Our final day in Hong Kong – how quickly the time has passed by! A leisurely hotel breakfast followed by quickly packing our suitcases before checking out. It has been an enjoyable second stay for us at the Ibis North Point, a convenient location, good value and rooms with superb views, we’d certainly consider it for future visits.
Taking the luggage on the MTR in Hong Kong is easy as all stations have at least one entrance with step free access and as it was a Sunday morning it was reasonably quiet. The Island Line links North Point directly with Central and from there we followed signs to the ‘City Centre Airport Check In’ which is available to passengers who purchase tickets for the Airport Express train. ‘Group of Two’ tickets cost HK$170 and this ticket then allows passengers to proceed to the airline check in desks. There was just one person waiting at the Emirates desk so check in was a speedy process. Our luggage in the safe keeping of the airline enabled us to have a day free to explore without cumbersome suitcases.
We decided to spend our last day in one of our favourite locations – Stanley in the south of the island, so we boarded a bus from the nearby Exchange bus station. As we passed through the beach resorts of Deep Water and Repulse Bay there were already many locals enjoying a Sunday morning on the beach and what could be nicer, idyllic bays, crystal clear water and warm sunshine (main photo).
On arrival in Stanley we enjoyed a pleasant stroll along the seafront to Blake Pier then a browse in the shops and market before sitting down to lunch in a noodle bar. We bought a couple of postcards and after settling down on a bench to write them, caught the next bus back to Central.
The Central district of Hong Kong takes on a different style on a Sunday – gone are the smartly dressed city workers to be replaced with hundreds of Filipino and Indonesian maids enjoying their day off. The girls congregate outside the headquarters of the large banking corporations, around the Supreme Court building, in shop doorways, in fact they seem to be everywhere. Several of the district’s roads are closed to traffic and impromptu line dancing, singing and other activities take place. The girls meet up with their friends sitting on flattened cardboard cartons, sharing picnics and generally having a fun time.
We took a look in the high end store Shanghai Tang who stock some gorgeous products but with incredibly expensive price tags so it was only window shopping for us there.
Returning to the airport by train took only 20 minutes and as we’d already checked in our bags in town we were soon free to wander around the airside shops. After buying some duty frees we settled down in one of the cafes with tea and cakes until our flight was ready to board.
Our Emirates A380 to Dubai had numerous empty seats and we were again fortunate to have no-one next to us. Before dinner I watched ‘A Little Game’ which was quite a nice film about a school girl learning to play chess in a New York City park.
My choice of stir fried chicken for dinner was incredibly spicy and I needed to drink a glass of water to cool my mouth down, but other than that the meal was quite good. After dinner I watched the ‘Steve Jobs’ film then feeling tired, I stretched out across the empty seat for a few hours sleep.
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Next time, please spend a few hours here in summer and swim in the very crystal clear beach: Half Moon Bay Beach.
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Great post! I always enjoy a visit to Stanley whenever I’m in Hong Kong particularly the double decker bus ride there from Central 😬
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There’s so much to see along the way, isn’t there!
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Enjoy Dubai if you need any advice let me know. I went last year this time and first thing i am right about… YOU ARE DYING IN HEAT 😀 I have a blog post from Dubai on my blog if you are interested to read ❤
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Thank you, I will take a look
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That picture were mades are dancing in front of Cartier is very symbolic. Two worlds together, very expensive shop and the girls who have only one day free having fun without money.
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Oh you have summed up my photo so well! I couldn’t have done it better myself but oh so very true! It’s so nice that they close roads off for the maids to use and let them picnic in the grounds of the corporate buildings.
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What an interesting account of your last day in HK! I never knew about the maids on Sundays. The advance check-in is really convenient, isn’t it? Safe flights!
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Thank you Sinikka for your reflections on my post. It’s great to see that the maids can enjoy themselves n the city centre too
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Your photos brought back lots of nice memories of my stay in Hong Kong in 2010. I do remember seeing the maids on their day off…and Stanley was a nice way to escape the very busy city. (Suzanne)
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It’s so nice to see photos of place we’ve been and reminisce isn’t it! I’m glad they brought back some happy memories.
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What a lovely trip Marion; had a lot of fun taking your “virtual” tour:) thanks for sharing!
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It’s my pleasure, thank you for taking the time to read!
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Loved the photos of the maids on their day off!
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It’s good to see that they have a fun time with their friends and no one m dos them gathering round the centre and enjoying themselves,
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Nice to have a meal that tastes like something on a flight 😀 That doesn’t happen too often. It was lovely following along, I look forward to your next adventures (in Finland perhaps!). xx
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Ooh yes, my beloved Finland will definitely get a mention this year! BTW how do I type words such as Leppavaara and get the dots on top, do I have to adjust my iPad keyboard ! (Sorry to ask for technical support!!)
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Yes, you would have to adjust the keyboard so you have the option of switching to Finnish if these alphabets are needed ☺
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I thought that might be the case, thanks Suvi xx
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