1st December 2011

Today is the 1^st December which means a) that we only have 18 days left in Hong Kong and b) the first day of advent so Katie is allowed to put up some Christmas decorations and open the mulled wine YAY! The city began to look Christmassy at the beginning of November so now the streets glisten with fairy lights and baulbauls. In fact, the Bentley shop just across the road has a ‘British Christmas Scene’ in the window, comprising of the London Eye, Tower Bridge and some giant snowflakes...quite random!

Over the last few weekends here we have tried to go out and see the last few things we have on our tourist ‘Things to do’. Last weekend we took a trip to the 10,000 Buddhas. We headed far out of the city and headed to the New Territories.  My my, what a steep climb! We felt a little ‘done’ as we were expecting 10,000 lifesized Buddhas (apparently each with their own individual expression) as explained in the guide book. However, upon reaching the temple at the top we were greeted by hundreds of tiny statues that filled the room. Impressive but not quite what we had in mind!

On Saturday we had dinner with our friends Jack and Ming and we were treated to a roast dinner – possibly Katie’s best meal to date!! We felt very grown up drinking red wine and eating a selection of cheeses.

Katie friend’s arrive next Saturday so she is busy planning a pack itinerary to amuse Floss and Lauren and hopefully Beth and Ollie too. Matt has a weekend of work ahead of him in Taipei which he is looking forward to.

Not much else to report – volunteering has come to end except one more trip to the soup kitchen so Katie has resorted to Christmas shopping and reading lots of books – how lovely!

On a funny note, one of our delightful housemates has decided to smear butter over the communal hallway light switch so that we don't turn it off at night.

You might have noticed we edited the demand....

A Visit from George

Another week, more work and volunteering. More importantly, George arrived on Thursday night to draw his travelling to a close as Hong Kong was his last destination. Matt met him after work and they travelled into Hong Kong together, George spending most of the journey looking up at the views around him. See below for his favourite building!

 

On Friday Matt and George attended a ‘Symphony Under The Stars’ thanks to some free tickets from a colleague. A very sophisticated start to Hong Kong. Katie met up with friends and was later joined by George and Matt. We showed George LKF (night life district) and had a great view of the city from a bar a few stories high.

Saturday was much more action packed. We started off by going to the Peak by tram. We had a lovely peaceful walk around and took in the views across the city.  After we showed George the Wet Markets (not for the feint hearted!) and went across to Kowloon which is much more crowded (and according to the film Contagion is one of the most densely populated area in the world) and a huge contrast to the Peak.

We went for dinner in Kowloon at a different Michelin starred restaurant to normal. One Dim Sum is known as the cheapest and best value Michelin stared restaurants in the world. Indeed, for 3 of us the bill came to a total of 80 HKD (a few pence short of £7). After this we headed to the night market which has everything and anything you could ever want.

After the market we met up with Jack and headed to the Ozone bar, the tallest bar in the world. We travelled up the 118 floors to the top. Although it was very impressive and very high up, Matt and I thought that the rooftop bar in Bangkok was hard to beat. However, the toilets in this bar were completely constructed out of marble which impressed me more!

On Sunday we had a lie in and later headed out to Lamma Island, an island not far off of Hong Kong Island. The boat trip took around 40 minutes and cost us HK$ 45 return.  It seems a very popular route with tourists and locals on a Sunday but we diverted off the main route to a more secluded spot overlooking the sea. The view was lovely, only slightly spoilt by the huge power station attached to the Island.

Upon returning to Hong Kong Island we went out for dinner at Din Tai Fung which is a much tastier Dim Sum restaurant. Having 3 of us meant we could try out more dishes between us so we branched out from our usual dishes.

It was soon Monday morning and George headed off to the airport in the hope that his bag wasn’t over the limit and Matt headed out to work. I travelled across to Ap Lei Chau to volunteer at the Hong Kong Dog Rescue Centre. Upon walking into the centre I was greeted by about 15 very excited dogs. There are two centres, one on Hong Kong Island and another in the New Territories which is more spacious and green. At this centre there are around 20 small dogs. 15 are allowed to roam the ‘shop’ floor and 5 are kept in separate cages due to being bullied by the other dogs (not sure how that really works...). Anyway, it was a fun experience being able to play with the dogs and take them for walks. If I could adopt one, I would choose this one – very cute with a good temperament. 

Tuesday and Wedneday passed with little to mention other than Katie’s trip to the Space museum and an Art Gallery. On Thursday Katie continued her volunteering work and Matt managed to get on an observation flight (Leaving at 4.30 pm I managed to get the seat in the jumpseat (that’s the 3^rd seat in the cockpit) for flights to and from Vietnam). Needless to say he was happy when he got back!

It was Friday again before we knew it and we had officialy been in Hong Kong 8 weeks. Less than a third to go now. Katie did some teaching which was good experience and the highest hourly rate she will ever receive in her life!

 

The Half Way Mark

So, the week after Bangkok was a relatively quiet one. Katie was busy volunteering at various places around the city including a school and a soup kitchen. Work was good and we enjoyed a few evenings sitting watching Dexter (which we have subsequently finished) eating Ikea popcorn. Katie visited a museum and Matt had a dose of man flu thanks to Graham and Roseanna!

Here in Hong Kong you have to wear a face mask when you get ill - even Trevor!

On Friday night Katie was out partying on LKF and I had recovered enough to celebrate Halloween by attending the annual bierfest courtesy of Airbus. Many beers and a pork knuckle were consumed and after 4 hours of dancing on tables I met Katie clutching my new beer mug! This is now the pint of tea mug for Katie.

Saturday was a day of exploring as we travelled to the end of the tram line to a new district. We bought ourselves some new bowls and spoons (which will be used at many dinner parties I am sure) and nursed some sore heads. Katie began to catch what I suppose we should now call lady-flu. On the way home we saw lots of interesting things!

It was Halloween after all! (Poor Dog!)

Another dinner out at Din Tai Fung was a good Saturday night treat.

On Sunday we took the opportunity to visit my Mum's old neighbourhood in Repulse Bay, had a lie down on the beach a cheeky ice cream. Next we visited Stanley which is a town further south, with a popular market. Here we bought some post cards so get excited next time you hear the postman. Sunday night was another chance to relax and watch some more Dexter!

Monday morning came around quickly and soon enough Matt was off to work. I am more fortunate that I can have lie ins but Monday is a day of cleaning and washing (well, dropping off and collecting). I am able to volunteer nearly everyday at different schools and the soup kitchen but on Wednesdays I take advantage of the free entry to museums.

This week I started at a new primary school in a different area. It is a mixture of working and middle class families but I was shocked at the attitude towards the children who struggle. Here it is a case of sink or swim. Helping at the after school homework club I was paired with a 10 year old boy who is unable to read or write. I asked whether he received any additional support to improve his situation however at this school everyone is treated the same and must follow the set curriculum for a certain level. I talked to the other volunteers who told me that they had brought up the issue with the school a year ago and offered extra lessons to help him catch up however the school declined. It makes me value the British education system and also our hard work!

 School grounds

 Some examples of work

One meal that is worth mentioning was a rather random Indonesian restaurant round the corner from our flat. We had noticed it on the previous Sunday when we saw that it was jam packed with people - we decided it must be good. However, it seems that Wednesdays are not popular for eating out and we were the only ones in the restaurant except the owner and her daughter. We had no reason to worry as the food was delicious (satay chicken and beef curry).

For Matt, Friday evening was spent in the bar at work. I spent my evening waiting for Matt to come home and treat me to dinner - McDo! We decided to have a casual weekend and spent Saturday back at Repulse Bay. However, bus loads of tourists visiting the beach (quite possibly for the first time) and taking pictures of us sunbathing was not overly relaxing. When Matt was asked for a photo he gave a resolute "no" at which point the man in question focused his attention on a isolated white child whose parent was not close enough to object. We did notice that some did walk past us and take some sly pictures "click".

That evening we attended a BBQ on the roof of our friend Jack's flat (Apologies for the missed celebrations Afy, we owe you a meal out!) We met some lovely people and spent the evening drinking some lovely wine and eating good food. We returned home laden with goodies - a roll up mattress and teaching resources!

Sunday was also relaxing and we went for a walk around Happy Valley. Not much else to report!

Sorry for the tardiness of the post - we really don't do a lot

Bangkok

We went on a fantastic trip to Thailand last weekend and met up with Graham and Roseanna (Matt’s brother and girlfriend). After a 3 hour flight on an Airbus A330 (!) we arrived in Bangkok to a wall of heat. We haggled with a taxi driver who drove the 40 km to Bangkok city centre and dropped us off in backpacker central – Khaosan Road. We stayed in the Buddy Boutique Hotel which was very nicely decorated, according to the guidebook “the most stylish and expensive hotel in the area” and we were welcomed by elephants constructed out of towels. Cue photo opportunity!

For breakfast we tried the Khaosan Road, however this was not overly relaxing, almost like eating breakfast in a nightclub as the music bleared out. The road is lined with shops, bars and Tuk Tuk touts apparently willing to take you for “a one-hour tour of the city – 5 Baht each (10p)”. After rejecting this initial offer they reduced the price to 1 Baht each. As if the price was the issue! We were not fooled having heard various stories from friends about these dodgy characters so decided to explore the area on foot, eventually arrived at the Grand Palace. However, this was not without many warning from the locals “not open until 1pm, I can take you somewhere else before....” etc. Again, we thanked them but decided to try our luck at the Palace. Unsurprisingly, it was open however we had to don floor length skirts and trousers before being allowed into the Wat (monstery temple). We paid the 400BHT each to enter (free for Thai people) and explore the amazing Wat which glistened and shimmered.

We later visisted another Wat, Wat Po which was on a much smaller scale than Wat Phra Kaeo but as beautiful and much less crowded. Inside was the reclining Buddha which was massive!

The reclining Buddha

After a lunch of traditional Thai food we took a river boat along the Chao Phraya River back to our original starting point and headed to the roof top pool in our hotel which was a lovely, cool way to watch the sun setting. We should mention that we had to wade through the river (standing on the wooden benches which normally line the waterfront) to get on and off the boat.

Having freshened up, we ate in a restaurant on our road – being the adventurous people that we are - even ordering the exact same dishes. Unfortunately, it did not taste good. We made up for this by spending the evening in some bars around the area. We were entertained by stray dogs, frogs and a street entertainer.

Another activity we thought was a must while we were there was to see the canals up close and personal around other areas of the city. We boarded a boat at the Chao Phraya River which took us on a tour of the Thonburi Canals. The ride started out choppy and we flew along the river, bumpbing across the waves which was much larger than normal because of the flooding. Our guide directed us through the canals, passing by many houses and hotels on stilts, some had been flooded and people were desperately trying to make their houses more water tight. We did notice lizards and snakes swimming along the canal too.

After this we rested for half an hour, treating ourselves to very relaxing foot massages which almost sent us off to sleep.

We also managed to fit in a bit of shopping as you couldn’t leave Bangkok without having a shop at one of the many markets which lined the streets where you can buy anything and everything from clothing to food to sofas.

We turned to the guide book for a more inspiring dinner and we went to an amazing, posh restaurant in the business district of Bangkok.

Once at the restaurant we found it was very quiet but we had delicious Thai food and were presented our napkins in pyramid wooden boxes – very smart!

In Bangkok, it appears that if you want to get a cheap taxi ride, the driver is more than happy to oblige as long as he can stop off on the way to try and sell you some horrible tat at his friends shop.

This led to conversations like this:

“To Khaosan Road please”

“100 BHT, 2 stops”

“No, not stops. Put on the meter”

“No meter, 200 BHT one stop”

“No stop, meter”

“No meter, one stop”Etc etc

Or as Graham put it “meter, meter, meter, meter, meter, meter, meter, meter, meter, meter...”

We decided that we could not leave Bangkok without at least trying a Tuk Tuk ride so we bartered the price for a 10 minute journey.

Quickly we found a ride for 150BHT, no stops, but we were crushed into the back of a Tuk Tuk and had to lean round the corners for fear of toppling.

 

We then continued onto quite possibly the best bar in the world. The Sky Bar is located on the 64^th floor of the Lebua hotel and has views across the entire city. We attemped this trip once before dinner but the boys were informed they were not allowed in due to their attire. Roseanna and I on the other hand were appropriately dressed and took the opportunity to get some pictures at sun set.

 Our second attempt was much better and all four of us were allowed in. We were greeted by a jazz band playing out to the entire bar before them. The bar itself was on a ledge which came away from the hotel itself and hung over the city below. The view from here was incredible and I’m not sure the photos do it justice. We also took the opportunity to have a drink inside and were rewarded with olives and nuts by the barman.

The hotel

A photo of us on the Sky Bar, happy to have arrived safe and sound!

Another picture of the view - Below the glass was nothing, just the road below.

The restaurant - not really in our budget!

The Jazz band that serenaded us. Inside there was a string quartet

Seeing as the hotel had been used for a lot of the filming for the Hangover II we were determined to capture a shot which encapsulated the film. Having spotted the promo poster in the lobby, we recreated the moment. We soon scarpered.

Identical no?

From such a high we went to a huge low upon entering Pat Pong, a rather seedy area of Bangkok which hosts many bars and clubs. Not much to say about this district other than there were some good shops.

 Stocks of water and life jackets in case of more flooding

 One last drink before leaving

After an enjoyable weekend, having done a great deal of bartering, we made our way home (on an A330) with 5kg of extra baggage and back in time to get some sleep before starting work again on Monday morning.

Proud!