Ha Long, Hong Kong and Manila

[NSun]

I honestly intended to do some shopping. The problem is Mastercard was accepted virtually nowhere. It was all Alipay or WeChat pay. There was no wifi to set up anything, I couldn't see any ATMs (and heard there've been problems with them depositing counterfeit cash) and although I saw forex outlets I didn't really want to withdraw money with only a vague idea of how much I needed only to convert it back. This did mean I didn't have lunch until I got back to Hong Kong.

My closest attempt to get food - going to McDonalds - going on the app but the card not being accepted even though it said Mastercard was accepted.



Next time I go to Mainland China I will know how to prepare. To anyone who says 'one country, two systems is dead' clearly didn't have my experience because my Mastercard was accepted everywhere in Hong Kong. Plus the only people who spoke English (that I knew of) were the touts. Now I am not complaining on their part as it is my fault for not being prepared. I do hope people don't make the same mistakes I made, and overall I found it interesting to cross the border.

Anyhow...I walked through the shopping mall and would've loved to have done some shopping there. There were a few touts approaching me and either offered me a T-shirt or a watch. For T-shirts, why offer me something I already have? For watches, don't we all use our phone and - excuse me if I am confusing different cultures in that part of the world - isn't a watch something unlucky to offer as it represents the time left until death?



The view from the loo...





This is what KFC looks like in China. I attempted to connect to the wifi to try and set up but it didn't work.





Onward I went...around a few blocks.








Not pictured here, but I saw a Shinkansen-like train going by. Must have been a high-speed train to Shanghai or Beijing.

 

[NSun]

Shenzen continued.









Live eels in there.

 

[NSun]

And more...



Traffic is on the wrong side of the road unlike in Hong Kong.





There were so many delivery bikes it was insane. There were even dedicated crossings for them.












After 3 hours all up, back to Hong Kong. The exit out of China took no time even with a passport inspection and stamp. Then used the e-channel for a fast entry. I rushed to a 7/11 to buy some beef/pork buns as I was starving by that point. Then a train back to Admiralty.

 

[NSun]

By the time I got back to Admiralty, it was about 3pm. I'd like to show you a hotel I was not staying at but always visit when I am in Hong Kong. On my first trip as a 6-year old in 2001, we stayed at the Island Shangri-la and I remembered it because it had (and still has) the world's largest indoor mural at 16-stories high (167 feet or about 50 metres).

It is called “The Great Motherland of China” and consists of 240 panels (10 panels across and 24 panels tall). It took six months to create and depicts China’s landscape of rolling mountains, steep cliffs, roaring waterfalls and winding rivers as well as the famous Great Wall of China.

See, it's so big you cannot get it all in one photo. You have to go to Storey 39, get in another lift and go to the top. I have to stay at this hotel again someday.



I imagine these get changed each dat at midnight.










Walked around the shopping mall underneath too.



For dinner, I would go to 'Seoul noodles'. Dinner was tasty but difficult to eat with just spaghetti and the meat (I think it was pork) having a lot of bones. I needed that coke to wash it all done and cool my mouth. All up, it was about A$20.

 

[NSun]

The next morning, I went on a run first thing in the opposite direction, to Causeway Bay and North Point. In retrospect, I should've gone to the peak that morning instead.

 

[NSun]

I spent most of the day walking around Kowloon - Mon Kok and Jordon.







On a previous trip to Hong Kong, I got one of these paintings (the one with the full moon over Hong Kong Island), got it framed and it sits in my living room.

 

[NSun]

By the time I made it to the edge of Kowloon, it was about 1.30pm and took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island. It was a picture perfect day for it.













A view of the IFC.

 

[markis10]

You can use foreign cards in MCDonalds in China, but you need a working phone with internet. Your photo shows the QR code to scan, then follow the prompts on your phone. ATMs can be found on the first floor of most shopping malls.

 

[NSun]

That night, it was time to fly home. As always, I visited the Cathay lounges, but I first had a look at the Skydeck. The centrepiece is a 'bridge' that aircraft go under and you can see them under your feet, but it is also an above-ground passage to a separate concourse. You'll find two separate vantage points to the northern runway, one of which is an open-air area.







This is one vantage point. It is enclosed, but there are binoculars to look through.















This can be seen at the other end, on the way to the other councourse.

 

[NSun]

The other concourse.



At the other end of that concourse, you'll find the 'open air' observation area I was talking about.









Our inbound aircraft coming in. It was such a long taxi, I saw it land from the Skybridge and was nearly at the Pier when I saw it again. This aircraft (VH-QPE) was actually inbound from Melbourne but substituted into the Sydney route while the inbound flight from Sydney (which was delayed by half an hour) did the flight back to Melbourne.



Prior to the Skybridge/Skydeck, I had visited the Wing. I am pleased to report nothing has changed.

 

[NSun]

Dinner at the Pier.





I had a gnocchi and burger as entree/main with a Cathay delight on the side.



Two desserts - a raspberry/chocolate tart and bread & butter pudding. With a Negroni on the side.



I just can't get over how well designed this place is. This lounge might as wells be a living room at a luxury mansion.

 

[NSun]

So here is a close-up view of our aircraft. We boarded from Gate 23. Curiously, no secondary liquid check as I've had every out of Hong Kong every visit pre-COVID. Not sure if it was a one-off or if Hong Kong are now 'exempt'.



I selected 6A and was the first to board but there was someone waiting at the aerobridge and asked for my boarding pass. The instant they saw I saw in 6A I was given a new boarding pass for 7F being told 6A was 'inoperable'. Oh well, at least I was still in J. Went to bed after takeoff and slept for 7 hours straight, only waking up in time for breakfast.



We got a remote gate on landing in Sydney. It was an overcast and windy day, but at least it was a quick drive back to the terminal with some great aircraft views.





Well that's it for another report. Thanks to all who read. Next big trip is to the East Coast of US for my 30th in late June/early July, a trip that will include NYC, Kentucky and Texas at least. I want to go to Japan at some point in the new frequent flyer year (after May 1) to meet a friend of mine who now lives over there, but when exactly will probably come down to when I can get reward seats. I may even go via Hong Kong for visit number 8!