Posts tagged Hong Kong
Bungee Jumping
There are four things that you need to remember when you are doing a bungee jump:
1) Despite everything your body is telling you this IS going to be fun
2) It’s safe, I promise
3) Make as much noise as you can, all the way down, it will help, and
4) the moment you finish, you WILL be wanting to do it again.
I did my first bungee jump in a water park in Venice. I had always wanted to do it, and when the opportunity came along for a pretty low price I was all over it. At the time I was in a pretty dark place, and the moment I was taken off the rope all my problems seemed to have been blasted away by the amount of adrenaline pumping through my body. I was hooked.
For my following birthday, my sister got me a bungee jump voucher for anywhere in the UK. I spent no time waiting around, and booked into the earliest slot I could. I spent the next weeks shaking with excitement and once again threw myself off the platform and screamed all the way down. Knowing what to expect, I was so much more ready for what was to follow, and I was officially addicted to adrenaline.
The strangest thing that you will experience is the moment before you jump, as you step to the edge of the platform and look out into nothing. Everything in your head is telling you that this is wrong, that this should not be happening, and that this is NOT a good idea. Even that feeling makes me smile now.
Both of these jumps were at a mere 70 metres. Macau Sky Tower is the biggest bungee in the world, the main platform standing at an amazing 235 metres above the ground. As if I was not going to do this.
I do have to admit, that for the first time, I felt pretty ill on the way up to the top, which you take via a lift that accents at 6 metres per second. Mostly I was scared that I was going to bring the massive buffet I had just gorged on back up on the way back down. after standing at the top for a long while however, that feeling I am so used to washed over me like a blanket, and all I could do was smile.
There is no way that I can describe hurtling towards the ground held only by an elastic rope. That, you will have to experience for yourself, but suffice it to say, that that feeling and the incredible amount of adrenaline I got from it sent me through the next 24 hours. If there is anything I would tell you do in Macau, it would be the Sky Tower. If anything, for the views you get of the entire city as you fall to the floor.
Matt M
STA UK WTI 2010
A hike in Hong Kong
Sometimes things just happen for a reason. Take for example the other day. Matt and I had ventured out of our swanky hotel to wander round the streets of Hong Kong, getting a feel for the place and trying the local cuisine. Around lunchtime we directed ourselves towards a number of Cantonese eateries eager to sample the dim sum- a dish which consists of small portions of food served either in baskets or on plates. The place we eventually chose looked authentic enough; indeed we were the only Westerners in it and as such had some trouble conveying our order through to the waitress who seemed to completely ignore me for some unknown reason. After a complex, confusing and frankly rather bizarre ritual involving checking off several little boxes on a number of pieces of paper- a process which looked more suited to a bingo hall than to restaurant – the waitress wandered off leaving us very confused about what we’d ordered. As it turned out, she had completely ignored any of my requests for vegetarian food, and had instead directed all her unintelligible questions to Matt, who totally overwhelmed by the whole situation, had allowed her to order masses of food for him and none for me. Consequently, I decided to give that place a miss and after Matt had finished eating we went off in search of another place for me to grab some food. It was then, in the sandwich bar I chose that fate struck.
We were seated at a table, map out, considering our next move when a voice called out from behind a newspaper. The voice, as it turned out belonged to a smartly dressed English businessman sitting at the next table along. ‘Do you need some help?” he asked. And that was it. From there the conversation went on. As it happened, this guy was the former president of the Hong Kong ex-pats hiking society, and as such knew all the best routes to take and where to find the most stunning views of the city. We’d done Victoria Peak, we’d been to Stanley, we’d taken the ferry across to the other side. Now we were looking for something different. Something that would fulfil our innate desire to explore and to experience a real adventure. Also, hiking sounded fun. As soon as he told us about the walk to a place called Ng Tung Chai, which passed through ’some of the best waterfalls’ he had ‘ever seen’ we were hooked. He then mapped out a detailed route of where to go and how to get to the starting point via bus and MTR metro system. Included in his precise description of our intended trail was the following gem of advice. ‘Take the path marked NOT VIA WATERFALL, and unless it’s been raining, ignore the warning signs. They’re only there to stop you from getting close up’. What? But we want to go to the waterfall I thought. How odd! He assured us that he had taken the very same route a few weeks back with his 9 year old son, and that anybody who was reasonably fit could manage it. Delighted with our newly acquired knowledge and the promise of a real adventure we headed back to the hotel, happy to have found such a helpful and informative friend.
The next day we were meant to be on a tour of the Northern territories, but a mix up with the hotel pick up times meant that fate struck once again. Having missed that tour we now had time to head off in search of these great waterfalls in Ng Tung Chai. The first part went well. We metroed it to the supposed bus stop for the number 51 K bus- the bus which would take us to the Visitor Centre and the start of our hike. We searched everywhere but could we find this damn bus stop? Short answer: no. Long answer: (exasperated) noooooooooo.
Realising that we were running out of time we hailed a taxi and showed the driver the address of our intended destination. He nodded and we got in. Barely 5 metres down the road he begins to consult a map. ‘Umm… do you get the slight impression that this guy might not exactly know where he’s going?’ I asked Matt. He smiled in agreement. Two minutes later our suspicions were confirmed when the driver started to call a friend. The friend seems equally stumped. Great! So now we’re just kinda cruising around in a taxi stocking up a hefty cab fare and getting nowhere, I thought. Just then fate struck for the third time. We saw the bus! We saw the same bloomin’ number 51 bus we’d been searching in vain for at the bus terminal. ‘Follow that bus’ I shouted momentarily forgetting he understood no english. ‘Umm.. busi, follow busi..busi good!’ I attempted in the manner of the world’s worst charade. Miraculously, however he seemed to understand and we followed the bus until we saw a sign for the Tai Mo Shan Visitors centre. Huzzah, we had made it, but by now it was 4pm. After a quick chat with the guys at the centre, we bought a Country side series map- essential if you want to try one of these hikes and make it back alive- and headed out at a brisk pace. Brisk, because they’d told us it would take around 5 hours. Barely 500 metres up the road the stunning views began. We’d climbed pretty quickly and already we could look down on the sprawling business heartland of HK and marvel at the sublime juxtaposition of countryside jungle on one side and urban jungle on the other.
From there on upwards the views just got more and more spectacular and although at one point we were shrouded momentarily in thick fog for around 15 minutes, we were fortunate with the weather. It was not stiflingly hot and humid, but was instead sunny and bright for the most part, which meant we had some absolutely stunning views.
With note pad in hand we followed the clear instructions that Paul, the man from the sandwich shop, had written down for us and took the turn marked ‘not via waterfall’ down a dirt track into dense jungle. The path was often rocky and sometimes a little difficult to scramble up and down but nothing that the average person couldn’t handle. Both Matt and I buzzed with a sense of real adventure. Everything was so green and lush and fresh. It was just like you imagine Harrison Ford or Angelina Jolie doing in Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. There was also a certain buzz from ignoring the danger signs and rebelling a little. Clearly, it must be stated that we kept our common sense and would have turned back if at any point it got too dangerous. It also should be said that we only did this on the advice of an experienced hiker. And it was advice well worth taking. The waterfalls when we reached them were just stunning and the whole day was such a great adventure. We swam for a little in the pool of the biggest fall and took some amazing photos (which should be up on flickr soon!) before realising it was getting dark and we still had a fair bit to go. So we pushed on eventually reaching the small, sleepy, town of Ng Tung Chai just as the sun was setting. From there we hopped on the bus and metro back to our hotel, thoroughly knackered but completely satisfied with a day well spent. If you’re in the area and you have a spare day I thoroughly suggest trying a hike. Just remember to bring a map, enough water and plenty of repellant for those peskie mossies. Try it though, and you will be rewarded with some jaw-droppingly beautiful scenary.
Route: Take the MTR metro to TSUEN WAN- the end of the red line. Then take either the 55 or 51K bus, or taxi (around 35,000 HK Dollars) to the Tai Mo Shan Visitor Centre. Buy a countryside series map- you’ll need it. Follow the path up and where it splits into two, take the road marked ‘Not via waterfall’. Dodge past danger signs and go round others warning of landslides only if the weather is good and it doesn’t look like raining. Our route took us 5 hours and it was dark when we finished so it’s a good idea to start earlier than we did. Say around 12 or 1 and you should be fine. Good luck, and let us know if you do it. We’d love to see your photos too!
Life in the fast lane
As the plane begins its final approach to one of the ‘hardest places to land’ and you release your white knuckled hands from the arm rest for a few seconds to lift the window cover and look outside, you are greeted with something fascinating. There is a line that runs along just below the horizon over Hong Kong, on one side of this line there are high rise buildings, fluorescent signs that advertise numerous digital companies and a spaghetti of roads full of flashing lights and flashy cars. on the other side of this line is a huge expanse of green. The entire city is surrounded by fields, jungle and waterfalls. the difference between these two environments is huge, and fact that they are resting next door to each other is an amazing thing to see from the air.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The last few days in Vietnam were fantastic. Hanoi was much faster than any other town we have been to, but there was ten times the amount of scooters on the roads, making crossing them an adrenaline sport. Every street looks very much the same, which meant that when we got lost, it took a long time to make our way back to home. But along the way we found a local market, one that not many westerners seemed to have found as we were the only ones in sight. After a little battering (3 DVDs and the complete 24 box-set for around £12) we did make it home.
Over the two days that we were there we managed to get to the War Museum, where I found out that the country has been ripped apart more times than thought, what with the French sticking there head in there as well at some point over the past 100 years. Some of the jeeps and planes that were left over were fairly haunting, some of them having plaques drilled into them expelling how many people were killed with them. Chilling stuff.
In the evenings it was all about the celebration. We found a bar on top of a block of flats, cleverly named ‘Top Pub’ which turned out to be a little dodgy, as when police came round, the music was turned off and we were told to keep our voices down and to pretend that we were infect friends with the bar man who had just come over for a casual drink. The bar man had a LOT of friends. Once they left the music instantly started again when I am fairly certain they were still in earshot. After far too many cocktails (which you got for free if you stood on one leg for 4 minutes, which gets harder after your 5th) we all stumbled into a taxi that drove around a few times before going to the hotel, watch out for this, it happens a lot, especially to drunk tourists!
The were some swift goodbyes in the morning, with the rest of the group heading into Lous and us jumping on our plane to Hong Kong, it was amazing to go up Vietnam with them all, and was a shame that we had to say goodbye so soon as they all rumbled off to the party capital of South-East Asia.
Hong Kong is a city full of rich businessmen and high rise 5* hotels. It’s no more expensive than it is back in the UK, but after going through a country that asked you for no more that 70p for a beer in the nations capital, it was a bit of a shock when the bill for our first meal come through. It would have been alright though if the food and service had been anything like what I had experienced in Vietnam, but alas it was not. On a recommendation from a guide book, we went to a restaurant in the City Hall. The place must have been a school hall at some point in its life, which had been closed down and then filled with tables, chairs and chandeliers. Avoid it if you can!
Here, they have something that works very similarly to the Oyster card back at home. Although here it’s imaginatively called the Octopus card. The public transport system is pretty sound all the time, and not only does the Octopus card work for all modes of transport, you can also use it in the 7-Elevens all aver town (like co-op, only smaller and there’s one every other shop). Even though this is great, you can’t eat food on the trains, at all. Annoying when my stomach was crying out for some food and I’m sitting there holding a bad full of biscuits, bread and cream cheese (the ONLY cheese you can actually buy out here).
The night life here is fantastic, and not as expensive as you think it might be after spending a day watching the back account suffer. I have a friend out here who moved out with her parents a few years ago, and she is well versed in the night time scene. Katie took me to a bar, ‘Carnegies’ in the centre on town. Here, the booze is stacked on the shelves behind the bar like a library and the way the bar staff get them down is using a ladder very much like the ones you would see in a library to slide back and fourth and drop them down to the colleague waiting at the bottom. You dance on the bar all night, and on wednesdays and thursdays it’s ‘ladies night’ so all girls drink free. Have a female friend with you helps and most of the time there are so many people there and you are ordering through someones legs so the bar staff have no idea that every girl is taking two drinks and handing one straight over to a male friend behind them. Twas a cheep night for all!!
The Hong Kong island is only one part of the entire city, and to be honest not the most exciting one. Whilst it has all the bars and night life, as far as things to do during the day it falls a little short. there is a place called the peeks, where you can get a tram up to the highest point on the island for another amazing view of the different environments in the city, but thats about it. There is also the ‘Big Buddah’ that you can find on the next island, the same island with Disneyland Hong Kong and the airport on it (diverse I know), which is definitely worth the very long cable car ride to it, but pray for good weather. being so high up in the mountains the whole place is prone to disappearing into the clouds.
If you ever do manage to make it Hong Kong, something that is a must is truly experiencing the sudden change between built up city to dense jungle. Right now, I just got back from an epic 4 hour trek up a (almost) mountain, where on one side of me there was a concrete jungle and on the other an actual jungle. We dropped down the other side and started hunting around for something special. We found it. Three hidden waterfalls are cut off by signs saying that there have been landslides and it’s too difficult to get there, saying that we have to turn back now for our own safety. But after bumping into an expat in a sandwich shop who turned out to be an experienced hiker, we were told to go for it, to climb around the sign, and climb down the old land slide (it had been a few years ago, and as long as it hadn’t been raining was still [relatively] safe). We did, and thank god we did. We fell upon one of the most beautiful water falls I have ever seen. If you are anywhere near here at any point, even if you are only there for a few days, get your trainers on (flip flops are a no go!!) and get out there, it’s well worth it, and the best hang over cure in the world!
Tomorrow, through various contacts made over the various nights out and friends of friends, I will be getting on a yacht, heading over to an exclusive yacht club, and dinning with the other half. Its a tough life!
Till then
Matt M
Hello there Hong Kong
Pull back the enormous floor length curtains in my twenty-fifth floor hotel room in Hong Kong, and you are greeted with some sight. Below me lies a sprawling metropolis with high rise blocks of flats and skyscrapers on one side and the highly prized breathtaking vista of the racecourse and Hong Kong’s Happy Valley, home of the rich, on the other. In the distance the leafy green mountains are, for the time being, shrouded in thick fog. This is a sharp contrast to Vietnam. The intricate road network, although bustling and busy, seems to work. At least here they’ve decided on one side of the road to drive on- and stuck to it!
It’s also very westernised. On the high rise opposite from me there stands an gigantic poster of a serene looking Nicole Kidman, advertising Omega watches. All around me there are signs in English, double decker buses, fast food joints like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC, and all the designer clothes brands you could ask for. In Hong Kong they drive on the left, eat western (as well as Cantonese) cuisine, and pay in Dollars (admittedly HK Dollars). The prices are also closer to what we are accustomed to at home, although having flown in from dirt cheap Hanoi everything seems astronomically expensive by comparison. (My advice, don’t compare. Don’t convert back. It only makes you angry, as Matt found out yesterday when he paid triple the price for his food compared to the night before). Aside from the ridiculously tall- and I’m talking really silly proportions here- and at times bizarrely constructed, skyscrapers -this could be London. If you squinted hard enough and ignored the normally warm temperatures that is. Hell, even the weather’s putting up a good pretence; at the moment it’s overcast and drizzling slightly, and later it’s forecasted to bucket it down.
None of this should really surprise, however, considering that HK was only handed back to the Chinese by the British in 1997 and the place still maintains a lively expat community. Just yesterday we met up with 19-year-old Brit Katie, whose parents emigrated here a few years back. There are also a great deal of well to do, suited and booted young Brits working for companies like HSBC and JP Morgan so going out here can sometimes be mistaken for one of the trendier areas in central London.
So this isn’t really China as you imagine it, but there is still enough to make it different, and the blend of East meets West makes HK quite unique. And I have to say, at the moment, I kinda like it, although this might have something to do with the ultra swish 4* Cosmopolitan hotel we’ve been put into. Since the moment we walked in the door, we’ve been treated like royalty. We were first greeted by Guest services Manager Agnes Yau, and escorted up to our beautiful hotel rooms by Assistant Front Office Manager, the very smiley Ronald Cheung. When we opened the door I could not believe my eyes. For five days I have this absolutely amazing room all to myself. It comes complete with a wide flatscreen TV, computer, a luxurious double bed, complementary tea and coffee, a selection of fruit, an array of free toiletries, the free use of dressing gowns and slippers, stunning views, and a power shower which could cure any hangover. They’ve literally thought of everything you might need.
We’ve just come back from a guided tour of the hotel, and her sister hotel, Cosmo, by the Public Relations Manager, a charming young man called Stewart Chen. During his detailed account on the range of the hotel’s facilities he was keen to stress the importance of comfort and connectivity as his two buzz words. Comfort in everything from the silky soft 300 thread count bed linen right down to the bouncy carpets, and connectivity in the form of phone and high speed internet access.
The Cosmopolitan Hotel, built on the site of the former Xin Hua New Agency, is first and foremost a very business orientated hotel, though it’s in the process of changing that image to a more feminine and family orientated image, or at least something which combines both business and leisure. Allegedly this had something to do with the new carpets. Apparently plush and soft carpets means more feminine and therefore more appealing for female guests and families. It’s an interesting idea, but just goes to show just into how much detail the hotel’s managers are going, to try to cater for all needs and widen the hotel’s appeal. The deluxe room I’m in is furnished in a modern, neutral tone, and is above all designed to be functional but none of this really puts me off as a woman, and I have to say, before it was mentioned to us, oh the odd half a dozen times or so, I hadn’t paid much attention to the carpets. Still, it’s nice to know, that as a woman, they are thinking of my needs too. Attention to detail was also emphasised in the staggeringly wide selection of pillows available. There are a whopping eleven different types in the range. Just deciding upon which one to choose would make me drowsy! Still, were I so inclined- and you know I just might try it now I have the chance- I can chose between pillows which offer extra head and neck support, those that are designed to be soft and light, non- allergic pillows, pillows to improve circulation and reduce stress and those that are scented. Hell, even the paper this information is written on is scented, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was providing some kind of health benefit to boot!
Included in this startling array of choices, are options about the type of complementary water you can have. There are four types. To me, as long as it’s cold and doesn’t carry typhoid, water is water and will refresh me whatever brand it may be. To the guests of this hotel, however, it’s something a whole lot more. Still, sparkling, mineral, non-mineral, distilled, non-distilled, it’s confusing just trying to read the labels. I’m seriously considering popping down to reception later to ask for some Kabbalah water with my tears of leprechaun, rose hip and just feed baby smell scented pillow, though something tells me that no matter how mad hat your requests may be, the hotel staff will always try to accommodate you.
Wifi is complementary in the lobby and restaurant areas but annoying not so in the rooms. Consequently, it’s invariably packed by reception, with those checking out, those checking in and those struggling to find a plug socket for their laptop. Incidentally the plugs here are the same as in Britain, so there’s no need to bring an adapter. Hurrah! Another British hangover for you. I’m full of them today!
Aside from your average deluxe room – I say average… at 280 square feet it’s anything but! – which would already set you back a whopping $763 per 7 night stay, you can enjoy the luxury of an executive suite, which, at 520 square feet, would cost you around $1,167. The suites have four themes, including the massage suite, complete with a variety of massage equipment (all relatively painful in our experience, though whatever floats your boat!) and the toy suite which comes complete with a number of games and puzzles aimed at small children, fluffy animals and a built in Wii and DVD player. Though both of these options of course might mean that you never actually end up leaving your hotel room, which of course defeats the object of actually travelling there in the first place.
The Cosmopolitan also offers free use of its gym for all guests and a complimentary shuttle service to 16 different points on the Island. ‘Location is everything in Hong Kong’, Mr Chen informs us as we walk round the hotel. I can see the shuttle bus coming in handy for us, but some of the other amenities seem a tad unnecessary. Then again, that’s exactly their point. They are unnecessary frivolities, capricious desires that don’t really need fulfilling, but if you have the money and do feel so inclined then I guess that these subtle nuances are what makes a good hotel experience a great one. And at the moment, with monetary considerations set aside for the while, I have to say, as hotel experiences go, aside from the dull ache in my neck from sampling the torturous neck massager, I’m loving my one.
Right, we’re off to check out what this city has to offer.
More from HK next time!