Friday 2^nd May 2014

Landed in London at 5:05 am local time this morning. Disembarked the plane about 5:20am and then caught a train from terminal 5, back to terminal 1 to clear immigration and collect our luggage.

 We then made our way to the tube station and boarded a train for Russell Square. A taxi from Russell Square saw us arrive at our Hotel (The Thistle Hyde Park) in Bayswater Road, Kensington, near Lancaster Gate tube station, about 8:30am.

 As our room was not going to be ready until about 10:00am, we left our bags at the hotel and walked through Hyde Park to the Albert memorial.

Albert Memorial & Royal Albert Hall

Squirrel in Hyde Park

Returned to the hotel about 10:00am to check in and were very pleasantly surprised when we were told that our room had been upgraded to a mini suite which looks over Hyde Park.

Our room

 After a light lunch we set off to Jermyne Street so I cold look for a dress shirt for Kelly & Justin’s wedding. After getting some ideas we made our way through the Burlington Arcade, (could not find the gold 1954 Rolex watch I saw last time) and on to Hamley’s Toy store. Hamley’s was very crowded so we decide to have afternoon tea in a lovely café opposite the Burlington Arcade.  As it was now late in the afternoon, and very cold outside, we made our way back to our hotel where we had dinner followed by an early night to catch up on the sleep lost on the trip from Hong Kong.

Saturday 3^rd May 2014

Weather today is looking great, clear blue sky and predicted temperature a reasonably warm 17° with no rain expected.

Breakfast was the first order of business this morning so we went to the dining room where we indulged in a full English breakfast.

We are catching up with Alan & Linnie who have traveled down from Bedford for the day.

Met Alan & Linnie about 11:30am and walked to the White Swan pub where we had lunch and a few drinks.

We decided to walk off lunch with a stroll through Hyde Park. As it is Bank holiday weekend and the weather is good, (sunshine, clear blue sky and no wind) there were a large number of people and dogs enjoying the outdoors. 

Fountain in Italian Garden

We walked from the Italian Gardens past the Diana Memorial Fountain, (which reminds me of a concrete pathway water feature) then around the Serpentine (the man made lake in the middle of the park) where there were a lot of people out on the lake in paddle and rowing boat.  Also lots of geese, swans and ducks.

Another Squirrel

Boats on the Serpentine

As the sun was shining there were many people sunbaking on the grass and on deckchairs, which can be hired for  £1.60 per hour.

All in all a great day out, fantastic company, good food and drink, and our exercise quota fulfilled.

We said goodbye to Alan & Linnie about 4:30pm and headed back to our hotel for a cuppa and a rest.

Goose on Serpentine (Where's Maverick)

Thursday 1^st May 2014

Another early rise as we are booked on the Hong Kong Island tour leaving the Hotel at 8:25am. Weather report for today is much the same as yesterday, 24°, very foggy and a light rain shower earlier in the morning.

First stop on the tour was Victoria Peak. On a clear day the views would be awesome, however, the higher up the mountain we went the thicker the fog got. Took some photos but they mostly show how dense the fog was. Our tour Guide said the best time of the year for clear skies is autumn.

View from top of Victoria Peak

Aberdeen Fishing Village

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

 Our second stop today was Aberdeen fishing village. Not a traditional village as we know it. The village is comprised of fishing boats, sampans and houseboats. You guessed it, the village is a floating community with the famous and very large “Jumbo” floating restaurant.

We went for a 30-minute ride round the village on traditional sampan, although it did have a diesel engine.

Sampan Water Taxis

Next was a visit to the Dynasty Jewelry manufacturers’ factory. After a brief introduction to how the items are designed and manufactured we were able to view and purchase items if we wanted. As Lynne’s & my Chinese horoscope animal is a horse I put my negotiating skills to work and bought an 18 carat gold and diamond horse pendent which I got a good discount on.   

The last stop of the tour was the Stanley Markets and on the way we drove around Repulse Bay, named after a famous Royal Navy Ship of the line. Repulse Bay is also the location of some of the most prestigious and expensive residential housing on Hong Kong Island.

Majority of the housing in Hong Kong is high-rise and the apartments for the most part are very small with only 2 bedrooms, total size approx. 300 square feet. There are very few freestanding residences’ on the Island and they range in price from US$1.0M +.

Stanley market is like every other market we have been to. Lots of shops and stalls in a very confined space. We manage after a bit of bargaining to get an outfit for Mini Fitz. I would have haggled more but Lynne obviously felt sorry for the stall owner as she agreed a price early in the negotiations.

Arrived back at the hotel about 1:30pm and had lunch in the buffet. We managed to extend our checkout time to 6:00PM so we can have a shower, repack our bags and head to the airport after checking out. A much better way than putting bags in storage and wandering round for the day.

That’s all from Hong Kong. Our flight departs tonight at 11:15pm local time with  eta of 4:55am at Heathrow. So the next update will be from London. 

Stanley Markets