Blog Adventure 4 (Photos 1)

 

Webpage from "Ho Lee Fook" 

Man Mo Temple

Former HK Police (Parade Ground and Offices)

Former HK Police Barracks

Hong Kong Harbour from Kowloon

Blogs Adventure Ep3

The flight from Hong Kong to Japan was 9.15 am and we needed to be at the airport 3 hours early (to make sure we didn't miss the flight).

The airport was 28 mins away meaning a taxi could pick us up at 5.45 and get us there in time. So the holiday company booked one for us at 5.00 am. (to make sure we didn't miss the flight). 

We had a private transfer organised because relying on the local fellas would mean I'd have been writing this blog from the hotel foyer a month after we started flagging one down.

The hotel were very concerned that we might starve to death in the 28 mins it took to get to the airport so they gave us a "Breakfast Box" filled with all sorts of things Brits don't eat until lunchtime. (And one or two things Brits wouldn't eat any time of the day).

Given our experience with taxis so far we did wonder if the taxi would actually turn up. He did. At 4.30 in the morning. (to make sure we didn't miss the flight). It was a good job that Mrs Blog set the alarm 45 mins earlier than I would have done or we might have kept him waiting.

We nodded our farewell to the place, filled with memories of taxis, the Harbour, Man Mo Temple thick with heady incense, HK Police parade ground where Grandpa-blog would have paraded and the old streets filled with stalls selling lucky red charms. (Photos in next post)

When we arrived at the airport we had a nice long wait for the check-in desk to open. Checked in, we headed to the airline lounge where we grabbed a second breakfast (in case we starved in the few hours before boarding) 

Flight called, we duly boarded. Given the timing of the flight, landing early afternoon in Japan, I hoped for a light lunch. However it seems there is more than a little hobbit DNA in our far eastern cousins because we got another breakfast five minutes after take off.

Mr Blog spent the journey looking for lifestyle progammes on how to lose 2 stone in 3 hours. 

Blog's Adventure Ep 2

Hong Kong food/drink can be a bit strange.

Having sat in a coffee shop that ranked No1 in the WHO "dirtiest coffee shops in the world" we discovered a shop in Kowloon proudly promoting...

"Meat Floss Croissant"

In Cantonese it is known as Sum Yuk.

The Blogs passed up the opportunity. 

Later in the Botanical Gardens we stopped for a snack. The cafe folks said they could do a ham and cheese sandwich, just the sort of food we felt we could trust! Mr Blog waited for the order and watched bemused as the chef made the sandwich and then stir-fried it in a wok until it was luke warm. The chef looked very happy so we just ate it without further comment.

According to Tripadvisor one of the top restaurants to visit is Ho Lee Fook. Given our food experiences so far we decided to check out the website first. The landing page boasts...

"Cantonese and proud of it, the tone is an opulent night out, faint memories of wild nights out in Hong Kong, the smell is just as familiar as Mom's dumplings"

The Blogs passed up the opportunity.

Dinner found the Blogs retreating to western food (in our defence it was the nearest place to the hotel and we were flagging). 

"Pizza Express" in Kowloon needs to change its name to "Pizza sometime before we close". It also needs to get the Michelin inspectors round because anywhere that charges £78 for two ham and cheese pizzas ought to be thinking about how many stars they're aiming for.

Thankfully the food, like the taxis, got better when we made it to Japan 

PS Pizza Express Kowloon doesn't have any Michelin stars

The Blogs adventure Ep1

It's been a while since Mr Blog put finger to keyboard, but following a public outpouring (i.e. a suggestion from one nephew blog) it returns for a limited period.

The suggestion was made because Mr and Mrs Blog took a trip to Hong Kong and Japan. (It was a slightly delayed honeymoon which should have happened 36 years earlier). Nephew-blog thought such a trip might be full of classic "blog material". He was correct.

The plan is for a series of posts to cover the Blog-Adventure. Here goes...

Hong Kong has taxis in three colours - Red for urban, Green for New Territories and Blue for Lantau (although there aren't many of them because there isnt much in Lanrau that isn't an airport).

Usually when you think of taking a taxi in a foreign country you have three main concerns,

1. Will the taxi driver take cards or just cash?
2. Will the taxi driver speak English?
3. Will I be able to use Google translate if the driver doesn't speak English?

Not in Hong Kong. There, you face a new and unexpected addition

      4. Will the taxi driver want to have me in his taxi?

In fact, this should be your primary concern because the other three are largely irrevelant if you don't resolve it. Mr and Mrs Blog, on one occasion, standing at a recognised taxi stand, took six goes to convince a taxi driver to take us. The first five were pretty grumpy, and it seems that asking them to take you on a journey to where you want to go is quite offensive. 

On another occasion we flagged a taxi down and got in. After a few minutes of asking to be taken to a restaurant (for which we showed the address in Cantonese) we discovered that this is truly unacceptable to a taxi driver in Kowloon. So not wanting to cause a diplomatic incident we walked the two miles to the restaurant.

You might think this was a specific problem only faced by the Blogs. After all Mr Blog has a history of victimisation from authorities, random strangers and inanimate objects. Not so. Tripadvisor users regularly post reviews of taxis around the world. Hong Kong taxis score 2 stars!

Thankfully the adventure got better!! 

Dog Shrinks

Son-blog has a Golden Retriever called Maggie. He has trained her exceptionally well and is always looking for ways to improve her behaviour.

Last weekend he mentioned that a friend had told him of Dog Psychologists who help with deep seated issues. 

I am skeptical though...Maggie isn't allowed on the couch.

Comedy gold

 Earlier in the week I was at the Kayak club. I ran into a member I'd been emailing for a month without a reply. The following conversation took place,

"Ruairdh, I've not had a reply to my emails, mate!"

"What emails?"

(I explained)

"Must be my email system playing up." Off went Ruairdh.

I turned to the lady who does the admin in our club.

"You'd think he could sort his emails out given that he works in IT!"

"He doesn't work in IT"

"Doesn't he? What does he do?"

"He's a joiner."

"How on earth did I get the idea that he was in IT then?"

"Maybe you heard him saying he'd fixed someone's windows?"

Mud packs you didn't ask for...

 Last week I was at the golf course. Our forward looking club committee have installed a compressed air machine to clean muddy trolley wheels and mud clad golf shoes. This was pretty handy on the day in question since it was pretty bloomin muddy.

I stood there aiming the "gun" at my shoes (and on to the ground) on the left of the machine and a suspicious looking octogenarian wandered up out of nowhere and took the "gun" on the right side of the machine. He aimed it at his shoe which was in a direct line with my face...and let rip!!

Me, two minutes later...