Alison

~ Hello Hong Kong, It’s Been So Long ~

Finally after three long years we are back in Hong Kong. But first a brief stopover in Singapore. We had so many hoops and hurdles to jump through and over to get here and I’ve never filled out so many forms and scanned so many QR codes.

We flew Scoot to Singapore and then Singapore Airlines to Hong Kong. In January we said never again would we fly Scoot! Seems like we have memories like goldfish. When we arrived at Perth Airport the checkin line was huge and could see that the flight would not depart as scheduled. The plane finally left at 10.15 pm, 45 minutes late. Arriving in Singapore at 3.15 am I didn’t realise that we had to fill out an immigration card online! I have to say that I was very impressed with my dear hubby who actually managed to do his on the phone. We eventually got into bed at 4.30 am. Luckily our flight wasn’t until 1pm the next day so we managed a few hours sleep.

We stayed at Yotel Hotel located just outside Terminal 1 for convenience. It turned out to be a very expensive few hours sleep in a damp and mouldy room the size of a shoebox.

I wasn’t expecting anything large as I had seen photos and reviews, but this was smaller than a cabin on a ship. It was overpriced and needed a good refurbishment.

  • Someone who is confused or unclear about a situation
  • Image from Sushi restaurant
  • Christmas Decoration
  • Christmas display

After not much sleep I was definitely “blur sotong”.

It would be easy to spend a few days just in the terminals at Singapore airport. If we had been there longer I would liked to have walked around the huge fountain and waterfall.

Hong Kong – Day 0

Our first day in Hong Kong is classified as Day 0 and when we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away for a PCR test. I can’t imagine that there is any unemployment in Hong Kong judging by the amount of people there telling you which way to go. Maybe people can’t read or follow signs so you are herded onto elevators and walkways to the appropriate places. It was all very efficient and we were in our hotel by 6.45 pm. We ordered room service, no other choice, which we will have to do for the next two nights.

The view from our room on the 19th Floor

Day 1

After a fairly good night’s sleep we had breakfast (or I did) in the room and then headed out to the Immigration Department.

A grey day from our window. Looking out towards Kowloon

One of the reasons we are here is to renew our HK ID cards, very important to Anthony to maintain having lived in Hong Kong for 45 years before emigrating to Australia. This was a fairly easy process and we were finished within 30 minutes. We walked into Central from Wanchai which was around a 20 minute walk.

Everywhere is now fully decorated for Christmas and with the weather being fairly cool, it was starting to feel a lot like Christmas.

Christmas displays inside and outside every shopping mall

Picking up a takeaway lunch we headed up Battery Path to the park outside St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Not too cold to sit outside and eat.

Even though this is an urban jungle there are many small parks around surrounded by towering Banyan Trees.

Everywhere you look there is art and it’s all free! Such incredible sculptures and murals are found on walls and outside buildings.

There’s no better way of seeing Hong Kong than riding on the top of the tram, even better if you can get a seat at the front.

Anthony has been in his element all day, in a bit of a daze really. It’s been a stop start kind of day with him pausing all the time to look in all the shops. For me it’s a fantastic photograph opportunity, and I hope to be posting more in the next few days.

Such a contrast between the old and the new buildings. It’s hard to believe that there are people living in the apartment building above. Anthony pointed out that they are also likely to be paying a high rent as it’s bang in the middle of Central.

At the end of the day I had walked 13,000 steps, time for us to head back to the hotel. After a quick rest for Anthony he has headed back out again for another walk around the shops, for me I’m going to have dinner without him.

Hong Kong is a special place for both of us as this is where we met. I was on a two month working holiday and met him after five weeks and the rest as they say is history!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first day back with me

44 comments

  2. How great that you’ve been able at last to return to a place so special to you both. It does sound like even more of a hassle than most travel is at present, but worth it I guess 🙂

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  3. I hadn’t realised that there are places where you still have to jump through Covid hoops, and I think I’d feel a bit hemmed in by all those buildings, but take me with you when you go up to the heights, please?

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  4. I thoroughly enjoyed your first day back, Ali! Sounds like a lot of trouble getting there, but so worth the work. Your photos gave me a feel for Hong Kong, and that view from your hotel is amazing! Looking forward to seeing more of your trip.

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  5. Great pictures. I’ve been to Hong Kong three times I think, and Singapore twice. All trips were either to do with John’s work or stopovers on longer trips, and the last time must have been about 2006. So a long time ago – but I liked both places so it would be nice to go back some day.

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    • Thanks for your comments Anabel
      It’s changed in lots of ways so many new buildings but many things remain the same
      The beautiful hills and the harbour are still the same

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  7. Wow, with the places we’ve visited over the last year or more, I’d almost completely forgotten about PCR tests and other COVID sh*t! Our last time of doing anything at all was January. And masks! I’d almost forgotten them too! Joking aside though, I’ve long been interested in visiting Hong Kong and am really interested to see it through your eyes.

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    • Yes somewhat Carol, but there are still the markets and odd shops selling strange stuff! Many new skyscrapers though. The countryside wouldn’t have changed much I don’t think.

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  10. How wonderful that you are back to where your love story began! I am looking forward to seeing HK through you eyes – we haven’t been back in a very long time and in fact, Loving Husband & I were just talking about HK this morning on our walk. We thought there was still a 3-day quarantine upon landing? I guess this has now been dispensed with – good news!

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  12. Ali, I enjoyed reading your post and seeing your HK pictures. I’m glad you and your husband got to go back to a place that’s special to you. I agree the front row seat on the double deck trams is the best. I visited HongKong and Singapore a few times before COVID and liked both places.

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      • That’s a very important difference. Democracy and freedom of speech are under attack in many places – even in the U.S. where I live. I guess that’s why I’m so sensitive to the subject. I’m glad you and your husband were able to return. Thanks for sharing the experiences.

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  14. It is so good to be able to return to a place that’s so close to your heart!

    But the hotel room… another unlucky choice like the jail one in Melbourne. 😂😂😂
    Anyway… enjoy your holiday!

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