Hi there,
A few lines about my own Golden Week holiday.
Last Thursday I went to Hong Kong for four nights. I’m sure many readers have visited this fantastic city but if you haven’t I strongly recommend that you go as it was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on.
Though the weather was initially rather hot and sticky, it cooled down for the last couple of days whilst sparing me the threatened rain. This allowed me to spend my time roaming the street markets, cruising the harbour and enjoying magnificent views from the top of the city’s several well-known peaks.
HK is famous for its food and the shopping but is also surprisingly green on the outlying islands. The public transport is excellent (maybe even better than in Japan) and I found the people to be friendly and welcoming.
In some ways Hong Kong remains a slither of Britain in the South China Sea even though it returned to China some eleven years ago. English remains an official language, British English is used in all signs and on some television channels and the Queen’s name or picture can still be found on coins and post boxes. It is also a great place to pick up British foods, beers and newspapers if you don’t fancy the long slog to Heathrow.
Last Saturday I spent the afternoon in Macau seeing the sights and sampling the slots. I’m not much of a gambler so I didn’t get such a kick out of the casinos but if you are a betting man (or woman) it must be the perfect place to visit.
All in all a truly Golden Week and two places I would definitely visit again.
Sounds really good. I’d definitely like to visit Hong Kong at some point in the future-one (not very cultural!) reason being that they have a Marks and Spencer: I really wish the Tokyo M&S had stayed open but it closed long before I got here-alas!
Niall
Well Niall, judging by the success of other British companies in Asia you might want to get over there sharpish. Let’s just say the M&S Hong Kong wasn’t exactly jammed to the rafters. However, they were in the process of remodelling the store so maybe it will stay open long term. Seems that the only British shop that does do well internationally is The Body Shop. So if you ever fancy buying a new body……