Sunday 16 June 2013

Long Hong Kong Weekend Part 3 - Adult Supervision Required



First of all, as it is Fathers Day, I would like to wish my dad a very happy Fathers Day.  Over the years, he has guided me, advised me and helped me and, on top of this, has been an excellent travelling companion several times.  Although I may not always show it very well, I just want to thank you and say how much I've appreciated how you've always been there to assist me or to pick me up when I've been down.  You've been a rock to me and you have been the best father anyone could have hoped for.  It may not be a picture that I can dedicate to you but I can dedicate my final Hong Kong post to you.


The Grand Finale

And so to the last Hong Kong post…and now it was time for a bus journey!  Rock and roll!  For my last full day, I had opted to spend my morning in Stanley Bay, for both the market and for the beer bay.  After an hour of winding roads and beautiful countryside (nothing on Nepali winding roads but that’s something else entirely) I arrived at the beautiful bay and set out for some breakfast.  Finding a nice little café on the bay front, I settled in for a simple sandwich and some Earl Grey.






After being British, it was off to the market to pick up some lychee tea that I bought last time.  As I made my way through the winding, covered paths filled with souvenirs and people, I may have tripped and accidently bought two pictures and a tea set as I fell.  It was a complete accident, I swear.  Although I do like the market, it doesn’t quite have the same atmosphere of the Ladies Market but it’s still good to walk through and have a look at some of the more unusual gifts (Katana anyone?).

Having had my fill of the shops and having bought what I was looking for, I then headed to the bar that my family and I had visited before.  Now, this is a great place: interior covered with notes from happy customers (and I mean almost every inch); outdoor barstools by a window ledge so you can sit outside and still order easily (with a view of the bay); good music; and the friendliest owner you could want!  So I sat down on a stool, ordered a pint of Tsing tao and relaxed, whilst watching the world idle by.  It was a great hour of my life.  Now, I realise this doesn't make for good blog reading so I'll just fast-forward to the next part.

Temple time!  Just before leaving Stanley Bay, I decided to check out two temples in the area, the first being slightly more accessibile than the other.  The first one, Tin Hau Temple was in the middle of a large courtyard and is a massive concrete box guarded by two mythical creatures at the entrance (to ward off evil spirits).  


Now, Tin Hau is dedicated to the god of the sea and the inside of the temple was gaudily decorated, in complete contrast to the outside and is well worth a wander round, especially as it won't take you much longer than ten minutes.  Now, normally I would avoid taking pictures of the inside of a temple/church (unless permitted via sign etc) and I had no intention of doing so but, as I was putting my camera away, a kindly official said it was ok for me to take pictures, so here you go.







Now, the second temple, the tiny Pak Tai, was a little more difficult to access.  Following a winding trail along the hill and covered by a leafy canopy, I arrived at the tiny temple, complete with ancient well, perched on the cliff edge overlooking the sea.  Due to the slight surprise of the guard stationed, I gathered not many people had been visiting recently.

Picking up some provisions on the way to the bus, including more tea (I'm a fiend), I headed to my next destination, Time Square.  Now, whilst I actually quite enjoyed looking around this neon-lit, bustling area of shops, it wasn't why I was here.  Nope, I had decided to spent my last afternoon in Hong Kong watching Star Trek: Into Darkness!  I regret nothing.  After lunch and some ice cream, I headed to the cinema and rocked my seat for around 2 hours of epic space adventures.  Brilliant film.

After the film, it was getting late so I headed back to the hotel for a shower and to get changed into my finest clothing.  Why?   I was off to the cheapest Michelin star restaurant I had ever seen.  I came across it as I stumbled about lost on the first day and had decided I would have my dinner here on the final night and what a dinner it was.  Golden Prawns in a tangerine sauce with fungi stuffed bamboo pithe accompanied by a glass of house red, rounded off with a pot of monkey picked tea.  It was heaven on a plate and the prawns where absolutely massive.  The best bit?  It only cost me about £20 for the entire thing which is cheap, especially in Hong Kong.  To finish my night, I headed to a rooftop bar in the same building for another glass of wine as I overlooked the harbour at night.


With the final day upon me, I still had several hours to kill so I checked out of my hotel and headed off to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, having a croissant for breakfast as I wentYou may not believe it but I'm actually a fan of art, though it does tend to err towards the traditional style of art rather than modern art (e.g. sitting 40 bowls of water in a square does not equal art to me.  It equals potential mess).  Now then, this has a mixture of modern art and traditional art (for lack of the proper terminology), so I did have a look through both but spent my time with the traditional.  Also, if you go on Wednesday it's free so that's a good day to go.  So, I spent my morning over five floors looking at classical Chinese art scrolls, many of which are hundreds of years old.  I really enjoyed my time browsing the different works of art and different styles and would recommend it to most.

After the art museum, it was time to head to Ten Feet Tall.  No, this isn't some sort of elaborate growth station, it was a beauty parlour and the site of my first ever massage!  After the no-go of my Pokhara massage, I had found this place which did a good deal on a combo legs and head/neck/arms massage so I opted for this as my first.  Now, I've already spoke about how I found the idea of being massaged slightly odd, so I won't go into it again but it did not help when I was asked to wear paper shorts.  I NEED AN ADULT.  I was not prepared for this but I managed to get over it and everything went fine, relaxing me to the point I almost fell asleep.  That is, until I had a little panic over the fact my legs had oil on them and I was getting on a plane that afternoon...imagine if I was patted down and I was sticky.  This was sorted, thankfully, by my legs getting washed.  Altogether, it was actually a really nice experience for my first massage and it was a good way to say goodbye to Hong Kong.  Indeed, after a quick lunch, it was time for me to head to the airport.  And that's for my trip to Hong Kong...back to the drawing boards next week!

Pick of the Week

Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks - Would you like a gin sir?  Why thank you, my good man!  Aghast, there seems to be a fire in the library!  Oh my, I know, I'll sort it by...HITTING YOU WITH THIS LAMP.  That's probably the best way to describe this tabletop RPG.  Based in a steampunk world, this Tabletop RPG is designed to be simple enough to be played in a teashop (and I can vouch it is) without losing any immersiveness.  My friends and I played over skype and it was really easy to follow the story, create a character and play whilst still having a great storyline that allowed you to make any decisions you really wanted.  As such, I ended up with a lamp-hitting con man who had a penchant for gin.  If you like or want a to try out Tabletop RPGs and like a little bit of eccentricity in your life, then this is for you!  Now then, would anyone like to buy a rolex?


Music of the Week

Ok, the song of the week is one I've linked on my Facebook and is the end song to Devil Survivor 2: Song Riders - Be.  A great song, especially as background music during revealing scenes due to it's slow, building nature.


Well, that's enough from me.  I need to think about what I'm going to be writing about next week, so better get started now!

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