HONGKONG 1996
May 1996 Two weeks in Hong Kong and one week in China was the strategy we decided on to see Adrian Novia and baby Luke We were still coming to terms with the idea of Adrian being married within five months of leaving home and seeking work in Hong Kong I was not very enthusiastic that Adrian should leave so dramatically as were given very little notice and excluded from his plans. Feeling powerless we reluctantly and with very mixed feelings said goodbye Sadly Adrian’s 21st and Xmas were only weeks away, however with the determination of youthful naiveté and the desire to leave home and the financial means of his own savings he left.
Not quite feeling ready for grand mother hood I was a little apprehensive re meeting my new grandson. Flight in was amazing - we came down between the apartments to get into Kai Tak. However we were made welcome and our two weeks in Hong Kong passed by pleasantly. We visited King’s Park, a delightful Botanical area. We also visited the tea house Museum which concentrated on tea ceremonies. Decided at this point to write a diary of sorts.
Sunday 7th May
Took bus from Po Lam up to tip of Junk Bay Hill, then walked a few kms across the hill to a town through an old nationalists Soldiers retirement village. Hundreds of Nationalist flags around (shades of Chiang Kan Sheik!). Area due for demolition but used by young for war games. Boat from ferry to Island. Got off at one end of MTR. Then tram ride into town (very slow) through Causeway Wanchai. Tram was totally full at all times. Got out at Central and then wandered around shopping centres for awhile. One huge shopping arcade (Pacific Plaza) with lots of quality shops such as Marks and Spender and English style pubs.
Monday 8th May
Off to Kwantong where there are plenty of Optical shops to choose reading glasses for myself. Kwangtong is a densely populated and fascinating area. Novia was very helpful with translating while I selected a pair of frames and eventually settled on a pair for NZ $350.00 - a good price. After Kwangtong we took the bus to Nathan Road and visited the Mongkok Markets -stall upon stall of supposedly cheap items mostly clothing. eg. Cashmere jerseys $200:00. Novia bought coconut milk (out of a coconut ) a new experience for me. We then had a Chinese meal this time cheap food from Shantau where Novia grew up in. Decided not to use the restaurant toilet - a squat, hole in the ground over flooring covered with water. Also spotted a rat just of the pavement in a ditch. Heaps of young people everywhere. Bus home (No 17) cost HK$4:00.
Tuesday 9th May
Adrian and Novia back to work. To central (via No17 and MTR ex Lam Tin) to sort out Visa. To HK Bank after Pacific Place. Peter tried Visa in ATM - no joy and after credit card was swallowed (woe, woe ) Traipsed around to find Visa counter and advised to cancel and then have new card reissued. Then got MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui. Mong Kok and side street markets. Wandered around for one or two hours, then down to Lan Tin. Purchased all sorts of food at supermarket in preparation for dinner with Adrian. Home 6.00pm Sausages vegies and Tsingtao Beer Adrian enjoyed meal and had discussion re future prospects etc Markets -Mody st. Tailors ( Indian!) Golf shops -Mong Kok - shoes (Reebok ) Clothes, all sorts of things.
Wednesday 10th May
Wasted Wednesday morning sorting out Peter’s Visa card but eventually tracked it down for collection at the Track Building Cheung Shai Ate Chinese for lunch then wandered around a factory outlet for women’s clothes and bought myself a red jacket for $250:00.HK Had Adrian for dinner. Baked Beans - he seems to like European meals now.
Thursday 11th May
Stanley Street - No6C Bus up Stubbs Road, Repulse Bay to Stanley. Lots of markets with great variety of goods. Lots of European prices to suit. Leah lunched in local restaurant outside beach. Purchased 2x linen shirts $HK450 (and good bargain) Back to Po Lam Estate- dinner with Novia Luke Adrian Novia’s mum at Po Ning House. Good Chinese food, if a little exotic ie chicken legs, fish head etc.
Friday 12th May
Meet with Speciality Pulp services (Erikki and Leola) 53 floor Bank of China Building. Organised dinner at Saikung (Viking Seafood Restaurant) great meal- chose our own fish straight out of Tank Mainly prawns shellfish and crab. Leah had goose
Saturday 13th May
690 bus to Macao Ferry Terminal. Then fast ferry to Macao (1hr.) Cost HK148ea. Passport and formalities both ends!! Walked down waterfont to main shopping centre. Big Hotels with large casino’s Initial impressions- not good as nothing seemed opened. Lunch in Main Square(Chinese) and met English speaking Macanese who told us areas to tour. All back streets. Went down Back streets- ( very clean ) to China side of Peninsular and then walked down to markets. Great market - fish, meat, vegetables. Live fish cut up on spot, Frogs (cut up and skinned on spot), chickens ( live 1 minute, dead plucked, gutted the next) Really fascinating. Had afternoon tea on Museum Pier, watched very busy harbour. Then went into Chinese (Buddha temple), heavy smell of incense, lots of people begging. Then moved thru’ back streets to Roman Catholic Church on top of Barra. Great views especially of China and new town area. Then wandered back to town centre. Much livelier. Dinner at Portuguese Restaurant and then spent $10 on slot machine at Hotel Lisboa. .Large crowds on Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette tables etc. Back to Ferry at 9.30pm. Home 1st class (good trip) Back about 00.15am
Sunday 14TH May
Slept in. Spent the afternoon at the Space Museum- hands on, amusement rides on Gyroscope and gravity on moon experience. Cost $10.00 for four educational entertainment. Dinner at Chinese in Temple Street where there are markets specialising in jade, fortune tellers and mostly nick nacks. Home on the 98D bus.
Monday 15th May
Adrian phoned about 9.30am. Up early and packed for our planned adventure into China with Novia for one week. Took the 98 bus to Kwan tung, train to Shenzhen on the border where there were passport controls for arrivals and departures. Very efficient considering the number of people travelling. Train from Shenzhen to Guang zhou, a two hour journey. Departed at 3:20pm. Hostess warning “do not store luggage on overhead rail for if you do it will full down and smash your head”!! Cost 49rm (Remimbi). Arrived 7pm- 1hr. late and missed the connection to Guilin. Wandered the streets around the railway station looking for a reasonably priced hotel. All expensive due to a Trade Fair on. Had a Chinese meal, cost 60rm, for three. Eventually found a hotel for 520rm ($80.00)NZ. Novia slept in her sleeping bag on the floor.
Tuesday 16th May
Guangzhou
Novia left early to secure tickets from the Railway Station although at the time we didn’t know that she would be gone for over three hours!! At 9am still no Novia so Peter and I had a Continental breakfast. The hotel provided a Massage Centre so I booked myself in for one while Peter and Novia wandered around the streets for an hour. Massage was excellent, head to toe with clothes on as is the Chinese way. Peter and Novia wandered back streets of GZ. .Some amazing sights. Traffic noise horrific with horns going non stop. One restaurant had cages outside with dinner ‘on the hoof!!! Rabbits, cats dogs, birds and a racoon!! I quickly lost my appetite. We had lunch in a back street restaurant. I was the focus of attention but came up OK as I could use chopsticks. Food actually very good. Later all three of us visited the Museum and park in the centre of town. Amused by the brief introduction of the rams statue. The five rams fairy tale is a stone caving with the overall length of 42 meters. The highest part seven meters and the statue of five rams 2.5 meters high. The statue and artistic technique and fiction re The Goats descent giving grain to people, labour and harvest. It is so magnificently conceived and shaped making one feel that one was part of the picture. Unfortunately our film reel ran out and we were unable to get a photo. From the Museum which was on five levels we got a fabulous view of the city, covered in smog due most likely to pollution. We were so pleased to spend some time in the park away from the dust which seemed to impregnate everything. Traffic dense with no sense of road rules. Peter was quick to map read and lead the way, however Novia was invaluable in getting the tickets for our next leg of the journey.
The train to Guilin left at 6pm. And the soft sleeper took four passengers. We settled in with a German girl who was travelling alone. Novia fell asleep by 7pm. Peter and myself had a late cold tea at 9pm.after making our way to the dining car.
Wednesday 17th May
Arrived 9.10am.and by 9.30am on the bus to Yangshou, a small Chinese community where many travellers meet at Liza’s café .Felt very dizzy on arrival and it was hot and oppressive. After walking around the markets getting ourselves orientated we returned to the hotel we had booked into. I developed a shocking head ache and was violently sick.
Thursday 18th May
Up at 7am and glanced out of my window to see an elderly man peeing on pot plants. Why waste it? Toilet blocked and the contents of my stomach still floating in the bowl. Arranged to have that attended to. After breakfast we decided to do the famous boat and bike ride up the river. Trip arranged at Lisa’s café Cost 20rm Bikes 5rm. Down to pier and onto boat. Most of the passengers Europeans Great 3 ½ hr. trip to Zing Ping. Highlight unusual topography, lots and lots of little mountains. Interesting amount of traffic on river- old style bamboo fishing boats to quite large freight boats. Any number of tourist’s boats. All shallow craft. Lots of vegetable plots, paddies and old style housing, use of buffalo etc. for ploughing. Impressed by skill of boaties in following deep channels.
Xinging a small town, very dirty and undeveloped. Boatie claimed as jewel of the river!! Onto bikes for 25km. ride back to Yangshou via Fuli Town. My bike immediately started to give problems (pedal assembly). Road OK, great view of rural China, lots of small towns, on route all based on agriculture. Water everywhere, irrigation channels wide variety of crops. Hate to live in these conditions. All old women many hunchbacks. Saw a guy with one eye and (sadly ) a young women who had hurt her knee. Bandage was bloody and she was hobbling badly. Hate to think on her prognosis. Open sewers in villages, all communal toilets (Leah used one), smell was very natural. Villages varied from reasonable houses ( brick probably board floors) to grass huts and mud floors. Fair amount of traffic on roads, mainly bikes and funny mini trucks.
Fuli Town also small and very dirty. No markets that we could see so we just carried on . My bike gave up about 2km from home (really lucky to get so far). Went through fairly long road, thru’ tunnel- frightening as no lights in tunnel and Chinese drivers take no prisoners. Also started to rain just out of Yangshou. I free wheeled down hills and walked rest.
Tremendous thunder storms that evening and really heavy rain. Went to a near by Café for dinner and we were ‘flooded’. Probably 18” of water in restaurant. We went elsewhere to a restaurant where someone had just finish eating snake for dinner. Also saw opening fire cracker ceremony for new Hotel in main street. Hotel name in light Royal Gardens Grend (sic) Hotel. So many crackers, smoke and noise probable Battle of Stalingrad all over again. Continued heavy rain most of evening and I got my dreaded tonsillitis. Very bad night and we decided to head out as hygiene standards would be the pits.
Friday 19th May
Novia left for Guilin early to get tickets on train back to Gangzhou. I waited in hotel whilst Leah explored around. Early afternoon onto bus to Guilin. Again old story of absolutely full very uncomfortable (I will never complain of Air NZ economy seating again) many vehicles broken down, In some places water was nearly waist deep. We covered first 60km in around 60-70minutes- last 7 to 8 km took nearly 1 hour. I thought we weren’t going to make the train for awhile. Flooding very bad - Chinese seem to think it was a big joke.. Side walk markets still operated however - people selling everything from vegetables, meat, poultry, fish live animals etc. Shudder to think re hygiene - probable washed vegies in flood waters.
Train terminal finally with 20 minutes to spare ie. right on time. Leah and Peter 2 soft sleepers and Novia hard sleeper. The latter Novia’s choosing. We joined Chinese couple going to Gaungzhou. No English. I tried to go straight to sleep ( feeling terrible ) No sleep for me and felt no better when we reached GZ. Same mass of humanity at Station. Just missed thru’ train to HK, so we bussed to Shenzhen. Small bus ( packed out as usual ) and wonder of wonders a freeway to Shenzhen. Plenty of toll booths though. If GZ and SC is Chinese industrial I shudder. No pollution controls, everything is bland and grimy, no transport infrastructure, ad hoc development, no colour or style, millions of people (many seemingly employed in mindless soul destroying jobs) SZ is special zone and we had to get out of the bus at check point so that all Chinese could be checked. If they didn’t have a pass then they weren’t allowed in. SZ. Customs clearance for HK.- long wait in huge queues to get thru’. Very debilitating. HK. side very quick and easy. Train back to Kowloon MIR to Lan Tin, Leah had Mc Donalds. Back to flat. Adrian came across later and took Leah out to Pizza Hut
Really good trip - Got off the beaten track a little. Good to see G, and really bring home how lucky we are in NZ. Guilin interesting due to landscape. Yangshou great but really set up for backpackers, so not totally alien. Huge contrasts- top class hotels Merc’s and BMW’s in GZ. to primitive to extreme in backwoods Xingping. Development seems really uneven- countryside shows nothing new in way of mechanical aids etc. but cities growing like crazy in really unrestrained fashion. Huge crowds at GZ. Station had me wondering where they all want to go. Only realistic direction is North ( Shanghai, Beijing??) Filth squalor and smell really awful and gross. China Railways terrible service - make NZR look really good. Trains OK. But soft sleeper isn’t greatest as all facilities are communal. Buses and roads are a nightmare. Couldn’t trust water anywhere.- we used bottled water mainly and I didn’t like eating local Chinese.
Saturday 20th May
Leah took off back to NZ - wasn’t feeling too well. Met Stephen, Jenny, Rod and Desna back at Junk Bay. Good to catch up with them again. Went out for dinner that night to a great restaurant in Kwangtun. A lot of us at the table so we could indulge ourselves in a wide variety of courses. Novia’s revenge - I am sure that she ordered a whole raft of courses that were a real challenge (slugs, fish heads, squid, snails etc). Funnily as long as you didn’t know what it was then the food tasted fine.
Sunday 21st May
Stephen and I got on a ferry and went across to Lantau Island. Ride was great as the harbour is super busy at all times. Boats small and large in all directions. We got a bus ride up to the large Buddha statue on the islands high point. Statue wasn’t that old (built in 1970’s if I remember rightly). Quite a climb to get to the base of the statue. You can then walk around the base and admire the various animal carvings that have been set up around the perimeter. Quite a good experience and the view was terrific. Down again and we went through a sort of Buddhist monastery/museum which was associated with the site. You could hear the work on the new airport in the background but couldn’t actually see it. Bus back to the start point - we then went for a walk around a little bay and had a snack at a local bar. We all went to Mong Kok markets for the evening. Bought some el cheapo shirts and a couple of belts. Believe it or not the shirts lasted me a number of years and I still wear the belts.
The following are other places of interest that we visited.
Museum of history of HK.
Muslim Temple on Nathan Road.
Trip to top of Victoria Peak (midnight)
Trip on Star Ferries cost $HK.2:00
Adrian’s flat was the size of a shoe box
Market in Po Lam Estate. Nearly as good as Macao
Harbour - shipping
Trip to Lantau Island
Peter’s dinner end of trip.
