So, on my break between phase 2 and phase 3 of the Canton Fair I went to Hong Kong and Macau. They were both excellent places so I believe they deserve separate posts ;)
Getting to Hong Kong from Guangzhou is very easy. First you take the train to Shenzhen and when you arrive at the train station there, you walk through the customs and, there you go, you are in HK. Then there is another train ride that takes you to HK Island.
When I arrived on Friday it felt in a way like it was me against HK. I had no orientation, the crowded narrow streets with the flashing neon lights and the high sky scrapers where overwhelming and the fact that it was raining was getting on my nerves. I didn’t even realize that the traffic was left sided until someone pointed it out to me the next day. Also, it was the first time travelling by myself and I didn’t really know how it would be. But after a few hours wandering the streets, crossing the Victoria harbor with the star ferry and meeting nice people at the hostel things started feeling just right.
The next day, I spent the morning with one of my new friends exploring the Wan Chai electronics market; HK is after all famous for cheaper electronics, and also the Old Wan Chai neighborhood which had interesting street markets and nice buildings. Later on during the day I went with another friend to see what they say to be world’s largest seated bronze Buddha statue. It is located 500m above sea level and the view from the cable car getting there was amazing. I was there on the 28th of April which apparently was Buddha’s birthday so they were offering lunch for free, it was really good! On the way down from the mountain we stopped at Tai O, a small very charming fishing village. Not having planned my trip almost at all I had nowhere to stay on Saturday night since I had only booked one night at my hostel. So when back in the city I went for hostel hunting. Not having booked a hostel actually turned out to be a good things since I go to know the Chunking Mansion. Chunking Mansion, referred as the Mecca of cheap sleeps in my guide book, is a big, dirty, almost scary building at Kowloon. It has more or less 16 huge floors and on each there floor there are hostels, people living in tiny rooms, manufacturing shoes, sewing, hanging their clothes in the corridors, it felt like China in a nut shell! After some searching I managed to share a room with 5 Chinese women. The next day however I went back to my previous hostel, one night was enough!
On Sunday morning I went to Stanley, a small beach town with a nice market and an even nicer beach where I spent a couple of hours doing nothing, just what I needed before my more or less 9 hour walking marathon around Hong Kong. I was mostly on the side of Kowloon , where I walked through various markets: Temple street night market, Ladies market, gold fish market and more I can’t remember the name off. Really, I have never seen so crowded and loud streets in my life! And so many flashing bright signs, this was I think the image I had of China before getting here. You just had to stand still for a few moments to soak in all the impressions. I ended my day, and also my 3 months anniversary in China :), at the Avenue of Stars, where you get the view of the Hong Kong island. At 8pm they have the Symphony of lights going on, which is basically that they synchronize the lights of all the skyscrapers on the other side with some music played, it was nice but I expected something more impressive.
Overall, I can say I really like Hong Kong. What I liked the most is that in one moment you are in this impressive overwhelming city and then by taking a bus or a train for half an hour you can get a break at the beach or in the mountains, really nice scenery. Also, everyone speaks English and is so nicely dressed! Endless shops, some of which even close at 1 am! I feel very satisfied and like I did all I wanted during my trip, the only thing I missed out on was the Victoria Peak. Actually I went up there but getting off the peak tram, was like stepping into a cloud, and of course you couldn’t see a thing from what must be an amazing view. Maybe next time :)