Hong Kong

Day 18

After one last night on the train we arrived in Hong Kong and what a difference! The last night train we took was quite a bit nicer than some of the ones we had been on so it was a nice end to our trip through China. The first thing we noticed when we got in the taxi was the fact that the taxi driver was not trying to kill us all, which was a pleasant change. When I told him how different this was to China he mad some derisory remark about the Chinese which I will not repeat here for fear of censure.

We checked into our hotel which was nice and clean and took a much needed shower to wash off the train! (I know I said it was nicer but you still need a good scrub after!) We walked to the Science Museum which was surprisingly close and even better than that, was free to enter! We spent a couple of hours there before making our way back to the hotel for our last dinner with the group. We all had a few drinks then said our goodbyes and made our way to bed.

Day 19

We changed hotels in the morning as the tour had officially ended. We lugged our bags down onto the underground (which is excellent here) and then walked the short distance. I think we were both pretty gob smacked by how nice it was and we were both relieved to not be moving on for a few days. Once we were settled we walked to the History Museum which was also really good. It wasn't free but still only cost £1! We then went to the Space Museum which was not so good, but again was cheap. In the evening we went for dinner in a Macau style restaurant and then went on a walking tour through the night markets. They weren't brilliant to be honest and there was some real tack on show but it was all good fun.

Day 20

We made our way to Hong Kong Island today and caught the famous Hong Kong Star Ferry which is also very cheap. We went and looked around the HSBC building and the Bank of China building before making our way to Hong Kong Park. It was a nice place to walk around for a couple of hours and the weather was brilliant. Afterwards, we walked up to the Botanical Gardens and spent about an hour there before crossing back to Kowloon to go back to the hotel. In the evening we met up with some friends from the tour and went for dinner in Soho. We went up the world's longest escalator to get there which is not quite as exciting as it sounds as it is a series of escalators rather than one giant one!

Day 21

We went to see the world's largest sitting Buddha today. We caught the subway and then got on the cable car to reach the top of the hill which was quite exciting. The view was superb and we bathed some little Buddhas as it was Buddha's birthday (apparently!)

Day 22

We crossed over to Hong Kong Island again today and made our way up to Victoria Peak on the famous tram. The tram is crazy as it is almost vertical at points!......Its just not right on a tram! When we reached the top we took a walk around which involved a lot of hills in very humid conditions. We then went up to the viewing tower to watch the sun go down before making our way back across to Kowloon for dinner.

We leave for Bangkok in the morning and it feels like the trip is starting to gain pace now. We will update you all after a few days in Bangkok!

---

---