Hong Kong

Our first stop on this trip is for 5 nights in Hong Kong. We are here to sightsee but also to spend time with my nephew, Matt and his girlfriend, Leah. Matt had just qualified as a fighter pilot when the RAF made redundancies a few years ago. Matt and about 80 of his cohort were swiftly recruited by Cathay Pacific and has made his home here.

We had a good flight over with Cathay and when we landed we discovered that one of Matts friends (Charlie) had been one of the pilots.

We are staying at the YHA hostel in Kowloon. A large apartment block has been refurbished and it is all very modern and clean. We have our own big double room and private bathroom.

Yesterday afternoon we walked through all the markets; flower, goldfish, birds, ladies and temple st night markets. I took lots of photos but not of the pet shops which had dogs and cats in glass enclosures- horrible.  The main thoroughfare which runs through Kowloon was blocked by barricades at each intersection and there were a few protesters camping out. I took a photo of Martin behind a barrier showing his solidarity but the internet is very slow and I'm having trouble uploading my pictures.

Today we had a late start as we had trouble sleeping last night. That meant we hit some queues at the tram to go up the Peak. Up at the top the views were worth the wait. We then walked around central Hong Kong and had a late lunch at a street carnival. We got chatting to an American who also turned out to be a Cathay pilot!

We then came across the main area for the protesters who have barricaded a 6 lane major highway.  The atmosphere was extremely calm and the police were maintaining a very low profile.  Maybe because its the weekend there were many people sitting down/camping. We walked down the road which was stewn with placards, posters, tents, barricades decorated with umbrellas, makeshift shower tents, there was even a central supplies tent in case anyone wanted to stay the night and hadn't come prepared. There was a large group making origami umbrellas which are being hung on string from bridges.

We caught the iconic Star ferry back to the Kowloon waterfront and watched the sun set and the buildings light up.

Tonights dinner was from street stalls but we didn't go for the chicken feet.

I'll keep trying to upload the pictures.