Buddha at Repulse Bay, Hong Kong
After hopping on a local bus to the station and negotiating the massive immigration lines around Luohu train station in Shenzhen, we got on the short distance train to Hong Kong which is only about 30 – 45 minutes long. Foggy mountainscapes slowly evaporated into Skyscraper cityscapes as we approached downtown Hong Kong.As soon as we walked out of the station we were mesmerized by the sheer mass of people, infinite towers and multicolored huge signs. We were so disoriented by all this that it took us several attempts to find the building where our guesthouse was even though it was less then 100 meters from the station exit and well sign posted.
Outside Chungking Mansions Hong Kong
We had done a bit of research to figure out where to stay and had not come across almost any budget places except for several guesthouses that were in 1 specific building in central Kowloon district called the Chungking mansions. Chungking mansions has 2 floors of shops and 80 Guesthouses, several restaurants and many other small companies are a housed in its remaining 14 floors.
Our Room in Apple Hostel & foot tan!
There are several lift blocks spread out over the different areas of the ground floor which would lead to specific areas on each of the other floors. The reports online had been mixed and several travellers had reported that they had felt a bit unsafe as there were many Indian hawkers trying to get business in to their restaurants or guesthouse as you made your way up to the elevator and the place looks very run down.
However we soon found out that we had come to the right place as all people we met here were all very nice and interesting and some of the best Indian food and cheapest drink could be found inside the building. We went out up in one of the lifts and got out at some random floors before finding a nicely clean place called Apple Hostel where a very bubbly and feisty Chinese woman called May showed us to a very small but comfortable room.
Hong Kong skyline at night
After getting our accommodation sorted we set out for the harbour to get a night view of the skyline of Hong Kong Island and soak ourselves in the the colorful bustle of the nightlife. The harbour is very nicely landscaped to give you plenty of sit down options with nice views and bustling with people until late. We walked through several malls which all seem to go on endlessly and are never quiet even well past midnight.
Hong Kong Peak Tram
The next day we set out to Hong Kong island and took the peak tram up to the top of the hill. The tram was the first public transport unit build in 1902 but even feels like a modern gadget today. On its way to the top you pass between the skyscrapers at around 45 degree angles which feels quite surreal. At the top we went for a walk around the various viewpoint overlooking the skyline of Hong Kong island and central Kowloon.
Viewpoint overlooking Kowloon
We then discovered a small entrance mentioning pok fu lam country park. We headed down the path just over the top of the hill which instantly descended into lush jungly parkland, where you heard no traffic and saw nothing but greens, flowers and small streams. It was almost as if central Hong Kong that literally lies just over the hill didn’t exist.
Steaming food in downtown Hong Kong
After our hill top run we set out to explorer the trendy mid levels and Soho neighbourhoods that are build up against the steep slopes. One quirky way to get there was to take the public escalator which runs all the way up to the mid levels from the bottom of the hill between the buildings, passing close by first and 2nd story windows of the apartment blocks.
Dragon Sunset at Repulse Bay Hong Kong
We could see several trendy bars as we were rolling up the hill some of which were filled with expats. The area felt strangely New York/European like but the Chinese/Asian touches were never far. After some drinks which were extremely expensive we tried to find budget food which seemed pretty impossible as we passed from one trendy restaurant to another. We decided that these were definitely neighbourhoods best avoided while on a budget although the are very cool.
Sunset at Repulse Bay Hong Kong
We spent the next couple of days wondering down the various night and day markets, temples and we even found very nice beaches just over the hill which were beautiful and had very well kept facilities.
Dragon Sunset at Repulse Bay Hong Kong
In the evenings we often sampled the different hidden areas around the Chung King mansions were we ended up finding some great hidden restaurants and bars, including a Pakistani place on the fourth floor of block B that was like entering a Pakistani community with a great food and a very talkative owner.
Bismillah Fast Food (Shop 75) Chungking Mansions
We also found a tiny Nepalese bar in the far corner of the ground floor – where cheap drink kept flowing as long as you wanted it and there was always a bit of fun to be head. One night we ended up in a discussion with 3 Nepalese Sherpas who were close friends, of which one was a Tibetan Buddhist, one Hindu and another Christian. A heated but friendly debate and many subsequent toasts later the night ended with exchanging email address and stumbling back to the lift of our block.
After about 4 days we decided to leave for our next destination of Yangshuo back in mainland china.
In the waiting area of Vientiane Airport, we watched our bags being loaded onto the small 
Finally we managed to get out of Vang Vieng. That place just sucks you in and days fly by without you even realising. Just 2 days before our Laos visa ran out we arranged for a bus to Luang Prabang. The transfer arrived and drove us the 2 minutes across to where our bus was waiting on the old airstrip. Two rather budget conscious Israelis rocked up 10 mins before departure and managed to bargain down their ticket price a couple of bucks while delaying the rest of us.
On the bus, to Vang Vieng, I woke to dramatic scenery enveloping us on all sides. We passed sheer drops, blue-hued mountain peaks and small villages before finally reaching Vang Vieng. On arrival, we drove through an old airstrip built by the CIA during the ‘secret’ Indochinese war. Mainly built to accommodate its own airline ‘Air America’ used to smuggle opium and mercenaries around Laos. Now it has a few market stalls and used as a bus depot for tourists.
Minutes after leaving the refuge of our hotel we were greeted by a group of young smiling kids shouting “Pi Mai Lao!” ( Happy Laos New Year!) proceeded by a bucket of water being thrown over us both. Drenched, we walked a few more paces before a similar incident took place with water guns this time. This was typical of our stay in the tiny capital of Laos, Vientiane (population only 200,000) during its New Year celebrations. To ring in the new year people shower each other with water and they take it very seriously. It is also based on a Buddhist calendar hence we were able to travel through time to the year 2550.
The next night we went to Fathima Indian restaurant on the riverfront. They offered a vast selection of curries at a cheap price most courses being €1. The lady who runs this restaurant really reflects the nature of Laos people. As the restaurant is located in the height of the celebrations in the city she was busy from early in the morning serving tourists all day. It was around 10.30 when we were finishing up and a psychotic French man refused to pay the few dollars he owed. He then proceeded to be rude and obnoxious to both her and her young family. In response, she calmly showed the man the bill again. He stormed out without paying. Instead of getting annoyed she just laughed and turned around and sat down to help an ex-pat hippy improve his Laos language skills with a smile.
Yes miracles do happen I did actually get up at 5.45 am to catch the 7 am speedboat ferry up Tonle Sap Lake from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap. The boat was similar to the one I took in Sihanoukville minus the Monks and was smooth sailing.
As it is too pricey to fly to Laos from Siam Reap we decided to do the overland route so we are now back in Phnom Penh where we are making our way up by the Asian Karaoke blaring bus to the unofficial Laos border crossing in North-East Cambodia via the town of Kratie where there are rare dolphins in Mekong River. We are going to stay in the 4,000 islands ‘Don Det’ in Laos where electricity runs for only a few hours a day so I doubt if I will be emailing for a while. Take care and let me know how your all doing.
