As we arrived in the queue the counter next door closed and a whole pile of Korean people jumped under the rope and tried to push in front of us. I had already manoeuvred myself into place to stop them from getting in front of me but 4 pushed through. When the couple at the front finished they turned and called the 12 behind us to come through! They weren't in a tour party or anything. We were really ticked off and Lance said "no, you wait" and they all just stopped. The French people nodded at us in agreement and motioned to the four others that were squishing in front "non" and put their hand up to say stop. It was a bit uncomfortable and the Korean people quickly backed up. And stood back to let us go through. Even as we boarded they stopped on the stairs and let us go in front. Different people, different customs I guess.
We left Camobodia in the middle of a thunder storm, lightening had been flashing and the power had gone out once. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, and we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in time for dinner. We had booked into a hotel called Movenpick, and thought is sounded a bit funny, but is was lovely. Our room was one of the nicest we have ever stayed in and we enjoyed a Japanese meal at one of the restaurants. Breakfast in the morning was equally as nice, with a great array of things to eat. In fact I had bread and butter pudding for breaky and it was almost as good as my own.
Arriving without any more action apart from a bumpy ride we transferred to our Hong Kong hotel The City View. Don't be fooled by the name, there was no view and the room was like something you might have at boarding school. In fact it is the most basic room we have ever had. However the rest of the hotel was very nice and we hadn't planned on stayng in the room long during the day.
Dropping our bags we ventured out, by now it was about 5:30. Lance had mapped out the way down to the water front so we set off. It was a joy to be able to walk on footpaths again after Vietnam, and whilst the traffic was busy there were minimal scooters and no tooting. They also had stop signs and traffic lights where we could cross the road safely. But on very busy roads we had to walk quite a way before we were allowed to cross and sometimes had to take a tunnel under the road.
We hadn't seen many beggars on our journies, but like any big city, Hong Kong has beggars. The difference is that they sit with their heads bowed almost ashamed that they have had to resort to this. They all were visibly maimed or disabled in some way. There were a couple of corners where someone had made a home, barricading themselves in with boxes and old umbrellas.
The shops were more approachable and easier to pop into than Vietnam. We found all sorts of strange things, big slices of tree bark, big black pieces of fungus all part of medicinal remedies. Fancy some seafood?
Walking for about 35 minutes I spotted a bus coming towards us that said 'Kowloon Ferry'. Guess we were heading the wrong way. An about turn was done and a retrace of steps. Along the way Lance mentioned that we were going to have dinner without returning to our room, a fact I was not aware of. What a daggy creature I was, shorts, walking sandals and a tshirt.
Aqua is a fabulous restaurant with many levels that look out across the city. On the 29th floor we were turned away from the restaurant as Lance had shorts on,I had hastily rolled the cuff down on my shorts to look like baggy disgusting Capri pants. They showed us up stairs to the bar where we could partake of the same menu but not the silver service. This was a very trendy looking place, so dark that I was terrified that I would trip over, but the view certainly was amazing. This building had signage changing constantly. It was a shame it was a bit misty.
I started with the Foie Gras which was silky and rich, my risotto was ok, but I think I make a better risotto. I had a couple of glasses of Villa Maria Sav Blanc at $20 a glass and Lance drank Heinekin at $13 each, certainly a contrast to the lowest price he found in Vietnam, $1.25!!!
Slowly the fog rolled in but the city lights still twinkled through the haze. Certainly a nice place to dine. Back downstairs we tried to grab a cab. Their first question is "where are you going" and if they don't want the fare then you don't get a ride. Lance grabbed one and offered him way too much, so he took us, he turned out to be a nice chap from Shanghai. He said that the next day was a public holiday and all the shops would be closed, oh bugger! When we paid him we realised that we certainly had paid way too much, he showered us with thank yous. It was no more than we happily pay for a ride home from the city in Auckland, but we had definitely made his day.
Next morning we had a slow start and wandered out of the hotel, this time in the right direction. We thought that some shops would have to be open and we were spot on. I really wanted to go to Uni Qlo and we found a beautiful mall with the flag ship Uni Qlo store. I did the rounds and got a discount of HK$500. Yippee.
The plan was to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and we traipsed up and down where Lance thought it should be and finally gave up. A pizza was had on the waterfront, and very nice it was.
Hong Kong certainly is a diverse city, extreme wealth and poverty.
We had decided that because Vietnam was so cheap to eat and drink that we should do something a bit special for a dinner in Hng Kong. We couldn't decide and Lance had heard that the Intercontental had a nice view so off we went, this time we were dressed a bit more appropriately.
We found that they had a Michelin Star restaurant called Spoon by Alain Ducasse so headed there. They couldn't seat us right away, which was not a problem as the bar had magnificent views, this time from ground level, across the harbour.
After a couple of beers and a strawberry Daquiri we headed back to the restaurant. Those of you who know us well will understand that we dine out regularly and at times visit some very nice establishments. Well this one was right up there and above!
At the table with crisp white linen and an amazing view of the harbour lights we received a plate with a small bite of terrine each and a small lobster thing and some ball things. Our waiter brought butter, 2 pats, one salted and one unsalted. Then he placed a teaspoon by each of us. Lance didn't hear him say was butter and thought it was some sort of mousse. He picked up the teaspoon and dug it in the butter to take a bite. "It's butter" I hissed. Man did we giggle. Lance whispered, "if they ask where we are from say Australia".
A different waiter came with a large basket of bread and explained each type for us to choose from.
A small bowl arrived with fine pasta and a few fine veges and with a flourish the waiter produced a jug and poured hot broth over them.
Next up a lobster and asparagus dish, with our cutlery was a desert spoon sort of thing that had been flattened out. I just had to ask and he called it a sauce spoon. I told him that I had never come across one before and he told me I would see plenty this evening and to use it to scoop up my sauce. After he gave the table a special little sweep to remove my crumbs...
Frogs legs followed! Spindly little bones with a wee plop of meant at the end. The jug appeared again, this time a green purée (green for frogs?) was drizzled around the small limbs.
When I asked where the bathroom was, I was whisked away and shown to the door, when I arrived back I thought that they had re folded my napkin, however when Lance was escorted to the loo someone whistled past the table picking up Lance's napkin and from somewhere behind me a long arm with a pair of silver tongs whipped in and placed another fresh napkin on the table. When leaving the bathroom someone appeared from the dark corner and escoted you back to the table. This was great for me because I am a bit directionally dyslexic in these sorts of places, especially after a few drinks.
Next course, rare lamb rump and finally, we thought, desert. A most delicious strawberry dish. But we hadn't finished at all, along came some petit fours. All of this with a bottle of New Zealond wine, I found this in the wine list that was 10 pages long.
As we left we were given a small box each and these held 3 perfect macaron.
What a special night, I won't broadcast the bill, but it is the most we have ever paid for a meal. What a memorable evening.
Next morning was our last, we had a few ours to kill before heading back to NZ. We confidently wandered down to the waterfront again and this time took a ferry across to Central Hong Kong. This is a very fast pace part of the city and if possible even more crowded, but this time with well dressed business people. The streets lead uphill and with new information we found the Hard Rick Cafe and had some brunch. Then wandered back down to the ferry through an art park and back up to our hotel.
And that was that, done and dusted.
In 2 weeks we travelled on 7 flights, trains, motorbikes, cars, buses, vans, tuk tuks, ferries, junks, Sampan boats, motorcarts, cyclos, feet, kayaks and probably something else I've missed.
Thanks for coming along with us via this blog.
Till our next big adventure.
