Our night in the cell sized room was okay, despite the cramped quarters. We woke up around 7:30am (even though the alarm was set for 8) and decided to start our day.
We had until about noon before we had to make our way to the airport to fly to Bangkok so we decided to find something to eat for breakfast and do some exploring. Eric had been awake for a while and had done us the favor of looking up some places to eat and things to see.
We left the hotel and went in the direction of Kowloon park, a park built on top of what used to be the Kowloon walled city, a fully enclosed city that existed in Hong Kong prior to 1996. (wiki link). The park itself was beautiful, lots of exotic trees and gardens and temples. We strolled through at a leisurely pace, stopping to take photos and take in the experience. As we wandered we came across what seemed to be a service of some type, with people singing and chanting and playing different instruments while people did tai chi in the background. We sat and absorbed the scene in silence before continuing our walk and commenting on how peaceful the people in general seemed.
On the way to Hong Kong they had been serving what sounded like "kanji", and we'd cracked some jokes about not understanding how we were supposed to eat the Japanese alphabet. While doing his research Eric discovered the word was actually "congee", a rice porridge that is very popular throughout Asia.
After leaving the garden we aimed towards the Cafe de Coral, an Asian food chain that is similar to Tim Hortons or Mcd's. We decided to get breakfast. I got the congee (I love to try the things that the locals love) with some fried noodles and a coffee and the boys each got some variation on bacon and eggs that came with a bowl of what looked like beef tomato noodle soup.
After breakfast we wandered along Shanghai street snapping photos while heading back in the direction of the hostel. We stopped for a coffee along the way at a little cafe and were surprised when it was given to us to go in a little brown paper bag! It was, for lack of a better word, adorable.
Back at the hostel we navigated the maze of shops in the building and went upstairs to pack our stuff and check out. It was almost sad to leave our tiny little room we'd gotten used to but at the same time very exciting to be off on the next part of the adventure.
Bags on our backs we headed towards the harbor to catch the Star Ferry to Hong Kong central where we were going to take the airport express back to the airport. The ferry was short, but a great way to see Hong Kong from a different perspective. At the cost of $2.50 HKD ($0.35 CAD) it would be silly not to check it out.
We had a bit of time to kill while on the island before going to the airport so we walked along the waterfront and then back on the elevated walkway to the station.
Not certain whether we'd have food on the plane and eager to use up some of our HKD, we decided to get some lunch at the airport. Seeing as we were in china we decided on some traditional style foods-BBQ pork buns, glutinous rice dumplings and some noodles with BBQ pork. It was an awesome meal! And at only about 300 HKD it was only about $42 CAD... Or $6 each.
We finished up and made our way to the gate, got some coffee and waited. Used the Internet (which sort of came and went) and then boarded the plane. We were flying with Cathay pacific from HKG to BKK, and knowing the airline's great reputation I was excited to see what the service would be like.
The plane itself wasn't anything to be overly excited about but the fact that we were served a full meal, wine included, was! The food was delicious and the flight attendants were completely adorable and so polite.
Arrived in Bangkok without a hitch and collected our bags and went through customs.
Thailand!! Let the fun begin!
We had until about noon before we had to make our way to the airport to fly to Bangkok so we decided to find something to eat for breakfast and do some exploring. Eric had been awake for a while and had done us the favor of looking up some places to eat and things to see.
We left the hotel and went in the direction of Kowloon park, a park built on top of what used to be the Kowloon walled city, a fully enclosed city that existed in Hong Kong prior to 1996. (wiki link). The park itself was beautiful, lots of exotic trees and gardens and temples. We strolled through at a leisurely pace, stopping to take photos and take in the experience. As we wandered we came across what seemed to be a service of some type, with people singing and chanting and playing different instruments while people did tai chi in the background. We sat and absorbed the scene in silence before continuing our walk and commenting on how peaceful the people in general seemed.
On the way to Hong Kong they had been serving what sounded like "kanji", and we'd cracked some jokes about not understanding how we were supposed to eat the Japanese alphabet. While doing his research Eric discovered the word was actually "congee", a rice porridge that is very popular throughout Asia.
After leaving the garden we aimed towards the Cafe de Coral, an Asian food chain that is similar to Tim Hortons or Mcd's. We decided to get breakfast. I got the congee (I love to try the things that the locals love) with some fried noodles and a coffee and the boys each got some variation on bacon and eggs that came with a bowl of what looked like beef tomato noodle soup.
After breakfast we wandered along Shanghai street snapping photos while heading back in the direction of the hostel. We stopped for a coffee along the way at a little cafe and were surprised when it was given to us to go in a little brown paper bag! It was, for lack of a better word, adorable.
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| Photo courtesy of Ren Bostelaar |
Back at the hostel we navigated the maze of shops in the building and went upstairs to pack our stuff and check out. It was almost sad to leave our tiny little room we'd gotten used to but at the same time very exciting to be off on the next part of the adventure.
Bags on our backs we headed towards the harbor to catch the Star Ferry to Hong Kong central where we were going to take the airport express back to the airport. The ferry was short, but a great way to see Hong Kong from a different perspective. At the cost of $2.50 HKD ($0.35 CAD) it would be silly not to check it out.
We had a bit of time to kill while on the island before going to the airport so we walked along the waterfront and then back on the elevated walkway to the station.
Not certain whether we'd have food on the plane and eager to use up some of our HKD, we decided to get some lunch at the airport. Seeing as we were in china we decided on some traditional style foods-BBQ pork buns, glutinous rice dumplings and some noodles with BBQ pork. It was an awesome meal! And at only about 300 HKD it was only about $42 CAD... Or $6 each.
We finished up and made our way to the gate, got some coffee and waited. Used the Internet (which sort of came and went) and then boarded the plane. We were flying with Cathay pacific from HKG to BKK, and knowing the airline's great reputation I was excited to see what the service would be like.
The plane itself wasn't anything to be overly excited about but the fact that we were served a full meal, wine included, was! The food was delicious and the flight attendants were completely adorable and so polite.
Arrived in Bangkok without a hitch and collected our bags and went through customs.
Thailand!! Let the fun begin!
