#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau Travel Forum >  >  My Goungzhou and Hong Kong Trip

## beerlaodrinker

went with Lao air to Guangzhou last week with a plan to catch the through train to kowloon and spend a few days there before returning to guangzhou, GZ is absolutely massive and not all that interesting but what we saw of it,  it  was ok

First thing you notice is the smog



We were staying in the Holiday inn shifu in the Liwan area that was bang smack in one of the shopping areas 


at $120 a night it was quite roomy

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## beerlaodrinker

The view from our room


Next on the agenda was a wander around to look for a beer and check out the sites

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## misskit

Jeez. That smog is worse than Chiang Mai!

Looking forward to seeing more pics of your trip.

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## beerlaodrinker

i had read that the canton Tower was a good place to get a view over guangzhou so after finding a taxi dude who knew what we were talking about we set of to find it , This place is the fourth tallest free standing structure in the world and at night is light up like a xmas tree ,



The colours change across the entire height across the tower 


great view from up there but my little point and shoot takes a shit night time pic 

The canton tower also had a sort of madame tuassauds wax museum, Mr bean is big in china apparently




Down on the pearl river you can take a dinner cruise on one of the many boats, we didnt bother with this but it would be worth doing sometime i reckon





I had booked The Train Tickets to Kowloon online using a mob called China trip advisor, Very efficient they are to, the Tickets were waiting for us when we checked in to the hotel, up at sparrows fart in the morning and it was off to guangzhou east train terminal for immigration formalities then hop on the train for the 2 hour run to Honghom station Kowloon side






Not sure if you could get a beer but snacks and drinks could be had on board


Everything seems to be run on elecrtic in china , fuckers must consume some power eh

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## Loy Toy

That's what I don't miss about China is the smog.

Nice thread mate and thanks for sharing your trip with us.

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## beerlaodrinker

Arriving at hunghom we opted to take a taxi to the pier to catch the iconic star ferry over to central, where we could then get an octopus card and figure out how to use the Metro, Good way to enter i reckon


These old ferrys are a national treasure i reckon , and at about $hk2.80 are a screaming bargain

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## beerlaodrinker

Next it was off to tackle the Metro and put that octopus card into play  and head for Causway bay where i had booked a hotel that turned out to be shoebox size  costing nearly $200 a night, that was our first indication that it was going to be a wallett busting trip.

more later

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## beerlaodrinker

Figured out how to use the metro and got going in the right direction , fuk it was chocka in there though







I had heard that the peak was the best way to get a view of the city but unfortunately the tram was out of service that day, caught the number 15 bus up instead, great views but bloody smoggy , Cold to it was 16 that day, i was forced to buy a beanie

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## robbo

always enjoy your stories dude, well done again!!!

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## beerlaodrinker

Checked  in at the imaginatively named Causeway corner hotel after walking past it about 10 times , The reception is only a small window beside the building itself


They hadnt bullshitted me about the Harbour view to be had though, although it wasnt the best part of the harbour

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## somtamslap

Excellent as per. We shall of course be requiring pictures of the man himself in the traditional beveraging pose...

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## beerlaodrinker

There ya go slappers, $68 HK for a stella by the harbour promenade

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## somtamslap

^ That's the money shot  :Smile:

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## beerlaodrinker

After checking in the shoebox  wife suggested we go on a hop on hop of double decker bus tour around hongkong island , not a bad way to see it and get your bearings

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## beerlaodrinker

I really love this mixture of the old and the new buildings and the chaos of it

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## beerlaodrinker

These "Ding Ding " Trams are also an iconic part of the hongkong landscape




These trams run on hongkong island between shau kei wan and kennedy town with a branch circulating happy valley so you can get of and go to the horse racing, wasnt on while we were there, pity they reckon the atmospheres great

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## beerlaodrinker

These trams have not only been a form of commuter transport for over 100 years but also a major tourist attraction for hongkong,




In hongkong we used the taxis and buses a lot to both were  cheap, Didnt have any dramas with the hongkong taxi drivers either found them to be extremely honest and would put on the meter without having to be told

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## beerlaodrinker

I love just wandering around checking out the sights and just seeing what the punters are up  to

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## katie23

Great thread as usual, BLD. I've enjoyed your pics & stories, and looks like this one is a winner as well. The beanie looks good too.  :Razz:  

I know I might be pre-empting your story, but how was the climb to the Big Buddha?  :Very Happy:

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## beerlaodrinker

Came across this all girlie band

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## beerlaodrinker

> I know I might be pre-empting your story, but how was the climb to the Big Buddha?


Cheers katie, we did indeed go to see the big buddha but my feet were killing me from all the walking around plus im basicly a lazy git so just took some pictures of the big guy from down below.

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## beerlaodrinker

These Bonjour shops seemed to be all over the place and were really fucking with my wifes sense of direction ,



She was convinced we were walking around in circles, No dear its a different one,

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## katie23

> Cheers katie, we did indeed go to see the big buddha but my feet were killing me from all the walking around plus im basicly a lazy git so just took some pictures of the big guy from down below.



Cheers! Will follow this thread.  :Very Happy:

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## beerlaodrinker

The obligatory eye candy photo.



never did find out what they were selling

Cozplay girls  Grrrrrr

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## beerlaodrinker

Hongkong street eats





i didnt find the price of food to be all that expensive in hongkong and we were eating at these little cheap and cheerful places a fair bit, stayed away from the flash looking places, that will chew through the bucks right quick

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## beerlaodrinker

This was surely a brilliant strategy by me , as it meant i could afford to drink beer "AND" get fed, not one or the other 



Duck and clams for dinner




Washed down with a couple of these beers

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## beerlaodrinker

The plan for the next day was to again set of early and ride the MTR to Chungkung town on Lantau  , then get the awesome nongping 360 cable car to see the buddha and monastery followed by a visit to the little stilted fising village of Tai O , bus to mui wo and fast ferry back to central

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## beerlaodrinker

Lantau can wait , im off to see the nightlife and if Wanchai weally is chock full of waunchy whenches  waiting for a wojering









A bit over rated ,

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## beerlaodrinker

Arriving at chungkong MRT  station its just a short stroll over to the cable car departure for nongping , this is a spectacular trip over 5kms long and takes about 25 minutes to arrive 


The view looking back at chungkung

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## beerlaodrinker

The cable car runs across tung chung bay to a station on airport island where it turns 60 degrees towards north lantau giving you spectacular views of the whole island



Scary 








The Buddhist po lin monestery, 






Pretty boring stuff and well touristy , but the cable car ride is well worth it for the views

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## beerlaodrinker

Next it was a short boat ride to Tai O stilted fishing village

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## beerlaodrinker

Tai o is home to the Tanka people,a fisher folk whove built there houses on stilts above the tidal flats

Locals make a living selling dried fish


And also selling a boat tour to punters

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## beerlaodrinker

Dried shark anybody?

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## beerlaodrinker

The wife was pretty chuffed when we came across a place selling grilled oysters



And at $20 HK each werent bad value

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## beerlaodrinker

Tai o is popular with hongkongers on the weekend wanting to escape the hustle and bustle, next we boarded another bus for the 20 minute ride over to the other side of the island to catch the Fast ferry from Mui wo ( silvermine bay) back to Central,  the fast ferry only costs about $hk 21 good deal i reckon




Mui wo 


Plenty of shipping going on out here


The sister ship 


Arriving back in hongkong harbour,

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## kingwilly

I've never been to that stilt village, reckon we might do so next time. Love the thread.

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## Roger Ramjet

BLD Great pics and thread as usual, well done!  
The smog is 99% from mainland China. One thing you would not have seen in HK, was any visible emissions from a car, bus or truck....huge fines if you have a sick engine.  Did you make it to Disneyland HK?  Great entertainment with the Chinese girls dressed up as American Cowgirls....complete with Chinglish accents!!

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## bsnub

Another excellent thread BLD! I owe you a green.

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## Yemen

Great thread BLD. Love Hong Kong even if expensive. Lots to do and great eye candy!

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## Bobcock

Even from those pictures Guangzhou is unrecognisable from when I was last there in 1987......

What is that stadium thing in the pics of the river?

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## beerlaodrinker

> I've never been to that stilt village, reckon we might do so next time. Love the thread.


Cheers willy, it was an interesting little place





> Did you make it to Disneyland HK?


Ran out of time for disneyland but went to ocean park , didnt have the kids with us so perhaps next time we will do disneyland with the nippers

Glad you guys are enjoying it , cheers for the greens






> What is that stadium thing in the pics of the river?


Bob its the Guangzhou olympic stadium, originally built for the 10th asian games, the largest and most modern stadium in china.

It was a pretty impressive sight lit up at night, ive some more pics from Shamian island later which is also an interesting spot

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## beerlaodrinker

After a day of sight seeing we were both a bit knackered and it was decided we should head back to the shoebox for a lie down and some san miguels from the conveniently located 7/11, Batteries recharged we jumped on the star ferry once more to head over to tsim sha tsui to check out the avenue of the stars and to get some photos of the hongkong skyline at night 


There is also a spectacular lightshow from here  but i think we were either to early or to late, so just wandered around 

Busker Dude



Hongkong looks amazing at night


That beanie was the best purchase i made in hongkong , quite nippy it was

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## beerlaodrinker

The night was still young so we headed of to Lan kwai fong which is hongkongs party area





Quite a busy little area this with lots of trendy locals done up to the nines. 


Sadly my new beanie wasnt making much of a fashion statement at all with this lot, but my new indian mate said he could fix my wardrobe crimes if i were to puchase a nice shiny suit from him, Cheeky cont he was.

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## beerlaodrinker

After a bit more of a wander around checking out the unusual sights , we decided to call it a night and rest up for a big day being  Tourists Tomorrow

This street side butcher shop got my attention


The wife thought the salted duck eggs looked like the GO,

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## beerlaodrinker

I had been doing a bit of googling and had a rough plan for tomorrows agenda, starting in Stanley then moving along to Repulse bay followed by aberdeen then the ocean park , post a bit more of that later now my lunch breaks over and its back to work

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## Gilbert

Start early, go to Stanley and do the market bit, then take the bus along to Aberdeen. From there, you can take a ferry to Lamma Island which has decent pubs, good seafood (and Thai food), potter about a bit, and either then a walk over the hills to Sok Khu Wan for a ferry back to central, or a ferry from Yung Shue Wan (where you will land anyway) back to central as well. If you are feeling like an adventure you can take a sampan instead of the ferry to Lamma which is a bit more expensive but a lot more fun

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## kingwilly

Aberdeen is pretty, but I am not sure that there's much to do there. If your missus is like mine, she'll have loved the Stanely Markets. (Nice place to have lunch too).

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## beerlaodrinker

Thats exactly what happened willy she enjoyed the sampan tour and the floating restaurant but preffered stanley for the shopping

We caught a taxi from causeway bay to stanley to start the days sight seeing



Nice little place with a decent market with clothes that fit large farangs to









After a wander around and a nice breakfast in stanley we took the bus over to Repulse bay about a 15 minute ride away

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## beerlaodrinker

Repulse bay, Located in the southern part of hongkong island is the most spectacular bay in the region and got its name in the 19th century battle in which the pommy army repulsed attacking  Pirates,

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## beerlaodrinker

Today, the place is a luxurios residential area for wealthy hong kongers and expats, its also one of the most expensive places to buy real estate in hongkong besides the peak ,




The day we went it was still a bit nippy so didnt see many swimmers, i imagine it gets busy on weekends when its hot, 



The day we went there was a load of expats having a sporting event and getting ready for a piss up

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## beerlaodrinker

Fantastic place

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## beerlaodrinker

The wife was getting seafood cravings again so we hopped a taxi for the short ride to Aberdeen

The view of aberdeen and its typhoon shelter


Arriving in aberdeen we hopped a sampan for the tour around the harbour and a visit the the Famous jumbo floating restaurant


The skipper was a little old lady

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## beerlaodrinker



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## beerlaodrinker

In Aberdeen, Modernity meets tradition with skyscrapers overlooking a community living on traditional junks


Plenty of hongkongs rich park the toys down here 







The Jumbo floating restaurants can accomadate 2300 diners i had read somewhere. it was also a bit pricey so we gave eating there a miss, Had some noodles instead

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## beerlaodrinker

I was all for finding a pub and parking my arse for a while but the wife was relentless and suggested ocean park which wasnt far away .


Ocean parks sort of a poor mans disneyland , it has a cable car , Funicular Train and numerous rides for the thrill seeker, i think we paid about $hk 350 for entrance which includes all rides and attractions




The wife was a bit pissed off when i took her to this after getting noodles for lunch instead of seafood

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## beerlaodrinker

The Grouper




Next up was the Panda, they only had the one and he was a bit hard to see.


Pandas suck

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## beerlaodrinker

I always think of the old TV show ON THE BUSES when i see one of these

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## beerlaodrinker

Here we go yet another cable car ride, this one also  had some fantastic views over the bay and the theme park












There was some pretty scary rides

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## beerlaodrinker

To get back down we rode the Funicular train which goes through a tunnel and you dont really see anything



That was us pretty much done in hongkong , back to Causewaybay and the hotel 
Up early again in the morning for the Train Back to Guangzhou, 

More pics of that later

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## Bobcock

Hong Kong Disney is a lot smaller than the Disneys in Europe, America and Tokyo.....

I reckon the rides at Ocean Park and more better spent.

Just no Micky and Minnie!!

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## beerlaodrinker

Arriving back in Guangzhou we headed for the Sofitel sunrich hotel, The bathroom was bigger than the room i had paid $200 a night for in hongkong , this place was $152 a night,  excellent gaff it was

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## beerlaodrinker

Didnt have much planned for the last day so we just headed for Beijing Lu which is another shoppingarea to pick up some toys for the kids and a prezzie for the mother inlaw for looking after them 


Good place for a bit of people watching to

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## beerlaodrinker

The smoke shop bloke testing his products


Tasty chinese Biltong



Prawns for lunch

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## kingwilly

Great thread; you've done more in HK in 5 days than I've done in a dozen trips. Good effort.

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## beerlaodrinker

With the shopping sorted it was time to head back to the hotel for a swim and a beer before heading for shamian island and the pearl river



On the 7th floor the hotel had a heated pool and spa, No moob pics , sorry Dillinger


When in a new city i like to sample the local beer, 


Draught beer in a can eh? as with most chinese beers ive tried so far it was watery and weak

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## beerlaodrinker

The hotel also had a Roller , for downtown excursions if you are cashed up 


We took a taxi

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## beerlaodrinker

Shamian island was the foreign concession in china and an important port for guangzhous foreign trade,The territory was divided into 2 concessions given to the french and the British and connected to the mainland by 2 bridges 





Some great old buildings in good condition here


They had turned this old carriage into a restaurant

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## beerlaodrinker

> you've done more in HK in 5 days than I've done in a dozen trips. Good effort.


Its the wife willy, she has the travel bug something severe, cant get enough of it , wants to see everything. i was knackered when we got home

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## Loy Toy

Hong Kong is the first Asian place I visited and that is where I fell in love with Asia.

After seeing your pictures I must take my kids there. I reckon they will love it.

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## Bobcock

I love Hong Kong, Like LT It was my first stop in Asia, been three times in the last few years. I was booked to go there when my Mum was taken I'll and had to cancel and then booked there with just my Dad two years later when he was taken ill and died.

Luckily I am not Asian so none of that will stop me going again, I'm thinking of going with the wife in a fee weeks time and having a splurge for my birthday. Best of everything. Also going to the HK tens where my son is hopefully playing next year. My kids love it as well, so vibrant, everything I don't find in Singapore.

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## Gilbert

> I'm thinking of going with the wife in a fee weeks time and having a splurge for my birthday. Best of everything. Also going to the HK tens where my son is hopefully playing next year. My kids love it as well, so vibrant, everything I don't find in Singapore


It seems to be many peoples first stop in Asia, mine as well.

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## Yasojack

Great thread again BL well done.

No been to HK for a few years now, is it expensive now, when last there could see the difference.

Is the three storey restaurant in stanley with the balconies still there ?

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## beerlaodrinker

> is it expensive now,


For Hotels , yes





> Is the three storey restaurant in stanley with the balconies still there


Not sure about that jack we just wandered around the waterfont and market

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## beerlaodrinker

Still banging around shamian island






A flash looking starbucks 



Shamians  really  an amazing sea of tranquility compared with the madness of downtown, guangzhou has over 12 million population

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## beerlaodrinker

Wandering around here it feels like you are in europe

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## beerlaodrinker

Until you see the chinese snacks in the 7/11

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## beerlaodrinker

Rounding a bend we came across the pearl river and a nice esplanade, found a good seafood restaurant as well, 







wifes happy now





A couple of drinks in a trendy pub and i was ready to call it quits

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## Gilbert

> Is the three storey restaurant in stanley with the balconies still there ?



This one? 


It's a little more than a restaurant, although there are some restaurants inside it. Murray House used to be in central, but was on path to be demolished so that Bank of China could build their triangles. Some Gweilos got together and started a campaign to have it moved brick by brick to it's present location where is now houses The maritime Museam, and a very fine Pizza place.

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## Yasojack

Great thread makes me want to go back.

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## beerlaodrinker

We walked right past it, thought it looked closed , nice building though.

Anyway , thats me finished of to the airport and back to Laos in the Morning

Mrs BLD having a bevvy


We got lucky on the flight back,  it turns out the wife went to school with the steward, 

Camp as a row of tents he was, but he  kept the bevvys flowing , And the pilot done his bit by not crash landing in the Mekong, Good result all round i reckon

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## Gilbert

Jolly good thread - thanks for the memories (and effort).

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## ossierob

Yeah another top job mate...was going over for a week next month but have decided to train it down to Singers for a week instead..cheers BLD

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## hazz

I think I've found the reason you booked that hotel in causeway bay, just round the corner.....

Hong Kong: US bomb from World War Two defused by police


For some reason the locals decided not to use thai defusing technique of randomly attacking the beast with an angle grinder.

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## sabang

Shamien island is looking great- it sure needed a hose down and lick of paint. Nice to see they got around to it, much of what you see there now was crumbling and moulding 15 years back, way past being declared 'condemned' in the west. 
Surprised at the number of old Wanchai haunts that I knew which are still open, too (including the Makati :mid: ). Causeway Bay looks much the same, but I didn't go there much, except for Friday curry tiffin at the Excelsior.
Cheers BLD, and tanx for the memories. Well enjoyed it.  :Smile:

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## cdnski12

The View from your $120/night Guangzhou Hotel Room, provides insight as to why Mainland Chinese have (literally) invaded Vancouver and pushed house prices into the Std USD $1 Million price range. Driving thru Vancouver to Richmond (near (YVR), I saw very few Caucasian faces. Chinese confuse Richmond = Richman ... so they have bought virtually all of Richmond ... which bizarrely is in the flood plain of the Fraser River. Chinese real Estate Salesmen conveniently neglect to point out the Japanese Car Carriers sailing by, at a level well above one's head, along the Fraser River. I suspect a lot of the frantic Chinese House purchasing, is really "*Front*" Money, ponied up by the Extended Family Clan. I don't know why Canada Immigration is so incredibly gullible? At least the Philippine Guest Workers actually do some work, pay taxes and are exploited by McDonald's Franchisees.

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## roamer

Great thread as usual BLD, thanks.

It brings back some memories, Hong Kong was also the first place in Asia for me, loved it, Guangzhou was the 2nd place after HK and after a couple of stays in central GZ always used to stay at Shamian Island, either White Swan or Victory hotels.

I had a meal in that rail carriage restaurant you posted a pic off, it was OK.

I recognised quite a few of the places in your pics

Nice, cheers. :Beerchug:

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