Hong Kong Deployment

Specifications

Officers: Slim (c), Rocket.

Date: 14-18th Nov 06, 4 nights.

Transport: Plane, Bus, Train, Tram, Taxi, Cable Car, Ferry, Boat and Feet.

Kit: Emphasis on shorts and existing TDI allocated kit plus new Canada shirts.

Tasks:1. Gather Intel into possible expansion into Asia.

2. See sights and consume culture.

3. Get dusty.

Highlights: Victoria Peak, Botanical Gardens and Mammal Zoo, Kowloon Promenade, Tian Tan Buddha Statue and Sky 360, Ten Thousand Buddha's Monastery, Temple Street Night Market, Various means of Transport, Happy Valley Races, The Incident, Asian Cuisine, Flower and Bird Markets.

Lowlights: Happy Valley Races, Numerous occasions per day on the snapper, Feng Peis and chafe.

Ball by ball descriptions (for the true fans)

Day 1

Leaving Sydney late on Monday night, Team Dust International's (TDI) first entry into Asia was delayed. We ended up taking the short cut to Hong Kong (HK) via Melbourne and then Bangkok. "Em Air" said Jeff. From HK airport we took the bus to the hostel which was reasonably easy to find. If ever there was a hostel made for dusty blokes then this was it, except for the fact that it didn't have a bar, the Wang Fat hostel. Pretty much everything about it was dodgy, a dust storm had blown through there the day before.

We threw our bags down and started to have a look around Causeway Bay, a major suburb on Hong Kong Island. We found a couple of Aussie bars and restaurants but decided that we were there for culture and not a home away from home. Indonesian was the first dinner, Rocket ordered the stir fry cuttlefish while the Captain took the beef skewers and then some other hot combination with rice that would prove explosive later on. The cuttlefish was unreal! A couple on Heineken's each rounded the bill to $375HK. The smart play then was to take the early kip shop and ease the lack of sleep on the planes.

Day 2

Got up early to tackle the accent of Victoria Peak, the 2417th highest point in Asia. Needless to say it didn't take too long, however the skipper was under the pump from the start. With next to no base fitness and coming in under an injury cloud after stepping on a broken bottle playing barefoot bowls the Slim had the sweat pouring out of him. We stopped at the Botanical Gardens and small zoo halfway up the peak. The park had a number of monkeys including Gibbo's namesake the Gibbon however this mammal was moving considerably better than Slim. The peak track winds its way up the hill steeply through the trees and was well worth it once on top. While the view of Central HK was clouded by smog the skyscrapers were pretty amazing along the waterfront. There is a big lookout 5 story shopping complex at the top. We spent some time there then caught the cable tram down the steep slope and you gotta wonder how it doesn't runaway down the hill.

Once down we took the Tram from central thought the streets back to the hostel. We found a supermarket, got some water and waited for the big event of the night, the HK races from Happy Valley. By this stage the cuisine was really taking effect. Apparently according to Carl Baron "Feng Pei" is the term for bad smells. Walking up the street there were a lot of "ooooooooohhhhhh Feng Pei's going on. We had Thai on the way to the track after running through the rain looking for some Chinese restaurant that was in lonely planet but no longer in HK. The skipper had is photo with a shy young Thai waitress which lifted his DT value $2400 to $329,200. The Thai meal was really nice too. We got to the races, paid the Pat Cash and got a balcony seat and waited for the horses to appear. We started talking to a Chinese punter who was carrying a ream of information on all the horses and their previous starts. The we learned that the race night had been relocated from Happy Valley to Shin Tan for 1 only meeting on a Wednesday night for the year and it was tonight. TDI were devastated. we laid a few bets regardless as there was a massive big screen on the infield of the Shin Tan meet. Slim was receiving tips from Sydney of the HK horses. It started out well with a win and couple of places but by the end of race 7 we were down some cash so we packed it up and headed for the notorious night club strip in Lockhart Rd, Wan Chai.

With only 2 of the founding 4 members in town it was always going to be hard to back up night after night following dust storm mornings. And with only 4 nights in HK and plenty to see dusting up took a back seat. That's not to say that we didnt have a crack on a couple of occasions while we were there. We went into a bar called Mes Amiss and it cost 100HK for a round, bout 10AUS for a beer. We had a couple then headed for home along the dodgy strip club end of town. That's when "The Incident Occurred" for the captain. TDI regulations restrict access of such classified information to founding members only, unless you can get him drunk and ask him about it. After the incident we went to the supermarket to grab another can but at that stage the dust was well and truly settling all over the captain. We were running through the streets like we owned the place and had just robbed a bank. Slim copped a reprimand from the hostel operator for excess noise. Day out.

Day 3

The room not only stunk the next morning but the captain had to be dug out of a mountain of dust piled on his bed. We headed for the Lantau Island, location of the airport and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue. To get there we took the train and then the new massive cable car to the village where the statue sat. The statue of a seated Buddha is apparently the largest sitting outdoor Buddha in the world and it was pretty massive. We had a vegetarian meal made traditionally like the monks have it. It tasted like something vegetarian too.

We headed back to Kowloon, the major shopping type area in HK. The night market at Temple street was a highlight and we picked up some prints of HK and a few other nick knacks. We walked down Nathan Rd which was apparently a highlight too, its a famous street there with heaps of shopping centres and stuff. Middle eastern was then on the menu, smashed down a couple of kebabs then had a beer in a pub called Ned Kellys last stand or something, it was full of winging poms. Had a snap there raising the average daily to above 4.

We reached the promenade along the waterfront in Kowloon. We watched a superb show of lights from the buildings in the business district on HK island. Every night there is a lights show with lasers etc which lights up all the buildings and tells you what they all are. It is at the top of the must do list when you are in HK next. At night the city comes to life even more, the smog clears and all the skyscrapers and lights make it unreal.

We then left the promenade on the one of the famous Star ferries which operate around the harbour between Kowloon and Central HK. The trip on the ferry takes about 10 mins and is well worth it particularly at night and is the cheapest form of transport between the two islands. We then walked past the spectacular Bank of China tower and took the peak tram back up Victoria Peak to take some photos. It is far more spectacular at height and the smog had cleared so we got some good photos and bought a few gifts there. After that we took the tram home from Central to Causeway Bay. The trams along HK waterfront are pretty cool. You jump on the back then pay $2HK, cheap as when you leave the tram at the front on the way off. They are very efficient and could hold about 60-70 people I reckon and stop every couple of hundred meters.

Day 4

We got up and headed for the Ten Thousand Buddha's monastery at Shin Tan north of Colon. Again we took the ferry but this time to Tsim Sha Tsui East where we caught the KCR west train to Shin Tan. And they are not lying when they call it the Ten Thousand Buddha's monastery, there are heaps of them. You have to walk up a hill to get to it and every step of the way there are gold painted Buddha's lining the path. The monastery at the top was pretty cool and we got some good photos there.

Then we took the train back towards Kowloon and visited the HK flower market and then the bird market, and yes they were real birds, not chicks. There were birds of all kinds and thousands of them in small cages. Nearly all of them were song birds cause apparently they are meant to bring the owner good luck. There were also grasshoppers, centipedes, worms and maggots by the million for sale to feed the birds.

We then spent about 2 hours looking for an internet cafe. If you wanna make some money then starting up a decent internet cafe in HK would be a license to print money. There are none there and the ones that are there are so hard to find. We again had a look at the market and took some more photos down at the promenade. Then we attempted to find some decent drinking holes for our last night in HK. We spent that much time walking the streets and with chafe setting not only on the inner legs but also the crack due to the humidity we were glad to finally find the Dickens bar in Causeway Bay. We smashed a few pints there in short time which resulted in Slim knocking off a beer glass then running up the road to the hostel thinking the security guards were after him, never seen him move so well. Running through the streets of HK can be really fun if you have enough traffic to dodge.

Day 5

Quite a large quantity of dust greeted the tourists on the final morning but we managed to get packed up. There were a few hassles and a bottle of vodka had to be left behind but we got all of our gear and gifts packed. We then headed for the DFO out near the airport where I snared myself a new pair of shoes, the globes are paying the price for attempting a second world tour.

Taxi to the airport and one final feng pei and snap on Asian soil before we flew out for Toronto. All in all HK was well worth visiting and it seemed our 4 nights there was long enough to see all we wanted to see and get dusty at the same time. We would recommend it to the juniors. As for the tasks well TDI's expansion into Asia may require further research before committing significant funds into this region but things look promising. There are plenty of shady blokes there who could easily obtain a dusty junior membership but would need the clearance of other TDI members. We saw nearly all the highlights HK has on offers and on all occasions attempted and tried the local custom and culture. As far as getting dusty goes well there were a couple of dust storms, but like I said it was never gonna get too out of control without the other members. HK dream team ranking as a travel destination was a solid $315,000. Get there if you can for a few nights. Would like to thank the skipper for his company and until next time... Stay Dusty.

TDI