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Published: November 8th 2009
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Hong Kong We got a cab to HCMC airport and had some breakfast. I decided to go for beef noodle soup to try and overcome my last night in Vietnam hangover and Zo had a ham and cheese sandwich for a change! We got on our flight and it was an easy flight to Hong Kong where we landed at about 3.30pm. Collected our massive amounts of luggage and set off to get the Airport Express to central. We arrived outside and it was freezing, from what we were used to, about 19 or 20 degrees! We even had to pull out trousers. The Chinese government built a new airport in 1998 out of town, so the crazy landing in over the city is a thing of the past. Hong Kong means fragrant harbor in Cantonese and is made up of different Island and territories. The main areas are Hong Kong Island and Kowloon but it stretches over 10000km square. We got the express into central in 24 mins and got a cab out to our pre booked hotel, IBIS North Point. Very small rooms but cheap considering the location. Chilled out for a bit before getting our Octopus card
(same as oyster) and got on the MRT. Like the tube but better, bigger trains and more efficient. Went to meet my old client Colin at Wan Chai. Went to a bar and bumped into a couple of his mates. They joined us for a massive Chinese dinner where we had a whole duck, and about 7 other dishes. We were stuffed!!! Went onto another bar to watch some Filipino band play and they were awesome. There was a US naval frig it in town so a lot of drunk yanks who haven't seen land or women for a long time!! In bed for about 1am before our busy day ahead.
Unfortunately Zo was really ill in the night from her malaria pill getting stuck and subsequently we have found out she has oesophogitis. So painfall it got to the point that she couldn't even drink water. Turns out that the doxy rots you stomach - nice to know!! This meant our busy day had to be changed. We got the MTR into central and to the post office to send home our many goods, including the suit!! Went to try and have some lunch but very hard for
Zo, In the eve we got the Star ferry, dirt cheap, over to Kawloon to watch the 'Symphony of Lights.' It is in the Guinness book of records for the biggest permanent light show in the world. It was amazing, all the buildings were flashing in time with music. At the start they read out the buildings that will be taking part and they do their own little solo like a rock band. The Hong Kong skyline is the most beautiful in the world, better than New York. You can see it perfectly from Kawloon and it is jaw dropping. We went and got some dinner, Italian because that was all Zo could eat because she wasn't on any pain killers at that time!! Took a walk around the neon city streets and headed back to hotel for an early night, because not a lot of sleep the night before.
Up early again and Zo was going to fight it today. We got the MTR into town and wanted to go up the peak. Got in the funicular for the 15 min journey up and walked around the sky deck. The view from up there are amazing and you
can see how the city is wedged into the side of a mountain. Walked around the shopping mall, of which there are many in HK and went to have lunch at Bubba Gump overlooking the city. We then decided to do the bus tour and included was Madam Tussuad's - had a look around there, not as big as London and realised just how tall Barrack Obama is (my height) and how much taller Yao Ming is (7 foot 7). We then got the funicular back down and got on our bus tour. It took us around the CBD, the real Soho, called because it is south of hollywood street, and out to the outskirts. The best way to see a city and included was a tour of Kawloon which we got to see at night - the best time due to the mass of neons!! Got the ferry back to HK. Due to the fact that a lot of HK is so hilly, instead of people having to struggle up hills to get to Soho, they have built the longest escalator ever!! It covers over 800m. Just amazing and especially how busy it is. When we got to Soho
Big light up dragon
to celebrate the East Asia games we got off and got ourselves some painful dinner followed by a few beers for me. Back to the hotel and off to bed.
Next morning we were up and had to send some more stuff back that we had bought in HK. Mum and Dad, expect 2 parcels!! Had a wander around town and got the Airport Express back to the airport. HK airport is just as impressive as the city. On to the plane for 11 hours but had bulk head seats thanks to Zo - heaven!!
We loved HK and both think it is definitely a city we could live in. It is very much like NYC but not as busy and unfortunately we didn't get to see as much as we wanted. Like many places, we will defo be back and hopefully not too far in the future. Anyone that is doing long haul and needs somewhere to stop over - Hong Kong is the place!
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dad
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HK looks brill
Love the photos in the wax works. The night time sky line is also stunning. Shame about the problem with the malaria tablets. Hope that the oespohogitis is getting better. You thought HK was cold. Wait until you get to the mountains in New Zealand! It's really good to see all these great places that you're going to. Really looking forward to seeing the NZ photos. Keep safe, keep having fun. xxxxxxDad.