Part 12: Avenue of the stars...
The previous night proved to be every bit as lively as I feared.
When the rugby fans, who where a heady mix of French, Australian, Irish, and English, had finally stopped drinking. Their raucous and annoyingly loutish behaviour was replaced with the most earth rumbling snores imaginable!! My brain was literally rattling in my head.
I'd deciding on going down to reception and spent most of the early hours in the hi-tech massage chair which was free thankfully, to relieve my stresses.
I headed up to my dorm for a few hours sleep when they left early for the morning kick off.
So for the second day running I departed the hostel a lot later than planned.
My destination for the first part of the day was the famous avenue of stars to visit the Bruce Lee monument statue.
Of course with me being such a martial arts fan, I was massively excited at the prospect.
Located on the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on Kowloon island, the Avenue of Stars pays tribute to Hong Kong's rich cinematic tradition both past and present. It was an area full of museums, sculptures, souvenir kiosks and modern art.
There was an Andy Warhol exhibition, a pop art museum and a science and space museum which looked really interesting and quirky. The architecture here was modern, creative and eccentric - I liked it a lot.
The stunning backdrop of skyscrapers framed by mountains over looked Hong Kong harbour.
And you got a really wide view of the district with the sea, small Chinese fishing boats along side fast ferries transporting people between the islands.
On the concrete all along the bay were plaques emblazoned with hand prints of Asian movie stars and legends.
I saw Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat as well as a host of others.
But I eventually found what I was looking for. A dead giveaway was the congested crowds gathering round the main attraction.
And there, stood in front of me was a magnificent and very life like, dark bronze statue of the legend and my all time here Bruce Lee.
The statue was built to mark the 65th anniversary of Bruce Lee's birth and was erected in 2005.
I spent some time admiring it with the gorgeous back drop of the sea and harbour taking plenty of pictures.
Walking up an down the promenade you really got the sense of how proud Hong Kong was of its movie culture and of Bruce Lee.
It was a wonderful experience learning and watching life go by here was something I would be happy to get used to, and never tire of either.
A huge stage had been set up right on the bay where screaming teenagers were ogling over what I can only describe as China's answer to One Direction singing live.
So I walked rather rapidly past and found some extremely talented Asian b-boys and beat boxers. This was much more like it.
I watched them perform for a while sitting on the boulevard and sampling some dried chilli squid I got from a tiny street vendor.
It was really tasty and smokey, with the same texture as jerky.
Out of the blue, some random guy approached me whilst I was sat enjoying my squid, and asked if he could have his picture taken with me, to which I obliged.
'Sure' I said..
He seemed rather excited for some reason.
I strolled along the avenue smiling to myself and yet another random couple stopped me asking to have their picture taken with me too. They giggled in Chinese. Surely this is more than coincidence I thought to myself.
Not understanding anything they were saying, I just went with the flow.
Then would you believe it, as I passed the Bruce lee statue for the last time this excitable chap stopped me and asked me to mock Kung Fu pose in front of the monument, as his wife took a picture of us standing off against each other.
I never knew why these people wanted my picture but It was definitely time for me to be on my way now incase I got mobbed.
They clearly must have thought I was someone else.
My next stop that afternoon would be Hong Kong's most recent tourist attraction located in the heart of Kowloon, The Sky 100 skyscraper.
I was thrilled by Hong Kong's skyline at night, and now wanted to see it by day from the worlds 4th highest observation deck, 100 storeys and 1587 feet tall.
I took the supersonic express elevator up and my ears popped as we reached the top.
I did not think that the views from
the peak could be matched, but from up here it was simply phenomenal!!
A complete 360degree view of the whole of Hong Kong , the sea to China and mountains beyond the city.
This seriously took my breath away. The vista was something to behold.
I fully understood the accolade of Hong Kong being the worlds best skyline. By day you really get the sense of denseness and how precious space was.
There are more than 3000 skyscrapers in Hong Kong and you probably could see them all from up here.
State of the art touch screens were on hand to give fascinating insights on local history and culture.
My head was a swell with information.
I skyped my brother from here and woke him early in the morning back in the UK just so I could share this view with somebody, it was that good.
He marvelled at the view himself as I held my phone up panning round so he could see for himself.
I savoured every single second.
And finally it was time for me to leave.
With the view still fresh in my mind I stopped at Mongkok on the way home for food.
The pork stir fry I choose was particularly tasty, and I scoffed the lot before realising it was pork jowls!!!. I wondered why it was so soft.
And my chicken noodle soup I ordered had Chicken heads and feet in it, complete with eyes, beaks and claws too!!
Not the best looking dish I ordered, but nevertheless the broth was nice.
So after my dinner of pork jowls and chicken heads I headed back to the Hostel after an exhausting day.
There was a roof terrace on the top floor of the hostel where I made friends with a group of guys from Australia and America, some girls from Israel, Switzerland, India and my adopted home of the Philippines joined us too.
We had the most random and bizarre conversations and all shared travel experiences over several beers.
The American guys got a little patriotic to say the least.
I had to bite my tongue a few times, but it was all in good jest and a pleasant end to a very enjoyable day.
I slept like a log.
Tomorrow I would explore the lush green mountainous Lantau Island in search of the giant fabled Buddha Statue. I could not wait...