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SATURDAY 25th OCTOBER 2008
We all met at Christ Church, Warley, Brentwood at
4.30pm. By 4.45pm we were off to Heathrow.
A slight security delay meant we were half an hour
late boarding the plane, but just after 11pm we were
off!
SUNDAY 26th OCTOBER
Two meals and a fair bit of sleep later and we were
landing at Hong Kong
International Airport.
The coach was waiting
to take us off Lantau
Island, through
Kowloon and across to
Hong Kong Island and
our hotel: The City
Garden Hotel. Half an
hour to tidy up and
settle in, then off to
McDonalds for tea!
Then back to the hotel
for our first, and last,
early night!
MONDAY 27th OCTOBER
Up fairly early for a buffet breakfast then met by
the Tour Guide for our “De Luxe Hong Kong Tour”.
On our way we learnt that Hong Kong is host to 7
million residents (6300 for every 1 sq km). The
tallest building at present is the International
Finance Centre (IFC) whose 88 floors
reach 420m. However, in two years time
this will be overtaken by the International
Commercial Centre (ICC) which will have
118 floors and reach 480m.
First stop was a Man Mo temple; dedicated to the God of Literature (Man) and his
Martial Arts counterpart (Mo). We rang the
bell and banged the drum three times
each to wake the Gods and tell them we
had arrived. We burned 3 incense sticks:
one each for the past, present and future.
In the central area whose roof is open to
the heavens large incense sticks and coils
remain burning. These are lit for special
occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries, particularly anniversaries of
deaths. The other parts of the temple are
dedicated to the departed and here gifts
are
offered
to help
them on
their
way.
Next we
took a
trip on the Peak
Tram to Victoria
Peak. This allowed
amazing views,
especially of
Kowloon and the
skyscrapers below
us on Hong Kong
Island.The third
event was a boat
trip around
Aberdeen Harbour;
GGEW NEWS
SPRING 2009
1st Warley Guides trip to Hong Kong
the original fishing port of Hong Kong. The name
“Hong Kong” actually comes from the Cantonese for
“Fragrant Harbour” which was probably due
to the trade in spices and fish. The boat ride
was a true mix of
traditional and
contemporary
with ancient fishing boats and
brand new millionaire’s yachts.
The ride finished
at the Jumbo
floating Chinese
Restaurant where we had
lunch in palatial surroundings. After lunch we had a
quick stop at a jewellery
factory and then on to
Stanley Market. Here we left the tour guide in order
to spend more time browsing the stalls and
alleyways of tiny shops and street vendors.
We finally left Stanley Market to catch an
MTR underground train to Central and take
the long escalators up the peak.
We ate in Pizza
Express on the
way and as it got
dark the height
gave us some
amazing views of
the lit-up skyline
but also meant a long, long
walk down! We finally
reached the bottom and
caught a very old tram
back to the hotel
TUESDAY 28th
OCTOBER
Up early again and an
MTR ride to Ocean Park.
This is a theme park but
also prides
itself on its
commitment
to the environment,
running conservation
programmes
for indigenous sea species such as sturgeon
and supporting the Chinese government in its drive to protect the Giant
Panda. We went up Ocean Tower for
more amazing views, spun around on
the Mine Train and dropped into the
Abyss. But most wonderful of all were
the pandas! Ocean Park houses four
giant Pandas: Ying Ying and Le Le, a
young pair; Jia Jia an older female and
An An, a male. We watched them for
ages and they sat and let us take photo
after photo, completely unconcerned. We
returned to the
hotel for a
swim in the
second floor,
outdoor pool
and Jacuzzi!
Then dinner at
the hotel
.WEDNEDSAY
29th OCTOBER
Yet another early morning as we had to
get the MTR across to Kowloon to meet
our tour guide for a trip to see the local
dolphins. A coach took us to board a
smallish launch which toured the bays and
inlets frequented by these unusual variations of the Indo-Pacific Humpback
Dolphin.
When we finally
tracked them down,
we were speechless
— they really are
pink! They are also
incredibly difficult to
photograph and we
all have some excellent pictures of
empty waves!
Eventually we
returned to Kowloon
and the coach took us back to the Kowloon Hotel;
just a short walk from the world famous Peninsula
Hotel where we were the first to take our seats for
Afternoon Tea. Following in the footsteps of the rich
and famous of the last 100 years we ate and drank
in grand and opulent surroundings while the band
serenaded us. We also found a friend for Crystal
(Essex West’s Centenary bear) in the shape of a
Peninsula Bear in aid of the Make-A-Wish
Foundation. Following all this grandeur we took the
MTR again to the other side of Kowloon and the
Hong Kong Guide Headquarters. After a visit to the
shop we met with guides from a unit based nearby
who did some cooking with us, chatted about the
similarities and differences between guiding in Hong
Kong and the UK and sung some campfire songs.
We also exchanged gifts and laughed a lot.After the
richness of Afternoon Tea, we had our evening
meal in Burger King!
THURSDAY 30th OCTOBER
This was probably our busiest day.
First we took the MTR to Central,
then the ferry to Lantau Island and
joined the local bus up Lantau Peak to
the Po Lin Monastery. Here we struggled up the 265 steps to the largest
outdoor Buddha in the
world. More breathtaking
views then a quicker journey
down the steps to have a
vegetarian lunch in the
Monastery itself. After lunch
we wandered
down
through
the village
to the
Ng ong
Ping 360 Cable Car. This gave us
more breathtaking views as it
delivered us back down to the
MTR station. Another train back
to Central and the realisation that
we were at the wrong end of the
pier for our next activity. We then
ran, what felt like miles, to reach
the furthest pier where the Duk
Ling was just mooring. The Duk
Ling is a fully restored traditional
junk and is the last one to operate
on the Hong Kong waterways. We
spent a restful hour on the Duk
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Ling watching the lights coming on around the harbour and admiring the cruise ships at anchor. The
Duk Ling dropped us on the bank of Kowloon and
we took a short walk to TGI Fridays for dinner. We
then returned to the waterside at the Avenue of Stars to
watch the Sound and Laser
Light Show lighting up the
faces of the Hong Kong skyscrapers across the water.
Finally we took the famous
Star Ferry back to Hong
Kong Island and the MTR
back to our hotel
FRIDAY 31st OCTOBER
A slightly later start on the
hottest day of our stay. Today
we were collected from our
hotel by the tour guide for our
Heritage Tour and taken first
to a different Man Mo
Temple. This was followed by
a trip round the traditional Tai
Po Chinese Market where the
locals were shopping for their
daily necessities.
It was fascinating to see the
unusual vegetables and dried goods crammed in
alongside T-shirts, bags and kitchenware! Next we
visited the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees. These are
banyan trees where locals will burn incense to help
their wishes come true. The coach then took us right
out into the New Territories to visit the Tang Chung
Ling Ancestral Hall at Fanling. Built in the early 16th
century, the highly decorative building is still used for
clan celebrations for the Tang family. Nearby is the
first walled village, also built by the Tang Clan, called
Lo Wai. It is currently closed to the public. Finally
we visited Tai Fu Tai in San Tin, the residence of
senior member of the Man clan built in 1865. He
worked hard and achieved high grades in the
Chinese Imperial Civil Service Examinations and the
Qing emperor bestowed upon him the title of mandarin (Tai Fu).
The coach then took us back to
the hotel for a swim, a meal and final packing before
leaving for the airport and our late flight back to the
UK
SATURDAY 1st NOVEMBER
After further delays once on the plane we eventually
left Hong Kong around lam. After much sleep and a
couple more meals we landed back at Heathrow
about 5.30am after another 12 hour flight. A quick
trip round the M25 and we were back in Brentwood
in time for breakfast!.