Just Back From Hong Kong

Now this can be daunting if its your first time on Hong Kong as no where else in the world are so many people per square centimetre trying to jostle for your attention, but you do feel as if you have arrived in the heart of Hong Kong straight away, and it’s a more immediate connection to the heart of what is one of the most built up cities in the world. Kowloon itself is nothing like the Main Island. It’s a kaleidoscope of colours and noises and people. There are so many cultures living here there is whatever food you wish to eat , whatever time. Tsim ha Tsui is only a short taxi ride away , with Nathan Road , named after the governor which ordered it to be built , still the main drag .

It seems impossible that so many hotels and restaurants cafes and shops can be crammed into what is just a little more than 2 KMs of shopping with little alleyways running off this way and that all inviting you to come and look. Temple St markets are still the bargain night markets where you can shop and eat at the same time. However ,there are new luxury shopping malls being built all the time . The latest is a huge shopping complex near the Cruise terminal and there is another one being constructed under and around The Peninsula

All on reclaimed land, the locals joke that soon you will be able to shop your way across the harbour!.

It is 10 years since the British handed over Hong Kong to the China and on the outside at least there doesn’t seem to be too much change, except the property development .Hong Kong is considered a Special Administration Region, so its Chinese but for the fact that most countries don’t need a visa to visit. This is confusing as there are more Chines cabbies with plates from Shenzhen and there are more buses to the China mainland... and it looks very Chinese. So a very good thing to know is that if you have only a single entry visa and you arrive from China you cannot go back into see the fabulous markets in Shenzhen or catch the ferries up river to Guangzhou. If you are intending to do this a multi entry visa is a must otherwise you spend your time with your nose against a shop window you are not allowed into. If you have time you can get one there but its better to do it before you leave.

We had travelled to Hong Kong by overnight sleeper and had one night and day before catching a flight in the late afternoon. The evening was easy. To wander about Kowloon and travel across the harbour to see the lights of the Main Island, Temple markets and to eat

However the day - something different, besides it was too misty for the Peak

So we looked at the water again. Star Ferries are the most common to crisscross the harbour to the Mainland and they have a very good harbour tour that you can use to hop on and hop off but it still only keeps you in the main part of the Harbour and it was the sign “Outlying Islands” that intrigued us, Outlying where? So on we jumped on one not knowing where we were headed . soon , remarkably soon a part of Hong Kong appeared which is quiet and unspoilt . The commuter traffic was only that , locals returning with shopping and no tourists . In the distance from the ferry wharf was a deserted beach , in Asia it is very rare to find no crowds so off we went to have a look. We wandered up and down a pristine beach which could have been on a deserted island . The seas lapped and we felt as if we had found our own private part of Asia.. Where was this place and why were there no crowds. A friendly expatriate soon filled us in and we were amazed to find that we were actually on the Lantau Island the same island the Airport is on but on the other side in a place called Mui Wo..

Well this must be one of Hong Kong’s best kept secret . Only 88000 people live on the Island and its highest peak is double the height of The Peak There is a beach front hotel on the Silvermine Bay which made us sorry we didn’t have more time to stay . More than half the island is designated Park with an extensive Nature and Heritage walking track called the Lantau track that looked really interesting in an area not know for open Nature spaces. But beware, on the other side of the island – development has started There is cable car up the Mountain and Disneyland is just around the corner. So if you want to go the still unspoilt south end go soon as progress is beginning to arrive . However for the moment it is home to the few locals, well few by Hong Kong standards The ferries are two types , very fast or a gently slow boat ride. And there are more outlying islands all as quiet , Mui Wo makes a lovely base to discover the other islands on the ferries.

Sadly we did not have enough time and had to return to the Main Island ,where we then had to catch the bus to go around the other side of Lantau and fly out from the Chep Lap Kok Airport . Where you could be a million miles from its quieter South End.