I have long been postponing writing about our holiday to Hong Kong and it's environs. It has been more than six months since we visited Hong Kong, Macau and Schenzhen in China but it is only now when the time has come to take a short break in a Kenyan National Park, that I am getting around to writing about it! And there is a good reason. I know if I go to Tsavo without putting down my impressions of the Orient, I will never be able to do it. For Africa will talk to me again, African landscapes will superimpose themselves on my mind, I will forget all the mostly man made beauty that I saw six months ago, in favour of that which has been created by Nature. And, for me, Mother Nature wins hands down every single time!
My curiosity about Hong Kong goes back to the time when I was around five years old. My maternal grandfather had gone there on a business trip and had brought back as a souvenir for us, a small rectangular plate which had a picture of people living in boats on the water, due to the housing shortage! I was fascinated as I could not imagine living in a boat and I remember asking my mother a host of questions about it.
It was a toss up between choosing a holiday in Europe or Hong Kong. Hong Kong won hands down due to the lesser number of days needed and time is one thing we are perpetually short of during our holidays! And so we found ourselves landing at the international airport there - tired, jet lagged but very excited to see a new country, that too a former British colony that was now a specially administered region of China.
The first pleasant surprise was that there is actually a metro style train that takes one from arrivals to immigration! Wow! This was definitely a new one for us. We had taken the Underground from and to London's Heathrow Airport many years ago but an internal underground train just for the airport was something! This is one of the very few countries where Indians get visa on arrival so after crossing that hurdle, we were onto our tour bus, merrily on our way to the hotel.
Hong Kong, small as it is, does have some natural beauty to offer most of which becomes a back drop for tall buildings and humongous bridges, smooth roads and fast cars. A minor shock was the size of the hotel room. Coming from Africa's vast grasslands and comparatively sparse population in the interiors, which translates into very spacious hotel rooms, our tiny room with its extra bed for our daughter, was a revelation that this island has a serious space crunch! Later on our Tour Guide told us she and her husband lived in a flat measuring just 400 square feet and did not even want to have any children as there was just no place for them. That is the size of our master bathroom here. Now that old image of people living on boats began to make sense to me but though I kept my eyes peeled I did not see any house boats. I'm assuming they have been accommodated into tiny flats by their government! I sincerely hope so.
The main attraction for the children was, of course, Disneyland. We spent a whole day there with my husband and children enjoying the most scary of rides while I chickened out for all but the tamest of them! Disney is of course an American brand to the core, but some of the longest lines were for Indian food and we enjoyed a vegetarian Indian Thali for lunch. I loved the Disney castle that has now become their trade mark the world over and come evening it is lit up in the most gloriously coloured lights, with fireworks illuminating it from above. The general effect is the main night of Diwali in India! So if we managed to blank out the castle, it was a kind of deja vu for us, as it would be for all Indians! This was followed by a delicious Indian dinner in a restaurant where my husband's boss was our very gracious host. It was pouring cats and dogs by that time but that did not stop us from marching out to the restaurant.The pull of Indian food is very strong!
Ocean Park is another must see here. Soaring over the wooded hills and deep harbour, perched in a cable car, brings a high like no other. Being vegetarian, we could truly admire all those fish, crabs, squids for what they were, without drooling all over ourselves and imagining them coated in spicy batter and on our plates. Live and let live and it was delicious Indian vegetarian food for lunch.
A view of Hong Kong by night from Victoria Peak (oh yes, that colonial connection!) was fantastic and the tram ride to reach there was the icing on the cake. A boat ride on the harbour afforded more views of sparkly buildings in techno colours and I wondered aloud who footed the light bills! Both India and Kenya have their own power problems and severe shortages and this blatant display of electric power was slightly disconcerting for me.
Dinner was with my cousin who works in Hong Kong and he scouted out a traditional Chinese restaurant for us that served authentic Chinese food that was not only vegetarian but spicy as well. It was a completely new and tongue tingling experience for us and the children had a hay day using their chop sticks! I tried everything (and there were some ten different courses!) but I put my foot down at having white fungus for dessert. We treated him to ice cream later, the only dessert in my rule book! Haagen- Dazs seems to rule the roost and was omnipresent here.
The next day it was off to the Harbour to catch a boat to Macau. Fortunately I had been warned by a student that this is the Mecca of Gambling and we should not book an over night stay here as our only connection to the word Casino being that we can spell it, we would be bored to tears. So it was a quick visit to a lovely, ancient Chinese temple and then to an even more ancient church which was steeped in history. Then they dropped us off to the must see hotel in Macau, the Venetian. The charm of this hotel lies in the fact that it has been designed to replicate the water Canals in Venice, Italy, and the gondolas that float through are an exact replica too! Shops which sell the world's most expensive brands line both sides of the canal and while my daughter was very familiar with each name, I was totally out of my element. Give me an ancient temple any day! On our way back to the meeting point for boarding the bus, we got lost and landed up in the huge casino! The escalator led straight into it and we panicked and took one down to another floor to see if we could spot an exit! There wasn't any so we tried to go back up, which the lady manning the escalator did not allow us to do as my daughter isn't and doesn't look eighteen,the casino being for adults only.( My son had gone with my husband for the Transformers Exhibition on another floor.) My heart was pounding and I was almost in tears by then, for the lady spoke no English and I was sure we would miss our tour bus! Fortunately we met a cleaner who spoke a bit of English and he led us to a lift which took us to the hotel lobby. That was an experience I am in no hurry to repeat!
The very next day was an exciting one for we would be on mainland China for the very first time ever. A short Metro ride later we were in Schenzhen, a clean, well managed city, and off to see 'Window To The World' which showcases all the major wonders of each country in miniature. We saw the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Niagara Falls, the Leaning Tower Of Pisa and many more. Given an option between a Chinese lunch and an Indian one, every one on the bus voted Indian and we were taken to a great Indian restaurant. Tucking in into Chole (chick peas) and Naan in China is even more appealing to the taste buds than it is when we have the same in India! Don't ask me why, but maybe the thrill of sampling our cuisine in just about every corner of the world gives it an extra delicious edge!
Shopping in Schenzhen is a novel experience, in a building crammed with tiny shops each over flowing with goods, some fake brands, some genuine ones. You name it, they have it! My husband and son buy a telescope and some remote controlled toys (boys!), I stock up on jade lucky charms for family and friends as well as add to my teapot collection by buying a tea pot and tiny cups which have blue dragons on it. Befitting, since I was born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon!
Some jewellery shopping in Hong Kong, mainly by my daughter, who has some advance sixteenth birthday money from my sister to spend and some souvenir shopping as well, rounds up our foray into Oriental China. It was nice to see our closest contender for next Super Power status up close and personal!
Hong Kong by night from Victoria Peak.
Selling the Disney Dream!
Natural beauty and some man made too!
A Chinese meal, not Indo Chinese...
Clean and green Schenzhen
Blobs of Jelly fish, Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Traditional Chinese Temple in Macau
My curiosity about Hong Kong goes back to the time when I was around five years old. My maternal grandfather had gone there on a business trip and had brought back as a souvenir for us, a small rectangular plate which had a picture of people living in boats on the water, due to the housing shortage! I was fascinated as I could not imagine living in a boat and I remember asking my mother a host of questions about it.
It was a toss up between choosing a holiday in Europe or Hong Kong. Hong Kong won hands down due to the lesser number of days needed and time is one thing we are perpetually short of during our holidays! And so we found ourselves landing at the international airport there - tired, jet lagged but very excited to see a new country, that too a former British colony that was now a specially administered region of China.
The first pleasant surprise was that there is actually a metro style train that takes one from arrivals to immigration! Wow! This was definitely a new one for us. We had taken the Underground from and to London's Heathrow Airport many years ago but an internal underground train just for the airport was something! This is one of the very few countries where Indians get visa on arrival so after crossing that hurdle, we were onto our tour bus, merrily on our way to the hotel.
Hong Kong, small as it is, does have some natural beauty to offer most of which becomes a back drop for tall buildings and humongous bridges, smooth roads and fast cars. A minor shock was the size of the hotel room. Coming from Africa's vast grasslands and comparatively sparse population in the interiors, which translates into very spacious hotel rooms, our tiny room with its extra bed for our daughter, was a revelation that this island has a serious space crunch! Later on our Tour Guide told us she and her husband lived in a flat measuring just 400 square feet and did not even want to have any children as there was just no place for them. That is the size of our master bathroom here. Now that old image of people living on boats began to make sense to me but though I kept my eyes peeled I did not see any house boats. I'm assuming they have been accommodated into tiny flats by their government! I sincerely hope so.
The main attraction for the children was, of course, Disneyland. We spent a whole day there with my husband and children enjoying the most scary of rides while I chickened out for all but the tamest of them! Disney is of course an American brand to the core, but some of the longest lines were for Indian food and we enjoyed a vegetarian Indian Thali for lunch. I loved the Disney castle that has now become their trade mark the world over and come evening it is lit up in the most gloriously coloured lights, with fireworks illuminating it from above. The general effect is the main night of Diwali in India! So if we managed to blank out the castle, it was a kind of deja vu for us, as it would be for all Indians! This was followed by a delicious Indian dinner in a restaurant where my husband's boss was our very gracious host. It was pouring cats and dogs by that time but that did not stop us from marching out to the restaurant.The pull of Indian food is very strong!
Ocean Park is another must see here. Soaring over the wooded hills and deep harbour, perched in a cable car, brings a high like no other. Being vegetarian, we could truly admire all those fish, crabs, squids for what they were, without drooling all over ourselves and imagining them coated in spicy batter and on our plates. Live and let live and it was delicious Indian vegetarian food for lunch.
A view of Hong Kong by night from Victoria Peak (oh yes, that colonial connection!) was fantastic and the tram ride to reach there was the icing on the cake. A boat ride on the harbour afforded more views of sparkly buildings in techno colours and I wondered aloud who footed the light bills! Both India and Kenya have their own power problems and severe shortages and this blatant display of electric power was slightly disconcerting for me.
Dinner was with my cousin who works in Hong Kong and he scouted out a traditional Chinese restaurant for us that served authentic Chinese food that was not only vegetarian but spicy as well. It was a completely new and tongue tingling experience for us and the children had a hay day using their chop sticks! I tried everything (and there were some ten different courses!) but I put my foot down at having white fungus for dessert. We treated him to ice cream later, the only dessert in my rule book! Haagen- Dazs seems to rule the roost and was omnipresent here.
The next day it was off to the Harbour to catch a boat to Macau. Fortunately I had been warned by a student that this is the Mecca of Gambling and we should not book an over night stay here as our only connection to the word Casino being that we can spell it, we would be bored to tears. So it was a quick visit to a lovely, ancient Chinese temple and then to an even more ancient church which was steeped in history. Then they dropped us off to the must see hotel in Macau, the Venetian. The charm of this hotel lies in the fact that it has been designed to replicate the water Canals in Venice, Italy, and the gondolas that float through are an exact replica too! Shops which sell the world's most expensive brands line both sides of the canal and while my daughter was very familiar with each name, I was totally out of my element. Give me an ancient temple any day! On our way back to the meeting point for boarding the bus, we got lost and landed up in the huge casino! The escalator led straight into it and we panicked and took one down to another floor to see if we could spot an exit! There wasn't any so we tried to go back up, which the lady manning the escalator did not allow us to do as my daughter isn't and doesn't look eighteen,the casino being for adults only.( My son had gone with my husband for the Transformers Exhibition on another floor.) My heart was pounding and I was almost in tears by then, for the lady spoke no English and I was sure we would miss our tour bus! Fortunately we met a cleaner who spoke a bit of English and he led us to a lift which took us to the hotel lobby. That was an experience I am in no hurry to repeat!
The very next day was an exciting one for we would be on mainland China for the very first time ever. A short Metro ride later we were in Schenzhen, a clean, well managed city, and off to see 'Window To The World' which showcases all the major wonders of each country in miniature. We saw the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, the Niagara Falls, the Leaning Tower Of Pisa and many more. Given an option between a Chinese lunch and an Indian one, every one on the bus voted Indian and we were taken to a great Indian restaurant. Tucking in into Chole (chick peas) and Naan in China is even more appealing to the taste buds than it is when we have the same in India! Don't ask me why, but maybe the thrill of sampling our cuisine in just about every corner of the world gives it an extra delicious edge!
Shopping in Schenzhen is a novel experience, in a building crammed with tiny shops each over flowing with goods, some fake brands, some genuine ones. You name it, they have it! My husband and son buy a telescope and some remote controlled toys (boys!), I stock up on jade lucky charms for family and friends as well as add to my teapot collection by buying a tea pot and tiny cups which have blue dragons on it. Befitting, since I was born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon!
Some jewellery shopping in Hong Kong, mainly by my daughter, who has some advance sixteenth birthday money from my sister to spend and some souvenir shopping as well, rounds up our foray into Oriental China. It was nice to see our closest contender for next Super Power status up close and personal!
No comments:
Post a Comment