My last day in Hong Kong so time to check out the ‘Happy Valley’ race course and its museum ;) For all of those horse lovers out there who love a flutter this is the place to come on event days as it is a wonderfully organised location with plenty of room in the stands. The building is of modern design and houses not only the horse track but also a plethora of other sports venues which I can testify have been well used - of course I would have used the jogging track myself if I had my trainers ;)
The Museum is housed in the main building on the second floor accessed via a lift. It is a quiet place when there is no events on… I was the only visitor at the time and was treated to a luxury tour of the site with a potted history of the course some memorabilia from historic race meets (Including the Elizabeth II cup) and information on how horse racing is run/organised. It is very interesting and ends with a stuffed thoroughbred who looks rather hairy for a race horse but of course he did retire to a stud for several years!! Overall, a quiet and well presented museum which is FREE. Well worth a visit if your in the area.
Second stop of the day was Victoria Park, a large green open space in the middle of the Causeway Bay area in which people are encouraged to take part in a number of activities to maintain fitness - there are free exercise machines around the park and a jogging track and for the more sedate (Includes me), there is a peaceful garden area with a range of labelled trees and flowing shrubs. A lazy place to while away an hour or so… While I was there they were setting up for the Expo starting tomorrow!!

Last stop today was for the ‘Noon Day Gun’, a tradition dating back hundreds of years in which a cannon is fired at noon, theoretically setting the time for the city :)
Once again - when I visited it was closed off for a private party so the huge crowd of 6 people who had gathered to be there watched on from outside the fenced area… Only to be treated to ‘Venus Williams’ & two other lady tennis stars arriving with entourage to fire the gun (It is now only a three pounder after locals had complained about the noise from the six pounder - However I can tell you now the three pounder had plenty of bang behind it!!). Great surprise to see a larger than life celebrity pulling the cord, a fitting end to my stay in the neon city. Next stop Beijing, so I had better get some gloves!