Smog or fog in Hong Kong??

I took a train from Shenzhen where my 28 hours train trip from Beijing ended and went to Fung’s flat. It was early in the morning and he had taken a day off for me so we had the whole day to play with. I met Fung in Barcelona  in June 2011, he contacted me on CS, I couldn’t host him, don´t remember the reason now but we met up for a drink (I made him try “clara”) and I showed him a bit of the Old town. At that stage I didn’t know whether or not I would go to Hong Kong on my trip but I´m really happy I met him. He lives in a small flat with too other guys called “Fung” as well. All three of them, at least it was easy for me to remember, whoever I wanted to turn to, I always got it right. And the weird thing was that he just moved there a couple of months ago, and the guy who was living there before him and recommended him to the others, was also called Fung.

It is like China but not exactly. Much more advanced, more modern, more expensive. I liked it! Maybe because I was there just short enough not to get bored with it or because I had a local guide all the time of my stay, I don’t know… but it had everything, including nice beaches and surfing.

First stop after breakfast was Lantau island. We had to wait forever to take the cable car (massive queues to buy the tickets, hate those touristic things but I guess some of them has to be done), which takes you to the top of the hill. The biggest attraction there is Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha. It is a large bronze statue of a Buddha Amoghasiddhi, completed in 1993, more than 111 feet (34 meters) high, is the world's largest, seated, outdoor bronze Buddha.

Took a bus to the fishing village, which I quite liked, roamed the little streets full with stalls selling big variety of food that I didn’t know but without a doubt delicious. We also took a boat, touring the village and going a bit further the ocean to see the dolphins. And we saw them, plenty of them but the photos I took are shit.

The city…Walked around a lot and rode on the trams for ages.  Hopping aboard a double -decker tram travelling along the busiest thoroughfares of Hong Kong Island is a unique experience and it just confirmed what I already knew: I love trams! Any country, any continent, I can spent the whole day on the tram enjoying the views of the city. The flat fare is HK$2.3 and prepare exact change. Sit next to the window on the upper deck to get the best views. Neighbourhoods along the way include some of Hong Kong's most colourful: Western district, Wan Chai, Happy Valley, Causeway Bay and North Point. They have been running since 1904! Pretty old, ha?

The harbor is also pretty cool, you can take a ferry taking you to the other island for…don’t remember how much, but very cheap, cheaper than the trams.

The chair that would find me a good boyfriend (the one next to it is for bad boyfriends ) :))) 

Fung

Fung helping me with writing the address (in Chinese) on the post card I promised to send to my previous host in China

 We went to Big wave beach where Fung used to surf (when he has time cos they work much more than us in Europe) and It was surprisingly nice, I was expecting something not as nice or clean.

The first night Fung took me to a very really nice restaurant to try Taiwanese food but after that I insisted we go only to local places. Food was pretty good, I quite liked the traditional Hong Kong Dim Sum. 

Dim Sum (I think...)

 My last night was a cocktail night. Fung had an insane amount of alcohol in their flat and as I love making cocktails, we spent the night running up and down from the roof of the building (amazing views over the city) to make another White Russian or Blue Long Island Iced Tea.

The bus to the airport had WIFI and took an hour maybe. Next stop KL, Malaysia (26.10.2011).