There was virtually no rubbish, no broken glass, no ‘loud offensive behaviour’, very little advertising…At around 3pm we’d had enough, made our way back to Tung Chung, popped inside the mall to use a bathroom (flushing was out of action at our hotel), we’re very conscious of the expensive ‘labels’ scene on the higher levels, got the S1 back to hotel. Feeling desperate for a beer, we walked thru the tunnel to the airport in search of a reasonably priced bar establishment…they apparently don’t exist in the airport! Got three 500 ml Heinekens, a packet of chips & a Peking Duck wrap in a convenience store to consume in our room- at a reasonable price: the whole bill was less than the cost of one small hotel beer (and the beer cheaper than in Australia). Airport bars seemingly don’t exist & there are virtually no cafes!

A slow afternoon waiting for the right time to walk the 5 minutes to the airport.

First hurdle was checking in. The self-serve kiosk couldn’t process D and directed us to the assisted check in counter. Bonnie took some time trying to get us both processed, eventually giving up and calling or her supervisor. Seems the system wouldn’t accept that our tickets didn’t match our passports – both tickets missing our middle names. That had’t been an issue leaving Sydney so watch this space leaving Barcelona in 3 months! First security check – via a ‘token’ was OK, but the second check using facial recognition required a manual check for D. Then a trek down several escalators to board a fast train, to then go up several escalators to arrive at our departure gate….to find out that departure was delayed, but that the Australian pilot Chad would try to make up time.

Next post – Spain.

10 March. Day 3.

A quiet day in Hong Kong planned with a short shuttle ride down to Tung Chung the ‘outlet center’ where we’d been told there were shops & cafes. But the timings were inconvenient and the concierge advised that the S1 bus would take us there for eight Hong Kong dollars so we decided to do that – D had some small change left over from a Defence trip about 15 years ago (of course). 

Soon enough we were on the bus, transiting via the airport terminals Cathay headquarters, the aviation fuel tank farm and a couple of other places, we arrived at Tung Chung  station, akin to bussing to Woden Interchange but on a very much larger scale.  Having avoided the horrendous costs of breakfast in the hotel, the next step was to look for a coffee and some breakfast, but that was not so easy and in the end we bought a beef bun, two bananas, two yogurts, and an apple in a supermarket which sold a vast range of packaged/prepared food (hot & cold). Yogurts weren’t really useful, at that stage, because we did not have a spoon. We ate our bun outside and got a coffee from one of the bakery cafes: David had a umami scroll, which tasted fishy (seaweed) and Trish had an apple and raisin scone. This is not a cafe culture but patrons & staff were young, well-heeled in Western style & appeared to be enjoying a ‘western processed food scene’. 

From there we decided to walk toward the water and follow a suggested historical trail, but  without any indication of distances – it was a ‘discovery thing’. 

We climbed stairs & followed paths through gardens, across footbridges and past housing estates (multiple tower blocks). We found ourselves in the old fishing part of Lantau, passing through a ‘suburb’ or area called Chung Hau, complete with alleyways/workers’ cafes, small businesses and very old waterfront housing (the stuff of a culture disappeared) in the old fishing zone (now it seems to be the construction workers’ lunch spot & maybe the eating zone for the older style housing blocks). 

The  day was surprisingly very warm so we paused in shade within an estate & used foraged  spoons to eat yogurt. Here we saw kids (middle eastern, perhaps Pakistani, definitely not Chinese)  playing cricket outside the apartment tower. This seemed a world apart from the Tung Chung scene. 

Suspect action – perhaps Sri Lankan?

Then we followed the trail toward the estate that claimed to be a public art space…it was an estate which had installed a variety of installations. The estate struck us as a ‘suburb’…an area of many skyscraper apartment blocks.

 The estates have schools & small shopping outlets, central playgrounds,  sitting areas and covered walkways. The demographic was far less well heeled than at Tung Chung & there were no Westerners. We found about 6 art installations all referring to the link between  past rural/ natural  settings & the current urban neighborhoods. Here there were all ages, kids in school uniforms, some women in middle-Eastern garb, ‘ordinary folk’ without the glamour of the Tung Chung set. The apartment block estates had washing lines outside the windows, old aircon units & there were rusty old bicycles abandoned and chained up, filling up the designated bike racks, signage for dog owners, ….but all was otherwise so clean & orderly.

8 March. Day 1.

IWD and Sal’s birthday, so we started with a breakfast at Space Kitchen in Phillip. Well, it actually started at 0930, after some time doing final clean ups. Jo dropped us off at Jolimont to catch our Murrays bus to Sydney, after navigating the street closures and detours caused by the light rail extension. Bus dropped us off at International Departures, where we caught the shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express. A short walk, finding a small green belt near the hotel, then a beer, a glass of wine with lasagne and pizza and off to bed.

Room was small – adequate but very quiet.

9 March. Day 2.

Needless to say, a night of light sleep until the first alarm (of 7) went off at 0445. Shuttle to airport, checked in to then discover our main bags wold not go straight through because of the 30 hour stopover. But check in and immigration checks otherwise quick and easy. Then just a wait to board.

Exit from the plane and airport was quick and easy (apart from a slightly anxious wait for T’s case) with a sort  5 minute walk to the hotel for another quick and easy check in. After a wander around the complex, a swim and sauna. Dinner was an underwhelming selection (sort of an Asian tapas) and including a couple of beers – a steal at $HK184 – about $AS 37. We decided then that we wouldn’t eat or imbibe at the hotel again.