We arrived back in Perth very early Thursday morning, around 1 am and I’ve been busy ever since. Especially today as it’s Munchkin Monday and have been run ragged by my two adorable grandchildren. The plan was to see Santa and choose a Christmas decoration each. They both declined the visit to Santa, Rosie being particularly scared and anxious, she is only two. Anyway I didn’t push it and we just stood and had a look at the scene before us. We had a pitstop in a cafe, coffee for me and smartie cookies for them. Back to the house for some Christmas baking, more cookies and then chocolate cake for hubby’s birthday. A huge sugar hit today, hope they sleep okay!
Below are some photos of Hong Kong at night.
Let City Lights guide you home
One thing for sure about Hong Kong, it really knows how to dress up at night, Christmas especially. Walking around the city that never sleeps there’s always something to catch your eye. Brightly lit skyscrapers, shop windows and side streets.
Tram riding at night
Cobbled Lane
Christmas Disco Ball
It’s a holly jolly Christmas
French style mural
Oohing and aahing at every corner!
John “Rudolph” Travolta
Even the trams get a sprucing up, just captured this as it trundled by in a blur!
This is just because! I turned around walking through this shopping centre at night and just liked the clean lines and the diagonal pattern it made.
Just like to say thanks to Natalie for taking on the PPAC challenge after Marsha, something I’ve always enjoyed. This is also my first time for Weekend Coffee Share, although I’m a day late.
Over the past couple of days we have been traipsing around the streets, reacquainting ourselves with our favourite areas of Hong Kong. Central is one area that we have always enjoyed walking around, from here you can join the Central-Mid-levels escalator to access the streets of Soho, namely Elgin Street and Staunton Street. The escalator was built in 1993 and at that time was the longest in the world. Old and new buildings exist along side each other creating unique scenes.
The Old Hong Kong Police Station, Hollywood Road and Jardine House, Central Stone Slab Street and Shelley Street
The two guys above are both wearing safety harnesses that aren’t attached to anything! No helmets but to be on the safe side they have their masks on.
We stopped for lunch at a tiny Italian restaurant just off one of the levels of the escalator, one which we had been to many times before. We were happy to see that it wasn’t a Covid victim.
Spaghetti Marinara
Just outside Anthony noticed a girl painting a mural, so I asked her if I could take her photo.
The damp grey walls could all do with a bit of paint. She was doing an excellent job. Take a look at the murals in the slideshow below.
The smell of fresh pine leaves outside this shop brought back so many memories of our Christmases in Hong Kong. We would always have a real tree, since moving to Australia we just have a fake one now.
Anthony’s favourite food, animal intestines. Sadly I don’t share his taste in food and I’m not a fan of Chinese or Japanese food.
I mentioned before that there are many wonderful sculptures in Hong Kong, I love the ones below.
Sitting Couple by Jill Chadwick
Silver Fighting figures
Two ladies taking their babies out
Sweet Potatoes and Hot Chestnuts
Thanks for coming along for the walk around Central. There’s always something to see that’s odd or quirky and you can always find so much artwork around. It’s great how Hong Kong are renovating all the old buildings and holding onto the history. There is a place for everything here.
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!
Some cities from around the world for Debbie’s OWS – Urban.
Hanoi, Vietnam
Da Nang, Vietnam
Macau, SAR
Hong Kong, SAR
Ribadasella, Spain
Kagoshima, Japan
These are all cities we have visited over the last few years or so. It’s nice to spend a few days in a city but that’s about it for me. I much prefer a beach holiday, relaxing under an umbrella, a swim in the sea and watching the sunset. Da Nang in Vietnam is perfect for both which suits hubby and me down to the ground! He loves a good shop and browse and to tramp along streets unknown, letting his feet take him wherever! We rendezvous later after his explorations are over and to see if he’s found anything interesting worth visiting.
This week’s challenge from Dr. B’s Challenge your Camera is Steps and Stairs. We are in a five day lockdown here in Perth, so this is keeping me busy.
Peeping through the gap to the A Ma Temple Built for the Chinese sea-goddess Mazu located in São Lourenço, Macau, Built in 1488, the temple is one of the oldest in Macau
Descending the stairs inside the Sea Princess
Sitting on the steps near the Guia Lighthouse, Macau
Moving stairs inside HSBC Building in Hong Kong
Wooden log stairs down to a cafe in Hue, Vietnam
Old brick stairs inside Kotor Old Town, Montenegro
Looking back at these photos makes me wonder when we will be able to start travelling again, it’s been a while!
