Oriental Odyssey - Day 3 - Hong Kong

Day 3 saw us making the trip back to Hong Kong from Macau, but this time around we had a relatively comfortable journey - perhaps we were prepped for it by past experience or maybe we were better rested after 2 idyllic days in Macau.

If Macau was a pretty watercolour painting - all blue skies and golden sunshine - Hong Kong was a steel and glass sculpture, a pulsing metropolis spread on both sides of the Victoria Harbour with an underlying vibe of energy and verve. Space is THE most precious commodity at Hong Kong, and hence all buildings - without exception - are upwards of 20 storeys. The gleaming skyline of Hong Kong across the blue waters of the harbour, with the zillion skyscrapers piercing the sky remains one of the world's immemorable picture frames.




After a delicious lunch at a basement Indian restaurant (tiny, like all HK eateries), we set off for the HK city tour. First stop was the Repulse Bay Beach. Some of HK's most premium beachfront real estate is around this neighbourhood.


There was a scattering of sunbathers (surprising, since I'd thought all Chinese girls struggled to maintain their pale porcelain-like complexion and tanning was NOT an option - but then there WERE more guy sunbathers than girls :) ) under the HOT mid-day sun and after taking a few snaps, we were more than glad to escape the relentless heat and get back to the airconditioned comfort of our coach.

Next on the itinerary was a visit to Victoria Peak, the most famous of the several hills on which Hong Kong is built. The Peak, as it is called, offers spectacular views of the valley below - that is, of the densely crowded skyscrapers and the busy harbour.


Also located at the Peak is the HK outlet of the Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem. We took a little over an hour to traipse through the waxworks, with the mandatory snaps in funny poses alongside the wax mannequins.


I used this free time to also put a quick call to K, one of my friends (rather, a friend's friend) who had recently relocated to HK and had said she could meet me for coffee. Since I was more than happy to grab some time with a localite, at a localite hangout, I made the call - by the end of which K had VERY kindly volunteered to show me around Hong Kong the next day - those little sights, sounds and smells which a rushed 2-day itinerary skips. My heart was singing by this point, since it meant I could do something better than spend the entire day in HK Disneyland (which our tour itinerary had included) - having spent 3 days exploring the Disneyland at Orlando (USA), I had no burning desire to see the same magical land all over again - especially on a crowded Sunday in summer!

With my thoughts in a happy buzz at the idea of a thorough exploration of Hong Kong, I barely realised when our coach reached the next in our city tour - the famous Night Market. The Night Market is one main lane which is closed to vehicular traffic after 6:00 PM and the network of alleys and bylanes that branch from it. On either side of the lanes are brightly lit stalls selling every trinket imaginable - bags, robes, curios, brassware, toys, TShirts, kimonos, electronic goods, souvenirs, shoes.....AND some highly interesting-looking street food. :) It looked like a cross between Aladdin's Cave, Diagon Alley and Dadar's Kirtikar Market! :P


I picked up a skewer of grilled cocktail sausages to munch on (much to the wide-eyed consternation of the typical Maharashtrian Uncles and Aunties in our tour group!) and sauntered through the busy market, picking up souvenirs, gawking at the 'live' menu in a restaurant (live crabs/mussels/fish to be chosen as your snack) and clicking a zillion snaps. Though none of my snaps did the place proper justice, methinks. :(




Last stop on the city tour was the Laser Show at TST (Tsim Sha Tsui - one of the districts of HK, across the harbour from downtown HK). Every night at 8:00 PM, there is a free laser show near the Avenue of the Stars (HK's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame, only the Avenue of Stars has a prettier location - a promenade by the harbour) You basically crowd near the waterfront, trying to get as close to the railing (which separates you from the dark waters below) and see the colourful laser beams soaring across the bay - being projected from the tops of all the glittering skyscrapers of downtown Hong Kong. The exteriors of the buildings also get lit up in a series of musically-choreographed flashes.


The night-time view of the lit-up skyline across the black waters of the harbour itself was magnificient - the colour-and-music of the laser show came in a poor second. :)


After this we trudged back to our hotel, the Excelsior, which I joyfully saw, was located bang in the heart of downtown Hong Kong. All I had to do was simply step out and embrace the electric energy and urban chaos that is the identity of HK.