HONGKONG - Look East !!!

HK – Asia’s World City :

Hong Kong is an exceptionally  spectacular and fascinating city and state as well, where 7 million tourists on average per year from all over the world folk around to be it for 1 thousand odd reasons including high end night life.

Skyscraper @ Sea Beach

With a colourful history behind its towering skyline, HK has always much to offer to a traveler towards multidimensional experiences.

Star Cruise @ Victoria Harbour

There are quite a few hotels and night clubs , where the international “Who’s who” tourists of the level of David Beckham, Naomi Campbell and Shakira  are found to unwind and shake a leg amongst the crowd   during Chinese New Year or Christmas.

Travellers’ Paradise:

Any traveler would be pampered for four levels of an inverted pyramid as under :

•  All round holiday 
• Innumerable types of international cuisine 
• Endless shopping options (from shoe string budget to the garment of Stella Macartney)
• Family fun touching upon 8yrs. to 80 yrs

Some vital info :

It was joined with China in 2005 after subject to British rule for so many decades …. as a strategic mechanism in the world trade and commerce to focus on “East & South East Asia” .

HK Skyline by Eve. 

In 2007, Hong Kong became the 3^rd biggest World’s “Financial Centre” after New York and London. It’s a matured “Financial Hub” now. 

There are hundreds of Regional Head Offices (in South Asia) of world’s top brands (like HSBC,SBI, Standard Chartered Bank, ABN Amro Bank, Bank of Korea,  Samsung, Nikon, Canon, China Mobile, Intel, Microsoft, Armani, Lui Vuitton, Canali Armani and so many)  found existing within hands shaking distance from each other for doing business.

This is HK - a jewel in the crown !!!

 …………….. Truly it is Asia’s “World City” – as claimed by official portal of HK Tourism Board - www.discoverhongkong.com

It is  vibrant as well as   international with world class quality of life , 2 international theme parks (Disneyland and Ocean Park) , oozing aroma of  British legacy and funtastic night life,  where all paradoxical spirits with so many colors and creed do mingle in order to prove the supremacy of one on the earth – M A N K I N D

Extra mile for family holidays in HK :

This is the place, remained a cherishing dream to me since childhood ….. my small boat used to sail across the rivers and oceans towards HK , the one and only place , which the  British Govt. got along with it as a part after the entire country China had been freed 92 years ago.

Victoria Harbour In The Evening 

So, once a chance had emerged in 2014, my childhood dream sparked with electrifying speed in giving shape to it  by meticulous plan and strong execution as a “Project Manager” ,  :-

§  March  – Booked 3 Return Tickets from Kolkata to HK & back for a 8 days tour from 4^th Oct. to 12nd Oct.

§  April   -   Bought a Travel Guide for HK trip for a complete “Tour plan”

§  April   -   Hotel Booking done 

§  June   -   Made Draft Day wise Tour Plan for gainful engagement

§  Aug.    -   Arrangement of Foreign Exchange

§  Sept.   -   Plan revisited for finalization

§  Oct.  -  Tour accomplished / Highly satisfied with 600 pictures and aroma of  HK around

Gorilla @ HK Zoo

My Top Ten Observations :

1. It is an integrated collection of several  islands  and deltas - connected by most modern surface transport, trains and road transport

2. Exemplary city infrastructure and administration to make you inspired - Why and where   your city happens to lack in terms of modernization and quality of city life. Only you need two strong and well toned legs to walk on

3. What an advanced  symbiotic relationship  and notch ability !!!  as an outcome out of  the  combination of east and west as weĺl as capitalism and communism etc. to showcase a global success story

4. Octopus Card is a marvel yielding daily relief to all citizens, commuters and tourists !!!

5. A unprecedented  leader in ideal port administration of global level  - both , sea ports and airports , while others are there to follow

HK Skyline 

6. A glory of Asia in opulence, European influence, cultural affluence and commerce and industries

7. Its tube railway named MTR is impeccable - a treat to watch and enjoy during journey and beyond

8. HK is a cosmopolitan  work destination of millions of expatriates (Phillipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, Taiwanese, Koreans, Africans, Bangladeshis , Europeans, Americans) apart from Chinese from mainland China

9. An immaculate goblet having all diverse tourist attractions , from an ancient Confucian "Man Mo Temple" to "Mechanized Escalator for pedestrians" to "Asia's biggest Giant Wheel" to "Global level Theme Parks" to  British touch of Victoria Harbor to "Peak Tram" to the endless tourist spots to shopping  exotica to sea beaches ..... the list is hard to complete

10. Hk gives us a Las Vegas of Asia also at Macau..... an additional value for money apart from fresh supply of seafood

Crowded Park on Sunday

Top Ten Tourist Hotspots :

 Panorama from the Victoria Peak after the use of Peak Tram – Ride of Peak Tram is amazing and bird’s eye view from The Peak Tower is mind blowing

Man Mo Temple

2.     Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Ride – For visit to Tian Tan or Big Buddha on the top a hill (Lama Island)

3.     Night Market on Temple Street – For budget shoppers ‘ a “Must See”

4.     Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour – For the best view of HK Skyline

5.  Man Mo Temple – Ancient Confucian temple dedicated to the goddess of knowledge and war

6.     Night life at LKF (Lan Kwai Fong) – Buzzing with people, energy, dance and music , LKF is always full of youth and vibrant through the whole night

7.     Ocean Park – Asia’s most popular amusement park and aquarium (A separate page follows)

Ocean Park : A Place of Dolphins, Sharks & Jelly Fish

Ngong Pin : Tian Tan Buddha
 at the background 

8.     Jumbo Kingdom – Luxury 4 storey boat with floating restaurants

9.     Disneyland – Wise replicated (A separate page follows on this blog)

10.  Maritime Museum – Chinese sea faring history is long and appealing

Veg. Lunch (prepared by Monks) @ Po Lin Monestery

Statue of Bruce Lee

Rate of exchange – Per 1 HK $ - Rs. 7.75p to Rs. 8.00p

HK City Police 

Ready Reckoner :

¦  When to go : October to March. Time Zone – 2 and half hours ahead from Kolkata

¦  How to get there :   Self managed Tours are better than Package Tours. Dragon Air is the best choice as airliner. If air booking is done 6 months earlier , return journey fare per head will be @ Rs.26000/- 

¦  Where to stay : Hotels are in hundreds – from 5 Star to YMCA Dormitories. For details, you can collect a very relevant guidebook “Hong Kong For the Indian Traveller” from Lonely Planet series

Disneyland Gate 

                                                     
Must “Dos”:

·         Remember HK $ 1 here is INR 1 Rupee. Not INR Rs.8 as per rate of exchange

·         Taste Egg Tarts available in the afternoon / so fresh, hot, tasty and yummy

·         Look for McDonald or KFC outlets around , if you are not ok with beef and pork

·         Take a “Map” from the hotel and follow the same – you rarely need local help on road

·         Look at the walls and indicators for your need – so mechanized and organized

·         Don’t cross the road midway…….. use “Escalators” for pedestrian’s pathway in the city

Take fresh fruit juice @ HK $ 8/9 for energy

Lamma Island - Smile of  Flowers

SUNDARBAN – The Royal Bengal Diva

Sunrise @ Sundarban 

Sundarban or Beautiful Forest  is an UNESCO Heritage Site.

The Sundarbans National Park is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, and a Biosphere Reserve located in the Sundarbans delta in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans South, East and West are three protected forests in Bangladesh. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Royal Bengal tiger.

This is  the world’s unique beauty spot of  paramount importance to mankind riddled out with danger, decay  and death to its natural eco system, where, international tourists  rub shoulders with the local tourists for unforgettable memories for few days.

Ready …. Steady … Tour  :

Right time : After October to February every year.

There may be hundreds of options with various cost tags , various routes and various comfort levels. I owned the option sold by Deptt. of Tourism , Govt. of WB using their 3 days 2 nights Package Tour on “M.V. Chitrarekha” Launch.

You may visit www.westbengaltourism.gov.in for details.

Sundarban, in my views, does not end in a list of tourist points to visit with camera to hang on the shoulder. Our eyes work there more as lenses without sound of clicks. Since the dawn , our only lounge is  the upper deck before the sun even peeps up from the dark green or sometimes from the mirror water till we go back to bed only under pressure of two alarming enemies as under :

(a)   Cold and dark night  (b)   Wild mosquitoes

Well Guided ?  :

It is very important to get a good guide. We are blessed. The guide is too good  and graduate as well……

In the late afternoon, while sun sets , we use to grab his rich anecdotes with tea and snacks. One common question , he often  receives one question hundred times   : Have you seen tiger ? 

His answer is with a smile : Yes. But after hearing the heart touching stories of the dangerous tigers, your eyes must have to be full of tears. You start praying to God " Oh God ! Don't make me tiger in my next birth !!!".  

But you may not have ready luck that you come across one such within 3 days or so because our launch moves across the river route but a tiger moves in the less traveled zones.

There is a tourist spot in deep island turned forest named "Buridabri" (Meaning an old commanding woman) . 

Why Buridabri ? 

In this delta, most of the poor families have women only as male members going to forest  are eaten by tigers often. Even the women live with so close to danger like tigers, crocodiles and snakes on daily basis  that they are not afraid any more. 

As per an old anecdote,  an old woman once saved herself and a small team of villagers from an attacking tiger not by the use of  arms or fire arms but a spine chilling counter roar after which the tiger had jumped back into the forest again !!!

Scenic Beauty : 

The land is full of rivers................ flowing @ 24 X 7. If you  look more closely ..... the reality will emerge like  roads and traffic of a city. 

  

In a city, there are main arterial roads like King's way with two rows of buildings at both the sides  ... then small roads .... then alleys from the main roads going inside. 

In Sundarban, mostly same model is visible , on water surface only with endless of natural resources built in.

You may get a chance to see one of its natural habitat at the riverside to meet you as a visitor. 

However, none is for me during my trip.  

Water Reservoir For Reserved Tigers ? 

We should thank Forest Deptt. to create "Sweet Water Reservoirs from Rain Water Harvesting " for tigers and other animals to drink from the same for quenching their thirst. 

In case you are a hard nut to meet a tiger face to face for saying "hallo", your right watch tower should be one of some four squared water reserves as shown in the pic. 

The places are in deep jungle  .... silent ....... and uncanny.  The sky is watching only as a CC TV camera keeping the trees as witness.

In case after the rendezvous with the tiger, you are back, plz let me know as we shall celebrate for the reason that a "Best seller" may emerge promptly to deluge the market.

Do The Trees Breathe ? 

Yes. They do. But how ? Where are their noses and nostrils ? 
Plz. see the picture at your left and you learn this from the teacher named Ms. Nature.  
Thousands of trees have to stand on mud but not on land because their feet remain washed often by sea water. So, they cause to breathe through their roots which are visible above the water surface. This syndrome is complete alien to us , as we see trees standing on the ground firmly and breathe. 
This, as we are said , is the evolution process for survival techniques giving new dimension to the flora and fauna. 
The roots with pores around  coming from under the water are treated as noses with nostrils. Every large  "Sundari tree " is found to have 40 to 50 such roots and trunks, where small trees are with less number around.  

This chapter is quite new to all tourists like us there ............ completely unknown and unseen. Learning can be so pleasure. Is n't it ??? 

Even then , there are “Must See Tourist Points” as under  :

• ·    Hiron Point a beautiful spot, great for spotting tigers and other wildlife
• ·    Tin Kona Island another popular spot for wildlife spotting.
• ·     Katka a base for safaris, and good spot to see tigers and for bird-watching.
• ·     Dublar Char Island it's possible to fish here. For people visiting the place from               India (West Bengal), the following should form a part of the itinerary:
• ·     Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower - Most of the tigers are sighted from this tower. Some       other wildlife like axis deers and crocodiles may also be seen from this watch               tower

                                                                                                     

     Sundarban does not call for wild animals only. It is the natural    habitat of variety of trees, fruits, cactus, flora & fauna  and      above all mangroves.

   Once you get to see the rich resource this land has with it in  wilderness, the opulence is assessed. This large delta as UNESCO  Heritage Site has two countries as its shareholders. India is with  33% and Bangladesh with 67% . 

      

      The environmentalists are very much apprehensive on its future. 

Sajnekhali Watch Tower - Watch tower that also houses a museum, a Bonobibi Temple and a crocodile park within its premises.

·         Sajnekhali Pakiralaya

·         Dobanki Watch Tower

·         Bhagbatpur crocodile project

·         Buridabri

·         Netidhopani - It has a temple that’s 400 years old

·         Kanak - Ideal for viewing the Olive Ridley Turtles

·         Holiday Island - It is famous for the Barking Deers

                            

  Bonbibi Temple                                                                      

                                                               

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