Day 91Fr 23 Sept Hong Kong Day 3

   

Sadly we have to relocate for our last night in Hong Kong so we pack up and trek down Nathan Road (for what seems like forever) and check in to the Garden Island Guesthouse for the night.  

 

A short trip on the metro across to Hong Kong Island to the Mid Level Escalator - the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. 800 metres (2,600 ft) long with a vertical climb of 135 metres (443 ft). The total travel time is twenty minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten their trip. Due to the geographical situation, the same distance is equivalent to several miles of zigzagging roads if travelling by car. It consists of twenty escalators and three moving side-walks. These escalators together form the longest outdoor covered escalator system.The escalator daily runs downhill from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and uphill from 10:30am to midnight. Apart from serving as a method of transporting, it is also a tourist attraction and has restaurants, bars, and shops lining its route. There is an entrance and exit on each road it passes, often on both sides of the road.

   

At the top we are a bit bemused as there is nothing to see and the girls wonder what all the fuss has been about. We have fun travelling back down though! 

  

At the bottom, at Rowan's request, we catch a tram to Causeway Bay to stock up on supplies for our first overnight train journey into China. 

Day 89 Hong Kong Weds 21 September

We start our day with a trip on the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island.  I say "start "- but by the time we have breakfast, unpack and sort out and generally adjust to  our surroundings it is way past lunchtime so more an afternoon trip out! The views from Kowloon are breathtakingly mad! The high rise is well and truly king here and there are building designs of every shape, design and proportion, each vying to outdo their neighbour. 

  

The juxtaposition of old and new is also amazing - a reproduction junk offering "tourist" cruises, nestled alongside the historic star ferry, a variety of other craft on the water set against the skyscraper skyline.

 

We buy our tickets which cost 20p each and climb on board and make our way across. The girls are delighted to see the staff wearing sailor suits!

 We reach Hong Kong Island - a journey that now only takes 5 minutes we take the bus to the Victoria Peak Tram station. We have read that within 20 years, at the current rate of reclamation of land from the sea Hong Kong Island and Kowloon will be joined up - the pace of change is HUGE and construction and reconstruction is taking place everywhere.

  

Victoria Peak prides itself on being the most popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong.

Perching on The Peak at 396 metres above sea level, The Peak Tower boasts the highest 360° viewing platform - The Sky Terrace 428. Standing at 428 metres above sea level, the Sky Terrace 428 offers spectacular panoramic views of the vibrant city – from the stunning cityscape to the tranquility of greenery landscape. 

The views certainly are breathtaking - although we can see a thick layer of smog hanging over the city as we look back and down on the rattly tram as it makes its way up and down.

 

 The girls enjoy a bit of tourist "kitsch" and write "I love you" messages to hang on the enormous "I love the Peak because..." hearts at the top of the viewing platform.

 We  have arrived just as the evening is closing in and watch the slow progression of lights coming on back on Kowloon. It is almost unimaginable to consider the amount of electricty being used and the number of people associated with each twinkly bulb!

   

    

We head back down the hillside and end our day arriving back to Kowloon in time for the free "Symphony of Lights" show-a synchronised building exterior decorative light and laser multimedia display, featuring 44 buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbour accompanied by music, now named the 'World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show' by Guinness World Records.