The Langham is ideal to explore Kowloon. See also review for this. Just across the road and maybe 100 m (ca. 105 yards) straight on the right is Heritage 1881. It's the former Marine Police Headquarters and incorporates an exciting mix of shopping, history, food outlets and a hotel.
The location is very romantic. The whole complex is Victorian and green with birds flying around and twittering.
In the former fire fighter station is Shanghai Tang, but there are also IWC and other luxury brands. The Hullett House, a Leading Hotel of the World, is located at the main building. At the time we were there, the hotel offered a tour, if you used any of the restaurants or bars.
The site was very important for ship faring and a map of Hong Kong's territory is depicted on the plaza. There is also the time ball drop tower or round tower. The place is favored by tourists and for magazine photo shoots. It's also very nice to visit when it's dark. The lightning makes Heritage 1881 magical. Heritage 1881 has at important sites a plaque, explaining, what the building was used for.
When walking further, the world famous YMCA isn't too far. When standing on the opposite side of the road, pedestrians can look into the swimming pool area. The smell of food from the hostels restaurant and the chemicals of the pool are mixing. Quite heady stuff! There is also an Indian guy, who asked us each time we passed, if we wanted a tailor made suit. We refused each time, having no need for it, but we were sure he recognized us, after having passed him several times.
Another grand dame is easily reached via underground walk way. It's of course the Peninsula. Having stayed at the sister property in Tokyo, it was a slight disappointment. During day it is very airy and light inside, but when it's getting dark, the lights are also dimmed and it's difficult to orient oneself or see, what you have to eat or drink. We had a cocktail, called East of the Suez, it's a signature drink, and it was very good indeed. The staff was okay, but sometimes it was difficult to get their attention.
We also visited the famous Peninsula shopping arcade and bought some hotel related stuff. Guests and visitors can also fix their luxury goods desires with Louis Vuitton or Harry Winston and many other stores.
The Peninsula Hotel had at the time a charity for the victims of the earthquake in Japan. We bought two origami cranes - cranes stand in Japanese culture for long life, prosperity and good health -, wrote a message on them and hung them on the "tree" provided in the lobby. All proceeds went to the Red Cross Japan.
Via underground walkway and shopping (the mall is directly connected with the Sheraton Hotel) we went to the harbor, ending up in front of the Intercontinental Hong Kong. Reaching it was a little bit more difficult, because there was a building site. We were very much looking forward to it, because we had heard a lot of good things about the hotel and previously had good experience with Intercontinental (having stayed in Madrid and Warsaw and visited Bangkok a few times). It didn't start off well. A hotel employee asked us not to take photos, because the hotel has normal windows and anyone standing outside could see, what was going on in the rooms, if the curtains weren't drawn and we should give the guests more privacy. We felt like we were criminals or doing something forbidden. Another hotel, the Radisson Media City in Dusseldorf, Germany, with the same issue handles such situations differently. Photographers are welcome and can shoot as much as they want. Please see also the review for Dusseldorf.
The visit didn't turn out much better. We went to the Lobby Lounge, because of the great views over Hong Kong Harbor. The views weren't as near as we expected, the staff was very cold and didn't care, if we felt well or not. The food was overprized and didn't taste. I had a mocktail, but it turned out to be more like a cheap slushy, you can buy in Ireland in all hideous colors possible. My Reuben Sandwich was too salty, the fries were crisp inside and outside and salt had been used liberally, too. The side salad was excellent, though. He had a Ham & Cheese Sandwich and a cocktail. It was okay, but nothing great. The price for three drinks and two main courses came in at around 780 HKD (ca. 78 Euros or ca. 100 USD). We were glad to be out of the hotel, which happens rarely. What we liked was the exterior with the large glass facade.
We passed the hotel, turned left and suddenly were very near to the sea and had great views over the island. We had arrived at Avenue of the Stars, which is similar to the Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. It tells the history of film making in Hong Kong over the last century or so. There are loads of hand prints from famous Chinese/Hong Kong actors/actresses. It was really interesting and also good to people watch or enjoy the views to the Island. It's also very romantic during twig light.
A visit to Hong Kong wouldn't be complete with enjoying the hustle and bustle of Nathan Road. There are more tailors, who want your business. Shops and more hotels, like the Holiday Inn and not too far off the Hyatt Regency Tsim Tsa Tsui. It was a great experience and we liked the liveliness of the place.
More from Hong Kong at the next blog.
©2011
No comments:
Post a Comment