Hong Kong and Eastern Europe: The Good, the Bad and (thankfully) no Ugly!

I hope you've enjoyed following our 31 day trip through Hong Kong and parts of Eastern Europe as much as I have posting and reliving the moments. I wanted to post a summary page for those of you who may be interested in what we thought were the highlights of our trip and those which were just ok.

Rebecca
Favourite photo:

This one's a hard one and I know I'll change my mind once I post, but I'll have to go with us on the Danube River outside the Budapest Parliament, we didn't get one of us together so I did have to choose 2!

Highlights:

• Budapest rocked, I was so glad we went and spent some time there as it was the place where we got the most mixed reviews before hand, in particular the walking tour was a great way to see the city.
• Sarajevo, I had no idea what to expect from this beautiful city where east meets west, I hope it's wounds heal sooner rather than later.
• Plitvice Lakes, we were not disappointed by choosing the tour that had this location in their itinerary, just a gorgeous spot.

Would miss next time:

• Belgrade was just meh for me, it was a old, tired city and didn't really add much to the overall trip.
• Terror Museum Budapest, the museums and books based during or around that era of Hungary's past taught me more than the museum did.

Recommendation:

• Don't waste time sitting around the airport in between flights, if you can get out and about, you never know what you might see.
• If you're short on time join a tour, Intrepid Travel and GAP Adventures are great for small groups where you do not have to spend every waking minute with a group.

DH
Favourite photo:

Us at Mostar

Highlights:

• Dubrovnik, the old town with it's cobbled streets and the depth of the walls astounded me.
• Plitvice Lakes, the walk through the picture perfect scenery.

Would miss next time:

• Nothing, I loved everything!

Recommendation:

• Never travel without insurance, we haven't had to use it but I don't want to be without it if the time comes.

Hong Kong and Eastern Europe Day 31

October 2009

Day 31

So while waiting from our flight from Hong Kong to home, we decided to take advantage of having no luggage (already checked through) and the MTR system that we had used so much on our trip over to go into Hong Kong Island for dinner and a quick look around. Tip here is that you can buy a return ticket (for return same day only) from the customer counter just outside the MTR station in the airport.

Once we arrived in Hong Kong Island we took the travellator walkway upwards and enjoyed the people watching and the intricate smells that are so Asia. We dropped by Wellington St where we had found our Yum Cha on the stop over and grabbed some awesome noodle soup from Tsim Chai Kee Noodle, not quite satisfied with just the noodles we dropped into the dumpling store to pick up a couple while we had the chance.

This was a pure quick stop to refuel and get out of the airport, so it wasn't long before we were back on the train and on our plane heading home.

What a trip, it enabled me to cross Croatia off my Top 10 travel destination list and added to my hunger and desire to travel, it's always the way and I wouldn't change it for the world.

As the quotes state:

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine


“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

Hong Kong and Eastern Europe 2009 Day 3

September 2009



Day 3

Our third and final day in Hong Kong, ahh.



We caught the MTR and bus to see the Big Buddha (noticing the trend? The MTR system and card makes it very easy to get around). The structure is the largest outdoor, bronze sitting Buddha in the world and the 268 steps (not that I was counting :) or anything) were worth it.

We caught the long and winding bus ride back, for those of you who get car sick there is a cable car that you can get, but this was closed when we visited. We had lunch in the local shopping complex before we caught the MTR back to Kowloon.

Before visiting Hong Kong, I had done a fair amount of research into what to do into Hong Kong and had narrowed the list down in consultation with DH. Someone had stated that the Hong Kong Museum of History is free on the certain day of the week, but I couldn't remember which one. We were pleasantly surprised that it was on this day when we decided to have a look for the rest of the afternoon. It was a great place to check out and with DH having a Pacific Island background, we were fascinated with the Pacific culture and history exhibit they had at the time.

We had a evening meal at a local Chinese eatery before heading off to the airport, you guessed it, via the MTR! Take note, because this influences our decision and choices of what to do with a long layover on our return trip.

Hong Kong and Eastern Europe 2009 Day 2

September 2009

Day 2

We started the morning with a ferry trip across the harbour Hong Kong Island and we walked up to the location of the Peak Tram (due to us not researching what time the buses actually started running, which was a few hours from when we planned). Many people review the Peak Tram as over rated or expensive, but we used our MTR tickets to get a reduced rate and loved the view both going upwards to The Peak and downwards. The view from The Peak is amazing, even if the day isn't perfect, which it wasn't when we visited, and at least it makes an interesting people watching exercise. But for me (and my parents) a trip to Hong Kong is not complete without a visit for this view day or night (I have yet to see it at night but my parents assure me it's spectacular).

After taking the tram back down the Peak (which is a lot less crowded than the trip going up), we headed off to find a traditional Hong Kong Yum Cha house, also in this area of Hong Kong. Although the address was perfect and the description good, we found ourselves searching for what was in front of our face. It was great to pick items of the trolley, in which we had no idea what they were, to watch the old men sipping their tea and reading the paper and to be immersed in a true local experience.

We then caught the Star Ferry back across the harbour, to catch the MTR to our next sight seeing adventure - the 10,000 Buddhas. Now even though we had pretty good instructions from the Tripadvisor boards, we could not figure out how to get to the actual Buddhas. The best we got was a glimpse of them through the fence of the burial grounds located in front of the 10,000 Buddha site. Not exactly what we had in mind, but you've got to give these things a try. We headed back to Kowloon for a noodle dinner, before heading off to the harbour front to catch the nightly light show. This spectacular nightly sound and light show, utilises a number of the tall buildings in the harbour and can be viewed from either side of the harbour. All in all, a great day in the wonderful place that is Hong Kong.

Hong Kong and Eastern Europe 2009

So it's been a while since I've blogged, but it's just over a year since DH and I took our 5 week trip to Hong Kong and Eastern Europe, so I thought it was a good chance to not only document all the notes I have but also get back into the posts!


September 2009


So our trip to Eastern Europe kicked off with a stopover in Hong Kong. It was my second trip, but DH's first, and after his introduction to Asia via Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam in 2008, he was more than willing to make it our stopover destination.









Day 1


Hong Kong has a great MTR (rail) network and we made our way to Kowloon from the airport to our accommodation at the YMCA. We choose the YMCA for two reasons: 1 This is where my mother and her girlfriend had stayed during their first trip overseas in the 1960s (in a different structure mind you) and 2 Due to the location near the MTR, ferry and harbour.



After checking in we headed off to find a tasty meal, which is not difficult in Hong Kong and we settled in for some pork and chicken noodle soup at a local eatery. I was surprised how low the prices were compared to my last trip a decade before, and I was left wondering if this was because I was no longer a poor student and they seemed cheaper, or if prices had indeed dropped.