After 1 month in China I travelled to Hong Kong with a colleague so that we could process our residency visas for China. The journey from Nanning was by bus. I was a little concerned initially about the comfort of the journey but it turned out to be very modern, with flat beds and no loud TV. They even switched off all the lights so that everyone could sleep and made you take your shoes off at the entrance and put them in a bag. The only downside was that every 3 hours the bus stopped for a pit stop and everyone was encouraged off the bus.
Hong Kong is a fun place to be. We had to leave our passports at the Chinese Embassy for a few days so we went sightseeing. We visited some of the sights around the harbour (including the 'Avenue of the Stars' in Kowloon).
From there I also watched the Symphony of Lights show. This was a 'sound and light' show with the lights coming from the tall buildings on both sides of the harbour. It was quite impressive.
Another day the markets were on the agenda. We took a bus to Stanley Market on Hong Kong island. It was a lovely, scenic, journey. On the bus we met some people who were here on a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. The market itself is, not surprisingly, very touristy but it was fun to visit.
One night I met up with some school friends who live in Hong Kong. We went out in the Soho area which was buzzing with life. To get there you travel on an extremely long traveling walk way which takes you up the hill for a few blocks from the metro station. Apparently in the morning the travelator goes downhill to get all the residents to the metro for work.
After a few days I went to collect my passport from the Chinese Embassy only to find out that my passport was full and they couldn't put the visa in as there were no empty pages (I obviously travel too much!). So, off I trawl to the British Embassy to get extra pages (the passport is still valid for another 5 years) to be told that they don't do this any more and I need to get a new passport. This will take 3 weeks to process... so I got 'stuck' in Hong Kong. I guess there are worse places - and luckily I do have more friends in town so it was a nice excuse to spend time with them. In the end the Embassy issued me with an emergency travel document and with that I got a new tourist visa for China so I could return here. Once my new passport arrives I'll have to go through this process again - another visit to Hong Kong!
With a weekend to kill waiting for the Embassy to open, I visited the Giant Buddha on Lantau island. You travel up there by cable car and we took the 'crystal' car up which has a glass bottom.
Hong Kong is a fun place to be. We had to leave our passports at the Chinese Embassy for a few days so we went sightseeing. We visited some of the sights around the harbour (including the 'Avenue of the Stars' in Kowloon).
From there I also watched the Symphony of Lights show. This was a 'sound and light' show with the lights coming from the tall buildings on both sides of the harbour. It was quite impressive.
Another day the markets were on the agenda. We took a bus to Stanley Market on Hong Kong island. It was a lovely, scenic, journey. On the bus we met some people who were here on a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth. The market itself is, not surprisingly, very touristy but it was fun to visit.
One night I met up with some school friends who live in Hong Kong. We went out in the Soho area which was buzzing with life. To get there you travel on an extremely long traveling walk way which takes you up the hill for a few blocks from the metro station. Apparently in the morning the travelator goes downhill to get all the residents to the metro for work.
After a few days I went to collect my passport from the Chinese Embassy only to find out that my passport was full and they couldn't put the visa in as there were no empty pages (I obviously travel too much!). So, off I trawl to the British Embassy to get extra pages (the passport is still valid for another 5 years) to be told that they don't do this any more and I need to get a new passport. This will take 3 weeks to process... so I got 'stuck' in Hong Kong. I guess there are worse places - and luckily I do have more friends in town so it was a nice excuse to spend time with them. In the end the Embassy issued me with an emergency travel document and with that I got a new tourist visa for China so I could return here. Once my new passport arrives I'll have to go through this process again - another visit to Hong Kong!
With a weekend to kill waiting for the Embassy to open, I visited the Giant Buddha on Lantau island. You travel up there by cable car and we took the 'crystal' car up which has a glass bottom.
When I left Hong Kong I had some trouble with my 'emergency passport' as I had no entry stamp into Hong Kong in it. I was escorted to the back offices where they checked my records on the computer. Fortunately all came out okay and they let me through so I could get back to China.
Hi Amanda, always nice to read your E-letters.
ReplyDeleteIt was a long time ago when I visited HongKong
25 years but I saw a lot of the places you mentioned. Does Nanning has a nice old inner-city?
Enjoy your time in China and learn Mandarin (why not?)
liefs Ninky
Enjoy !
ReplyDelete