Category: Hong Kong Trip 2017

What a day.

It’s day’s like today I’m thankful that I like to keep a blog as I go along to remind me of where I’ve been. Frankly I’m sat here, writing, not sure where to start because this morning seems like such a long time ago!

We started with breakfast next door to where I am staying, before heading off to Hong Kong Park. Hong Kong Park was full of views – the parky green nestled within the tall skyscrapers!

As well as Parky Green was a number of water features and water falls… Many of you may know that I LOVE Water features so was delightfully amused.

Also within HK Park was an Aviary – we went for a wander through and saw lots of different birds from all different places… they looked like they were having a great time (The Aviary was HUGE!)

 

From the HK Garden  we walked up the the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens (Different place!) The Hong Kong Botanical Gardens contained a whole host of trees, plants and flowers, (Labeled in Cantonese, English and latin) as well as animals and of course more water features! We saw Monkeys, Orangutangs and a sleeping meerkat. (No car insurance for me!)

From the HK Botanical gardens we walked to the MTR for my first experience of the “Hong Kong Underground”… Everything is HUGE! The trains are loooong… The stations although underground are bright an airy… and there’s often LOADS of shops past the ticket line… its mental!

Between the Gardens and the MTR we stopped at a Starbucks “Done up” like and Old Fashioned HK Cafe. Interesting!

On the MTR, we ended up at the Nan Lian Garden / Chi Lin Nunnery & Temple Complex… Which was another incredible garden (Including water ofc!) The gardens were beautiful and had wonderful views.  There was also loads of different buildings in traditional architecture as well as exhibitions on the architecture, and a rockery!

We wandered round the Temple, taking in the sights and Leonie and I managed to have my photo taken with some random strangers from Mainland China!

We entered the inner temple where photos were strictly not allowed (although it seemed many people couldn’t read the signs!) and looked at a number of Gods which were placed round the outside, while traditional Buddist chanting could be heard.

We walked up to the largest Buddah in the complex, and joined the queue to go and pray to him (because we’d noticed a nun giving out freebies!) While we passed, we span a wheel for knowledge (Maybe I’ll become enlightened) before taking the small red envelope from the nun… The “Freebie” that we’d seen being given out.

Leonie and I each took the red envelope and (disgusting) sweet, whilst Hilz not only refused, but then managed to rub the nun up the wrong way by asking her where she lived… i.e. on site or elsewhere. The nun barked “not for you to know” and Hilz tried again, receiving the same treatment. Buddah is not looking kindly on Hilz now! 🙂 🙂

Buddah is however looking somewhat kindly on me… While Leonie’s envelope contained nothing, mine contained a 20 cent piece. Thanks for the 2p Buddah, I won’t spend it all at once!

From the Gardens/Temple we wanted round the very posh “Holywood Plaza” shopping mall, deciding where to eat, before settling for take out sushi. (YUM!)

We then got on the train and headed to look at some of the markets.. We wandered through the flower market which was pretty but mainly rather standard western flowers.. perhaps rarer out here than at home.

We found the Bird market, which was odd. I know it’s common to keep birds as pets here, but they did look a little unhappy in such small cages. I did manage to find a lady “Trying on a Parrot” which subsequently ate her hair!

From the Bird market, we found ourselves lost in another very large, very nice shopping center called MOKO looking for somewhere to get some form of tea or coffee…. We went on a wild goose chase trying to find the “Food Opera” which we still aren’t sure what exactly “Food Opera” means because we never found it and ended up in Pacific Coffee in stead.

From MOKO we headed back to the apartment for a VERY brief power nap before heading out for some dinner at the Tea House in the Hong Kong Garden. We each had to chose some tea (which was lovely… I had a red tea) and then ordered Dim Sum including Purple Sweet potato cakes and some Sweetcorn cakes.

From the Tea House we rushed to the MTR and across town to the Light show, where we watched the Guinness world record holding permanent light show (or some crap fact like that!). Loads of the buildings on the other side of the bank all work together to make a light show to some bloody catchy music. All the different buildings light up differently and it was quite good to watch.

From there we went back on the MTR to the Ladies Market. Before we got to the ladies market we got caught in this crazy street market with in-street karaoke and all sorts. We wandered through the very quiet ladies market, and ended up back at the Crazy Street market where Hilly decided it would be a good idea to go and dance with the crazy dancing Chinese people.

From the crazy market, we headed up to another tiny street market before deciding it was time to head back home (Via the Star ferry).

This involved getting a bus (Which was much nicer than London!) and then getting the star ferry. We splashed out on the Upper Deck, spending 34p as opposed to the lower deck at 25p. BIG SPENDERS.

From the Star Ferry terminal we headed back to where we are staying Via Mc D’s for a cheesecake and a cup of tea, cos I was hungry! (CHEESECAKE. Mc Donald’s is always much better abroad!)

Now is time for bed. I’m knackered, but surprisingly not very jet lagged!

Tomorrow is a BIG day. (that’s a clue!)

[Note at time of publishing:  Lady Hizzle of Arkley  did not mean to cause offence to the nun, simply wished to inquire out of pure curiosity as to the living arrangements for Nuns working in the Temple. We are pleased to note that no charges were pressed]

Today, following the SD card revelation yesterday, I’ve tried to be a bit more portable with my photos (aka taken some on my phone)… so here’s hoping they came out.

We started the day with some coffee and a cake from a well known Tax avoiding coffee shop whom happen to have a branch in the shopping centre just down stairs. Strangely though, as no one pays tax in Hong Kong, they are perfectly legit here. We then made our way to the station to get the train to Tung Chung.

The train journey was rather uneventful and we arrived with ease. We were warned that the cable car was sadly closed for cable replacement so we’d have to get the bus to the Lin Po Monastery. When we got out of Tung Chung station, we found what we thought was the rather quiet bus station. This however was not the bus station we needed… so we followed the signs around the corner….

Upon turning said corner, we found that half of Mainland China and their dog’s had turned up on bank holiday (Today still!) to go and visit the Giant Buddha at Lin Po.

Undettered by the crowds we joined the queue and were eventually thrust on a bus up and over the mountains to Ngong Ping village. Ngong ping village is a fake village created in “Traditional style” but clearly is just fake fake fake. It feels a bit like Shrek 2. Having had a wander though we decided it was time to go and visit the Tian Tan Buddha.

We followed the general direction of the people, but still couldn’t see the Buddha. I thought it was HUGE so couldn’t work out why we couldn’t see it. We did however come across some rather free range cows.

Eventually we found the foot of the steps to the Buddha, bought a ticket for lunch in the monastery, and started to ascend the steps to the Buddha which was shrouded in cloud / Fog. As we climbed the 268 steps to reach the Big Buddha, he slowly became clearer!

When we reached the top, the fog was still quite thick, so we used our dinner voucher to visit the exhibition inside his plinth. (Free with your dinner voucher), and we explored a number of Buddhist artifacts including one the very few relics supposed to contain some of Buddha himself’s ashes!

Once we were done exploring in there, we realised the fog had lifted a little so managed to get some better photos, before descending the steps to the monastery.

Back down at ground level, we walked into the monastery where we found lots of people lighting GIANT incense and praying to Buddha. It was very interesting to watch the rituals and rules involved in these prayers.

Having walked round and looked at the Monastery, we decided it was time for lunch. Every vegetarian place we’ve eaten in so far has seemed to have a loving for this mysterious gloop. The monastery was no different…. Lunch was not great… in fact, I’m still not sure what it was! (But the plain rice was nice!)

From the Monastery, we got the bus to the tiny fishing village of Tao O. This was supposed to be the “Venice of Hong Kong”. I wouldn’t go that far… I mean, I’ve never been to Venice but this was not like the photos.

This was enlightening as it was a real glimpse into the lives of some real Hong Kongers, but it was also every sceneted nightmare you could ever have. I can’t even describe the smell of some of the things you could buy on the main street.

At Tao O, we queued again to return with half of mainland China on a direct bus back to Tsung Tung. WHAT A JOURNEY. Somehow I managed to get some sleep, but this as more a thrill ride than a bus ride! The driver saw no danger, even at one point slamming the brakes on last minute to avoid a HUGE cow!

We made it back to the apartment for a quick rest before heading out, meeting Hilz and Jonathan and heading up Victoria Peak for dinner. The views were amazing and you could see them from the Restaurant window.

Getting home was fun – More huge bus station queues. In a toss up between a taxi queue and a Small bus queue it was about equally pegging so we jumped on the small bus. (Think Turkish dolomus).

This driver made the earlier one look like a granny had been driving. He tailgated a mini all the way down the hill, tackling hairpin bends at 30KMPH as if we were filming an episode of Top Gear!

Added to this, there are no stops, per say – you ask to be dropped off…Hilo had a slight moment of confusion with the driver involving much angry shouting in Cantonese and then Hilz agreeing before leaping off the bus!

I’m absolutely shattered again so am heading to bed before another big day tomorrow – Trams in the morning an then I’m taking things on, on my own in the afternoon! AAAH! Night/Afternoon y’all! 🙂

Today we woke up early and headed for the “In town Check in” for Leonie . Why is this amazing idea not more worldwide?! From the town check in, we headed for a cafe for some breakfast before hitting the trams!

The trams in Hong Kong are great fun – Also called the Ding-ding from the noise made when they try to stop people crossing in front of them!

The tram ride itself is quite an experience – rattling through the twisty busy streets of Hong Kong, while cars and buses breeze past you!

We had a quick wonder round Kennedy town, looking at the local food and goods market. (there were some weird sights there!) We then jumped back on the tram down to causeway bay where we wandered round the shops and Victoria Park. (Nothing to write home about!)

Soon it was lunch time, and I managed to meet Hilz for lunch. She suggested that we go to the cafe we went to for breakfast on the first morning for their salad selection. What a great suggestion, the Salads were amazing! I ate mine over three sittings all throughout the afternoon!

Following lunch, I went to Kowloon to meet “Hong Kong Harry” the tailor who has measured me up for two tailor made suits – am  I going to look swish for work!!

Getting to Kowloon, I took the Star Ferry, this time opting for the cheaper 25p version (Please see correction of the typo in the previous post!) There was much of a muchness!

Following my measuring up, I jumped on the train and then a bus down to Stanley. Stanley is a seaside town which in many ways reminded me of Southend. Those avid fans of Southend should not fret, as I can confirm there was no Peter Pan’s and the “World’s longest pleasure pier” was not under record threat!

What there was, however at Stanley was a rather lovely garden / Walk including a small temple. (Photos of which are on the camera!)

It went all along the cliff side and contained a number of viewing points, bird lookouts and fun facts.

Just below the temple were a number of rocks, and I risked life and limb climbing out on the rocks to sit and take in the view.

Whilst on the rock, a random Chinese man asked me if I could take a photo of him and his wife on the rocks. In return he took the photo below… Turns out he was a professional photographer on his day off!

Whilst in Stanley, I popped by the market at closing time and managed to bag an absolute steal of a jacket – £6.90 and it’s waterproof! (It’s been raining here so now I have a hood “for Justin”) The lady promised me that the Red colour is very good at this time of year – Red is associated with the Chinese new year and with prosperity and good! Apparently I should wear it all the time!

From Stanley I caught the bus back to Central Hong Kong where I met Hilzo again and her friend Jessica. We went for dinner in the Kosher Restaurant in the shul… Slight entry balagan but we got there in the end!

I’m now rather content having had some “real food” and shall be going to bed very happy! Not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow, but have a feeling it’s going to be the Peak Tram!

Night / Afternoon all!

Today I slept in .

No really, I slept. At dinner last night, Hilz’s friend when she heard where I’d been so far said “Well you’ve basically done it all in the last 4 days”…. I am beginning to believe she might be right. (Obviously there is always more to see, but she means the big ones).

The first four days tired me out that much that when Hils left for work this morning, I was going to get up… at 11.30 I decided I really should actually get up!

Having gotten dressed, I met Hilzo for lunch – a slight navigational error or my behalf left us with a Street-Walkway-chase but we eventually found one another.

For lunch today, trying all the available cuisines on offer, we visited “Delifrance”. I have been to France a few times. Clearly the people behind “Delifrance” have NOT. We sampled such delights as a Tuna Jacket Potato, and a smoked salmon Baguette. Despite playing like she had understood “No Dressing, No Bacon, No Tomato and No Cucumber”, Alice (the lady of Delifrance) clearly had not clue and delivered us Salad with Dressing and Bacon bits, and there was Tomato and Cucumber in my Smoked Salmon Baguette. Your card is marked Alice the Gendarmerie will be after you! (Alice, Who the… oh never mind!)

From my fleeting if not brief trip to France, I returned to Hong Kong and joined the queue, along with now 2 thirds of Mainland China, for the Peak Tram.

The Peak Tram was the “Original way” of getting up the peak… they’ve modernised it a bit (a lot) but it’s still as steep and precarious as ever. I really love old transport links… Especially trams so enjoyed riding #GeekMoment. I was sad that the queue to get it back down was so huuuge as I can imagine it was cool to watch the skyline shrink down out of sight as you trammed down!

The view from the top of the Peak was just as spectacular during the day as it was at night – even if it was a little cloudy/Foggy/Smoggy!

Whilst up the Peak, I managed to video call home,  and talk to dad before his Op… Impressive stuff really! After the video chats home, I was peckish, so strayed into McDonalds to find a whole range of “Sweet Potato and Oreo” items. Naturally I went for Sweet Potato Ice Cream in an Oreo Cone.

Whilst not completely obnoxious… I won’t be asking for them to start this at home… an interesting experience. (The Oreo was nice).

From the Peak, I got a cab down the hill to meet Hilz. Having arrived a bit early I decided I was best to go back to her flat and grab some more cash for the evening. Huge shout out to the Tall, Blonde western gym going girl, who provided a great shield battering people onto the right hand side while we navigated a 2/3rds of the mental Escalators together. (more on the escalators to follow!)

We jumped on the Star Ferry, for a goosey round TST (I’m not spelling it… Kowloon!) We hit a dead end with a purchase that Hil wanted to make and then we stumbled into the SelfieCafe. I was going to get a selfie printed coffee but the wait was too long. We noticed this Interesting Certificate of Kosher status…

From there we visited Happy Valley Races. While neither of us agree with horse racing, its a “Very Hong Kong” thing to do. We stayed for one race, I put a bed on two horses, One came last and the other came 4th – I’d put the bets on each way so missed winning by one place. (Bloody cheek  – I wore my new “red for prosperity” jacket specially!)

We did get to experience the New Year Celebration show which was pretty cool if you like dancing dragons…

As we were on our way around, this man caught our eye… so we had to get a selfie.. people here are actually sometimes a bit amazingly crazy. ( I  love it!)

From the Races, we went to Genki – amazing sushi and had a good fill of food, before leaving some space for dessert as we had other plans. Opposite Genki, was my place of solace. My Temple…. IKEA.

Nestled underground, with very limited selection in the way of flatpack furniture.. I still managed to spend money…. not just on the Daim Cake.

The longer I am here for, the more I think I’m falling in Love with Hong Kong. Not sure I could quite up sticks and move out here… but I would certainly come back. It’s very safe, and quiet (apart from all of China atm!) and has the best of the West with a lot of the East!

Anyway, must get to bed – another busy day tomorrow!

I was going to say I took it easy today…. But as I’ve sat here thinking about what I was going to write I realised that “Took it easy” is probably a lie.

I started the day with a walking tour from Admiralty Station – I was a bit lost and flustered in finding the start point, before accidentally stumbling out of the right exit!

The tour was really great and I learnt lots about the places I’d been walking past for days! I took loads of photos on my camera so will have to upload them when I’m home!

On the tour I managed to find two people from Israel who know people who live just up the road from us in London – It’s a small world, but it’s even smaller when you’re Jewish! (shoutout to Barry and Zippi if you’re reading!)

On the tour we stopped at the HSBC Building – We heard a lot about the Feng Shui of the buildings and I had my photo taken with Stephen the Feng Shui Lion!

After the tour we grabbed a “Middle Eastern” lunch at a veggie place – Falafel wrap of course, before jumping on the star ferry to go to Kowloon.

I took a rather long walk ( I got a little lost) trying to find the ICC as I wanted to pay Ozone a Visit  – the bar on the 118th floor. Unfortunately, the bar didn’t open until 5, but that nice man on the reception of the Ritz Carlton suggested I go and have a look at the lounge on the 102nd floor… So I did…

As was suggested by Hilzo, and by the tour guide – the view wasn’t that great. I couldn’t get close enough to a window to get a good pic, but when I did go to the toilet on the 103rd floor… I got this:

From there I headed back to Central to take a look inside the atrium of the HSBC building –  There wasn’t enough time on the tour to do this… but I’m really glad I went back to have a look!

From there I went to take some video footage I am going to cut down and pop online when I’m back – had a bit of a geeky moment! Then I popped in to some shops for a browse before heading back to get ready for dinner.

For dinner we went to someone’s house for FND and I think a good time was had by all! On the way there I saw this and had to take a picture…

Off to sleep now – Another busy day beckons – Religions x2 tomorrow!

He might have… but I did not!

This morning started with us going to the beautiful synagogue for Shabbat /Shabbat Lunch. Not only was the shul beautiful but the lunch was delicious… win win!

From shul, we went back to hilzo’s for a short while, before heading off to Sha Tin to visit the 10,000 Buddah’s monastery

In the 10,000 buddha Monastery, it turns out there are actually way more than 10,000 Buddhas. In one room alone there are 12,800…

I’ll be contacting religious trading standards!

If it wasn’t for the fact the views were pretty good, then I think I’d have been very angry at the naming issue…

From the Monastery, we popped over to the shopping centre (Via a long and windy back road path which resulted in me trying local honey!). Once inside the shopping centre, we went for snacks like only I know best – Ikea restaurant.

From there, we arranged to meet Hilary’s Friend Jazzyp and her friend Lauren who are here on medical elective. We arranged to meet them in an adjacent shopping center and while waiting found Snoopy Land!

Hilary and I queued up for the childs ride. It was very very much for young children, but a gondala is a gondala!

While in the queue we found Jazzy and Lauren and took a Selfie McSelf face!

 

From Snoopy land, we went to get some dinner and ended up in “Din Tai Fung” a Michelin starred dim sum restaurant. The food was great and we had a great time (Photo tagged on fbook)

After dinner we went back to Central to meet Hilary’s friend Dan and his friend from back home in ‘Stralia, Hadassah.

We had drinks at a bar with an AMAZING view.

Some of us headed out for a boogey and some back to bed !

Talking of bed… It’s waaay past sleep time… Night!!

I think I’ve kept this going longer now that my American attempt!

Anyway – Greetings readers new and old and welcome to day 8 of Hong Kong. The last in the chain which I’m spending in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), as tomorrow I’m off to Macau… More on that tomorrow.

Anywhos, on my last day “in Hong Kong”, I spent the day in Ocean Park. (woo). Having done a quick google search for some other reasons, I managed to find out that Ocean Park is actually the largest theme park in Asia… Not hard to believe because it’s MAHOOOSIVE!

We went to Ocean Park on the New “South Island Line” of the MTR ( The “Hong Kong Tube”) which only opened at the end of last year – it as pretty cool and had cartoon animals all over the inside of the carriages!

Ocean Park is a mix of Theme park and Zoo, with a heavy emphasis (they didn’t stop) on Conservation and breeding. Neither myself or Hilzo are sure on how we feel about this. (Not about the rides, about the animals!). For anyone who might be wondering – Ocean Park is a lot like Busch Gardens which I visited last year…

I think I have decided today that I don’t mind animals that can’t live in the wild anymore being bread in captivity (i.e. pandas, who are supposedly nearly extinct)….

But, I was not a fan of the Penguin Enclosure –  one particular section was very very small and made me a little uneasy.
We did visit the “Marine Breeding and Conservation Centre” and I am still unsure if what they are doing is the right thing – There seemed to be a lot of human interaction and training… I’m just not sure it’s natural. We did see that there was a dolphin show today, but did not attend as I felt a bit uncomfortable by it all and didn’t want to support it!

As today was the last day of the “bank holiday” weekend following the Chinese New year week, there were still lots of tourists from mainland China. Surprisingly the queues weren’t too big, but it was like some of the tourists had never seen animals before!

Anyway enough of the tourists and the animals – the park itself was INCREDIBLE. We started our day by riding the cable car from the entrance of the park to the top of the mountain which was on the edge of the sea:

Frankly going on the Cable Car, made our visit to Ocean Park worth while! To be fair – The views of Hong Kong from the whole of Ocean park were pretty amazing  – I’ve got a really cool Photosphere to upload to Facebook!

The rides at Ocean park were actually really great. We didn’t queue for more than 10 minutes for anything and they were all perched on top of the edge of the cliff adding to the excitement!

We covered most of the upper part of the park helped be Hong Kong’s second largest escalator network – Yup,  Escalators in the park. But to be fair it’s bloody hilly – The actual individual escalators were longer than those in Tube stations – Craziness… Hong Kongers love Escalators!

We also became minor celebrities on the swinging ship (Sorry, Gallion) after mocking one of the mainlanders Dabbing. I then continually dabbed and they were besotted with us. (#RandomWesterner)

From the top, we took the funicular train back down to the lower part of the park. (DON’T DO IT – TAKE THE CABLE CAR!) Literally our worst choice of the day. At the bottom of the park we saw the pandas pictured above, and we went to the Aquarium which was large and quite impressive..

We also had our picture taken with the Ocean Park Red Panda Mascot!

We were done with Ocean Park so decided to head back and keeping with the watery theme, decided to go swimming in the apartment block I was staying in. Sadly their pool was shut for maintenance so we had to go next door….

Having swam out some calories – we headed straight for the Synagogue / Jewish Community Centre’s All you can Eat BBQ. It’s needless to say I’ve eaten more food (Especially lamb and beef tonight) than in the rest of 2017 (and probably 2016) Combined.

From the JCC we caught up with the Aussies again (Shoutouts to Dan and Hadassah if you’re still reading – I’m counting on your views!) for a drinkie in a pretty cool place… where Hilzo and I learnt a bit more about the Jewish Communities in Aus! (oh and Happy non-Birthday Hadassah!)

There you have it – another ridiculously busy day. Off to sleep now but super excited for Macau tomorrow! Night all!

I think I’ve kept this going longer now that my American attempt!

Anyway – Greetings readers new and old and welcome to day 8 of Hong Kong. The last in the chain which I’m spending in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), as tomorrow I’m off to Macau… More on that tomorrow.

Anywhos, on my last day “in Hong Kong”, I spent the day in Ocean Park. (woo). Having done a quick google search for some other reasons, I managed to find out that Ocean Park is actually the largest theme park in Asia… Not hard to believe because it’s MAHOOOSIVE!

We went to Ocean Park on the New “South Island Line” of the MTR ( The “Hong Kong Tube”) which only opened at the end of last year – it as pretty cool and had cartoon animals all over the inside of the carriages!

Ocean Park is a mix of Theme park and Zoo, with a heavy emphasis (they didn’t stop) on Conservation and breeding. Neither myself or Hilzo are sure on how we feel about this. (Not about the rides, about the animals!). For anyone who might be wondering – Ocean Park is a lot like Busch Gardens which I visited last year…

I think I have decided today that I don’t mind animals that can’t live in the wild anymore being bread in captivity (i.e. pandas, who are supposedly nearly extinct)….

But, I was not a fan of the Penguin Enclosure –  one particular section was very very small and made me a little uneasy.
We did visit the “Marine Breeding and Conservation Centre” and I am still unsure if what they are doing is the right thing – There seemed to be a lot of human interaction and training… I’m just not sure it’s natural. We did see that there was a dolphin show today, but did not attend as I felt a bit uncomfortable by it all and didn’t want to support it!

As today was the last day of the “bank holiday” weekend following the Chinese New year week, there were still lots of tourists from mainland China. Surprisingly the queues weren’t too big, but it was like some of the tourists had never seen animals before!

Anyway enough of the tourists and the animals – the park itself was INCREDIBLE. We started our day by riding the cable car from the entrance of the park to the top of the mountain which was on the edge of the sea:

Frankly going on the Cable Car, made our visit to Ocean Park worth while! To be fair – The views of Hong Kong from the whole of Ocean park were pretty amazing  – I’ve got a really cool Photosphere to upload to Facebook!

The rides at Ocean park were actually really great. We didn’t queue for more than 10 minutes for anything and they were all perched on top of the edge of the cliff adding to the excitement!

We covered most of the upper part of the park helped be Hong Kong’s second largest escalator network – Yup,  Escalators in the park. But to be fair it’s bloody hilly – The actual individual escalators were longer than those in Tube stations – Craziness… Hong Kongers love Escalators!

We also became minor celebrities on the swinging ship (Sorry, Gallion) after mocking one of the mainlanders Dabbing. I then continually dabbed and they were besotted with us. (#RandomWesterner)

From the top, we took the funicular train back down to the lower part of the park. (DON’T DO IT – TAKE THE CABLE CAR!) Literally our worst choice of the day. At the bottom of the park we saw the pandas pictured above, and we went to the Aquarium which was large and quite impressive..

We also had our picture taken with the Ocean Park Red Panda Mascot!

We were done with Ocean Park so decided to head back and keeping with the watery theme, decided to go swimming in the apartment block I was staying in. Sadly their pool was shut for maintenance so we had to go next door….

Having swam out some calories – we headed straight for the Synagogue / Jewish Community Centre’s All you can Eat BBQ. It’s needless to say I’ve eaten more food (Especially lamb and beef tonight) than in the rest of 2017 (and probably 2016) Combined.

From the JCC we caught up with the Aussies again (Shoutouts to Dan and Hadassah if you’re still reading – I’m counting on your views!) for a drinkie in a pretty cool place… where Hilzo and I learnt a bit more about the Jewish Communities in Aus! (oh and Happy non-Birthday Hadassah!)

There you have it – another ridiculously busy day. Off to sleep now but super excited for Macau tomorrow! Night all!