“This Prevented access to the site by court order”

Or, in Turkish “Bu siteye erişim mahkeme kararıyla engellenmiştir”, this translating (via google) as per the above “This prevented access to the site by court order”.  So… I have a very good excuse for not updating the blog until now!  Hopefully a few of you have been able to ‘keep track of me’ via Facebook. 

I am now in Greece - on Santorini Island - so I'll try to catch up on this blog with a few highlights from the last few weeks. 

Annapurna-Dhaulagiri Trek

I’m sure you don’t need a blow-by-blow account of the trek, so I’ve tried to group some of the highlights under key headings (this may be a very green approach for my HBDI friends out there…)  However, apologies: as it is still quite long - there were so many amazing and surprising aspects!

The daily routine

·         The 10 of us were supported by Tsering, and a crew of 27 (Our sidhar - in charge of the crew, 4 additional guides, a crew of 7 cooks and 15 porters) – at least, I think that split is roughly correct.

·         Each night, Tsering would give us a briefing, including what time our wake-up call / breakfast / walk start would be: the usual catch-cry became 6/7/8!!

·         Each morning started with a couple of our guides bringing a cup of tea to our tent (in reality, most mornings started significantly earlier with the town rooster starting at 4:30am – or, in subsequent villages the dogs often persisted throughout the night).

·         After tea, we would receive a bowl of warm water for washing, and then had to pack up our belongings and vacate the tents so that the porters could dismantle camp – this process was usually chaotic (particularly on the first morning, as we all tried to figure out the routine).

·         Breakfast was served ‘al fresco’, with our table and chairs set up in the open – enabling us to admire the view as we dined. (The exceptions to this were the really cold mornings – when we would often retreat indoors to a local tea-house… more about them later!)

·         Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all served as we sat, with our guides bringing out platter-after-platter of foods to serve to us.  Breakfast was typically a hot ‘porridge’ (alternating between oats/semolina and rice each day), muesli, granola, followed by eggs (fried/scrambled/omelette), toast or roti-style bread and sausages.  After breakfast on the first day a few off us felt like heading back to bed (being far too full for walking!)

·         At the conclusion of breakfast final packing was completed, and off we would go.

The chores

·         Doing washing became a communal drama – after the first couple of days, we were all hanging out for the opportunity to have some clean clothes.  We had some spectacular mountain outlooks – but attempting to clean clothes in a kitchen-mixing bowl, with only a limited supply of warm water was still a challenging process.

·         However,  other than cleaning clothes, there was very little else that we had to do for ourselves – everything was arranged, catered and served for us – a strange feeling not having to think for myself from day-to-day (I actually found it hard when the tour ended, and I had to start making my own arrangements again!)

Tea Houses

·         Day 2 of the walk kicked off another factor that was to become all too routine… the weather.  Although the day dawned fine and warm, a massive rain and hail storm hit us in the early afternoon (fortunately, we arrived at camp just as it was really starting to hit, and were able to take refuge in the tea house next to our camp).

·         ‘Tea house’ is the name for the accommodation/restaurant establishments set-up for trekkers throughout Nepal.  Typically, they had a main dining hall (with central fire), rooms, and communal bathrooms (sometimes with hot showers!)  Tea houses became a mixed blessing for us:  each night, our tents would be pitched in the grounds neighbouring a tea house – many of us had thought that we would be wilderness camping, and it was disappointing that we were always near another establishment.  On the other hand, with the weather pattern established (rain each afternoon), and increasing getting colder as we ascended in altitude, the dining halls and fires were often a welcome refuge from the elements). 

·         Also, with many of the trekking days being much shorter than anticipated (we often arrived at camp in the early afternoon, and dinner was not served until 7pm each night), we often whiled away the hours in the local tea house: a couple of -not very good- bottles of wine were consumed over the trek, many bottles of the local beer, and -on one occasion- a few rounds of local rum!   (This was in marked contrast to my expectation of a healthy detox in the mountains).

·         As we climbed in altitude, and after several nights of hard, cold ground (I MISSED my Thermarest!), we reached camp one night to discover the coated in snow.  It was at this point that several of us decided tea house rooms were the go for the night… I felt like a bit of a wimp… for about 30 seconds!  For about $4 each, we got a soft(ish) bed – and while the rooms were not heated it was at least dry.

The changing scenery –

·         At lower altitudes, the land we travelled through was almost entirely terraced for crops (an amazing sight over very steep hill sides).  The range of crops grown seemed to be really broad- corn, rice, millet, wheat, cabbages, potatoes, leeks).

·         As we ascended, we reached forested areas – many of which had a distinct ‘Lord of the Rings’ quality: with moss-draped trees, progressing into rhododendron forests.  It was particularly amazing to see rhodos, magnolias and daphne growing in the wild – all things that we cultivate in gardens back home.

·         Nearly every day provided amazing mountain views, and as we ascended they became more and more spectacular.

·         After a night at our highest campground (3660m) about half of us did a there-and-back walk further up the mountain.  We were trekking through snow which was really hard work: often sinking quite deeply with each step (although I was bringing up the rear, so walking in the footsteps of others was significantly easier I think!)  As we progressed, we were faced with sloping mountainsides of snow to pick our way across… I found this really scary: there was nothing above me and nothing below me; just a slope of white.  I was a bit of a wimp, and had to be helped across by the guides on several occasions (although I’m not sure that holding onto my raincoat would have been very useful – I think I might have just taken the guide with me down the slope!)   We stopped for lunch at around 4000m

·         On one particular day of the trek (heading up the hill to Ghorepani on day 10) I started to feel that I’d had about enough: ‘over it’.  It was  on this day that we were treated to some glorious morning weather, gorgeous mountain views, flowers dotting the hillsides in a manner that looked almost like a planned garden, and Rob spoke for all of us when he said he’d run out of adjectives (see my blatant overuse of ‘amazing’ in the points above!)

·         Closer to the towns, the ‘scenery’ also included the people and animals.  The children were unbelievably cute (this is coming from me…) and the donkey transportation trains were always interesting (I especially liked the cages of live chickens as cargo).

The facilities

·         It was amazing what was carried into the villages we passed through – the tea houses were all stocked with beer, soft drinks, chocolate bars, toilet paper (very useful!).  Some of the bottles of beer were particularly explosive, and a theory was developed that related donkey-days (transport mode for getting supplies in) to safety of opening.

·         A couple of the towns we went through were significant in size – with large clusters of local houses and tea houses.  In Ghorepani (a town only a few days from the road – which we reached in the final couple of days of our trek) we hit ‘trekkers paradise’: a German bakery with ‘real’ filter coffee and very good apple strudel, souvenir shops,  a countless number of tea house options for eating and drinking, and a pool room!

·         We also developed a new understanding of the shrinking world: at our highest camp (3660m), having not seen a road for multiple days, several of the group were able to communicate back home (via a computer hooked up to the net… or using WiFi on Steve’s computer).  Personally, I think using internet on a Turkish bus is also quite impressive – but Nepal probably wins for magnitude of effort.

·         Steve’s IPad got a few outings for movie viewings: the cinema would be set-up in tea house dining rooms or in Rebecca’s tent, and a few of us would cluster around.  Again, it was just bizarre to have trekked away from civilisation (as we know it) only to be watching ‘The Social Network / Salt or Harry Potter’! 

·         - After the tent-cinema, Steve coined a new trek description “A slumber party with the occasional morning walk”

·         One evening, we decided some warmth was required, and had the IPad running the crackling fire screen as our dinner accompaniment.

A ‘Get well’ note:

In the middle of our trek we were camping at our highest point: 3660m.  In the very early hours of the morning I woke up to hear my tent buddy, Angela ‘whimpering’ (sorry Ang – I can’t think of a nicer description).  At first she said she was cold – but she felt hot.  What followed over the next 6-or so hours was quite scary:

·         I woke Tsering (who, as our lead guide had first aid training), and also Chris – another member of our group, who is also a doctor).  The guides carried Angela up to the tea house and lit a fire, and Chris tried to talk to Angela to figure out what was going on.  Unfortunately, she deteriorated, and began to drift in and out of full consciousness, and the decision was made to call the rescue helicopter.  This set in place another set of dramas:

·         Firstly, the choppers couldn’t fly until first-light.  Then, all the choppers are located at Everest, (as that is where the greatest number of emergencies take-place), so one had to be sent out to the Annapurna region.  Then, the chopper was searching the wrong ridge, and didn’t spot us (we could see it!) And finally, when Tsering managed to talk to the pilot, the clouds rolled in, the chopper had to land in a valley down below, and we all had to wait for a clear-spell. 

·         During this time, the whole crew + our trekking group + a few additional people from around the tea house (so about 40 people in all) were milling around, instructions were being thrown about and preparations appeared to be being made to signal the chopper.

·         Finally, we got a break, the chopper came in, and Angela was hauled on someone’s back (literally like a sack of potatoes – looked very uncomfortable) up to the landing spot.

·         Since we were only half way through the trek, the rest of us had to continue on with the schedule.  Despite only knowing each other for a very short time, seeing Angela in those conditions was very upsetting for all of us, and it felt like we’d lost one of the family.  Fortunately, Tsering was able to get mobile phone reception regularly throughout the following days, and could update us on her progress (although exact details were hazy, we did know that she was in hospital, and stable).

·         Although it was initially thought that she’d be out in a few days, Angela was still in hospital when we returned to Kathmandu (5 days later).  The diagnosis appeared to be: a mixture of dehydration, bacterial infection and altitude sickness.  She was sent home on her scheduled flight a few days later, and we all hope that she is recovering well back in Oz.

·         As for the rest of us – aside from a few mild headaches, and some breathlessness, there were no severe reactions to the altitude (however I think that we all slept better once we descended to lower altitudes).

Overall, the trek was an amazing experience, but I would have preferred something that was more physically challenging.  Also, if I return to Nepal (which I hope that I will one-day) I would definitely opt for a tea-house trek (camping is not necessary in Nepal!)  If anyone else is thinking of trekking in Nepal I can’t recommend it too highly – you’ll love it, and if you want any suggestions just send me a note and I’ll let you know my thoughts J

Zoom Zoom! (Part 1 of Trekking in Nepal)

Where to start?  Since my last post I have travelled to Pokhara (central Nepal, west of Kathmandu), trekked for 12 days (climbing to around 4000m), been to  Bhaktapur (one of the medieval city-states of the Kathmandu valley), and am now back in Kathmandu.

So, in the words of our Nepalese Sherpa guides… Zoom zoom (“Let’s go”)!

The World Expeditions '16-day' tour started officially with a briefing in the evening of Monday 21^st at our Kathmandu hotel (the Radisson: a bit of a ‘step up’ in glamour compared to my lodgings for the previous few days).  We were a group of 10 – a range of ages, some couples and some singles; so a real mix of people – which would prove to be a blessing, and also a source of some amusement for the subsequent 2 weeks together.  Our lead guide (Tsering) was the man charged with looking after us – and all our support team.

‘Day 2’ (Tues) was organised sightseeing around Kathmandu.  I’d already seen some of the attractions, so only joined the group for the morning session, visiting the Bodanath – a huge Buddhist stupa, surrounded by monasteries and souvenir shops.  It’s an impressive sight: I didn’t think it was as beautiful as the Monkey temple (Swayambhunath), but it is larger in size and of significance to the Tibetan Buddhists.

The journey really started on ‘Day 3’ (Wed) when we headed for Kathmandu airport (domestic) – what a chaotic place!  There were piles of luggage, and people everywhere.  Our trekking gear was carted away by a team of porters, but we had to submit our carry-on to the using scanning process; except that Tsering was extremely insistent that we ourselves must pass through the scanners quickly – so as not to lose sight of our bags; it all felt very urgent and high-stress.  The security queues were segregated into men & women, which was very necessary given the ‘uninhibited’ nature of the pat down procedure!  The next excitement was to find out that we were flying with ‘Yeti airlines’ (can Yeti’s fly?) – it seemed appropriate for a true Nepali-experience (although I would have been just as happy with ‘Buddha Air’).  The 35min flight to Pokhara gave us our first view of some impressive mountain ranges, and terraced fields.  We had just a couple of hours in Pokhara itself (a launching town for a lot of trekkers, so well set-up with equipment stores, souveniors, restaurants and bars).  The town sits on a lake, surrounded by hills and mountain ranges – and reminded me somewhat of Queenstown NZ (apart from the water looking much less appealing). 

Lake at Pokhara

Our first ‘catered’ meal was served to us at the World Expeditions campsite in Pokhara (a permanent campsite, complete with dining hall).  I have written in my diary that “lunch was served as we sat – i.e. we were waited upon; food was plentiful and very tasty”… In fact, food was to become a central focus of our trek: often described as ‘a short walk between meals’, and the quantity of food was frequently overwhelming (particularly the number of forms of carbohydrates the cooks managed to pack in – think: rice + pasta + fries + pizza – all on the one plate!)

To start the trek, we hopped onto a ‘pimped up’ bus (interior décor was all- mirror and metallic cut outs: very Elvis-style).  As it turns out, all the trekking buses seemed to be in this style, and even the local buses around Kathmandu have had some degree of decoration applied.  The walk on this first day was very short (and very slow – which as many of you know doesn’t suit me at all).  The path wound upwards through small villages, seeing local people (a reflection of the number of trekkers who must come through this area was provided by the English language repertoire of the local kids “sweets? / chocolate? / money?”). 

We arrived at ‘Australia Camp’ – which was horrendous: a veritable tent-city; just a sea of tents packed closely together, multiple buildings (presumably dining halls etc.), and even a large square area screened off (apparently for the big party that night).  Fortunately for us, our camp site was another 10min walk, at the next small village; giving us a little space and peace away from the crowds.

Although we had warm, dry weather on this first trekking day we didn’t really get any views of the mountain ranges, and couldn’t see anything special when we set up camp that afternoon…  It was amazing to get up the next morning and discover that our campite looked out on an incredible view:

Pre-dawn light at camp on 'Day 2' (Thurs 24th March)



View from the tents: Annapurna South



Kathmandu: Contrasts and the Cafe Scene!

I am intending to upload photos later!

I've now survived another 2 days in Kathmandu, and am learning to embrace the contrasts -

On the one hand, the temples are amazing, but crowded with tourists, souvenir sellers and guides touting for business (in some areas these men are more persistent than others, and can be highly annoying!)  Being in this environment is exhausting (it's noisy, and becomes mentally challenging to keep smiling with the constant hassling). 

After a few hours, I feel the need to 'escape' and take time out - which is where the other side of the Kathmandu backpacking experience comes in... sitting in garden / rooftop cafes & restaurants, drinking coffee / tea / beer and eating food (there are restaurants representing nearly every cuisine from around the world).  I've spent many hours sitting in these places - escaping the chaos outside: I could totally get used to it!!  And it's so cheap: a coffee is around AU$1, and a plate of dumplings usually around $1.50.  Some of the gardens settings are really beautiful and quite tranquil.

Yesterday, I started the day at one of the aforementioned cafes - Himalayan Java roast their own beans fresh each day, and its clearly a popular hang-out location for tourists. 

I decided to follow the Lonely Plant recommended walking tour from Thamel (neighbourhood my hotel was in) to Durbar Square.  I found myself standing on a street corner with another girl doing the same thing!  Cindy and I agreed to hook-up, and it was great to have the company for the day.  There are temples / shrines every couple of metres along the streets in Kathmandu, and they are all in use, and there usually seem to be a few people paying their respects - religion is obviously integrated into daily life. 

Durbar Square is where the kings were once crowned and lived.  There are a series of amazing buildings (palace and Hindu shrines).  It was really crowded with people, and we encountered the most annoying and persistent tour guides: saying no, ignoring them and even walking away all had a limited degree of effectiveness.  Even saying I'd already had a guide didn't work - I was told that there are some "not so good quality guides" - just as there are some "not so good quality" taxi drivers!!  One of the guides apparently accepted that I wasn't interested in his services in that way - and suggested that a Nepalese man could show me a more fun time than an Australian man - I couldn't help but laugh: I've never been propositioned quite so blatantly!

To escape the chaos, we headed to one of the rooftop bars above the square - providing us with excellent views, some tranquility, and while the food was overpriced a drink and a plate of momos (dumplings) was a very cheap way to enjoy the location.

Venturing out again, just wandering the streets in Kathmandu is overwhelming and fascinating.  We stopped outside a 'herbal store' which the proprietor explained sells herbs and spices for all uses (cooking, making incense, health use).  Each street seemed to 'specialise' in a particular product - saris, bangles, dental clinics...

I finished my afternoon back at Himalayan Java again (I did say I was embracing the cafe scene!). 

Today (Monday 21 Jan) - I got up early to head up the hill to Swayambhunath.  However, despite my purposeful walking, I managed to go in completely the wrong direction... but I did get to see a lot of the early-morning local activities, which was quite fascinating.  Around all the squares, people had laid out fresh produce for sale, and tea sellers set up their burners, and customers would buy a cup of tea and stand around drinking it.  Everywhere there were shops deep frying and selling what looked like donuts - and many of these places seemed to be doing a roaring trade.  After multiple wrong-turns, I did manage to arrive at the base of the steps to the temple.  By this time, I was actually hungry, and spotted a shop making the donut-like things (I really wanted to try them, as they seemed to be everywhere, but I wasn't sure what to ask for and felt a bit shy).  I approached the shop and hovered behind another customer, and after a few moments a man standing nearby asked me if I wanted to try.  I was ushered inside the tiny shop to a small bench table, and presented a plate of 'golmari' and a cup of masala tea.  Ramkumar showed me the different types of deep-fried snacks; golmari are dumpling shaped, and not sweet, malpa are disc-shaped and much sweeter.  It was a really fantastic experience, and while I was obviously a novelty, everyone was really friendly.  And the cost? Rs20 (less than 30 cents).

Eventually, I did make it up the hill to the temple.  It was amazing - the main stupa has 13 golden tiers, and in the morning sunlight it was gleaming.  Again, the main stupa was surrounded by other temples and shrines, and the hillside around was festooned with prayer flags.
This afternoon, I had to check out of my hotel, and move to the Radisson!  It's a large hotel, and feels like any hotel - anywhere.  I don't really understand why people would come to Nepal and stay here, it feels a little closeted away from the real world outside, and the location is not as good (it's a bit further away from all the shops and restaurants of the Thamel area).

I met my trekking buddies this afternoon.  A range of ages, with 4 of us 'young' ones - all of us travelling alone (I am sharing a room with Angela: a doctor from Sydney).  So far everyone seems nice, and a few of them when out for dinner tonight - unfortunately I had an upset stomach, and didn't think I should venture out (although I feel fine now, so hopefully it has passed).

Kathmandu: Chaotic, Challenging & Colourful!

I landed in Kathmandu last night - after too many hours on the plane from Hong Kong (something to do with the fuel being unbalanced, resulting in additional time sitting on the tarmac!) I actually have no idea how delayed we were - I was too tired - but to my relief the guy from the hostel was still there waiting to pick me up.

Arriving into Kathmandu after midnight, on a Friday night, was an interesting introduction... it was incredibly dark, and when the car turned onto a dark, narrow road, with very old run-down buildings I did wonder where I was going... I thought I was staying in the 'centre' of town?!  I now know that all roads in Kathmandu are incredibly narrow, but fortunately the cars all seem to be correspondingly tiny!  As we got into town, the streets were lined with young guys hanging out by there cars, the occasional skimpily clad girls, and when we pulled up outside my hostel there was an all-out screaming match going on (no idea what it was all about - but seemed to involve a couple of Western girls).  I woke up this morning feeling a bit anxious about what to expect - Kathmandu seemed like a much bigger challenge than Hong Kong.

Step 1 was to obtain some local cash (I had none).  Armed with a map, and the Lonely Planet recommendations on ATM locations, I set off down the road.  It was about 9am, and the streets were surprisingly quiet.  There are very few ATMs around, and the first mentioned in the LP was boarded up, the second was not working.  Just as I was wondering what to do (do money changers take credit cards???) I found a third machine - and after several attempts managed to extract some cash.

With that success, I thought I'd try to orient myself.  After only a few paces I was 'picked up' by a young guy named Uddab.  He asked where I was going etc etc, and I figured there was no harm.  Uddab explained that today was the Holi festival - so it was a public holiday, shops were shut, and that explained why the roads weren't overly crowded.  It's also called the festival of colours, and involves people throwing water bombs and coloured powders.  Uddab claimed to be a artist, and took me to meet his teacher at an art school / shop next to one of the temples; clearly an effort to get me to buy, but quite interesting (Thangkas are religious art pieces, and can take the form of a meditation image, a philosophical image, the story of Buddhas life, or the mandala - circle).  I didn't buy anything, and thought that would be the end of Uddab - but no!  He then proceeded offered to show me some more sights... it didn't take too long to figure out that this was becoming a guided tour.  However, it was actually very interesting, as we wandered onto the back-streets around Kathmandu, and got to experience the Holi festival in real action: the kids were having heaps of fun - and I had to eventually put my camera away and use the rain cover on my camera bag!  All the tourists here seem to get covered in paint, although I managed to confine to just my face.

The kids definitely enjoyed Holi

For lunch, I was taken to a traditional Newari restaurant.  I had done my reading in Lonely planet, so knew that the Newari ethnic group are from the Kathmandu valley, and eat more meat than other Nepalese, and use spices.  The food was dry beaten rice, dried spiced buffalo meat, and a potato curry - these were all on separate plates, but mixed together to consume.  It was very tasty, and I tried not to think about whether the hygiene of the place we were in was up to standard!

Finally, we went to Pashutatinath, Nepal's most important Hindu temple - it certainly wasn't my intent to go there today, but I was intending to go there at some point.  I managed to detact myself from Uddab at this point (I figured I could manage the standard tourist sites on my own).  After a slightly awkard conversation around money (i.e. we hadn't discussed it prior, and he said just to pay what I thought it was worth!!) Udabb left, and I enjoyed sitting in a quiet spot - while watching preparations for a cremation: it felt slightly odd for the (wrapped) body to be in view of so many people, and all the washing and blessing of the body was performed on the banks of the holy river.  I can't understand how washing anything in the water from that river could be cleansing - it's one of the most polluted I have seen! 

Pashupatinath

I made it back to the hostel mid-afternoon, and after much scrubbing (why did I assume the dye would come off easily?) I am now relatively clean, and sitting on the balcony at the hostel restaurant (overlooking the chaos and noise of the road below).  I felt exhausted after the day out: it was really full-on with everything being new and chaotic.



After Holi


I'm not sure when I will next add a post, as my computer battery is nearly dead, and the only powerpoint in my hostel room seems to be a bit dodgy (I don't think it actually works)... I'll be moving to the Raddisson in a few days, so will definitely be able to charge-up from there at the least.

Thanks to all of you who have sent messages: it's lovely to hear from home :)

The Start of the Journey

Welcome to my Blog!

My title 'Traveller 299' is the total number of days I will be travelling for; I discovered this when I arranged Travel Insurance and I thought '299' had a good ring to it.

I left Melbourne late last night (flight QF029 at 23:55) - finally on my way after all the build up!

I am currently writing from a (tiny) hostel room in Hong Kong.  I have a double bed and own bathroom, but it's amazing how they can fit these items into such an inconceivably small space!  The shower hangs over the toilet, and the bed is built into the wall - I am glad I forked out extra $ for a window!

I arrived in Hong Kong early this morning, and managed to navigate to the hostel following the very detailed (very green?!) instructions I had written out for myself (Airport bus - Hostel).  At 7:30am the room was clearly not ready, so after dumping my pack I spent the next ~ 6 hours wandering around Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.  I didn't have much of a plan, and the day was very grey and overcast (quite cold actually), so I basically just walked around, figured out how to use the transport system (Octopus card) and acquainted myself with the 'feel' of the city:


A 'requiste Hong Kong street image

- Kowloon Park is just across the road from the hostel.  At 8am this morning it was filled with (mostly older) people doing tai chi: it can be quite a funny thing to watch - all flailing (sp?) arms.  There were a few groups that looked to be quite skilled, including a large group of women performing dance-like moves to beautiful Chinese music.

- I realised I was in Asia when I discovered squat toilets in the park (hiking skills put into place here!)

- I had my first 'photo with random stranger (a couple asked me to take a photo, and then he wanted a photo with me - I know its not uncommon, but I still think its odd to want a photo of someone you don't know!)

- The city definitely doesn't come alive until late.  A lot of shops seemed to only start opening around 10am, and the streets were very quiet until lunch time.
- There are signs (Chinese & English) and maps EVERYWHERE!  It's great... every corner has a map with 'you are here'.

- Being a tourist in Hong Kong just feels like fitting in: there are people taking photos everywhere (mostly Chinese) and groups of (white, English speaking) tourists on every corner.

- The only places I have been approached ("do you need a hostel / tour bus / cheap watch"?) are outside this hostel on Nathan Rd (main st) and outside the ferry terminal.  Everywhere else, I just felt I could wander around in anonymity.

During my wandering, I came across a tiny cafe that had a magazine article pasted in the window "Hong Kong's 20 best coffee spots".  I was in fact on my way to another cafe I had read about... but I decided I couldn't pass up the chance to test this one out.  I went in, and ordered a small latte: which came in a decent sized mug!  The latte art was impressive (and the coffee wasn't too bad either):





Latte Art at 'Soft Aroma' Cafe