Musings of an Idiot

Lamma Island and Shopping in Hong Kong

After the lunch I caught the ferry to Lamma Island and had a 10 minute snooze on the 25 minute ferry ride there. I was kind of looking forward to it because there wasn't supposed to be much devlopment on that island and the seafood is supposed to be amazing. 15 minutes into my time on the island I was pretty disappointed because there was lots of construction happening and it didn't have the village feel to it {maybe in comparision to HK - yes but not otherwise} plus I didn't feel like having seafood, so I decided to catch the next available ferry back to HK.

The trip back was definitely the highlight of the visit to Lamma Island as I got talking to the guy sitting next to me and he turned out to an owner of a vegetarian restaurant on Lamma Island, called Bookworm. The 30 minute ferry ride went by in a flash as Ken and me were talking about various aspects of HK and NZ society and comparing notes. And it was also the first time on the trip that I found someone I could have a conversation with {besides the guest house owner}. I am figuring that it was because Ken was more laid back than your average Hong kong'er that he was actually interested in knowing more about the people and world around him. Plus he could speak english - which was a big bonus I suppose, since I couldn't speak Cantonese :-). After the ferry ride back - the next stop was a visit to Mong Kok to buy myself a cellphone and instead of walking or bus'ing I decided to take the MTR since that was the only mode of public transport in NZ that I hadn't yet tried. I have to say MTR is my least favorite mode of transportation in HK. It is quick and relatively cheap like rest of the public transportation in HK but it is also crowded and just a big mass of humanity which just crushes you senseless.

Mong Kok was amazing - it is probably what you envision when you say the words Hong Kong - neon lights, crumbling skyscrappers, heaps of shops, crowds. I got some amused looks from fellow shoppers whenever I would go into a shop and ask the sales people what the cheapest cellphone they had was. Here was everyone buying the latest, flashiest, feature packed cellphones and I was going the exact opposite route. After running through most of the shops on the street I settled on buying a very basic Nokia model from Mongkok Computer Centre and I got a good deal. Listed price was HK$499 but I got it for HK$368 and the sales guy threw in a battery charger, an extra battery, screen protector, a running arm band in for free - to seal the deal. And that completed my shopping experience in Hong Kong. I returned the octopus card off at the subway and got the remaining amount refunded.

Since I found one of the eating joints I was looking for - I went back to Central and had Korean Fried Chicken at Chillout Bar on Staunton Street. It was really nice and nothing like i've tasted before. SOHO, Hollywood Road, Wellington Road and the area around there towards the mid-level escalators is filled with pubs and restuarants of different kinds and from what I observed it was mainly tourists and expatriates who were eating/drinking there. I didn't really stop to check out any other places as it was late and I wanted a decent sleep before my flight to Mumbai this afternoon.

One of the only things remaining to do on my 'to do' list was getting a foot massage. On the recommendation of Raymond I went to one of the many foot massage places around and it was great. I took a 25 minute foot massage after much arguing with the lady over the counter who was trying to push a 55 minute massage session onto me. The massage itself was painful in parts because my legs were feeling tired from walking around so much over the past 3 days but the results were amazing - after 25 minutes I felt like I was walking on air. Feeling battered but refreshed after the massage I promptly went to bed with the aim of waking up around 8 AM in order to get ready and catch the cityflyer back to the airport.

NEXT UP - FAREWELL HONG KONG, HELLO MUMBAI

Labels: Hong Kong, Travel

posted by Amit @ 12:46 PM