We were up bright and early this morning to get ourselves organised to take the shuttle bus to the airport. We felt like we were about to take off in the bus – the driver was doing 130 km/h over the causeway to the airport!
We had a leisurely breakfast at the airport and boarded the plane. I felt sad to be leaving Japan. We had a great time and felt the culture shock far less this time. The flight was very smooth and went very quickly.
Arriving in Hong Kong really was a culture shock! After spending so many weeks at the receiving end of Japan’s excellent, friendly and helpful customer service, we soon found out that it’s not done like that in Hong Kong.
When we went to the bus stop to catch the bus to our hotel, we saw a laptop computer that someone had left behind in a trolley. Being good citizens, John went over and told one of the nearby bus drivers. He just looked at John and got on the bus. We could see that he wasn’t going to be of any help, so John took the computer over to the ticket office. There were some people working behind a window that was closed, so John tapped on the window to get their attention. They just looked up and then looked away. So he tapped again, a bit louder this time and they pointed at the sign that said “Back in 15 minutes”. He finally got their attention for the last time, pointed at the computer, left it there and walked off. He got back to the bus stop in time for us to get our bus. If this had happened in Japan, we would have had three people rushing out to see what the problem was and falling over themselves to help. Perhaps the Japanese should offer customer service courses to people who work in service jobs in Hong Kong.
The bus ride from the hotel was quite an experience. Besides the fact that the bus driver was a bit of a maniac, we were bowled over by the sight of block after block of very tall apartment buildings. I’m glad I’m only here for a couple of days – I’d go crazy if I had to live here.
We’re staying at Booth Lodge, a comfortable and inexpensive hotel run by the Salvation Army, just off Nathan Road. The room is much more spacious than our dear old Toyoko Inns in Japan, but not as sparkling. Its best feature is its wonderful airconditioner. The comfy bed’s good too.
This is how Hong Kong folk dry their washing
Once we’d settled in, we went for a walk, down Nathan Road. I thought that after being in Osaka for a few days, I’d adjusted to crowds, but this was another level of chaos altogether. So many shops! So many people! And every few steps, someone wanted to sell us a tailor-made suit, watches and bags, or a massage. We made it to the end of the road, via a lap around the very grand Peninsula Hotel, and finished up at the Star Ferry Terminal. We’ll be going over to the island tomorrow to go up to Victoria Peak, but we spent some time watching all the boats and checking out the view. It was nice to have a little respite from the bustling crowds.
This building is constructed around a tree
The grand part of Nathan Road
Nice wedding shoes!!
Too hazy for photos of the buildings today,
but I thought we should have one for the record
We visited the Tourist Information Office and got some information about the bus services, the Octopus Card (a smart-card for use on all of the public transport) and the races. We’re thinking about visiting the Happy Valley Racecourse tomorrow night just for the fun of it.
We spent the evening browsing through the Temple Street market, which has many stalls selling all manner of things. Mostly junk of course, but I managed to find a couple of treasures.
We had dinner at a little street stall. We enjoyed the change to Chinese food and it was really cheap. After dinner we browsed for a bit longer before heading back to our welcoming pillows.
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