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Tale
One - Hong Kong/Brunei (Where there's a will, there's a way!)
- by Malik
"I am not satisfied that you intend a genuine visit to
Australia." That letter from the Australian High Commission
hit me like a bombshell. My plan to visit the Gold Coast (Australian
Answer to Waikiki ) went down the drain. Forced to drop Australia,
I could do nothing but change direction. Now my self-guided
tour would be to Hong Kong, Brunei and the Philippines.
Cheap, Hong Kong?
"Hong Kong is pretty expensive. You cannot make it even
with $200 a day," my friend Zahid Khawaja had remarked.
I ignored that: he is a business executive with a fat expense
account. Me - I explore the Internet for my ways and means.
Unknown to him, I had already found a site for cheap accommodation.
Tsim Sha Tsui for Tourists
The disappointment of missing Australia vanished with the
thrill of landing in Hong Kong. You fly in over skyscrapers
ringing the harbour. Chep Lap Kok is on a small island. Building
it involved a huge operation to flatten the once hilly island
and virtually double its area.
After clearing immigration and customs, I fumbled in my pockets
for a computer printout of step-by-step directions. First,
I got HK$33 (US$4.50) from a money changer. Second, I looked
for a Bus Terminal and spotted Bus A21. Third, I boarded it
by feeding the exact fare (HK$33). Fourth, I requested the
bus driver to drop me off at Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon.
Kowloon, I had read, is situated on a peninsula of the Chinese
mainland, alongside New Territories. There are also 234 outlying
Islands, and the main island of Hong Kong. Kowloon is on the
north side of Victoria Harbour, facing the skyscrapers of
Central Hong Kong Island.
The driver let me off the bus amid a dazzling array of neon-decorated
shops. The road was clogged with vehicles, the footpaths were
packed with pedestrians. I wanted to ask someone for further
directions but they were engrossed in love-talks, others had
mobile phones tacked to their ears. Then I spotted a smartly
suited young man with a banker's look, who checked my printed
instructions, pointed eastward and advised me to continue
a little further.
Soon I was at the gate of the Chung King Mansion. It looked
like a combination of a covered bazaar and a bomb shelter.
I wanted to runaway, but somebody had already grabbed my carryon
bag. I followed to the third floor on a screeching elevator.
"Best place for US$18.99 with air-conditioning, TV and
bath," said the hostel agent dumping me in a small bedroom
barely big enough to straighten my back or stretch out my
arms! I was too travel weary now though to bargain.
Star Ferries, best deal in Town
I got up in the evening, had a bath and donned my safari outfit.
Stashing passport & tickets in my inner pockets, cash
and camera in my knee-pockets, Kleenex in my hip pockets,
I was ready for Hong Kong. I realised that I was on the Nathan
Road, a busy main street nicknamed the Golden Mile because
of a long line of neon-decorated shops and nightspots. I followed
signs to the STAR FERRY Terminal, paid HK$2.2 at the turnstiles
and ended up in an upper-deck of a ferry heading across the
busy Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island. We passed by sleek
cruiseliners, massive containerships, Chinese junks, sampans
and speedboats.
It was dusk and many tall buildings flashed billboard messages,
lighting up the skyline like a extravagant firework display.
I thought this must be one of the cheapest and most scenic
ferry rides in the world. Eight minutes later, the ferry docked
at Admiralty Station and I found myself in the Central business
hub, a jungle of modern high-rise architecture. The Bank of
China stood like a cock of the walk. As if mesmerised by its
dazzling glass facade I went right in, although it was past
business hours, and rode an elevator just for kicks.
Uh-Oh, the Budget!
The next day, I had a casual walk of Kowloon side. Only a
few shops were opened at 9:30am, including a Timberland Outlet
whose showcase had an impressive display of a life-size hiker
in sturdy shoes. Suddenly, I felt that my ankles were twisted,
toes bruised and gait clumsy. I went in the store and described
my predicament to a salesman. He ascribed it to my old shoes
and asked me try their new "3-Eyelet Classic Lug"
Shoes. I put them on, tiptoeing a little. Feeling like a space
walker, I nodded my approval and I handed him over my credit
card only to realise afterwards that I had kissed good-bye
to US$89.99.
Strolling - Easy on the Wallet
With those new rugged shoes, I strolled towards the Clock
Tower and a row of Palm trees lining the Waterfront Promenade.
Built in 1915, the Clock Tower was part of the former Kowloon-Canton
Railway Terminus. Now it's part of the Hong Kong Cultural
Centre (10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon) which is
home to concerts, operas, and sophisticated musicals. However
today, I merely enjoyed looking at its sleek and cylindrical
architectural style. From here I had a magnificent view of
the Hong Kong Island skyline and its reflection flickering
on the green coloured harbour water.
The Hong Kong Museum of Arts stood directly on the waterfront,
adjacent to egg-shaped Space Museum. The latter fascinated
me and I bought tickets (US$10) to see replicas of spacecrafts,
spacesuits and the planetarium. After a while, I left Tsim
Sha Tsui and continued back along Nathan Road with an eye
on the minarets of a modern Mosque visible in the near distance.
Kowloon Mosque and Islamic Centre is a spiritual abode to
over 50,000 Muslims.
East Meets West
Beyond the Mosque, I passed the entrance to Kowloon Park and
the Museum of History. Walking down to Canton Road, I ran
into many multi-level shopping Centers: Harbour City, Ocean
Centre and Ocean Terminal were linked to the port terminal
so that cruise ship passengers might disembark directly into
a shopping paradise. I intended looking only - no buying -
and dismissed big names like Louis Vuitton, Cartier and Gucci.
Then a Marks & Spencer sign caught my eyes. Just to check
new designs, I went in and ended up with two pairs of trousers
and a shirt for US$120.
I was now feeling hungry, but the way my travel budget was
dwindling, I might soon be forced to eat at McDonald's. Fortunately,
I discovered that the dim sum (dough filled with vegetables
or meat) was available everywhere I walked.
Hong Kong is a mix of old and new, East and West. Daimler
& Rolls Royce vie with old trams for right of the way.
Smartly-suited executives rub shoulders with elderly men walking
with their songbirds. Pushcarts survive under the shadow of
marbled malls and casinos where you hear the slapping of Mahjong
tiles along with the rattle of roulette wheels.
Ocean Park
The following day, I hopped on a Star Ferry and took a shuttle
bus from Central to Ocean Park (HK$150), which is a huge theme
park located in the Aberdeen district of Hong Kong Island.
This turned out to be a full day excursion taking in the attractions:
the Middle Kingdom highlights 5000 year of Chinese culture;
the Pacific Pier housing Californian sea lions; the Goldfish
Pagoda resembling Beijing Imperial Palace, a cable car providing
a breath-taking journey along the South China Sea. I had a
memorable ride on a roller coaster and gazed on an Atoll Reef
through four-paneled galleries.
I Love Hong Kong!
So much to see, so little time. I had fallen in love with
the land of little people, typhoons, dim sum and Mahjong.
I wish I could stay longer to ride the funicular Railway up
to famous Victoria Peak. I missed the Jade Market and the
Bird Market. I did not go walking in the New Territories,
or take a ferry to visit the islands of Lamma, Lantau or Cheung
Chau.
On the way to the airport, I looked back as the bus passed
over Tsing Ma Bridge. Imposing by day and twinkling by night,
it was a memorable image and a souvenir of my low-budget trip
to Hong Kong. I would now head for Brunei and you can read
this story by going to Part Two if you like.
Tale Two - Hong Kong/Brunei (No one
walks in this nation!)
Submitted: 16 May 2002
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