Friendship and Food.

Beautiful tree at Sunny Bay Station.

We had a lovely long swim on Monday this week. We must do a few more, because life recently has involved quite a bit of eating and I am struggling to fit into most of my clothes!!!

On Tuesday, Peter and I met up with our friend Agnes in The Chippy in Discovery Bay. We couldn't believe how hot and sunny it was. We had a very pleasant lunch. Peter and I both had pies. He chose a balti pie and I had the chicken and mushroom one. Agnes went for cod bites and chips. Peter was delighted to find that The Chippy sells draught Aspall's cider. He really misses his cider here. We had a very good catch up and as always attempted to put the world to rights.

In The Chippy without food.

In The Chippy with food.

The three of us.

When we had finished lunch, we retired to Coffee Academicals for cappuccino, iced chocolate and coffee flavoured ice-cream. (One of these each, not all of them per person. We are not that greedy.) It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

In Coffee Academicals.

In Coffee Academicals.

There were a few Halloween displays in the plaza, mainly involving pumpkins, so we had fun taking a few photos with these.

Posing with the Halloween decorations.

Agnes invited me to join her on a few trips she has lined up and I was happy to agree. She is able to get in to some places that are not generally open to the public through her job and I'm always happy to tag along.

On Wednesday, I went out to lunch with Elizabeth, Lai and Suman, all of whom used to teach in the same school as me. We are now ladies of leisure and I hope this lunch may be the first of many.

We were going to an Indian restaurant called Gaylord in Tsim Sha Tsui. I deliberately arrived early, so that I could have a wander around Tsim Sha Tsui before the meal. I wanted to see if there were any good Halloween displays around there. I'd have to say that there weren't. There were, however, some Halloween pictures on the ground on the Avenue of Stars. I think Discovery Bay, where I live, does Halloween much better.

Hong Kong Halloween.

Bat and treats.

Dracula in a Hong Kong taxi.

Ghost on board the star ferry.

Frankenstein rides the bus.

Halloween stairway.

Anyway during Covid, I remember walking along The Avenue of Stars and being the only person there. Now, I wouldn't exactly describe it as heaving, but there were many Mainland tourist groups around. It was also good to see a huge cruise ship docked at Ocean Terminal. The Aqua Luna was plying the waters with its sails lowered, too.

Outside KII.

The Aqua Luna junk with its sail down.

Good to see cruise ships back.

The 1881 Heritage Building.

When I got to the Prince Building where the restaurant is, I had to take the lift to the fifth floor. I pressed level five and the lift went straight past it, all the way to level twenty. I thought no problem, I'll just get off at five on the way back down, but no, the lift went straight past it again. I got off at ground level and complained. Noone understood me. I was getting angry. I got into the lift again, pressed extremely hard on level five and this time it decided to stop at the correct level. Phew!!

Elizabeth was already at the table, Lai was next to arrive and then Suman. Noone else had problems with the lift, so I guess it must be something to do with me.

Suman knew the owner of the restaurant, so we got very good service. We all decided to opt for the lunchtime buffet which included a soft drink, naan bread and tea or coffee for HK$206, around £20, which is pretty good value.

The food was excellent and we had a great time catching up on all the news and gossip. We were even brought some delicious free kulfi at the end of the meal. Peter loves this, so he was kicking himself later for not coming along.

At the entrance to The Gaylord.

Outside the restaurant.

The four of us.

Lai and I.

Elizabeth, Lai and I.

After the meal we all decided to go for a stroll in Kowloon Park to try and burn off a few calories. I really like this park because when you wander into it, you are quickly surrounded by greenery, peace and tranquility. It's as if Tsim Sha Tsui has just vanished into thin air. The park has some lovely fountains, ponds and sculptures.

Kowloon Park Sign.

Pond.

Sculpture.

Fountain.

My favourite part is the pond with lots of long legged flamingos.

Flamingos.

Flamingos.

Not far from this pond there's an aviary too. We had a wander around all of these and took lots of photos. It was fun.

Blue and yellow Macaw.

Green macaw.

Very colourful bird.

We took lots and lots of photos as we wandered around. It was a really fun day.

In Kowloon Park by the fountain.

Strolling in the park.

Strolling in the park.

What a bunch of posers.

Suman.

Lai.

Me in the shade of a banyan tree.

Lai, happy as always.

The four of us and a sculpture.

Peter and I were supposed to eat out with friends on Thursday too, but fortunately this got moved to next week. Maybe I will try and show a bit of restraint tomorrow, but then again.....