Arrived Hong Kong

Hi all,

9.35am Sunday 26th June - Taipei, Taiwan

So I'm not writing to you from Hong Kong. It's currently 11.35am Sunday Melbourne time, and for the past 2.5+ hours we've been sat on a hot plane in Taipei, Taiwan. But I'll get back to that...

Last night Dad dropped us at the airport and we got onto our first plane all ok. I wasn't sure what China Airlines would be like and a few people were sceptical when I mentioned them, but they were great! The flight was comfortable, food pretty good, good movies, good customer service. We even made friends with an Aussie family travelling to Japan. Their son was in year 9 and had a grand old time asking me all about my year 9s!

The flight went quickly and before we knew it we were in Taipei, Taiwan. We commented on how quiet the terminals were, hardly anyone around! Then we went to our boarding gate and only us and about 8-9 other people were there. Weird, we thought. But hey, more room and less waiting time for our baggage at the other end!!

....turns out we were wrong. There was a Taiwanese immigration workers' strike yesterday and today. Due to this, people getting transfers (like us) were fine and on time, but people travelling from Taiwan to somewhere had huge queues to wait in. So our plane didn't move. It got to 7.25 (our departure time), nothing. It got to 8...nothing. I finally asked and the staff advised me, but no announcement came over until 8.15. Now it's 9.40 and we are finally taxi-ing to the runway. We've passed the time by reading, whinging (one of few sunny days we will get and we've spent it sitting on this bloody plane!), and laughing with the people near us. An Aussie family with little kids keep taking selfies with lots of people in the background getting involved. This funny Asian man keeps trying to talk to them and then when he doesn't understand he grins and says "I don't English!" Hahaha. The kids are loving it. 

I think we are about to take off, I'll write again later! But I'm quite tired and grumpy at the moment. If we ever actually get to Hong Kong, I'll write more once there!

10.15pm, Sunday 26th June, Hong Kong

We made it! The flight eventually took off and we landed at about 11.30am. The kids near us were absolute superstars and didn't get cranky or upset at all. We descended into Hong Kong with beautiful sunny views of the harbour and various mountains. Then we landed. We got a bit more cranky at this stage because after passing through immigration it took 45 minutes at the carousel for our bags to come out. But the initial crankiness was replaced with relief - didn't want to wear my same tshirt and leggings for 8 days in the heat!!

We then queued up to buy airport express train tickets. There was a bit of a kerfuffle in the queue in front of us, a girl was getting quite upset and starting to cry. I quickly realised she was Australian so we tuned in. It turned out she wanted to buy the airport express ticket and an octopus card (Hong Kong's much better version of the Myki) but for some reason you could only purchase the latter with cash. She had had her ATM card stolen and had no access to cash but only a credit card. It went on for a while with her getting increasingly stressed and upset, until I leant forward and asked the man if there was an ATM nearby. He said yes, so I put my hand on the girl's shoulder and told her we would get out some money and buy her octopus card for her. I've had random strangers buy me things in similar situations when I've been travelling alone, so it was a good chance to pay it forward!

It turned out her name was Courtney and she was from Cairns but has been in Europe for five months. She's in Hong Kong for the next five weeks studying how to teach English in foreign countries and is hoping to get a job in Asia after that. She caught the train with us into the city and we parted ways at central station, with her insisting I give her my bank details so she can pay me back. I gave her them but told her not to worry too much about it. 

Then Mum and I caught the metro to Tin Hau, our nearest station. Our hotel was right nearby and was really easy to find. The reception staff are so kind and answered all our questions as best they could. Our room is small but adequate and most importantly is air conditioned!!! It's 35 here today but the forecast says it "feels like" 41. And it's extremely humid!!

We set off for the day, albeit much later than anticipated. But we made the most of it and ended up having a really fab day. Everything worked out! We caught the train to Tsim Sha Tsui and walked down the rich shops street (Prada, Fendi etc) to the star ferry terminal. Here we found the tourist info office (so lovely and helpful!) and a brilliant viewing platform of the harbour. Later this week it's meant to rain and thunder quite a lot but today was absolutely stunning! The views were spectacular and we took them in and of course took some photos. 

We caught the star ferry across the harbour and saw a junk boat (more on that later) and alighted at Wan Chai. Here we walked to Bauhinia Square. A Bauhinia is a type of flower (often called the 'Hong Kong orchid') and is the flower featured on Hong Kong's flag. This square was created in 1997 when Hong Kong became independent from England. There is a giant golden Bauhinia and the Hong Kong and Chinese flags flying in the square. We went inside the Convention and Exhibition Centre, which is where the handover ceremony took place on June 30 1997. It reminded me a bit of the Sydney Opera House, perched on the harbour and with an elaborate design. We then walked around the front of it and found a series of cartoon type statues. We thought of you Robyn and I took quite a few photos! 

Then we headed to Wan Chai metro station and caught the train back to ours. It's funny, everyone here stares at us as there aren't many Caucasian people around. Mum sneezed on the train and everyone freaked out! I laughed (oops). Something we have quickly noticed too is that people here don't value personal space at all. People step over you, into you, push you, or stand so close to you that you assume you're about to be robbed - but no, they're just standing behind you having a conversation with a mate!!!

We came back this afternoon and had a rest for an hour ish. Then we set off again back to Tsim Sha Tsui and caught a junk boat called the 'Duk Ling' across the harbour. I got to wear my new skirt I bought on sale at home! We were treated to beautiful views of the harbour all lit up with a clear sky, absolutely lovely. We sat up the back and had a glass of wine while taking in the view. A light show started at 8pm but it was just random lasers! Some of the buildings light up so wonderfully, one had rabbits on the side and another looked like s kaleidoscope!

Afterwards we walked around enjoying the lights and bought some takeaway noodles. Due to waiting on the plane our eating times are all stuffed up at the moment. It was a great idea until we started eating and mum said "wow - this is hot!" anyone who knows me knows I can't handle spice. I was so hungry I kept eating but it numbed my throat!!!

Now we are back at the room and we've essentially been on the go for 26 hours. Smashed out a really productive day considering the delay. Loving Hong Kong and can't wait to explore some more tomorrow!

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox