Day 47 4/11/2014

With no repercussions from dinner we headed out for breakfast and then down to Central to get the tram up to Victoria Peak.  The weather was still overcast but the forecast looked much the same for the rest of the week.  The peak tram was apparently the first funicular in Asia and rises steeply above the sky scrappers to Victoria Peak at 552m.  There's an audio tour at the Sky Terrace at the top which was very interesting and a great way to learn a little bit about HK.  We walked along the Peak scenic trail enjoying the views and peace and quiet away from the hoards of tourists.  After heading back down on the tram we visited the HSBC building, the worlds most expensive when it was completed in 1985.  We took advantage of the mid level escalators and travelled the 800m up through Soho which looks like a really vibrant area full of bars and restaurants.  From here we dropped down into the Sheung Wan district and walked around the area which apparently most resembles HK of the past.  On route we passed the Man Mo Temple which was brimming with cylindrical joss sticks (to the point where you could hardly breath and Simon had to make a hasty exist to avoid intense sneezing).  One of the temples is basically a cemetary with hundreds of small boxes full of ashes, each with a picture of the deceased on the outside (reflective of the cost of land and lack of space for cemeteries).   We dropped down towards the harbour and passed the numerous shops selling all forms of sea creatures and then got the tram back through crazily busy traffic - it would have been quicker to walk but we enjoyed the views from the top deck.  Why people drive in HK is a mystery.  Simon popped into a local barbers.  Luckily the guy spoke English and he came out with a very nice short back and sides!  Fortuitously Simon phoned Hong Kong airlines to check on our flight to Hanoi on the 6th to be told it had been cancelled.  Not sure when they were going to let us know.  With little option we rebooked for Friday giving us an extra day in HK.  The hotel provides free phone calls to the UK and we took advantage of this to call our parents.  It was lovely to speak to them and hear that they were all OK.  In the evening we treated ourselves to dinner at a lovely Italian/American restaurant back in Soho called Posto Pubblico - it's good to blow the budget every now and again!  The bottle of Italian red was very welcome (we certainly wouldn't recommend Chinese Great Wall red wine) and Simon thoroughly enjoyed the steak he'd been craving for over the last few weeks.