Hong Kong Phooey! … Hong Kong

I highly doubt that anyone has been waiting with anything more than mild anticipation for the next instalment of International Velvet’s Adventures; however on the off chance that you have I apologise for such a prolonged gap between blogs. I haven’t really got an excuse other than intermittent Internet and a preference for drinking beer and hanging out rather than sitting alone and concentrating. On the plus side I have lots to fill you in on! 

Day 40 (way back on 7 March in Hong Kong!) Ten Thousand Buddhas, Happy Valley and a night bus

My first day in HK was a full on adventure! It all started when I met my new roommate Viktor, a crazy french teacher, and Kelsey, a Londoner on her way home from 2 years in Australia, the night before. Over a beer in the communal kitchen I casually mentioned I wanted to go racing and both of them were super keen to join me and that was all it took fo 3 complete strangers to make plans!

Kelsey and I set off in the morning and visited the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery which was well worth the uphill walk to get to it. Literally thousands of golden Buddha statues everywhere! We followed it with a wander round the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery which were beautiful and so unexpected in the middle of the city. Next was the Wong Tai Sin Temple and to finish off our cultural tour the Botanical and Zoological Gardens! At this point I could’ve done with a sit down but no we were off to the races!

We jumped out of our Uber at Happy Valley and I suddenly realised that I had left my phone!!! (I haven’t admitted this until now…sorry Mum, you were so right!)  we tried to ring the driver but to no avail so the only logical thing was to get drunk. I paid $10 and sat in the cheap seats with a beer and MacDonalds, dance to the Irish band and enjoyed some great racing. It was a far cry from my life in Newmarket and made me very nostalgic for my old life. 

Viktor arrived and we made friends with some young guys who invited us to LKF, the super hip party area. At this point I’d forgotten that I’d been site seeing all day and had no makeup on and was wearing Birkenstocks. Needless to say no one would let us in so we ended up in a dodgy pub smoking a shisha pipe! Finally we found somewhere for a quick dance and then it was time to find our way home…no taxi would take us to Aberdeen. We finally got home at 5.30am having taken several night buses. I was not a happy bunny. 

Day 41 Netflix and Chill By some awesome stroke of luck I managed to get my phone back! The emotion was too much for me and I took to my bed for  the day. 

Day 42 Aberdeen and the Madarin Oriental

Explored the Aberdeen neighbourhood with a French girl called Eloise. I don’t know why I keep befriending French people?!  Saw Jumbo the floating restaurant, the fish market and harbour area and ate dim sum. Perfect.

In the evening I went to my happy place and met a friend at the Mandarin Oriental for a glass or two of fizz before returning to Earth with a pot luck dinner in the hostel. 

Day 43 Ocean Park

I decided against Disney and went for what I thought would be a more authentic theme park experience and I didn’t regret it! They had the most brilliant array of animals including red and giant Panda, a stunning aquarium and koalas! All the animals looked very happy too. 

Day 44 Blog and Journal Catch Up Sunday

Day 45 Big Buddha At Ngong Ping

The first of many Big Buddhas I’ll see in Asia was pretty WOW! I joined a lovely girl from LA and we both had a bit of a moment looking up at the second biggest Buddha in the world. I bought myself a little ‘wisdom’ Buddha figurine at the temple and I hope it’s going to help me to be wiser in future… I highly doubt it. 

Day 46 Ap Lei Chau 

What do you do when your supposed to be a poor traveller but you crave a champagne lifestyle? Get your designer label fix at the 80% off designer label warehouse of course! It’s no wonder the HK peeps are so fashionable.   I came home with a few practical purchases rather than succumbing to my usual “It’s an investment piece!” temptations. The Buddha is working already. 

Day 47 Central

Day 48 Victoria Peak

Joined yet another French person and a French speaking Canadian to hike up Victoria Peak only to find out I could of got the tram. Very sweaty and steep but the view was worth it. 

Day 49 Ate ice cream and waffle at Oddies Gelateria and it was so goood!

Day 50 Hong Kong to Shanghai on a Shoestring… Let the next adventure begin!*

*This enthusiasm did no last. Tune in for the next instalment to find out about the worlds worst tour guide, vom-gate, shit-gate and more!