Day 37 - Friday May 26, 2017 - Hong Kong

We were awake early again and, after lazing for a while, were down to breakfast by 7 am. The buffet breakfast is a mixture of continental (cold meat and cheese, muesli, cereal, fruit etc.), western (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, beans etc.), chinese (noodles, shu mai, steamed buns etc.) and indian (vegetarian curry, dhal etc.) together with bread, croissants, pastries, juice, coffee etc. The end result, of course, is that you’re tempted to eat too much.

We walked over to the Star Ferry, running the gauntlet of the annoying touts on the way (‘No, I don’t want a cheap, poorly-made suit, thank you and I’ve no idea why you think I would be remotely interested in a fake <and probably non-functioning> Rolex’). That isn’t of course what you actually say, which is much more unprintable, even if said under one’s breath, all the time avoiding any eye contact at all. It gets quite tedious after a while and after the fourth or fifth or sixth one in the space of a few hundred yards, you just want to yell ‘F__k o_f!’

We take the ferry across to Hong Kong island and walk over to the bus stops, intending to take the 15C bus, which goes to the lower terminus of the Peak Tram. We find the bus stop for the 15 bus – which goes all the way to the Peak – but it’s not clear whether the 15C goes from the same stop. While we’re pondering this, a 15 turns up so we hop on that instead. We’ve taken this before up to the Peak and it’s an interesting, if somewhat circuitous, way of getting there. As the double-decker bus was empty at this point, we went upstairs and sat in the front row.

The bus heads east, through Central and Admiralty and along Queens Road East before turning south above Happy Valley Racecourse and then eventually west again, as it climbs up into the hills surrounding the Peak. Whereas the Tram probably takes five minutes or so to get up to the Peak (albeit a pretty vertiginous climb up through all the tower blocks of the Mid-Levels) the 15 bus takes a half hour or more to get there. The bus in effect does three sides of a square whereas the tram does one. It’s an interesting mix of an initial run through central Hong Kong, followed by a decidedly wild ride up some very hilly, pretty narrow and twisty roads. Lots and lots of apartment blocks as you go, with some very swanky looking ones as you get higher up and along Peak Road. Taking photos is a bit hit and miss, as it’s heavily wooded with a lot of foliage along the road so you have to try to anticipate when there’ll be a break.

We finally get there and go inside – there’s several floors of shops of one sort or another and an open air viewing deck at the very top. That used to be free but these days you have to pay to go if you want to go outside. As it’s not a particularly clear day and we’ve done it before, we opt to stay inside and instead go and have a drink in the coffee shop and sit by the window. Curiously, we have bottles of ‘Belvoir Organic Lemonade’, which is what Anne-Margaret had at Alnwick Gardens last week. I told her last week that it’s pronounced ‘Beever’ but I still don’t think she believes me.

We took the Peak Tram back down to the lower terminus. Unfortunately, we were sitting with our back to the view and that, coupled with the steep incline and the foliage, made it impossible to take any decent photos. Once down at the terminus, we stopped in to St. John’s Cathedral, which is close by. It’s now hemmed in by all the high-rise buildings around it but inside makes for a tranquil spot. A young lady was playing the organ so we stopped to listen for a while. The ceiling fans were whirring away – some enthusiastically, some rather lazily and some not all.

We headed back down towards the ferry. In many parts, Hong Kong is not a particularly pedestrian friendly city and getting around on foot can sometimes be challenging. The area around Central and many of the buildings in the area have elevated walkways connecting them but getting to them, and around them, can sometimes be a bit difficult for the visitor. We found some stairs (several flights) that would take us up to the walkways that would get us to the ferry; unfortunately, at just about the very last step, I stubbed my toe, so had to hobble back home. Hopefully no lasting damage but it’s rather bruised and sore at the moment.

We took the Star Ferry back (upper deck this time, rather than the lower deck we took coming over – not that there’s any real difference). As Anne-Margaret has been feeling a bit ‘throaty’ for the last day or so and some painkillers might be handy, we went in search of a chemist before heading back to the hotel, armed with some Panadol, Strepsils and some lemon Fisherman’s Friend. Hopefully they’ll do some good….

Dinner at Delicious Kitchen, just a little further up Ashley Road from where we went last night. Anne-Margaret was in charge of ordering so we did a better job of moderating the amount ordered. No photos – it wasn’t until we’d eaten most of it that I realised I hadn’t taken a photo.