13th of February — Finally managed to get up early ish…
- Actually managed to get out of bed and ready for 10:00 HKT though the first thing I needed to get done was the laundry which has been piling up over the last 7 days since the landry I had in mind across the road was only open for the first time today and even then it was just morning only. So with a bag stuffed full of grubby clothes, I headed across the road and sort it arranged for the clothes to be cleaned and some ironed ready for tomorrow to collect
- After getting some brunch at one of the many restaurants on Waterloo Road, I headed by bus at 12:00 HKT to go across Kowloon to the Kowloon Walled City Park, which used to the infamous Kowloon Walled City which was technically never handed to the British in either treaty and thusly was an exclave of Chinese soverign soil right in the middle of a British colony!
- Kowloon Walled City’s history also includes the fact it’s legal status meant it was a heaven for squatters and people indulging in illegal activites. Indeed, it was such a problem that the then Royal Hong Kong Police pretty much accepted it as a no-go area till more or less early 1990’s when the whole place was cleared for dereliction in 1993. The old city walls itself had long gone during WWII when the Japanese occupiers used the stone to enlarge the now ex-Kai Tak Airport. In more modern times, passengers on planes to Hong Kong would literally skim just a couple dozen of meters from the tops of the buildings which made up Kowloon Walled City. The City in it’s “hay day” also saw the highest population density in the World at something near 2.0 million people per square kilometer!
- After getting my bus routes a little confused, I managed to get to the park via foot from Lok Fu, getting to the gates of the park at 13:00 HKT. The Kowloon Walled City Park itself is obviously now literally something completely different and quite a nice little retreat to see some water and greenery , spending just a little over an hour and a half walking about and taking photos. Also sneeked a shot of a pretty girly whom was obviously out for a photoshoot for magazines or the old telly
- With the time nearing 14:00 HKT, I headed back up to Lok Fu for the Nos. 7 bus so that I could meet my cousins for an afternoon Karaoke session with relatives. Whilst walking through Moorse Park, a place where when I visited my cousins, we’d more often than not go out and play on the slides and see-saws; I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of the extremely distinctive & famous “Lion Rock”
- With a short visit back to the hotel to dump off a few things and gather new supplies, I headed to Mong Kok to meet up with 卓欣 (Cheuk Yan) & 卓兒 (Cheuk Yi) for 16:00 HKT, in turn meeting up with my aunt and her daughters and grandchildren. However, as the Chinese road & place names just left me scratching my head, 卓兒 (Cheuk Yi) came to look for me at Mong Kok MTR station where we both then rejoined with 卓欣 (Cheuk Yan) plus her son at the Karaoke place. Aunt with her three daughters and three grandchildren soon arrived and it wasn’t long till everyone were in full swing of the Karaoke thing!
- Our slot in the room was till 20:00 HKT and we certainly made full use of our 4 hour quota and by the time it ended all eleven of us headed to a nearby amusement arcade, for what I couldn’t fathom till 卓欣 (Cheuk Yan) and 卓兒 (Cheuk Yi) beelined for a larger photo-sticker booth then proceeded to try and herd everyone into a machine which was obviously designed for no more than three people at a time! A couple of booths later and many takes, I believe there were some half decent photo-stickers as the end result!
- Time was now 21:00 HKT; give or take a bit, so aunt’s side of the family decided to make their respective ways home and with me being rather hungry now, 卓欣 (Cheuk Yan) and 卓兒 (Cheuk Yi) decided to be a bit naughty and take me for some dinner at a Korean restaurant and have hotpot and grill. It was originally planned that we were to go out tomorrow evening for a hotpot with my uncle’s side of the family… so my mouth was zipped as to what we got up to this evening!
- Once seated, I kept my nephew amused whilst his mummy and aunty disappeared to hunt for some food so that we could start cooking and fill our ravished bellies! ;) I’d have to say this way of eating out is what I find most enjoyable as it’s communal and fun not to mention getting to eat more of things I haven’t seen in a long time such as freshwater prawns, squid, sharkfin soup and more common though just as tasty chicken wings, pork fillets, meat balls of beef, pork, fish and squid, octopus plus the usual greens. The occasional plate of coconut and sago tarts as a mid-meal dessert were rather lovely too!
- The clock was drawing close to 23:00 HKT so with us not being able to eat much more food and a rather sleepy nephew, we paided the bill which amounted to something like HK$300 which is not bad going considered it fed 4 (well, 3 and a half) people for dinner!
The ever present red taxis were our ride home dropping me off first, then my two cousins and nephew. Tomorrow was apparently to be some day called “Valentine’s Day” though what fun and games will that day bring? Who knows, though you’ll soon find out!