21st January 2019

I still couldn’t wake up this morning. A very sluggish start to the day! With our flight to New Zealand later on and lots of sitting around we decided to explore more of the local area, something we enjoy when in a new place. We ambled along the back roads to Victoria Park, an oasis of calm in the hubbub of Hong Kong. The park was really busy. People playing tennis and basketball, many people either on their own or with others doing Tai Chi, oblivious to the likes of us watching them. There were older people, young children in the play area, joggers, walkers and plenty for us to watch over a cup of lemon tea!! Yes, we went without coffee!! This is not a coffee drinkers paradise but the lemon tea was very refreshing and the jasmine tea this morning interesting!

Then back to the noise and the people!! Shops everywhere from the really expensive to the tiny, tiny door step shops selling anything and everything. There is no High Street crisis here and no really big supermarkets that we have seen either. Loads of butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers with unrecognisable items. Florists, tailors and next door a Pirelli shop selling tyres and other car/motorbike stuff. I have seen a couple of second hand shops, but no charity shops. Starbucks, Macdonalds, KFC and Pret are here but the streets are dominated by local shops and it is vibrant. We haven’t bought a thing, but have enjoyed looking.

We have seen a couple of rough sleepers and some of the high rises look tired and worn, but this place feels wealthy. The maximum tax they pay is 15%, but they have to pay for their health care. Pollution is bad with many people wearing masks. A fascinating place to spend 2 days, but we are happy to be moving on.

We are now sitting in the business class lounge waiting for our flight. How decadent is that? But so nice! Our flight after this one will be a bit of a comedown!

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