We landed in Hong Kong during the evening. The flight wasn't too bad, only about 9 hours tops from Brisbane. We took the Airport Express train into the city. This is by far the easiest way to get into the city from the airport. There are stops at both Kowloon and HK Island, where little buses line up to take you to your hotel. Kowloon and HK Island (central) stations also have facilities to check your luggage in for your flights, so you can offload your luggage way before you get to the airport. I have to say that they have really got the transport systems nailed in HK.
It's not surprising really, with a population of 6.99 million, give or take a few, and a surprisingly small landmass, it is essential that the people of HK can move from A to B quickly and cheaply.
Although we still know this marvellous place as Hong Kong, its' official moniker these days is Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or HKSAR. HK was handed back to China in 1997, much to the dismay of the people living there. You see, the residents of HK thought that their lives would significantly change under a communist regime instead of a regime based on British laws and values. In reality, nothing much has changed, one of the conditions of handover was that HK laws etc stay under the current regime for 50 years, so if there are going to be significant changes they will not be until 2047.
Therefore HK has kept its own administrative system, currency, culture, laws, immigration system etc. and remains a fabulous place to visit.
There are only 2 Special Administrative Regions of the Peoples Republic of China, the other being Macau (which we would also visit).
So there we were, newly arrived in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon and settled in to our hotel for a well needed kip. We had plenty of time to explore so decided to take our time and just mooch around the city on our first day there. We walked through the crowded streets as people rushed to get to work. Admired the gravity defying buildings, designer shops, quirky market stalls up the back streets, street vendors trying to sell fake Rolex (these were a pain in the arse), and the daily comings and goings of HK life. We took the Star Ferry across to HK Island which costs less than 20p, and travelled up the Mid Levels escalators to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens.
The Zoological and Botanical Gardens were opened in 1871 under the watchful eye of superintendent Charles Ford. It is an essential green space within the city and a place of peace and quiet. There is an aviary, childrens' play area, jaguar enclosure, reptiles and mammals enclosures and a fountain terrace garden and war memorial. These gardens are built into the slope of Victoria Peak, so in some areas are quite steep. The 2 halves of the park are separated by a road but there is a subway linking them. It's a nice place to visit and mosey round, especially when you don't really feel like doing much else.
That evening we found an Italian restaurant near our hotel. Maybe after a good feed, glass of red and a proper nights sleep, we would find the energy to explore some more..
here are some pics. Northern HK Island taken from the Star Ferry, The Botanical Gardens, Fountain and War Memorial.