I arrive late in the evening of Sunday 5th February and take the shuttle bus to my hotel in Kowloon. After a limited amount of sleep I shuffle down to breakfast famished after not eating any of the inflight food, it really did look unappetising. I spend a good hour grazing over a buffet ranging from dim sum and seaweed , to eggs and bacon. Washed down with three cups of coffee, I'm starting to feel human once more ,though I'm not sure I look that way.
I stroll out on to the streets of Kowloon for the first time and your head is instantly drawn upwards to the emmense apartment blocks that abound and then back to ground level to take in the sight of men pushing barrows competing for space with new Mercedes and Masaratis.
Hong Kongs Victoria Harbour has loomed large in my travel mind for many years and even though it's a slightly foggy day, it does not disappoint. The rickety Star Ferrys slill ply the waters between the mainland and Hong Kong Island as they have done since 1888. With the iconic back drop of the multiple skyscrapers that line the shore of the island, there are few sights that are quite as enigmatic.
In any vibrant city , parks are an oasis of calm and Kowloon Park is an island of lush tropical vegetation, punctuated with the sound of bird song that drowns out the busy traffic, but not th banging of drums! In a hangover from last weeks Chinese New Year celebrations, there are some dancing dragons taking part in a theatrical dance through the park; it doesn't get more Chinese than this.
After an afternoon nap to try, unsuccessfully, to recalibrate the sleep pattern, I head to Temple Street market to buy some reading glasses, as I left mine on the plane and grab some food from the plethora of street side restaurants. I indulge my hunger with salt and chilli squid and some pokchoi, washed down with a local beer 🍻.
