22/01/12

MELBOURNE TO HONG KONG

8:30 - 15:30

Today we had a VERY early start. Our alarms were all set for 4:30am. We checked in our bags and had a wonder around the airport and a nice coffee with mum and dad. OH yea, while I think of it, thankyou so much Marsha and Farsha for getting up at that stupid hour to drive us! We really do appreciate it!

Travis had a grin, no exaggeration from one ear to the other ALL day. He could not wait to start his first international travel adventures. Due to my allergies we got quarenteened so to speak and had NO-one around us on our flight meaning we could spread out. I actually got four seats to myself to lie down and have a lovelly sleep however I did miss breakfast. Trav actually enjoyed the flight as it consists of his usual day off…watching hours worth of TV, eating and drinking. He watched a WHOLE season of falling skies….What a freak!!

FINALLY we arrived, and congrats to the pilot it was a very nice flight and great landing! The Hong Kong airport is massive and so clean! You actually have to catch a train from one side to the other to get through customs and collect your luggage! It was crazy but reminded me a little of Kuala Lumpur however the toilets here are normal, thank god, no holes in the ground!

Thankfully I had printed out the emails that I had been receiving from our accommodation on how to get to the Cosmo Hotel, we would have never have found it otherwise! It cost $340HK to get here but so worth it! Just so you know, the exchange rate (At the moment) for every Aussie $16 it is HK$120.

We arrived at the hotel and all the staff and locals are so friendly and welcoming it is so nice. The language thing is a little bit of a problem but we will get there, I hope as the trip goes on! Our room is tiny but we are on the 17th floor and do have a great view, Trav is just happy as we are across the road from McDonalds!!

We dumped our bags and decided we needed to go for a walk to stretch our legs and see what Hong Kong had to offer us. We got some help from the staff on where the markets are and headed down there for a look around. For a Sunday night there were people everywhere! We both couldn't believe how packed the streets were! The markets were good, Trav bought himself a nice BOSS belt for HK$120 and I bought a Hong Kong t-shirt and a couple of little gifts for HK$150.

The housing here is all units in very high blocks, they are mostly run down and have plants or clothes hanging out the windows. The smells around here can be strong and not pleasant. I'm just thankful it was a cold day (16 degrees and overcast), I'm sure they could be worse!

At about 6:30 we decided we had had enough and were so hungry ( the time difference here is 3 hours behind) and wanted to find somewhere to eat. It was starting to get dark and by the time we walked back to the hotel it was dark and felt like it had dropped 10 degrees! We had a shower back in our room and decided to just go to the hotel restaurant for dinner, as it was the easiest and safest option. Dinner was amazing by the way! I had olive bruschetta and eggplant parma and Trav had a duck ragout pappadelle.

Trav hardly made it back to the room he was so tired and has passed out next to me (he was supposed to be helping me write our diary!) Oh well we have had a very long day and what a day may I had! We are both looking forward to see what tomorrow brings!

Sweet dreams,

Bree and Trav

xox