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Day 123
Today we left Thailand as we flew from Bangkok to Hong Kong. A taxi took us from the city to the super modern Suvarnabhumi airport where we were to get a Cathay Pacific flight at 11.30am. Despite checking the flight yesterday we were informed that it was cancelled, but we could go on the earlier flight at 10.20am as we were checking in early at 7.45am.
Unfortunately it was not that simple as the very pleasant lady at the check in could not find our details on her system, so could not check us in. An hour later they had managed to get in touch with our ticket issuing company that turned out to be Quantas, and not British Airways like our round the world ticket states. The problem was just that some digits were missing off our flight number, strange that we have done 6 flights without this being an issue.
Due to only being issued a 15 day visa as we had arrived into the country by boat, we had to pay an extra £20 each as a fine for staying 2 extra days. Anyway we were pleased to catch an earlier flight and
it meant we didn't have to wait long and walked straight to the gate for boarding. The flight only took 2.5 hours and we landed in Hong Kong mid afternoon.
Hong Kong airport is another super efficient airport and we had no problems collecting our baggage, clearing customs and immigration (a free 180 day visa stamp here). It was very easy to get the well thought out airport express train to Hong Kong Island and it only took 24 minutes. Our hotel the Bishop Lei International was only a 15 minute taxi ride and we were welcomed by the concierge who collected our luggage. We were upgraded to a small suite overlooking the harbour and a fantastic view of the high-rise buildings on Hong Kong Island.
We spent some time relaxing in our lounge before heading out into the city. The weather was overcast and warm but not as humid as Thailand. We made our way down the steep steps towards Soho and managed to get something to eat in Queens Road. It was really busy with people eating and drinking as it was Friday night, we were shocked how many westerners there are here.
Our hotel
was near the top of the longest escalator in the world, which is a great way of travelling up the many steep streets of this area. Once back in our room we enjoyed the view of the illuminated city below us.
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Day 124
As it was a reasonably clear morning we caught a bus to the Peak tram station that would take us up to Victoria Peak, for the best views of the Hong Kong skyline and harbour. The Peak tram has been working since 1888 and takes visitors up a steep incline up to The Peak Tower, which is now the most recognisable land mark of the city.
We enjoyed the view of the city from the terrace (the roof of the Peak Tower) and spent a bit of time walking through yet another shopping centre before travelling back down on the tram.
Hong Kong is divided into 4 main areas so in the afternoon we took the MTR underground train to Kowloon, the area across the river to where we are staying. Hong Kong was claimed by Britain in 1842 and handed back to China on 1st July 1997. The
city has some remnants of its colonial influence but it is now a clean, modern Chinese city that seems to be thriving. It is a compact city with over 6.9 million inhabitants, in fact some buildings here have been built on reclaimed land to help the growth of the city, so it can compete with the likes of Singapore and Shanghai.
Mongkok is the main shopping area in Kowloon and on a Saturday afternoon it is difficult to walk down the streets with the many thousand shoppers. We walked round the large ladies market which sells similar items to that of the markets in the rest of Asia. The streets seem to be organised by types of shops, for example one street is called Sports Street and is full of shops selling trainers and sportswear!
After a couple of hours of window shopping and a meal we got the train to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to wait for sunset. The city skyline changes at night to a light show funded by banks and electronic companies. Once dark we boarded the Star ferry to take us across the river back to Hong Kong Island.
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Oliver has come down with a cold (not the best city to use public transport with a cold as everyone thinks you might have Swine Flu!) so we had a rest day. We only ventured out in the afternoon to go shopping for a Nintendo DS so we can be entertained on the many train journeys we have planned. A taxi took us to the Wan Chai area which is good for the electrical shopping malls.
As we were shopping we noticed many police and people waiting at the side of the road and on bridges so we asked the St John Ambulance what it was in aid of. It turned out that it was a protest march marking the anniversary of Tiananmen Square demonstrations 20 years ago. We watched the parade as it got near to us, although we made a quick exit back to the underground so we did not get mixed up in any problems it may have caused.
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Day 126
Oli still wasn't well today so we didn't do much other than cross the city to a different hotel and meet our tour group. We have booked
a Gap Adventures Roam China Tour, so a leader can show us some sights of China for 18 days, ending in Beijing. We have been so spoilt with our accommodation in Thailand and Hong Kong that we were disappointed to move hotels. The West Hotel in Kowloon was fine for 1 night, although they have the hardest beds you have ever slept on (suppose it will be good for our backs!).
In the evening we met Dodo our tour group leader from Xian. She took us to a local restaurant where she briefed us on our trip and where we enjoyed a meal with our new travel companions. Our group consists of Jill, Gary, Donald and Derk, an American family of 4 on holiday, an English couple, Ben and Charlotte who are also on holiday, a fellow traveller, Perdy on the last leg of her 1 year around the world trip and 2 girl travellers, Charlotte and Julie from Denmark. They are all really nice so it should be a good 18 days.
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Libby Armstrong
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I've never really been that interested in going to China, but now i'm desperate! It looks fab. Enjoy your last few days. xxx