Read this blog: The one where we experience what we feel is is the longest airport walk in the world Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd March 2025 As we prepared to leave Hong Kong, Matilda reminisced about the last time she had visited around the end of March/beginning of April 1987 when she stayed with her brother-in-law Sandy. He had introduced her to Paul Simon’s Graceland album and on this trip she had enjoyed hearing tracks from it played in several bars and coffee shops. We were to fly from Hong Kong to Taiwan. Our Octopus cards were valid on the Airport Express but we had slightly miscalculated and we both found we had a HK$3 debt on each card but thankfully we were both allowed through the barrier. The new Hong Kong International Airport is huge. When we checked in and looked for our departure gate we saw that the numbers went up to 524. However, not all these numbers actually correspond to gates: there are 89 in total. At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport you must first pass through the Animal and Plant Quarantine control to make sure you are not importing any banned foodstuffs. We noticed one woman in the […]
Hong Kong
Read this blog: The one where we ride the Peak Tram and the Star Ferry Friday 28th February 2025 Victoria Peak, usually just referred to as the Peak, rises 1,811 feet [552m] above sea level and is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island. In the nineteenth century it provided a natural signalling post for shipping. It was effectively a hill station, like Darjeeling and Shimla which we visited in India, where the wealthier residents could retreat from the oppressive summer heat. Before the tram was built they would have been carried up to Victoria Peak in sedan chairs. The Peak Tram has been travelling the route to the summit since 1888 and is one of the oldest funiculars in the world. It takes passengers up to 1,300 feet [about 396 metres]. The most recent upgrade to the tram was completed in 2022 and nowadays the Peak has over 7 million visitors every year. We opted just to take the tram up for the views rather than pay the entry fee to go to the Peak Tower and Sky Terrace which are above the tram stop. Between 1904 and 1947 the Peak was designated an exclusive residential area reserved for […]
Read this blog: The one where we avoid a glass floor Thursday 27th February 2025 One of the popular sites in Hong Kong is the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping Village on Lantau Island which you can reach by riding the Ngong Ping 360 cable car from the Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal, adjacent to Tung Chung MTR [Mass Transit Railway] Station. We used our Octopus cards for the first part of the journey on the MTR. The cable car ride to get there was definitely part of the attraction for us. It is popular with both tourists and locals alike so of course there was a queue. There were several options: you could pay for the basic experience which involved sharing a gondola [or car] with up to ten other passengers. Those who do not wish to mingle at close quarters with strangers can pay extra to travel with just the members of their own group. The ‘Crystal Experience’ involves travelling in a gondola with particularly transparent, clear glass windows and a glass bottom to allow passengers to truly enjoy the all round view. The ‘Crystal Experience’ is available at a premium rate as either a general group or […]
Read this blog: The one where we learn the difference between Stephen and Stitt Wednesday 26th February 2025 We were given breakfast vouchers as we checked in at the Holiday Inn Causeway Bay and when we made our way down to the restaurant on the second floor [which is only open to residents for breakfast and is a restaurant in the evening] these were exchanged for a printed sheet on which to mark our choices. Breakfast comprised a selection of four possible meals, so that if we wanted to we could have a different breakfast every day and try them all. For the first morning we both chose the egg and kale omelette. Fortified for a days sightseeing and with our Octopus app at the ready we set off on Robert’s pre-planned sightseeing route towards Exchange Square, home to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since the 1980s. Nearby Statue Square was built at the end of the 19th century entirely on reclaimed land. At the time it was named for the many statues, mostly of members of the British royal family, which stood here until the Japanese removed them when they occupied Hong Kong during WWII. Now the only statue to […]
Read this blog: The one where we sort out Hong Kong travel cards Monday 24th February 2025 After a lie-in and with no breakfast provided at the hotel we went out planning to have a coffee and some sustenance first. A building on Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục Square rises like the stern of a ship with balcony seating on several levels for cafés and restaurants. We went to Highland Coffee overlooking the Trúc Bạch Lake to sit outside and enjoy the view, even if it was a damp, grey morning. We had not visited any markets in Hanoi this trip and decided to rectify this. Originally built by the French in 1889, Đồng Xuân Market has been renovated several times since, most recently in 1994 after a fire almost destroyed the building. Đồng Xuân Market is now the largest covered market in Hanoi selling everything from clothes and household goods to food. As it is wholesale, not retail, we were not really the target audience. Robert wanted to return to the Pasteur Street Craft Beer bar [see Selfie of the day] before we left Hanoi and had planned a craft beer walking tour for himself. The tour also took us […]