Blogs from Hong Kong, Asia - page 13

I read an article that says that Hong Kong is the world's most expensive city to live in, but its citizens are relatively well paid, so they can generally cope with this. This probably goes some way to explaining why the hotel dining room was jam packed last night with people willing to fork out a hundred and ten Australian dollars, plus drinks, for a buffet, while we were filling ourselves up with sausages at the much cheaper German restaurant down the road. There are four other Chinese cities in the top 20 on the world's most expensive cities list, and other featured metropolises include Tokyo, Singapore and most of the larger cities in Switzerland. The list also includes a bunch of dangerous places in Africa. It seems that the list is based on the costs ... read more

We set off for this morning's destination of Victoria Peak, which requires catching a Star Ferry across the harbour. I remember going on one of these when I was here as a nine year old, and they don't look like they've changed too much. We swap some cash for two plastic tokens which get us through the gates to the gangplank. The staff are all dressed in sailor suits, and look like oversized four year olds. The water looks dirty brown and full of rubbish, and I start worrying again about the man we saw swimming in the harbour in front of the hotel the day we arrived. Issy says that if he's still alive he must be immune to every disease known to man, plus a few others that haven’t been discovered yet. The hotel ... read more

We must have been very tired; it's one o'clock in the afternoon when we finally stir. As we walk through reception we see a set of four steps covered in red carpet in front of the counter. Issy says that this is where four year old Chinese billionaires pay their bills. We stroll along the attractive waterfront promenade in front of the hotel. There seem to be lots of things that you're not allowed to do here. We pass a very large sign saying "no swimming, no cycling, no smoking, no gambling, no littering, no dogs, no climbing over the railing, and no fishing". There are about twenty people fishing, and plenty of others walking their dogs and smoking. One of the fishermen has climbed over the railing, and is using the top of the "no ... read more

I'm finally in Asia! After arriving late afternoon the evening before and making it to my hostel, I decided the best thing to do would be to go out and explore. See if I could find the office building I needed for tomorrow. When my alarm went off at half 7am I felt dreadful. I had defiantly NOT slept enough and jet lag was happening, even now 11 months in I still wonder if I'm fully over the time difference. Knowing where the office was that I needed to go to I set off with all my documents. I needed a visa to get in to China. I knew the office didn't open until 9 but after doing research I read that it could have long cues if you went to late. So by 8:15am I ... read more

Finally, I’m getting around to writing up my adventures in the Far East and first up was a trip to Hong Kong for a wedding banquet for my good friends Woody and Jenny. Them being such all-round good eggs, quite a large group of us had decided to make the trip out at the end of April to celebrate their recent wedding and we were all arriving in dribs and drabs the weekend before the wedding banquet. I’ve been to HK once before but it was pre my travel blogging days, so even though it wasn’t my first trip there, it gets a write up. Fortunately for me, I finally got around to use all the airmiles I’ve been saving up and booked up a First Class flight one way to HK, the holiday got off ... read more