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Description
No photographs taken today so this is from a future visit to Hong Kong in 1995, when I finally got to see a Chinese junk in full sail in Victoria Harbour, albeit a tourism promotion vessel.

Day 22 - Sunday 16 February

South China Sea - Kowloon

The ship was just preparing to dock when I was awoken at six o’clock and I dressed hurriedly, just a question of putting on my jacket and boots, before heading down to the dining hall and my bike. I waited until most of the passengers were out of the way before wheeling the bike into the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. Entry procedures were a mere formality and I was soon out on Canton Road, incredibly quiet at this hour on a Sunday morning.

I had decided to stay at the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui, but this did not prove to be quite as easy as I had anticipated. Having located the place quickly enough I discovered that they didn’t have a single room available for the whole of my planned stay of three nights and that a double room was going to cost about HK$560 plus tax - not exactly my idea of the YMCA being a cheap place to stay! The guy at the desk told me that there was another, cheaper one further along Nathan Road but what he didn’t tell me, and which I only discovered once I arrived, after having done battle with a local bus driver all the way, was that it was Chinese speaking only and wasn’t even open at this time of the morning in any case.

Feeling annoyed, in fact very annoyed, I rode back along Nathan Road, stopping when I reached Mirador Mansions. I wasn’t intending to go to the same hostel I had stayed at before but I did try the Garden Hostel on the third floor as it was supposed to be one of the best. Unfortunately they were full. There was no way I was going to go up and down Mirador Mansions hunting for a spare room so I decided I had better return to the YMCA on Salisbury Road.

This time the very same guy at the desk told me that they had a single room available for two nights. Why hadn’t he told me that in the first place instead of sending me on a wild goose chase? I booked in, at a cost of HK$495 per night, plus a further hundred dollar key deposit. I have to say that the place was very much more like a slightly upmarket hotel than a traditional YMCA and it boasted a really prime location, right next door to the famous Peninsula Hotel. I even had a view out over Hong Kong harbour from my room, for which I undoubtedly would have paid a great deal more in a real hotel. The room was very well appointed with a comfortable bed, table and chair, easy chair, television, fridge and minibar, and a very smart bathroom complete with towels and toiletries. There was also a restaurant, café, room service and just about everything else that would be offered by a hotel; very impressive.

Although it was a Sunday and I was pretty sure that the travel agencies would all be closed I went out to check anyway, if only to see how professional they looked from the outside. I then headed for the nearest Catholic church on Chatham Road South. I arrived at nine-forty and learnt that the next service was at ten o’clock but that it would be in Cantonese, with the next English service scheduled for eleven o’clock. I returned to the YMCA via a bookshop, where I bought the latest Lonely Planet Thailand guide, and then had an egg and bacon breakfast in the YMCA café, which was tasty enough but a bit on the cold side.

Following this I borrowed a copy of the local Yellow Pages and made a list of various camping goods and cycle shops in Kowloon before going back out onto the streets. My main priority was a new backpack because my present rucksack was only really a large daypack and would not be big enough for my revised travel plans. I also intended to see if anyone would be interested in buying my bike. Despite walking several miles around Kowloon I had no luck in either quest.
All in all it had proved to be quite a fruitless day, Sunday mass apart, and the weather had hardly been exciting either; dry but quite cool and very windy. I spent the evening trying to pack all my things into my existing rucksack, without quite succeeding, and watching television.

Today’s ride - 7.5 km
Total tour ride - 513.0 km
Today’s average speed - 10.9 km/h
Today’s maximum speed - 29.8 km/h

Description
No photographs taken today so this is from a future visit to Hong Kong in 1995, when I finally got to see a Chinese junk in full sail in Victoria Harbour, albeit a tourism promotion vessel.

Day 22 - Sunday 16 February

South China Sea - Kowloon

The ship was just preparing to dock when I was awoken at six o’clock and I dressed hurriedly, just a question of putting on my jacket and boots, before heading down to the dining hall and my bike. I waited until most of the passengers were out of the way before wheeling the bike into the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. Entry procedures were a mere formality and I was soon out on Canton Road, incredibly quiet at this hour on a Sunday morning.

I had decided to stay at the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui, but this did not prove to be quite as easy as I had anticipated. Having located the place quickly enough I discovered that they didn’t have a single room available for the whole of my planned stay of three nights and that a double room was going to cost about HK$560 plus tax - not exactly my idea of the YMCA being a cheap place to stay! The guy at the desk told me that there was another, cheaper one further along Nathan Road but what he didn’t tell me, and which I only discovered once I arrived, after having done battle with a local bus driver all the way, was that it was Chinese speaking only and wasn’t even open at this time of the morning in any case.

Feeling annoyed, in fact very annoyed, I rode back along Nathan Road, stopping when I reached Mirador Mansions. I wasn’t intending to go to the same hostel I had stayed at before but I did try the Garden Hostel on the third floor as it was supposed to be one of the best. Unfortunately they were full. There was no way I was going to go up and down Mirador Mansions hunting for a spare room so I decided I had better return to the YMCA on Salisbury Road.

This time the very same guy at the desk told me that they had a single room available for two nights. Why hadn’t he told me that in the first place instead of sending me on a wild goose chase? I booked in, at a cost of HK$495 per night, plus a further hundred dollar key deposit. I have to say that the place was very much more like a slightly upmarket hotel than a traditional YMCA and it boasted a really prime location, right next door to the famous Peninsula Hotel. I even had a view out over Hong Kong harbour from my room, for which I undoubtedly would have paid a great deal more in a real hotel. The room was very well appointed with a comfortable bed, table and chair, easy chair, television, fridge and minibar, and a very smart bathroom complete with towels and toiletries. There was also a restaurant, café, room service and just about everything else that would be offered by a hotel; very impressive.

Although it was a Sunday and I was pretty sure that the travel agencies would all be closed I went out to check anyway, if only to see how professional they looked from the outside. I then headed for the nearest Catholic church on Chatham Road South. I arrived at nine-forty and learnt that the next service was at ten o’clock but that it would be in Cantonese, with the next English service scheduled for eleven o’clock. I returned to the YMCA via a bookshop, where I bought the latest Lonely Planet Thailand guide, and then had an egg and bacon breakfast in the YMCA café, which was tasty enough but a bit on the cold side.

Following this I borrowed a copy of the local Yellow Pages and made a list of various camping goods and cycle shops in Kowloon before going back out onto the streets. My main priority was a new backpack because my present rucksack was only really a large daypack and would not be big enough for my revised travel plans. I also intended to see if anyone would be interested in buying my bike. Despite walking several miles around Kowloon I had no luck in either quest.
All in all it had proved to be quite a fruitless day, Sunday mass apart, and the weather had hardly been exciting either; dry but quite cool and very windy. I spent the evening trying to pack all my things into my existing rucksack, without quite succeeding, and watching television.

Today’s ride - 7.5 km
Total tour ride - 513.0 km
Today’s average speed - 10.9 km/h
Today’s maximum speed - 29.8 km/h