hadn't found anywhere geared up for sitting and relaxing and taking in the harbour views, even though this reclaimed piece of land jutted into the harbour. This morning though we walked past a huge boat mooring area and could see all the different sized junks and how many people lived on this boats. They looked so old and cool!

My sisters had stayed at Kowloon when they went to HK about 2 weeks before we did. They had had a hard time getting some accomodation because the town was going off because the Rugby 7's were on. Thankfully for us they finished the night before we arrived, so HK was cheaper for us to stay there. The sisters had reported that Kowloon was dirty and yukky and that the Island was much nicer. We found the Island to be a little sterile, so the more we explored the streets of Hung Hom in Kowloon the better we felt. It was much more like mainland China with the apartments mixed in with everything, little shops, Chinese takeaways with meat hanging in the door, plus a bit of dirt & dust around. It felt good! :)

In a spot of bad luck for us the KH Museum of History was closed, so we aimed for the HK Museum of Art. Things got a bit swisher as we headed across to Nathan Rd and down it to the gallery but I still liked it. There were now lots of Indian touts on the streets, trying to entice us to their tailor shops! Indian touts in China - how queer!? The Museum of Art turned out to be a ripper place! It had the most awesome view out the three storey building across to HK island, and some very cool art. I saw a Mark Rothko exposition (eyeopening for me, boring as batshit to RB), a HK Biennial exhibition that had some interesting modern art, and loads of antiquities that showcased different art forms and revealed all the symbols in Chinese cultures (children, animals, food etc). The waterfront outside the building was alive with people walking, sitting to take in the view and enjoying it all.

From there we headed back to the Island and in search of a drink. If there was one thing HK had, it was bars! We found them all along one alleyway in Lan Kwai Fong, and luckily it was happy hour! This street was rather cool in a touristy way. On the narrow steep street there were bars galore, all narrow, all offering something unique, most with some tables out the front, attracting expats, Chinese in suits and professional types. We tried one first that served us a deserved glass of Hoegarden, then crossed the road to a beautifully decorated one full of more arty and interesting types where we drank a Carlsberg.

So far in HK we had dined on Japanese, Shanghaiese and that night we chose Vietnamese. Poor form from us. The food we get on Victoria St in Melbourne is closer to authentic Vietnamese than the stuff served up in HK. Lesson learnt!

One weird thing about HK was seeing people with their maids. The day we arrived I'd seen a lady carrying a big Prada shopping bag (that didnt contain Prada things) berate her maid loudly and nastily for not coming through the other side of immigration control to greet her and carry her stuff. The poor maid had been waiting at the closest point right under the "No Entry" immigration control signs. :( Dodgy. The next day we watched a HK lady sitting with her maid while her two gorgeous twin sons played in a local square. Weird to observe the difference in their manner and dress.

Hong Kong explorations

Hong Kong was our last chance for touristic opportunities and shopping. The plan when we left Guangzhou was for 2 days in Macau and 3 days in Hong Kong then dashing back to Guangzhou in 1 day to get on the plane for home.

The time allocation for both cities turned out to be a pretty good balance. While I loved Macau it really is very small. Hong Kong turned out to be much larger, but you still would not want to be there for more than 5 days I think (as a tourist).

I love to spice things up with travel by taking as many different kinds of transport as you can. I've yet to ride a donkey to another town, but on this trip I had already done plane, train and bus. Next was to get the ferry from Macau across to Hong Kong on Monday 3 April. Once at the ferry terminal (courtesy of a free shuttle bus from our hotel - YAY!) we worked out the right ferry to get to Hong Kong Island and pretty much stepped straight onto the ferry after a stop at Border control. Weirdly the ferry had no place to store luggage like our big backpack so we just had to stand it in the aisle next to RB's seat. The ride was pretty comfortable and passed quickly. We had a giggle at the woman two seats up from us who kept taking pictures of the blue sea. There were no islands and no other boats in view but she was snapping away like crazy!

From the ferry we ticked off one of the things that was on my sightseeing list. I had heard that the world's largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha, the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island was worth seeing. We could see it for miles from the sea as we rounded Lantau Island to come into the harbour in Hong Kong. It was huge!

I hadn't given too much thought to sightseeing in HK before we landed there. RB had some shopping to do and so did I. I was chasing the best deal on a pair of Nike shoes. We spent the first afternoon soaking in the vibe in HK, and making non-stop comparisions to mainland China. We had been warned by a friend whose family come from HK that mainland Chinese people were "coarse, rude and loud". We actually found them to be really nice people, so that left us wondering what HK people were like! Our first impressions weren't so good. Our hotel was smaller than the one in Guangzhou, but the people sure weren't too excited about greeting us. Similarly it had a big town feel outside with loads of people walking around on footpaths that seemed so small and narrow compared to GZ. Everyone was busy in Causeway Bay that afternoon on work day!

We went exploring in the hot humid air and felt a deja vu. Being in HK after mainland China was just like being in Singapore after Vietnam. There were loads of signs everywhere saying what you could no do, it was clean and efficient and had a big city vibe. It other words it wasn't exciting, chaotic, mysterious or different! That had to be some good things about HK to make so many people love it as a tourist destination/stopover so we pressed on hoping to find them.

We checked out some super-nerd filled computer malls for RB, visiting 3 different ones in one afternoon/evening as he priced checked all the things he wanted to buy. In between those shops I looked at the shoes. These activities seemed to go on the whole time we were in HK, making for a strange holiday experience for me. I usually always try to seek out the cultural, environmental and unique features of any place and here I was having to think hard about what we should do and see.

Day two in Macau

Sunday 2 April was to be a day of serious sightseeing! We headed back across to the Macau Peninsula from Taipa Island. Our first stop was the Ruins of the Church of St Paul. This place was teeming with tourists, many of them "mainland Chinese" with some rich looking Chinese in there too. It felt funny to be a tourist alongside Chinese people, but it was damn annoying later to be in the Church artifacts exhibition and a museum where they'd continously talk (even if there was a silence sign :S) and make a lot of noise! The church has mostly only the three storey high facade left, which was very beautiful with figures carved into it. Built on a slight hill, when you stood on the steps up to the church you could see the blue sky through the facade arches. Very pretty!

The Macau Museum was inside Monte Forte, built by the Jesuits between 1617 and 1626. This museum was fantastic! We learnt all about Macau's unique history as a Portugese settlement, and about life for both Portugese and Chinese people in the town as they tried to get along harmoniously. There was loads of info on Chinese culture, trading, various religions practiced, goods made there (including fireworks that used to be exported to USA and other countries). My favourite display was on cricket fighting, something I'd never heard of before! RB liked the Chinese pillow. If you've seen the new movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, it is just like the small wooden plank with feet that Sayuri rests her head on so that her elaborate hairdo doesn't get messed up.

The Church of St Dominic looked nothing like a church to me until we entered it. From the outside it was an ornate huge building in yellow, while on the inside it was soft white with a big altar, gorgeous glass lights, and lots of religous idol figures. very swish in a 17th century Baroque style!

The afternoon was spent visiting another Fort and a park at Guia Fort, the highest point on the Macau Peninsula, topped with its 15 m tall lighthouse built in 1865. It is the oldest on the southern Chinese coast and we saw its light later in the evening. It was damn weird I thought to see a lighthouse not closeby to the sea. It just couldn't compete with all those flashy light shows on the outside of Macau's many casino's either. Crazy stuff, but the building light shows in China just never did it for me. Gimme a boulevard of trees strung with gentle lighting or a historial building well lit at night any day!

Dinner that night was a delightful dish of Macanese chicken (galinha africana) and some other things. The Macanese chicken was mouthwateringly good. Macanese cuisine apparently borrows from Chinese and other Asian cuisines, as well as from those former Portugese colonies in Africa and India. It has coconut, tamarind, chilli, palm sugar and shrimp paste. Good stuff I tell you! I wish I had had more time to sample other Macanese dishes!

Macau, Macow, Macou ... it's bloody tricky to spell

On Saturday 1st April we left most of our luggage behind in the Ramada apartment (to be collected on our day of departure), and took off to the Garden Hotel with 1 big backpack and a day pack. From there we were able to get a bus to Gwongbei. I read on the bus company sign that they only take you to the border and then have a shuttle bus to Macau on the other side of the border? Ummm ok. Pretty confusing, but we went along with it.

The bus ride was pretty smooth on the highway heading south, and the only town we drove through in the ~2hr trip was Zhuhai (pronounced "Jo-high"), right at the end of the highway and right next to Macau. The bus drove through the city and then stopped in what looked like an underground carpark for a shopping mall. We thought they must be dropping people off, but everyone got off the bus, and our bus guide lady assured us it was the end of the line - Gwongbei.

We got off the bus, went up an escalator and then a another one to come out into the open air with a load of shops everywhere. We eventually saw a sign, and some other lost westerners and realised from there we needed to walk to the border control building. Lugging our bags we went first through the Chinese departure gates, then walked through a no-mans land area via a cover walkway for about 100m or so and then entered a second building. Here the queues for entering Macau were HUGE! There was nothing for it but the join all the Chinese in line, as there was not the usual "foreigners" lane that we use for migration into/out of China. Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) in China, and as thus, like Hong Kong it enjoys a "high degree of autonomy" over its affairs. Entering Macau means you leave "mainland" China, thus our need for a visa with dual entry so we could get back into China again after visiting Hong Kong.

After completing the immigration formalities we stepped out of this building to see apartments towering over us in the blue sunny sky and a sign that said "Downtown" with an arrow. After walking from the bus, over the border, and out of immigration we were actually standing in Macau! The bus company only needed a shuttle bus on the other side because most people got a local bus, cab, walked or met people there. We jumped the shuttle bus to Central Macau and then took off walking down on of the main streets to just get a feel for the place and find an autoteller to cash up on Patacas (MOPS).

Straight away I felt like I was in Southern Europe as I walked past shops drying fish , and then stylish boutiques nestled amongst some Portugese looking buildings. Cool! We had decided to stay on Taipa Island off the Macau peninsula, to get an escape from the city. Upon crossing the bridge though I saw loads of highrises and we even passed Jamie Packer's latest gambling venture, the new Crown Casino being built on Taipa Island. I was mildly dissapointed as I'd read the islands were nice and green.

Our first tourist destination was the lively little Taipa Village. A remanant of the early days on the island the place was full of tiny streets, houses and shops. The main drawcard are the shops selling hung yan bang, an almond-flavoured biscuits with a shortbread type texture - YUMMY, especially when you eat the hot, fresh samples; yuk gon, a dried sweet strips of pork and other meats (look scary in sheets of meat, but actually tasted good); and peanut sweets.

The Taipa Houses Museum was my favourite place in Macau. It is a series of villas built in 1921 that have been restored by the government. They're set up to give you a good idea of how the Macanese middle class lived at the time, as well as showcase their gorgeous and unique architecture. The many Macanese/Portugese influenced buildings were saw were always marked by their beautiful colour. In this case all the buildings were a chalky green colour, while others we saw were pastel yellow, bubble gum pink or sky blue.

That evening we caught a cab across to the next island south of ours, Coloane. Here was the greenery! It was mountainous and forested with nature trails for walking or biking and beaches. We were lucky to arrive early at Fernando's, a popular restuarant specialising in Portugese. There on our red and white checked table cloth, with a view to the trees through the huge windows, we feasted on the best chorizo I have eaten, Portugese beer, Portugese roast chicken, lovely Sangria, a salad and some huge fresh bread rolls. This meal felt like one fit for Kings!! Ahhh! European flavours after so much Chinese food. Rockin! Full tums and big smiles that night for the travellers!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

Well guess what? RB and I have made it back home to Melbourne on Friday 7 April in one piece after a crazy 24 hrs of travel from Hong Kong to Melbourne on 1 train and 2 planes via Guangzhou and Singapore. More about that later...

I want to take the blog back to the last day in Guangzhou (Friday 31 March) before treking off to Macau. I went and visited a monument that hadn't made it into the Lonely Planet guide, but was near to RB's work and he'd recommended I visit. The concert/memorial hall of Dr Sun Yat-sen was rather an eye opener. It was a huge building with the usual pagoda style features, but built in an octagonal shape, at least 2 stories high and in beautiful blue, green and red colours. We had previously visited another memorial for Dr Sun Yat-sen in the park, on a hill, immediately behind the concert hall.

Who was Dr Sun Yat-sen? I had seen pictures of him at university in Hong Kong in the museum, read about him establishing hospitals, and understood he was a revered person. Some call him the "The Father of the Revolution" or "The Father of the Republic." He was a revolutionary who profoundly changed the course of history in China, by trying to end Dynastic rule. Sun Yat-sen based his idea of revolution on three principles: nationalism, democracy, and equalization. He had to team up with the communist party to fight his battles and finally triumphed with the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1912 with him as president. He had it cruelly snatched from him by the dictatorial and ambitious Yüan Shih-kai. He died in 1924, with China in ruins, torn by the anarchy and violence of competing warlords. His ideas, however, became the basis of the Nationalist government established in 1928. Interesting to think about democracy in China isn't it?

Not far from there I wandered across to the People's Park. That Friday afternoon the park was alive with people dancing! There were 3 groups of people set up along the main avenue of the park, each with stereos blaring different styles of music and drawing a large crowd of dancers and onlookers. I found this sight a very happy one as people practiced their steps, enjoyed the company of others, and both old grandmas and young pretty girls got into the mix with the couples and moved in their own time and way to the music. It looked like so much fun on a steamy, humid afternoon in GZ!