G’day folks, last weekend I enjoyed a visit to the island of Hong Kong, south of Shenzhen. This was not my first time in HK, Toni and I had previously visited for a four night/five day stretch back in 2006.
Crossing from Shenzhen into the New Territories
Whilst the main purpose for the visit was essentially visa related purposes, we (Matt and I) managed to mix some business and business related shopping (router) into the mix. We departed last Sunday around midday and flew from HangZhou airport to Shenzhen International (a domestic flight) where we changed onto a bus and crossed the (administrative) boarder into the special administrative region (SAR – ironic?) of Hong Kong.
Left: An adjoining bridge, prior to Lantau
Right: The massive Lantau Island bridge (from a distance)
The journey took us south and past the (massive) Lantau Island suspension bridge which is simply amazing. Although I have actually been across it in both directions (in 2006) this was the first time I could get a good view of just how long the massive span really is. The photos, unfortunately, do not do the bridge(s) any justice.
Left: Where did this massive sky scraper come from?
Right: Approaching Hong Kong Island (yes, across another suspension bridge!)
We threaded the tunnels and bridges in through Kowloon and past a new super sky scraper (possibly called “elements”?) which did not even exist in 2006! Our destination was the Macau ferry terminal, where we alighted and walked to our destination. Later that night we hit the famous “Lan Kwai Fong” lane for dinner & drinks.
Left: Famous Lan Kwai Fong
Right: It was pretty dead
The area near the Mid Levels and Wan Chai constitutes the basic night life on the island, and after locating and eating at a nice Thai/Vietnamese restaurant, we then hit a couple of bars in the general area.
After watching some of the NHL playoffs, we dropped into a burger place and had a late snack before calling it a night at around midnight. We spent the next few hours on the building rooftop drinking beers and admiring the lights providing a surreal ambiance on this strange island.
Left: Rooftop view – Daytime
Right: Wan Chai by day, featuring a HK double decker tram
The next day we had a number of business appointments before heading back into Wan Chai to do some computer equipment shopping. The area, now packed, swarmed with business suits, workers, women in power suits and an array of foreigners. Later in the afternoon we returned to north HK island and I took a few more rooftop photos.
That night, we returned and had more Thai food before returning early. The next day we had a couple of meetings in the morning before catching a cab to the new Kowloon bus terminal, and making arrangements to take the trip back to Shenzhen and, ultimately, return flights to HangZhou.