Day 35 - Hong Kong

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Got off to a strange start today. I'm not sure if it's jet lag or whether I am still not feeling 100% but I woke up at 1am and it took me about 3 1/2 hours to get back to sleep. The funny thing was that we were planning to get up at about 8am and do some shopping before the races however once I got back to sleep at 4.30am, neither of us woke up until 1.30pm! The races started at 1pm so obviously no shopping today and we didn't get there until race 5. I think since we have got to Hong Kong and slowed down, our bodies have also decided to get some rest.

So we eventually made our way down to the train which only needed to go one stop before the racetrack and we arrived at Sha Tin. Lauren had obviously been there plenty of times however this was my first. The first thing I noticed was how clean it was as there was always people close by to clean up any rubbish that people were dropping on the ground.

We had a good look around at the mounting yard, betting ring and the track itself. Today was a good raceday to be at as there was a Group 1 so the crowd was a good size, however they usually get that many people every week which is very different to Melbourne where people only come out to the races when it is the place to be seen socially.

After looking at the racebook and studying the horses in the mounting yard, we decided to have a look at having a bet until we got to the betting area and had no idea how to put a bet on. It looked so bloody confusing so we were scared off and just decided to act like real tourists and take photos and pretend that we knew what was happening. The races were good to watch and you can easily get a sense of how keen the spectators are as so many of them crowd the mounting yard for each race, almost every person there is a pure racing fan which provides a good experience.

We got to the last race and finally drew up the courage to have a bet, I picked a horse that I remembered from when it used to race in Australia and Lauren picked one that was ridden by Damien Oliver who was over here for the group 1 race. Safe to say that we were better off when we were scared of the betting machines as neither of us won. It was a good day and we were both staggered by how cheap everything was as we hadn't really ventured away from our hotel. Betting aside, it cost us $15 Australian to catch the train, entry into the racetrack, racebook and lunch. It's no wonder they get so many people there compared to back home where nobody turns up because it's far more expensive.

Got back to the hotel and we'd been told that there is a restaurant here that has the best Peking Duck. And yes, it was really good and a great way to enjoy our last night on the honeymoon. A bit sad to write that it is our last full night here as it's been a great time, one that we'll never forget.

We fly out tomorrow night and before that providing we get up on time we'll head to Times Square for some shopping and a look around the main part of Hong Kong as we really haven't seen much of it.

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