Wandering in Hong Kong

I spent Sunday wandering around Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, in no particular direction and often crossing my own path twice. Probably due to the fact that I had just flown in and had no map. Or camera as I sensibly left it safely locked up in the hotel safe. Which is another way of saying that Alzheimer light struck and I forgot it. So no pictures today. But there are plentiful pictures of Hong Kong on the www, so go google.

I stayed at a hotel close to the airport with the airport express train a two-minute walk away. Convenient. Especially if you are doing the return journey to the city centre the same day, as a one way ticket is also valid for a same day return.  And it takes just 20 minutes.

I started on Hong Kong Island and wandered the streets and rode the escalators. The island is quite steep so there are covered outdoor escalators and moving walkways to make getting around easier. And they really are a help when it is 33 degrees and baking sun in the middle of a metropolis with people and traffic and more people and more traffic. After a couple of hours I took the famous Star Ferry over to Kowloon. There are quicker ways of getting across the sound, but the Star Ferry is a bit of history and you get great views of both sides thrown in for very little money.

By the time I got over to Kowloon, I was starting to get a bit tired. Especially as I was on the lookout for the scam artists from India who comment to passing  naive tourists "you have a lucky face". All to flatter you and make you stop, and before you know it you have donated a sum of money and your right kidney to a needy children"s home (a euphemism for that guy's bank account). And that sort of stuff narks me and can ruin my day. I don't know if they are still here pulling the same scam, but 10 years ago when I was last in HK, they were definitely around.

Kowloon proved too much for the man. I caught the train back to the hotel and went swimming instead. The outdoor pool was warm enough even for me to swim in, even though I quickly discovered that my spring chicken form has declined with the years and I was tired after swimming just 8 laps. Might have to do with the overnight flight and 7 hours of playing tourist in 33 degree heat though. I think I prefer that explanation.

Today's weirdness: I know many people in Asia cover themselves to keep the sun off as getting tanned is not popular. But why would you sit on a sunbed by the poolside in a full-body swimsuit, and then make a tent out of two towels and lay under that. In 33 degree heat. Having put the parasol down which kept the sun off. It's a bit like having a boa constrictor for a pet. It makes no sense to me.

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