Lamma ramma ding dong

Day 26: Wanted to do something today that was a new HK experience for me so decided to get the ferry to Lamma Island and eat me some seafood, I went with Andy my boss. Its a 30 minute ferry ride and the weather was a balmy 18 degrees and smoggy as usual, very much like getting the ferry over to Manly!

Apparently Lamma is the place to be for all seafood lovers who come to Honkers, we went to Sok Kwu Wan and ate at the Rainbow Seafood Restaurant. I had prawns in a butter sauce (pictured below at the back of the pic) and salt and pepper squilla (at the front), it tastes like a mix of lobster and prawn, so yummy. The first time I have ordered a dish that has come with a pair of scissors!

Andy ordered the pretty spectacular looking sweet and sour fish (below) and salt and pepper squid.

Sok Kwu Wan itself is a cross between a shanty town and Lanzarote, all in a Hong Kong style - bamboo and plastic sheeting holding it all together.

This a collection of floating pontoons that make up a fishing village.

Once you walk out of the restaurant area its quite pretty and basic and has the ubiquitous temple and rather surprisingly a pond full of (stacked!) terrapins just hanging out, its not very densely populated area, so I refreshing change from HK Island. Most of it has a shabby, rundown HK charm to it. Andy said it reminded him a lot of Vietnam.

Sleepy old lady (not dead, I promise) who lives next door to the temple.

This house was built in 1956.

Little shrine between to restaurants.

Day 25: I rode to Chai Wan, the end of the tram line on Hong Kong Island, and then spent the afternoon wandering around Hollywood Road and the nearby markets with my new digital SLR camera stalking the streets for interesting people pics, sights, sounds and smells. If you ever visit HK, a ride on the tram should be on your list, its HK$2 and you get a different perspective being that high up above the gazillion pedestrians and the traffic.

Chai Wan, not a lot there... so I got off this tram and straight onto another one heading back towards Central.

Tiny, tightly packed lighting shop on Wellington Street.

Jane and Chinese New Year: The lovely Jane Menon arrived for her first ever visit to HK from Beijing (eventually, as she actually went to the Harbour Plaza first and knocked on room 2623's door and there was no answer... I'm actually staying at the Harbour Grand, so a different hotel!)  on February 10th for 6 days of CNY, shopping, eating, drinking and touristing! Oh what fun we had! 

Here is a synopsis of what we did:

• Visited the Peak on only the second clear/sunny day in weeks

 

• Had a champagne harbour cruise on a junk around Victoria Harbour

 

• Rode the cable cars from Ngong Ping up to see the Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. It was 5/6 degrees brass monkey's cold! I had to buy a t-shirt at the gift shop and Jane bought a second scarf....

 

• Had a wander around the visual feast that is Hollywood Road antique and Curios shops

• Stanley Market - where Jane rivals only my father in her brutal bargain tactics! She was on fire!

• Goldfish markets in Mong Kok

• Saw the amazing Chinese New Year fireworks from the prime spot of my hotel room, conveniently placed on the 26th floor and facing the harbour

• Cocktails

• Ate lots

• More cocktails

Next: Went to see an Australian trained Hong Kong Chinese Naturopath yesterday... And I'm going to have Dim Sum at the cheapest one starred Michelin Restaurant Tim Ho Wan, pics to follow...

Cherry blossoms, Chinese New Year and tigers that definitely not endangered in HK

Chinese New Year is on Sunday February 14th this year and the celebrations last for 3 days. Every day another lucky decoration is hung up and real live cherry blossom trees spring up everywhere overnight! It is a MASSIVELY big deal over here and most malls/hotels/office blocks are festooned with lucky money trees (usually cherry blossoms), some kind of tiger motif, fire crackers and lucky coins...

This is the rather modest (ahem) foyer of my hotel, I took this pic this morning, all the pink flowers you see are cherry blossoms and appeared overnight. When I got back to the hotel tonight - a huge cherry blossom tree had been 'planted' in the middle. Its all very pretty and me and my cherry blossom tattoo feel very lucky indeed.

The room numbers on my floor prettified.

My hotel is only 7 months old and is very strongly Art Noveau themed, but in brass, and I do mean that everything is made from brass, the lifts, the ceilings, brass coloured mirrors, its a maid's nightmare, every surface is either reflective or made from brass - they must order Brasso by the 100 gallon flagon!

Arty shot (and why not) of me taken in the mirror above the lifts - not sure why you need a mirror up there, but hey, this is Hong Kong.

Foyer at my offices in North Point.

One of many Year of the Tiger displays you see in and outside of the shopping malls. This one was in a particularly expensive mall near Central. It was huge and made ENTIRELY out of fresh flowers - quite beautiful and very impressive - the time! the money it must have cost!

This one is outside a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon - it's the 'Mardi Gras' version of the one above. 

My friend Billy was over in Hong Kong for a few days with work, we spent Sunday shopping and  getting very wet in the constant rain in Kowloon and eating Dim Sum.

Damp Billy and cherry blossom trees as far as the eye could see at a ridiculously huge mall in Kowloon.

The cocktails we had a 4pm definitely helped us dry out, we went to a fab bar called The Pawn in Wan Chai. Lena the lady I met in Stanley during my pilates/yoga face off stint recommended it to me. It used to be an actual pawn shop that was converted into a bar/restaurant and they kept all of the original interiors.

Next: Jane is flying in from Beijing to spend CNY with me, I am soooooo excited and we plan to be very, very busy eating, drinking and touristy over the next week or so. Highlights include the CNY fireworks, big Buddha on Lantau Island, CNY races in Happy Valley....

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Misc: These are lucky little ornaments made from GOLD, solid gold, you'd have to be lucky to be able to afford them! But they are very cute. Btw, does anyone know the symbolism behind the er, pineapple on the left hand side? Answers on a postcard please.

Helium balloons used to advertise the new 'lighter' Samsonite suitcase range, genius!

Travelling yogi's words of wisdom and not eating beef on a Wednesday...

Day five: My massage was AMAZING and I felt like a new person by the end of it. A tiny Thai lady called Susan gave me a right going over and cracked my back, shoulders and my toes - as well as kneeling on my legs and back to make this happen! Hands down the most thorough and  worth every penny massage I've ever had.

Days 6 - 11: I spent the morning wandering around the IFC mall near Central and found some kooky and pretty much Asian-only items in one of the department stores there.

Left: tiny bottles for kiddies salads. Right: Tiny forks for tiny hands to eat veggies with.

I love these!

And sticking to the veggie theme...

Who knew that You could small vegetable shaped casserole pots from Le Creuset?

These are cases to protect the top of your toothbrush (they're aimed at kids, but I SO want one!)

These beauties are actually evening clutch bags.

Chinese New Year is fast approaching and this year is the year of the Tiger and everywhere is covered with stuff for it.

These were at least 8 feet tall - with a cherry blossom as a money tree next to it. 

Then in the afternoon off to Kowloon,  I walked along the 'walk of stars' along the water front and spotted my hotel opposite.

Lifesize bronze statue of Bruce Lee, one of HK's most famous (and favoured sons), I had to jostle with 10 Russian tourists as well as the locals to get this shot! There is a store dedicated just to him nearby and I think there is some kind of Elvis theory regarding his death (see pic below)

I decided to do a open top bus tour of Kowloon to help reacquaint myself. You pretty much take your life in your hands when you get in a taxi/bus etc in HK they are pretty crappy drivers...

I love the old and new in Honkers and its everywhere you look.

Egg-like Science Museum.

I had two different religious experiences, sort of... A buddhist monk surprised me in the MTR when I was reading my map and I gave him $100 and asked for world peace (no really, I did). He gave me a gold Buddha card....

On my way back to the MTR I got accosted by a guy who told me I had a 'lucky face', maybe I should have kept on walking... He told me that he was a travelling yogi and proceeded to tell me my future for 2010. March apparently, will be a good month for work and love - my, I'll be busy fighting them off! I had a fleeting thought of 'how much will this cost me', he then scribbled some notes on a bit of paper and got me to hold it in my fist. He then asked me to pick a number between 1 and 5 (3) , think of a flower (lotus), colour (blue) what I wanted in 2010 (a man please) and my age (36). I then had to touch my fist to my forehead and blow on the paper and read it - now by this point it was a bit blurred in my recollection as he'd been talking at me for 10 minutes verrrrry fast, so not entirely clear on the order of this bit - as all the things written on the paper in my hand were freakily correct apart from my age which he had down as 35. At some point he also told me to avoid beef on Wednesday (I did) and then to pay him HK$300 (I didn't I gave him HK$100 which annoyed him, ha ha). I was totally played!

I have also managed to squeeze in some actual work this week (the reason why I am in HK, after all). So, I am back in the world of data and 3D pie charts and a lot of French people (our client is Suez Environnement)

Day 8: Heritage Museum in Sha Tin. This was a nice little trip on the MTR and then a train to the New Territories, and a chance to get away from the smog! 

There was a beautiful chinese calligraphy painting show, this pic is a back lit panel with closeups of some of the paintings.

I went to see a design exhibition called 'Antoine + Manuel Design Village' which was a bit nutso.

200 meter long Chinese dragon on the steps when you enter the museum.

The best part was the Cantonese Opera exhibition, there was a booth where you could get your very own operatic 'virtual' make up done, and these are probably two of my favourite self portraits I've done in a while, and yes, I was the only white person sniggering away there...

I look fierce!

The detailing on the costumes and accessories was amazing.

I have also managed to squeeze in two of my beloved Pilates classes this week,which was an achievement in itself as they were a bit of a hike to get to, the one I did today was worth it and I will be going back there next week for sure. The terminology is all different and the classes are much faster with little prep, but I have missed them terribly so will just have to get used to it! I'm also going to try and get a few swims in this week - unfortunately the pool is right next door to the restaurant where they serve dinner and breakfast and this is putting me off...

Next: Out for drinks tonight with Lena, the lady I met during my pilates/yoga face off with Tony in Stanley last week. Tomorrow, catching up with Billy for Dim Sum, who is here with work for a few days from Sydney.

Misc: Amusing public signs...

In a ladies loo.

And my personal favourite, a sign outside of Tony's apartment block.