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Thursday 8 February 1996
This was a case of getting to the airport and enjoying the flight to Hong Kong. Unfortunately it wasn't going to work out like that. When we should have been asleep going over India we were decidedly awake because of the turbulence. Still, the meals and TV were good......
Friday 9 February 1996
We arrived late and when we got to the hotel we grabbed some sleep between 11:00 and 14:00 before heading out for our inital scouting mission. We checked out some of the shops in the vicinity of the hotel and grabbed a meal in a food court. Chopsticks only, but we both knew how to use them so there was no problem with that.
Saturday 10 February 1996
There was a small MacDonalds next to the hotel and so this was a convenient breakfast stop before catching the Hong Kong Island Tour. The traffic was really busy, apparently because it was racing day. We went across the harbour via the tunnel and up Victoria Peak on the tram. This was our first opportunity to take a photograph with the CUFC banner. We then moved on to Stanley Market where we spotted someone following us - presumably checking out whether it was worth picking our pockets. Finally we had a ride around Aberdeen harbour in a San Pan before going back to the hotel.
We had lunch in the same food court and then wandered aroundfor the afternoon.We had our evening meal in a French restaurant with an email contact of mine and then he took us to a Jazz club, Ned Kelly's. I hate Jazz! When we got back to the hotel we listened to the English soccer live on the BBC World Service.
Sunday 11 February 1996
Breakfast at MacDonalds again. Although I don't like to eat non-domestic food on holiday, you couldn't argue with the pice.
09:00 - 11:00 we did the Harbour tour and saw barges, the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank building and the airport. Did we really land on that runway?! We wandered along the harbourside promenade and then had lunch at that food court again before catching the MTR to Hong Kong island and riding the tram out to the east of the island and wandering. We caught the tram back to Central and went to look at the HKSB building only to fing the area taken over by Philipino housemaids! Heading back to Kowloon we got some pork squares for sandwiches in the hotel and then walked to the Temple Street night market.
Monday 12 February 1996
Yep, Mac breakfast again and then the New Territories tour with lunch at a seafood restaurant with a bunch of Americans, Canadians and Australians. After being dropped off we bought some paintings and I bought a HK rugby shirt because it matched the CUFC away colours. In the evening we went on the Lamma Island cruise with an incredible seafood meal before ending up with "night time from Victoria Peak". We had a newly wed couple with us at our table and every but this husband was trying everything. he would hardly touch a thing!
Tuesday 13 February 1996
We took the CUFC banner down to the harbour early for a "photo opportunity" before, you guessed it, a MacBreakfast! We did some last minute shopping before freshening up at the hotel, checking out and awaiting our ride to the airport. This is when we met Terry and Sandra in the lobby who were going to be on the Bangkok leg with us. We had one hiccup at the airport when the luggage had to be opened because we had forgotten to remove the batteries from some items.
The strangest thing on the flight was some of the SE Asians watching us eat with a knife and fork so that they knew what to do!
Tuesday 13 February 1996
After clearing through Customs we left the airport building to be hit by the heat, humidity and smell! We struggled through traffic to the hotel, checked in and freshened up and then explored the local shops. They didn't have any shorts to fit me! We had a meal in a local cafe and then went to bed.
Wednesday 14 February 1996
A nice early start at 06:30 for the day long tour and so we had breakfast in the hotel. We did the Salt Fields, coconut farm (where was Kid Creole?), floating market, Craft Centre (we bought some big fans) and finally the Rose Garden for a meal and show. We were back at the hotel for 19:30 where we had the complimentary buffet meal in one of the restaurants. Since we still hadn't found any shorts big enough for me I took a pair of scissors to my oldest tracksuit bottoms and hey presto - instant shorts :-)
Thursday 15 February 1996
We skipped breakfast today and went on the City and Temples tour. In one of the temples I went up to one of the higher floors but had to crawl on my side because the stairwell was so narrow. We got back to the hotel at about 14:00 and walked to the nearby department store. Back at the hotel we had Thai meal in another of the restaurants, but the spicy soup disagreed with both Bob and I and we consequently spent the night in the hotel room playing cards and going to the toilet :-(
Friday 16 February 1996
We had a continental breakfast and then wandered to the Department Store for some shorts for Bob and a wee bit of souvenir shooping. We had a Dim Sum lunch in the Great Wall resataurant in the hotel before going on the Thunburi Klongs tour. We had fruit cocktails (which were ever so slightly alcoholic ;-) on the rice barge and Bob, some bloke and I ended up doing the "Ride of the Valkyries" at the front of the rice barge as it made it's way through the klongs !-) Sandra (of Terry and Sandra) was also a wee bit tipsy :-)
Back at the hotel we freshened up, had the Rio meal and then headed out to Patpong market, which was a bit of a disappointment - the bargains weren't that great. When we got back we had drinks in the bar with Terry, Sandra and the Irish couple who kept calling me Weave (as in Bob and Weave :-).
Saturday 17 February 1996
We had a big breakfast buffet this morning in the hotel and then did our packing and security sealed the bags to stop anyone slipping anything in them. We then checked out, said goodbye to Terry and Sandra and sat playing cards until it was time to go to the airport. There were no problems with customs and it was a good flight to Singapore.
Saturday 17 February 1996
On arrival it was straight through customs and out to the courtesy bus - the heat hit us as we left the airport building! The woman who was travelling with us in the bus (Mrs Kirk) apparently knew someone called McPherson who had served in the Chindits in WW II, as did our father. Maybe they knew each other. Anyway, we checked in and went for a wander down China Town - it was absolutely heaving!! It took us 2 hours to walk about 1 mile! After something to eat we freshened up and crashed out for the night.
Sunday 18 February 1996
New Year's Eve - well the Chinese one anyway. Breakfast at MacDonalds was followed by the "Footsteps of Raffles" tour and then we had a walk down to the Harbour Park in the evening for the fireworks display. Unfortunately there were no easy vantage points because there was a fair on the main frontage area. After a quick look around we headed back to the hotel, set up the camcorder in the hotel window and watched the display from there and had a game of cards afterwards.
Monday 19 February 1996
We decided to have a meandering walk this morning and so set off towards Orchard Road and had breakfast at the YMCA MacDonalds on the way. There wasn't much of interest in the shops for us and after a day windows shopping we caught the MRT back to the hotel and spent the night filming the chinatown lights.
Tuesday 20 February 1996
After reading about Sengosa Island we decided to spend today there, travelling over to it via the cable car. We looked in at the museum and the maritime heritage museum before having a good wander around the rest of the island. When we got back to the hotel we spent the afternoon writing postcards sitting by the pool on the roof. In the evening we went on the harbour dinner cruise (which was excellent) and met some people who were flying back with us.
Wednesday 21 February 1996
After breakfast at MacDonalds (notice a recurring theme here) we went back to Orchard Road to have a look around inside the shops this time. Nothing caught our imagination and the prices were a bit high anyway. We spent the rest of the day in "relax" mode by the pool.
Thursday 22 February 1996
My birthday. 29 years old. Great.
Another day of quiet wandering with (surprise, surprise) a chinese birthday meal at the heritage harbour area next to the hotel. This was one of the pleasent surprises of the holiday because although it looked naff from a distance, it was actually not too bad.
Friday 23 February 1996
Ah, the end of the holiday. We packed and security tagged the bags in the morning before settling down in the hotel reception area to play cards until we were collected and taken to the area. However, we were informed by the hotel staff that we couldn't play with western playing cards, so we went and sat by the pool instead. And played cards there.
At the airport I got my biggest laugh of the holidays when the Customs officer noticed my passport after seeing brother Bob's and said "Oh, Happy Birthday for yesterday - did your father buy you anying nice?" as he gestured towards brother Bob. Oops. He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up when I said that it was my brother, not my father!
The flight back was smooth, the meals were good and the films were enjoyable, although I can't remember what they were!
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