Karin - who I'd met in Shangri La - had recommended a place, so at 10pm I finally found the place and got a room.
It was at a place called Chung King Mansions - which might sound really grand - but is a totally unique experience. Chung King isn't just a hotel - it's a huge tower block packed with money changers, small business, hotels, and restaurants.
If your in HK - then it's worth staying here just for the experience. The building itself is exactly what you'd get if you decided to build something - but started building without planning it first (er...a bit like some IT projects :-)
There are loads of lifts - not all of which go to all the floors, and you'll find stair cases that just stop - and you have to walk to the other side of the building to find the next staircase.
It's also got a real multicultural element to it - and you see people from all over the world. It's not uncommon to see people in traditional dress or speaking in the many many languages of the world.
If your in town definitely check it out - although you'll get loads of hassle for fake Rolex, tailor made suits, and Hash.
On the down side - they've just had the worst weather of the year in HK, it even made the news - which hampered things a bit. But I needed a rest and this provided the perfect excuse. So, I've spent most of my time in Starbucks or drinking Iced Chocolate in McDonalds :-)
Hong Kong is a great place - and I could easily go back again. It's not what I expected at all - and it's really hard to describe what it's like. But it feels very vibrant and there's a lot going on all the time. Even in the rain.
It reminds me so much of Los Angeles in the film Blade Runner - and the rain just added to the effect. Although it's such an easy city to get around. It has one of the best transport systems I've ever seen.
Here's a pic of Mong Kok at the one time it wasn't raining - this is said to be the most densely populated place in the world - and the bit that reminded me most of Blade Runner:
One of the highlights was being able to meet up with a few people I've met on this trip. One evening I met up with Kate and Jim, and they took me to a pub called The Globe for British beer - Marston's Pedigree - and it was so good - funny how you miss the simple things in life. And then on to a great restaurant for dinner. Really enjoyed it - and it was good to catch up on Kate's travels and Kate and Jim's future travel plans.
The next day I headed to "The Peak" which is the must do thing in HK. It's the highest point on HK island, and is a great place to see the view of the whole island. There's a tram that takes you up the very steep route to the top:
Check out the angle of the tram:
Here's a pic from the top:
Yep - it was raining :-) But I had Fish and Chips at the top, and actually saw the view for about 10 seconds which was good.
I also made it to the top of the Bank Of China building in the afternoon - and from the top it looked like this:
On my last night I met up with Clare who I'd met on the run to Chengdu, and it was good to catch up and have a chat. We went for one of the best curries I've had so far, and a few drinks. It was fun to catch up on future plans and to talk political theory :-)
And that was HK - great fun - but over way too quickly, and a place I'd love to return to.
Here are some pics:
The view from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island:
A random shot:
I couldn't decide between these two pics - so here they both are (By the way - if you appreciate good architecture, then you'll love HK):
The view of HK from Kowloon at night:
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Editor's note: I've just checked the Wikipedia entry for Blade Runner which states that Hong Kong was used as the inspiration for LA in 2019. I can't insert a link due to the Internet restrictions in China, but you can read the article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner.
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