I slipped and fell on adventure

It wasnt my last day, but I’ve decided to leave it last to write… because it was certainly my favourite place. My last day or two in Hong Kong involved me traipsing from place to place, trying to find the visa centre (signs nor direction were forthcoming), upon getting to the visa centre having to go through security, my backpack being taken and water bottle… then being told my profile photos weren’t appropriate because I had earings in (not a problem expressed in ANY documentation… so how was one to know), so within the centre I had these retaken – for a fee -  then started the waiting process once more and paying and waiting some more and feeling nothing but  anxious and stressed, thinking up every possibility from being put in some kind of immigrant jail to being sent back to Australia on a colonial ship (all logical ofcourse).  Upon leaving… I was unable to go back through security to get my belongings, but needed to exit from one door, walk all th...

The following day, upon checking my itinerary, it appeared time to check out Aberdeen, apparently there was a floating restaurant which was one of the ‘must sees’. Rather than taking the tube, I hoped taking one of the mini vans would enable me to see a bit more of Hong Kong Island. These mini vans wait until their full (a capacity of about 12) and then head off, there is no set time, but its cheap and cheerful… and I got on the wrong one. After about 20 minutes in the mini van, passing what looked like a wharf and then making our way up a mountain… I realised I was heading in the wrong direction – I doubted the floating restaurant would be in the jungle. I jumped off, fortunately there were some very friendly police who found it rather entertaining  where I was and where I wanted to go. During the charades conversation I was told it was a VERY long walk to where I wanted to go, but there didn’t seem to be any taxi’s in the vicinity, so I hoiked my backpack higher and ...

One of the must sees while in Hong Kong is apparently the cable car up Lantau Island… shock, stun, amazement, it was out of action during my visit, however there was an economical day trip which included a visit to the Giant Buddha and Ancient Fishing Town, so I decided to tube it to Lantau Island and see what all of the fuss was about. I was pleased to find myself on a bus with an English speaking tour guide! As well as passengers from a range of different countries, although I did feel my uniqueness of being a Westerner slipping away – HK is a lot more multi cultural than my home town. There was a couple from England who I had a bit of a chat with, some from Germany, some who given the violent nature of their language I imagined hailed from Russia or somewhere close by, the rest seemed to have some kind of Asian background. On the way to our first stop we passed what appeared to be a nice island resort, but we were soon informed was actually a high security prison… If I do s...