9 th October

Lunch at Mongkok

I had a restless night affected by hayfever and a stuffy nose or cold(?). The cpap machine I am using to overcome sleep apnea and snoring just isn’t as comfy as the one at home with its own humidifier.

I eventually took it off at 4 am and then dosed till 6. At about 8 or later David knocked on the door asking us if we wanted to go for congee with Gary and Danny and Robert. I leapt out of bed and was soon dressed. Poor Sheila had never had congee and so she was interested in coming too. We did say it was a HK cultural experience!

Gary had half walked and half tramed it and insisted on leading the way. We ended up in the gardens of the oldest colonial residence The Tea Museum in HK and had to find a way out. Gary was adamant he knew how to get to the tram stop to Wan Chai but we were in the wrong side to get on.

Eventually we got to the place, a little hole in the wall place in Wan Chai. If we had taken the route we know from staying this end, we could have saved some time! Anyway Gary left us as soon as we got there because he had a meeting at 10 am!

The congee was delicious but Sheila was not impressed. I felt bad then because we could have left her sleeping. We were reminded however of the need for an early start tomorrow as we go for China and to pack an overnight bag!

On the way we came across a dog grooming place that was decked out like a boutique. It had a dog exercise pool too! A poor little corgi was swimming with an attendant and it didn’t look too happy.

Then it was off to Mongok for yum cha with old neighbours from Ho man tin san do, where the boys lived when in HK as children. Lovely apartment with a view but quite different from the boys time. In those days it looked out over a shanty town of poor refugees.

Following a drink at Billy and May’s apartment, literally next door to the Leong’s, we dispersed to various places. Roger and I went to the new M+ cultural centre. Gobsmacking! Huge, with a fascinating collection of modern art and special exhibitions. We were quite transfixed by the high art dresses by GUI Pei.

Coincidently we met Anthea and Lawrie and decided to have dinner in Wan Chai near the Happy Valley race track which we had planned to go to later.

Meanwhile Sheila had gone up the Peak Tram and was doing some shopping and met us for dinner outside the seven light shops in a row which we remembered from the night before. it was easy for her to direct the taxi driver to there! Our taxi driver had some trouble but got us there albeit a little later than planned.

Dinner accomplished it was off to the races. What a fun atmosphere! Bands playing, food and beer carts, heaps of young people. Joel gave us a hot tip and we rushed off to place a bet. It was very exciting when our horse won by a nose! My $8 bet returned $24 (Australian). Last of the big punters. The next bet was not successful!

We decided to call it a day due to our early departure for China and the family villages the next day.