The High and Low of Hong Kong
Whilst in Hong Kong, my Chinese friend had told me about Lee Tung Avenue to visit to look at the Chinese lanterns and have a cup of tea. On my last day I decided to walk from my hotel and try and find it without a map of any sorts ie paper or smart phone. I knew the general area so I set off.
I walked for about forty-minutes and then felt I should turn off the main street in Wan Chai, which proved to be a good choice as after another turn into a smaller street, I saw many [many] Chinese lanterns. 
The shops along this tree-lined pedestrian avenue sell everything from cosmetics, cakes, toys, jewellery and fashions to ice-cream. The avenue was once called Lee Tung Street with a nickname of ‘wedding card street‘ because almost all the shops were related to bridal services and products. There are still many shops selling wedding paraphernalia.
Walking along and looking up, I loved the juxtaposition of the old apartments on the next street and the brand new shops along the avenue.
There are also some pretty cool people just sitting around enjoying the lanterns…
The cafes are quaint with beautiful displays of gorgeous pastries, (over priced) jams and other beautifully wrapped and bottled items. 
It didn’t take long to walk along this avenue but its so pretty that it is definitely worth a visit.
And of course one of the the ‘must’ do’ things in Hong Kong is a visit to The Peak. One very warm afternoon, my friend Naomi and I walked to the tram station but as it was 2pm there was a huge line for the tram so we decided we would return the next day when the tram first opened and miss the lengthy queues.
I love the little tram; it’s a very steep ride both up and down the mountain. Great views each way over Victoria Harbour; both to Kowloon, over Hong Kong Island and the very expensive homes and apartments.
We arrived at The Peak and did the circle walk which is so lovely as it’s shaded by overhanging trees. 
It’s not a long walk but along the way you get panoramic views of Victoria Harbour, those amazing apartment blocks and the waterfall near Mount Austin playground. 
It started off a little cloudy but towards the end of our walk we were fortunate to have clear views of Hong Kong Island…but foggy views of Kowloon.
If you are wealthy enough, then a home on The Peak is for you. The more privileged residents of Hong Kong not only have the great views but also an escape from the scorching summer heat. When I lived in Hong Kong I was lucky enough to get invited to the home of the Australian Consulate General which is on The Peak; beautiful home with stunning gardens…wow I would have loved to live there!
But for Naomi and me it was just a visit to see those spectacular views.
Jon chose The Green Herring Restaurant which is located in a historic village near my home. The restaurant is housed in one of Canberra’s oldest buildings; a 150 year old slab hut. The Slab Hut was built in 1860 in a small town about 100 kilometres from Canberra and was transported to Canberra in 1970 and has been The Green Herring Restaurant for over twenty years. The owner told us that the restaurant still maintains the original construction materials from almost 150 years ago with minor modifications and extensions to provide the necessities for restaurant operations.
We arrived and were shown to our table. The inside of this beautiful building is just as charming as the outside but probably a little too old fashioned for me. 
We ordered a bottle of Australian wine but found out Peter doesn’t drink so we ordered him a soft drink. Jon knows the owner of the restaurant having been there several times, so we were lucky to have personal service from the owner that evening. We started off with a cob loaf with roasted garlic butter and balsamic olive oil as well as dukkah focaccia bread with a duo of dips.
For our main courses, I of course, chose non meat dishes [a very nice pumpkin dish] and Jon discussed with Peter the Australian cuisine on the menu and then ordered for them both. They ate kangaroo, Australian prawns, Australian lamb and Australian eye rib fillet…
We also shared a couple of side dishes; beans and toasted almonds and buttery mashed potatoes…
Throughout the evening, it was lovely chatting to Peter and getting to know him a little better; hearing about his family in China and his studies in Australia. He has since invited us to meet his family in China [which we are now doing next month; so looking forward to returning to what I call ‘my second homeland’].
All in all a great night of fun conversation which allowed me to practice my Chinese (sometimes successfully)…
We arrived in Botswana after a wonderful time in Zimbabwe; seeing magnificent animals and the beautiful Victoria Falls. In Botswana we stayed at the Ngoma Safari Lodge which had spectacular views across the Chobe Plains.
On our first morning we were driven down to the Chobe River for a two hour cruise. Chobe boat cruises are a wonderful way to experience the Chobe National Park as you can see large herds of elephants on the shore and in the water where they come for a drink and a bath. In the dry season an estimate of up to 85,000 elephants can be within Chobe National Park, where the majority can be found along the river. I loved seeing every single one of them; beautiful animals!
If you are lucky you can also see herds of elephants cross the river to or from the islands, when the tide is low; we were lucky enough to see this and what a sight.
Water lillies were plentiful too…never tire of looking at them either.
Common sites on the river are also hippos and crocodiles. We saw many hippos in the water and were keeping our eyes open for one on the river bank and towards the end of the cruise we finally saw one. Suffice to say I was very excited and took many photos..this hippo had lots of battle scars on his/her body. Our guide said they were from crocodiles – wow!!
We only saw only one crocodile who didn’t move the entire time we were photographing it…probably tired from biting hippos!!
We also saw quite a few African birds on the river and some on the shore including egret, geese, storks and ducks…all lovely to see even thought many were too far away for me to get good photos [and I hadn’t worked out my new camera at that stage].
We also had the opportunity to see various other wildlife along the shore; some more interesting than others. Our guide called the Impala ‘McDonalds’ because they have three black stripes on their bottoms which look like an ‘M’ similar to the ‘M’ of McDonalds fast food restaurants, and as there were so many of them, they are like ‘fast food’ for lions and other carnivorous animals.
I did like the lovely little river cottages that were available to rent; how nice would it be to wake up each morning to beautiful views of the Chobe River and its occupants!
This cruise is a must if you visit Botswana!! We started in Botswana and made our way along the river to Namibia and then back to Botswana…a great way to spend a couple of hours.
In 2008 I worked in Hong Kong and had a lovely boss who I have remained friends with albeit long distance. So prior to arriving in HK, I contacted my friend Evelyn who said she would pick up Naomi and I up from our hotel and take us to a monastery I had not been to. So off we went in her beautiful Mercedes Benz…what a car..she took us up to Tai Po District which is about a thirty-minute drive from HK Island.
Our elderly guide met us and we commenced our tour. As soon as you arrive at the monastery, the first thing you see is an outdoor bronze statue (Guanyin) which is seventy-six metres high and said to the second highest in the world. Guanyin is the six armed goddess of mercy and we were told has miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her. 
So because of those miraculous powers, we joined other visitors and walked up to Guanyin to make a water offering in the Thousand Wishes Pond where each of us made a wish.
I do remember a few things though. One is that the monastery is a sanctuary for the purpose of spiritual purification. Secondly it is open to the public who can attend various activities where compassion and wisdom are the main themes. I think this would be a lovely thing to do.
Our dear guide was told we only had a short time but because he wanted to ensure we were told everything about the history, Evelyn had to remind him of our time restraints – but that didn’t matter he kept on talking. Very sweet man but boy could he talk!!
And the reason we had to leave is we were driving back to Kowloon [as this was our last evening in HK], to see the sun set from Ritz Carlton Ozone rooftop bar which is located in the International Commerce Centre, HK’s tallest building. We definitely didn’t want to miss that…but more on that in another post.
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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