Marching up to the peak
After recovering from the flight, and a quick look around Kowloon on the first night, it was time to give the place a proper going over.
Emerging from the way-over-air-conditioned lobby of the hotel, walking onto Nathan road was like getting smacked in the face. The heat was just incredible. I don’t understand how people can ever get used to it. Imagine, if you will, a Central line tube carriage, in mid-summer, full, stuck in a tunnel, with hot mist being blown through the train. Ouch.
Still, with cold water in hand, and the odd side-step into air-conditioned shops, it’s survivable (and air-conditioning is everywhere, by the way - even subways and underpasses have it - they must run up some serious electricity bills). So - where first?
I decided (more from the fact I didn’t have the exact change for the Star Ferry, and didn’t really want to end up on the MTR with their horrible Octapus card system) to walk Kowloon. So, off I set. Upto a small park on Nathan Road first, to have a gentle stroll around as the locals did their Ti-Chi. Then, back through the back streets down the the waterfront. Now, the back streets are amazing - packed with shops, a little run down, with bright lit signs in the thousand overhead, blocking out the sky.
Let’s just say, a lot of Anime suddenly made sense.
Emerging from the labyrinth onto the front promenade (the “walk of stars” - their version of the hollywood boulevard with local film stars marked out) I finally found somewhere that was actually nice and cool - the breeze from the bay was great. So, I basically sat there for an hour or so, marvelling at the skyline of Hong Kong Island - which, by the way, is amazing - then decided the best course of action was to stay by the water. To cut a long story short, it was time for a harbour cruise.
Operated by the same company as the Star Ferry, the cruise was actually just an extended trip out on a converted old ferry boat, going around the main harbour area with a little commentary and a free tea or coffee. Not brilliant, considering the extortionate price (ok, so it was 3.50 rather than the 15p a single trip on the Star Ferry costs) but a good way to see the most important areas of the waterfront. From Kowloon’s Tsim Tsu Sha, around the docks and over to Central, along the front of Hong Kong Island taking in Causeway Bay, a loop around the penisula that used to contain the old airport, and back around the waterfront to Tsim Tsu Sha again.
The overwhelming impression was of complete overcrowding. The gleaming towers of Hong Kong island are hardly reflected well by the crumbling concrete towers of the housing everywhere else. Cruising along past Causeway Bay, we were told this was some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Well, yep, and their way of solving this problem was to crowd as many flats into as few blocks on the littlest gound area possible. It’s an impressive sight, but I wouldn’t want to live there - talk about claustrophobic.
After the cruise, I decided to explore the lanes and back streets of Kowloon again, to use up some time before the big light show at 8pm, when the largest permanent light display lights up the whole of the island. Basically, all the tower blocks on Hong Kong island join in with their own lasers and floodlights - and a very impressive sight it was. Not sure it was anywhere near synched with the music, but hey, it looked damn impressive. And that was it, day one over.
After a very resful night in air-conditioned spleandour, I decided to get a little more active, so over it was to Hong Kong Island to get a look at the new city all the money flooding in had created. To get there, it’s the Star Ferry. Going to the spankiest, shiniest city in the world by riding on one of the oldest ferry services in the world is a very strange idea, but hey - the Star Ferry is great. It costs almost nothing, is fast, frequent, and gives some frankly fantastic views of the city.
Once on Hong Kong Island, I decided to follow the tourist trail and head straight up to the peak. A quick shuttle bus to the peak train terminal (which somehow managed to miss out pretty much the entire central area of the city) and I was in the queue. And what a queue. Lets just say, it’s a popular tourist spot. The tram is frankly scary as hell, as unlike other funicular railways I’ve been on, it’s actually a normal railway that just happens to be pulley-operated and go up a bloody steep hill. In other words, as you go up, the only thing keeping you upright is… well, a tight grip and the back of the seat. It’s a very strange and not wholly pleasant feeling. Still, the view at the top is damn spectacular, and well worth the effort.
I would advise, however, be careful before setting out on the Peak Circle walk. A 4k walk around the top of the peak, it’s not the best idea to do it just as the temperature hits 42c. I must have looked a right state emerging from the end of the walk, but it was definitely worth it, as the views were even better than from the concreted platforms built for the tourists near the tram terminus. Oddly, however, it gets about 4 times more windy on the reverse side of the peak, so be careful should you go wandering. It got a bit blowy when I was there, and being not too keen on heights it gave a frission of added interest to the whole venture.
So, the peak having been well and truly “done”, it was back down the peak tram, and into the heart of Hong Kong Island itself. To tell you the truth, I found it all a bit sterile and bland after Kowloon, and didn’t spend too much time there. The rattly old electric trams were good value at $2 for any length of trip (as in most transport there, you just drop the money by the driver when getting on), and took me along most of the interesting parts of the island - basically along the front. It’s all been a bit coloured by the huge amounts of cash flooding into the financial district I guess, but the rest of the island seems to be undergoing too much change, and in a race for the shiny and modern is losing it’s character. Oh well, I guess that’s what you get with modern cities - the dim seedy and interesting side in this case being provided by Kowloon, the modernist clean and precise side being provided by the island.
So, back to Kowloon on the Star Ferry. By this point, it was my last night in the city, so I decided to have a poke around the side streets again, especially the markets - Jade Market, and the Night Market nearby. Frantic is the word, and it concreted my feeling of where the real life was in Hong Kong. I know there’ll be places like this on Hong Kong island - but not as prevalent as in Kowloon.
With that, I went a bit mad with my stupid amounts of dollars I had left, and booked up a limo to go back to the airport. By limo, I mean a big old Merc 7 series, not a stretch by the way. Not a bad way to leave Hong Kong for 35 quid.
