Hong Kong Central

There's something very special about approaching somewhere like Hong Kong on the ferry: one sees the extraordinary conglomeration of sky-scrapers to best effect.

First stop was the International Financial Centre tower with its amazingly smart shopping mall and chilly, but welcome air conditioning. Then it was off and wandering up and down the side streets, looking at the shops. I only visited the area right above the ferry docks - all around Queens Road Central, but it gave me a pretty good feel of the hubub that is HK.

All cities have a mix of wealth and lack of it and this is just as apparent in HK as anywhere else, only it's more contrasted: On the one hand there's all these sleek, smart, expensive sky-scrapers with VERY expensive, chic shops below them and then, in the narrow alleys and streets that separate the building there's the higgledey piggledey mish mash of street stalls and more ordinary shops. And everywhere there are food outlets. "Live to eat rather eat to live" emblazon the advertising hoardings and certainly the Hong Kongers take it to heart. It doesn't seem to matter how smart the shop, but at lunchtime they are all sitting behind their counters slurping away at their noodles!

The tram ride up to The Peak was certainly an experience: going up at 45 degrees for some of it! Going back down - facing UP the hill, was even odder. The view from the top was of course spectacular (the photo above) even tho it was a bit cloudy.