Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula is just perfect. You sit amongst the potted palms and terribly stuffy waiters with around 200 other people. Above us on a balcony was a 4 piece orchestra playing beautiful music as we partook of a delicious, very English Afternoon Tea consisting of tiny sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and luscious cakes. The selection of teas and coffees is extraordinary. You may order champagne or cocktails. Heavily patronised, there is a steady queue of people waiting to be seated.
As you relax and fritter away an afternoon it is easy to visualise how it would have been in the thirties and forties. The orchestra would have been playing in the lobby with couples waltzing and boogying to the music of the day. Secret and clandestine assignations, intrigue and subterfuge would have been abundant,
Afterwards we went up stairs to the row of very well appointed stores where the merchandise was wildy out of our price range. Squeezed into a corner was our orchestra. I was compelled to visualise them playing to the last as the Titanic sank. However they were quite cheerful and pretended not to notice their uncomfortable positions.
Going downstairs we decided to ask about accommodation. The prices start at $1000HKD. Hardly surprising but a little overrated. We wandered off through the shopping centre and onto the streets. We felt we had reminisced on a bygone era, yet we could still marvel at the business and culture so evident today.