Hong Kong

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Firstly, sorry it has taken me so long to publish this blog- we haven't had great wifi connections, so it has been difficult to write and keep on top of! Hope you still enjoy reading it though even though it was so long ago!

25/11

We got up and had some toast for our wonderful free breakfast at the Holiday Inn. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the railway station and onto the metro. We decided to take the Maglev line to the airport- the fastest train in the world! It took a whole 8 minutes from the centre of Shanghai to the airport, with a top speed of 431kph, it was pretty speedy! We got to the airport and checked in for our flight. Stamped out of China! Woohoo! Had some lunch and spent a fortune on English chocolate in the duty free shop, but it was worth it. Plus I used up the end of my Yuan too, can't think of much better things to spend Chinese money on than Cadburys Dairy Milk from Birmingham! Finally got on our plane (an hour late- not that we were told it was an hour late- as we were boarding, the scheduled flight time still said the original flight time! Useless!) We actually got some films on our plane which was good. Had some lovely plane food before touching down in Hong Kong! Very excited to be in a different country and away from China!! We got a taxi to our hotel in Mongkok, which cost $230HK (around £21). Our hotel room was nice, pretty small but good use of space- all HK hotels apparently have small rooms. The city is just very tall! We settled ourselves and then headed out towards Langham place mall, which was a 10 minute walk away. It was all looking very Christmassey, which excited us a lot after China's poor effort! We had a wander around the streets of Mongkok looking at all the funky streets. We were in the electrical area so had a look in all the apple franchise shops comparing prices for MacBooks and iPad minis! Tempting- much cheaper here!! We found a great pic n mix shop and then headed back to the mall for some dinner, which was nice and cheap but yummy yoshinoya- Japanese style fast food, which cost a couple of pounds and was very tasty. We then walked back to the hotel for our first night's sleep in Hong Kong.

26/11

We got up and decided to head first for Kowloon park. Stopped at McDonald's for a late breakfast- but they sell sausage and egg mcmuffin all day here, so we could at least still have something breakfasty! We walked to our closest MTR (underground) station, which was Olympic. We took the MTR to Kowloon, thinking it was the closest stop to the park. We ended up in a huge department store. Found a good supermarket where we managed to buy some fruit! Hurrah! We hadn't really managed this in China! We got a little lost inside the department store, not able to find a pedestrian exit! We finally managed to get out and realised we weren't really where we needed to be! We ended up getting back on the MTR and went to Tsim Sha Tsui and walked to kowloon park from there. It was a lovely public park with a huge aviary inside with lots of colourful birds. We sat there for a while watching the birds and eating our fruit! We walked around the rest of the park- lovely fountain, little maze and some sculptures. We headed to the space museum next, which cost a whopping $10 to get in (90p). It wasn't very big but had lots of buttons to press and little experiments to try so it amused us for a while! I had a go on a virtual glider, was a bit pants but fun anyway! We then headed to TGI for dinner after being disappointed in Shanghai. We had a nice but expensive dinner, which we dragged out for as long as we could to kill some time before going to watch the symphony of lights. We headed over to the Avenue of Stars to watch the nightly lights and laser show which is projected on certain buildings on the mainland and the island, so you can see it from both sides. It was fairly good, but after living in a city with lots of flashing lights it was a slight let down. The annoying Chinese people next to us, invading our personal space seemed to enjoy it anyway. (Can't get away from them!!) After the lights we bought our Disney tickets from a Disney booth and walked along the Avenue of Stars laughing at all the funny Chinese famous people's names. One of the best was probably Li Tit!! We headed back to the hotel on the MTR line to Olympic.

27/11

Today we had decided to head to Lantau Island to go to the Big Buddah. We had breakfast in the hotel, which was a pricey $110, and not worth the money. Unfortunately the weather wasn't looking too good but we headed towards Lantau on the MTR, changing lines to get there. We got the cable car up to Ngong Ping, which cost $125 each for a return trip. It soon became apparent the view was going to be appalling, as we started going up in the cable car and could see about 1.5 metres in front of us. The cable car took about 15-20 minutes, and we got off and stepped into the cloud. We really couldn't see anything! This was going to be good...! We headed to the Big Buddah anyway. Entrance to the Buddah is free and we climbed what felt like thousands of steps through the cloud to a very misty outline of one hand of the Buddah. That was all we could see. It was very disappointing. We walked around the Buddah and could just about see the statues round the bottom of it. We had a look in the little shop and bought a threaded bracelet each which apparently have all been blessed. When we went back out the outline was slightly more visible now, we could just about make out the shape of the Buddah! We headed into Ngong Ping village and had a hot chocolate in Starbucks. We headed back down in the cable car, the view was slightly better at times but couldn't see much more. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out for the rest of the day, having McDonald's for our dinner from across the road!

28/11

We had quite a lazy morning seeing as the weather was again pretty rubbish. We headed towards the MTR stopping at a bakery called Annie Bakery. Wow the food was yummy. Lots of bakery goodies! We took the MTR to Sheung Wan on the island, changing at Hong Kong station. We had a wander around the Sheung Wan area, looking in the tiny "Wetsern market". It had London style buildings in. We walked along Hollywood Road looking at the antique shops and walked into soho. I decided to get a haircut, nice and quick and only $148, had to stop him from shaving some weird bits into the side!! We walked through soho and into an area with lots of posh designer shops. Our noses told us there was an Abercrombie & Fitch somewhere nearby but we could only smell it not see it! We found a toilet to use in a shopping centre and then came out the other side and found the A&F so went in for an obligatory look- managed to leave empty handed despite the prices being cheaper than London!! We were going to head to Hong Kong park but stopped for some yoshinoya as were a bit peckish. We realised we were walking the wrong way to the park so gave up on that idea as it was getting dark, so headed to Causeway Bay on the MTR. We had a little look around Jardines Bizarre and some of the little stalls there, then came across an amazing lego Christmas village outside a shopping mall In Times Square. We headed inside the mall where there was more Lego! We had a wander round looking for an elusive iPad mini- no luck in any of the shops here! Had some ice cream and bought some Percy pigs and custard creams in M&S!! After this we decided to go on an iconic Hong Kong tram. It was cool, really narrow and the tracks are in the middle of the road. Really cheap too. We headed towards the ferry point to get on the infamous star ferry. On the way we happened to walk past an apple franchise shop and I walked out with a lovely 64g iPad mini! Very happy! We got the star ferry which was around 20p. It was the time of the symphony of lights so we got to see a bit of it from the water! Headed back to the hotel on the MTR.

29/11

Today was our first Disney day, Yay!! We got up early and headed out towards the MTR, stopping again at Annie Bakery for our breakfast. We had to change lines to get the Disney resort line to the park. We were there just before it opened but we could get into the park, just not rides, so we had a browse in the shops on Main Street. The castle is quite laughable really- it should be the iconic sight as you walk into the park- you could barely see it!! Once the park opened we headed straight to space mountain, but like Tokyo it was closed! We got a fastpass to use later on in case the queue was big later. We headed into Buzz Lightyear laser blaster and walked straight on. Didn't seem to be too busy yet! Then we went on Autopia and got stuck behind a slow sunday driver- yawn! We then headed over to the newest section of the park- grizzly gulch. We went on the mine train which was awesome, it had everything, forwards, backwards, shooting forward, it was brilliant, we loved it! And no queue! Headed into Toy Story land and went on the rides there. We headed to space mountain, turns out we didn't really need our fast pass tickets, it still wasn't very busy! We covered the rest of the park and did pretty much every ride, and watched the parade which was good. Ended up doing lots of rides on space mountain and the mine train, it was really empty, didn't have to queue more than 10 minutes for anything. We watched the fireworks which were really good, then had some dinner on Main Street to let the (small) crowds die down before heading back to the hotel!

30/11

We woke up and checked the weather- the usual low cloud and mist! We decided to have quite a lazy day. We took some washing to a local laundry service, nice and cheap- about £3 for 7 kilos of washing! Bought some lunch from our new favourite bakery on the way back to the hotel. We just chilled out in the room and then headed out in the evening to find the ladies market. We first found the goldfish market, which was a street with lots of pet shops- tiny puppies, kittens, hamsters, rabbits, tortoises and of course, thousands of goldfish all just chucked together (not literally- the species were kept separate!) But I've never seen so many fish together in a tiny plastic bag- and all kinds of tropical fish too! We then headed into ladies market, just your typical market with lots of knockoffs! But quite big and it was nice to look around. Had some dinner in a Japanese/Chinese restaurant where we had some nice noodles with pork. We headed back to the market and looked at some of the stalls. I tried to buy some funky (fake) Raybans but the guy wouldn't go to a low enough price for me some left. Did buy a cool new carry on Stitch bag though! Headed back to the hotel after my successful purchase!

1/12

We woke up and did the usual 'check the weather'! It seemed clearer so we jumped up and decided to head up to Victoria Peak on the Island. We got the MTR to Hong Kong station and walked through to Central station, and got a bus up to the peak. It only cost around $10 for the ride to the top and took about 40 minutes. As we started to climb the hill the view started disappearing (of course!!) When we got to the top and got out of the bus, we could see nothing but cloud again. Really lucking out with the weather in Hong Kong!! We were told the view is amazing but we'll have to take everyone's word for it unfortunately! We headed into the peak tower and found Bubba Gumps (our main reason for going to the peak anyway!!). We bought some merchandise first but weren't hungry so had a look around the peak and the little stalls there. We decided we'd waited long enough so headed back to Bubba Gumps for some dinner. Yum! I had my usual coconut shrimp and Chantelle had her usual mamma blues shrimp. No Forrest Gump trivia here though 😞 but the food was as good as always. We headed outside to check on the view- still nothing! We took the bus back down and got the MTR back to the hotel. Another great view in Hong Kong!!

2/12

We had a very lazy day today. Ate some of my dairy milk and wrote some postcards! We also got some bits together to send in a package back home with some of the things we have collected so far. We then headed to the ladies market again for some dinner. We struggled to find a Chinese restaurant which is what we wanted. Japanese seems a favourite cuisine here. It was Sunday evening and not that many restaurants were open. We ended up in yoshinoya again- safe and cheap!! We went into the Langham Place mall and had a little wander round. Managed to get Chantelle's Christmas present! Headed back towards the hotel and stopped in a shop that sold some Christmassey bits, including a make your own felt Christmas tree! We got a Mcflurry on our way back to the hotel and then had to pack up as we move hotels for the end of our Hong Kong stay!

3/12

We got up and headed straight to the post office to post our things home. We bought a box each and packed it up ready to go home! It cost me around $200 for the box plus postage but no proof of postage or anything as it was under the weight for that option! Hooefully it arrives home OK! We headed to Annie bakery for our last lot of baked goodies. Going to miss those tasty treats! So cheap as well, about 50p an item. We headed back to the hotel and checked out, then headed to the MTR. Quite a mission with our huge rucksacks! We got to North Point on the Island (changing at Hong Kong). We came out from the MTR station and found our Ibis hotel just a few steps away. Handy! The good points seemed to stop there...! We managed to check in early. We were put in a smoking room even though we had requested non smoking! It stank, horrible. It wasn't a nice room and the bed was pretty much just a single- going to be a fun nights sleep! We showered and got ready for our first night out- we were meeting Chantelle's cousin Lisa for dinner. She lives and works in Hong Kong and we were really looking forward to seeing a friendly face (not that I'd ever met her, but excited for some company!!) We headed to Central on the MTR and located the restaurant we were meeting at. We were early so decided to have a wander and found a HMV and bought some Christmas DVDs! We headed back to Zuma (Japanese restaurant where we were eating). We had a lovely, expensive cocktail whilst waiting for Lisa. She arrived and ordered some lovely Perrier Jouet champers and we were helped to order by the waiters. Weren't quite sure what was going to arrive but it was all very nice, especially the $580 lobster tempura. Not cheap this place...! We had another bottle of the lovely champagne and also a sumptuous desert plate! We had such a lovely evening, talking, laughing and listening. Was lovely to have someone to share our stories with. Thank you to Lisa for a wonderful evening and certainly our poshest of the entire trip I'm sure. 😊 We rolled in to the hotel at 1.30am. At least we should manage to sleep on the awful bed!!

4/12

We got up and headed out for our second Disney day! Rather tired after last night we got a drink and pastry at a shop in Hong Kong station. However, you can't eat or drink anywhere on the underground system- on the trains, in the stations, anywhere! So we had to wait until we got to Disney to eat and drink! We got to the park and headed straight to space mountain again to see if it was ever open in the morning! It was so we went straight on. This woke us up sufficiently! It is a real fun space mountain, lots of twists and turns. Somewhere between Florida and paris! The weather was pretty rubbish and it rained most of the day but it was pretty quiet again in the park. We ended up riding space mountain 8 times and the mine train 10 times plus 5 times on RC racer in toy story land- at one point we were the only 2 people in the whole of toy story land! (In the pouring rain!) the staff loved us! We managed to watch all the shows we wanted to see and did all the rides, plus met Mickey, pooh bear and Pluto! We stayed until closing and headed back to the hotel soaking wet and exhausted but happy!!

5/12

We headed to Stanley today. We got the bus from ferry point, which was right opposite the hotel. It took around an hour to get to Stanley and the bus was only a tiny one so we didn't get to sit in the top deck to look at the views! We had lunch in a little french deli which was nice, and then we headed into Stanley market. We each got some bargain board shorts from a beach wear stall- excited to be getting to hot weather tomorrow night!! We came out of the market and had a stroll down to the sea. We headed back through the market and bought some lovely oil paintings of the Hong Kong skyline. We then headed to the post office to post them home!! Bought a tube and posted them off! We then walked further along past the market and along the little sea front. It was really nice, made me think of Cornwall with little restaurants, bars and cafes. We then headed to the bus stop to get to Central to meet Lisa and her husband Hillard for dinner again. We got a double decker this time so managed to,sit at the front at the top, it was a great view, even though it was getting dark! We found the Mexican restaurant we were meeting at (Socialato) and had some prosecco whilst we waited for Lisa and H. We got the last table in the restaurant and gave the waitress orders of what we liked and didn't like- pretty fussy buggers to be in a Mexican restaurant!! We had some yummy food, and of course, Champagne, Lisa's drink of choice 😉 Had a really great night, laughed a lot, especially at the work Christmas party on the table next door and the birthday girl who got so drunk she was sick and fell asleep at the table, with lots of tears thrown in. We found it all very funny! Especially as we had been introduced to the chairman of the company and had a photo with him. Was very random but great! What a fun night! We got the subway back to our hotel for our last night in Hong Kong! Luckily a late flight so we could pack in the morning! Ready for Thailand!!

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Comments

[Laura]

Great stuff!
Hi Sarah, Thanks for updating! Glad you made it to Hong Kong - sounds a lot like Singapore: I'll wait until your next post to see if you agree :) Is it just me, or have you managed to eat at McDonalds in every place you've stopped? ;) If the one in Bali is anything like the one in Batam, you'll not be going there more than once lol.