The longest day!

Another early rise and after I checked out of the cosy hostel I took a wander into Victoria Park in search of posers!! But not the vain on a Saturday night variety more the flowing poses of the active doing their daily exercise: Tai Chi. Most of who I spotted as I meandered about the various neatly kept gardens were well over the age of 60 and one or two who were in their middle years. I stopped for a little while to discreetly watch a pair as I slowly munched on my 'western bread' pain au chocolat which was rather good after days of rice in different forms. One was very elegant wearing silk pyjamas and the other rather ordinary in a top and stretchy pants. The elegant was teaching the ordinary a martial art with a sword and they were both beautifully graceful, moving slowly with poise and intent. Every now and again they would point with two fingers and tuck the sword in under their arm, hold the pose for a short while then smoothly move to the next.

The others about the park were very different, one was shuffling along taking tiny, regular steps and then would change direction before continuing the action. Another - a many of about 80 was standing stock still with his arms held out before him, elbows bent, palms down and fingers stretched towards each other but not touching. One lady had a helper with her, possibly a nurse watching very nearby while she had got out of her wheel chair and started jigging about flailing her arms and shaking them vigorously!

Once I left the park I headed to the waterfront where a woman in a small boat shouted to me "where you wanna go?"
"Kowloon"
"100 HK dollars"
"haha, No thanks!"
I walked on looking at the expencive yachts and speed boats mored near the house boats and smaller vessels piled high will all sorts of things. I passed the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club whimsically thinking that I might pop in for a drink and a good look through their mooring registrations for 1937, although after looking at the massive sign saying members only and the well dressed entrants I thought better of it so I headed back to the Star ferry and across to Kowloon for the second time.

I knew where I was going this time and I hopped off the ferry on the way to the Gallery, it was cool and spacious and had two exhibitions I may have liked not to mention panoramic views of the Island. One exhibition was traditional Chinese painting and a contemporary exhibition involving futurist sculpture and other artists responses to it!

Starving hungry and it being my last afternoon in HK I decided to have some not cheap-as-chips grub and saw a restaurant across the promenade. I was show upstairs and to a table... it was a tick the box you wanted affair so I had a good old look at the pictures and tried to figure out what i could afford and what I may try and be brave enough to order. I ended up going for rice congee with chicken and preserved egg, I found out that a congee is a very thick soup that has been thickened with rice. Deep fried wontons with shrimp, steamed dim sum with barbeque beef and to top it all off crispy roast pigeon. After that and a large pot of tea I felt much more human and more ready to face the air port which was the the next thing I had to do.

I had caught the bus and I was early enough for the plane only to discover that the flight was delayed by 40 mins. so I cruised the duty free trying to kill time. I sat in the lounge with all the other passengers and made myself comfortable. The next thing I knew was the only one in the boarding lounge and I thought ' OH SH**T I'VE MISSED THE PLANE!' I had fallen asleep and I then got it together quickly and headed for the door, there was 10 mins due to go before it was meant to leave but I wasn't the last, there was one other woman, Mrs Smith, she was behind me! In the end I had an entire row of three seats to myself I was very comfortable and settled down for the in flight movies.

As we flew I kept checking the flight path and the night sky and I was lucky enough to catch a lightning storm going on beneath the plane, a startling sight (but unluckily enough to be on the loo while crossing the equator) I watched it, and as we flew the sky got lighter and lighter. I could see a coastline, dawn over Queensland, Australia. The next landmark I noticed was the top of NZ there is was, 90 mile beach!