We left Melbourne on Monday the 23rd of Jan at 11.50pm for Hong Kong. We had a bit of a hiccup getting through customs (our carry on was about 5 kgs over weight each) and we had to squat in the arrivals hall and repack - we each wore several layers of clothing and Michael successfully put my hair straightener and drier down his pants and we waddled through.
The flight (qantas) to HK was great, I was asleep within 10 mins of takeoff and only woke when Michael woke me for breakfast. When we landed, my handsome cousin Luke was kind enough to come and meet us, and take us back to his apartment on Lan Tau Island.
Luke has been living in HK for just less than a year for work, and fortunately for all of us, as it was Chinese New Year he was off work and free to play with us. His girlfriend Cath was also over, so we had a blast.
Hong Kong is an insane city. It is one of two "special administrative regions" of One China, the other being Macau, which means that it has its own laws and parliament, but must follow China on matters of Defence. Oh, and China can change any of its rules at any time, and you know, nationalise all the banks and seize all property.
Most of HK was won by the British during the Opium wars in the 1800s (literally because the Brits wanted Chinese Opium and the Chinese wouldn't sell it to them). The British then leased Kowloon for 99 years. It was occupied by Japan during WW2 and then handed back to the British at the end of the war.
1997 was the end of the lease of HK, and Maggie Thatcher decided that it made no sense to hand back half of HK (China wouldn't give it up) so she agreed to hand back all of HK to the Chinese on the condition that their laws would remain relatively democratic for 50 years.
History aside, HK is mad. It is the most densly populated area in the world with 7m people in just 1000km2. To put this in perspective, we caught the train from the southern most point of HK (roughly) up to the China border, and it took 45 mins.
Everyone lives in high rise buildings, reminiscent of Melbourne's commission flats, only much much taller. Walking the streets is like catching the train home from flemmington 20 mins after the last race on cup day.
We were fortunate to be there for Chinese New Year, and followed Luke and Cath to the Peninsula Hotel to watch the fireworks over the bay. When we left, it was so crowded that the police shut down tube stations as they were worried about the size of the crowd and people getting crushed.
The Peninsula Hotel, a nod to colonialism
Another highlight was Victoria Peak, which has spectacular views of all of HK. Apparently the day to go is Sunday, when all the Chinese factories shut down and so there isn't a fog of pollution over the bay. 3000 people die from air pollution in HK each year.
And of course, no post on HK could be complete without a comment on the food. We had some sensational food while we were there, with lots of dumplings. We found a place in Mong Kok (old HK) where we ate a reasonable amount of dim sum that cost $9 AUD .. for 4 people.
Mong Kok - a far cry from the Chanel clad gucci bag carrying stereotype of HK
We also caught up with Justin, a friend of mine from Melbourne who is living over in HK. He saw 37 apartments to rent before settling on his one in central, which is 400 sq foot, has no oven, he has to stand on his bed to close his bedroom door, and it costs more than $1K a week AUD. Apparently HK has the most expensive real estate market in the world.
On our last day, and instead of going to Happy Valley Races, Cath, Michael and I went to Shenzhen - just across the border into China, and a mecca for shopping. You step out of customs after about a 45min train ride and end up in a shopping centre full to the brim of every type of designer anything you could ever want. We shopped for an entire day! Even Michael got into it.
Shenzhen shopping centre.
A big thanks to Luke and Cath for having us, we had such a great time, and were so glad to get over there while you guys were still there.
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