Second last day of the year. Katja starts by going for a run, I surf the web and Mette reads up on Kowloon. Just another day in paradise.
We all get breakfast and we actually get to publish three more blog posts. Some days I doubt we’ll ever get back on track, but then we do a jump and it looks brighter again.
We head into town with Kowloon as a target. Hong Kong is spread over several island and Hong Kong island and Kowloon are two of them.

We move directly from our ferry pier to the one taking us to Kowloon. The traditional Star ferries still runs between the island as they have done for decades. We have tickets in plenty from the lady who sold us the sightseeing buss tickets. I don’t know if she can’t count or what, but we have tickets of plenty.
The Hong Kong skyline is amazing any which way you get to see it. From above, as we did yesterday, or from the water like now. It’s probably the most beautiful skyline I’ve seen. Sorry to say, Haley-May, it’s more pretty than New York.

Well ashore on the Kowloon side we walk along the waterfront towards the bus stop. This is the walk of fame in the Hong Kong movie industry. We found the stars of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. The rest was not known to me. We also found the statue of Bruce Lee there, and we did a few pictures so Leif can enjoy.

On the bus and off we go. Guiding through the headphones and with a course north on the island. We get off and stay looking for lunch in the busy streets of Kowloon. We see a little dim sum place and enter. Dim sum is maybe best described as the tapas of China. HF described it this way and if the shoe fits… You order a lot of small dishes and share between your party. We had no idea what we ordered and the staff could about five English words between them. Pointing at the menu, that was written in Chinese English, we hoped for the best. Out of the six different dishes I liked five, Mette and Katja four. The one no-one agreed was good included some sort of slimy jiggly fatty substance. We all took a piece, we all agree that was enough.

We walked from there looking for the night market and the jade market. They just started setting up for the night markets, nothing much to be seen there. We found the jade market, but that was basically just a fraud. Everyone sold the same stuff and I don’t think anyone there really do any off the work themselves. Mette managed to find a nice necklas she was very content with, a jade one in the color purple.
We got back on the bus and continued the sightseeing.”Let’s get off here! “, Katja exclaimed and of we got. We were now in the tallest building around here. There is an observation deck on level 100 that we can go up to.

We find the ticket counter and talk to the lady there. Katja asks if there is a bar on the top, and if we can access it from level 100. It is, but we can’t. We have to go to the bar another way. We ditch the observation deck and go through the Ritz Carlton to the bar Ozone. The world’s highest bar. A guy standing behind us in line follows our example and join us in our quest for the holy Grail.
We navigate through a big building before we find the right elevator. Up to level nine, then another to level 103. That’s the reception of the Ritz Carlton. Then another elevator to 118 floor where the bar is. And what a bar!
A view from the 118th floor would probably make any dump look good, but this bar was through and through class. I feel a bit out of place in my trekking pants and running shoes, but the waiters are professional and extend us every courtesy. The price off a pint is nothing short of robbery, but if you only do one you’ll still get a better view and come out 30 Hong Kong dollars ahead compared to the viewing deck.

We talked and laughed and learned about Tim’s work as a veterinarian. He’s a big guy like me and the following story had us all expressing sympathy.
He has been working with both small and large animals in his career so far, but one thing was not his favorite: dental work on small animals. He told us how he needed to remove a cats teeth because of a inflammation and that pulling them out with lumberjack hands made him afraid of being to strong. He showed us the moves for pulling one out and it gave me the shivers. Then he said: And I had to do it thirty six more times…
This made us semi-change the subject to how many teeth do a cat really have? Beer can do that to ya.
After watching the sun disappear and the city skyline of Hong Kong island light up with neon colors we took the elevator back down to street level. We asked if Tim would like to have dinner with us, and all four of us went searching for a restaurant.
We walked up the most busy street in Kowloon and ended up on an Indian restaurant. It was a good choice.
When we ordered the waiter was a blast. When Tim ordered a vegetarian dish he just replied:” Not recommended”, a little bit of inquiry showed he ment the chef didn’t make that dish well enough. He suggested something else and we all really enjoyed it. We talked more and learned that Tim is going to the UK to work as a vet. Funny to us as we met Jenna that moved from UK to Australia to work. Seems like some people from some countries are way more willing to travel and work abroad than others.

After dinner we take the Star ferry to the Hong Kong island and get another great view of the skyline from a lower level.

We say goodbye to Tim on the harbour and wish him the best of luck on Isle of Wight in his new job, and before that a happy reunion with friends in Japan.
We take the ferry back to Discovery bay and relax.

I don’t do drugs, I am drugs.

– Salvador Dali