Day 34: Feet on the ground, head in the clouds

The weather in Hong Kong is threatening to do not nice things, guess you have to expect it as it is summer and that is typhoon season, but still, it makes holiday planning difficult. The other complication today is the political unrest in Hong Kong which is manifesting itself on the streets and in the airport. Last night we were alerted by hotel reception that there was another protest action planned for Saturday and that roads and transport could be affected. There was much discussion, as we could not decide whether we should just hunker down here in Tung Chung, or whether we could stick with the original plan and head off to Kowloon. It was quite stressful but, in the end we decided that we would still go into Kowloon today and check in to the Novotel in Jordan, but that we would take the opportunity of a potentially fine morning to go up the peak on Hong Kong Island by catching the Peak Tram, something that Chris had never done. So off we went. 

First observation... no protestors in our path yet. Yay! Arriving at the Novotel Nathan Road, we were treated like royalty and given an upgrade to an executive suite which includes a sitting room as well as a bedroom and nice extras like afternoon tea and complimentary breakfast. It is very swish and we are very fortunate beneficiaries of what appears to be a downturn of up to 50% in tourism since this week last year according to the South China Times this morning. 
 

 

Back on the MTR and a very long and sticky hike up to the base station of the peak tram. Running since 1888, the Peak Tram is a funicular railway that travels from almost sea level to almost the top of Victoria Peak, a linear distance of 1.4 km and to an elevation of 400 metres. When we reached the top, much of the view was in cloud, combination of real cloud and Hong Kong smog! But it is quite breathtaking and a bit of a marvel when you consider when it was built. It is also a way of getting up close with the lushness of the tropical vegetation that would once have covered Hong Kong Island. One of the other freaky things is that, because of the incredible gradient that you are travelling as you travel up the hill, it appears as though the sky scrapers build adjacent to the track are actually bent or falling. An interesting optical illusion about which there have been a number of papers published. It is certainly freaky. 

We went back to the hotel for a rest and partook of a lovely selection of sweet and savoury pieces for afternoon tea. Then some blog catching up and we reappeared for a “cocktail” and some dim sum. We even tested a new secret ingredient mocktail which was fun.

One of the reasons we chose to stay at the Novotel at Nathan Rd was its proximity to the Temple Street night markets which are a bit of an institution in Hong Kong, and that was where we went tonight. On my previous two visits to HK I have really enjoyed the night markets and have scored some excellent bargains. Tonight however, Temple Street markets were a disappointment. I think they are emblematic of the tourist downturn in Hong Kong as there were a large number of empty stall spaces, but also it is the same junk on every stall and no one specialises: t shirts, handbags socks and cheap toys all mixed up seemed to be the nature of it for many of the stall. Got a couple of small things and then went back to the hotel for a serious cool down in the arctic aircon, a cuppa and bed.