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We eventually arrived in Kowloon after the group had finished their coffees in Starbucks and immediately you could feel the difference between the other cities in China and Hong Kong.Firstly people didn't stare so much at the group of westerners and also a lot more people smiled at you and in general, it made you feel at eased.
We headed to the electronics district as two of the girls in our group wanted to buy laptops so we said we would go with them. We stopped at a Pizza Hut along the way, desperate for some different food, but was disappointed as it made us feel rather bloated, I think our stomachs have got used to the Chinese food now. We found the recommended shop and someone who spoke English, the guy was so friendly and helpful it was great.
That night was our last night with our group leader Baidi and also some of the group were leaving as well, so we headed out to see the light display, which although was foggy was still fantastic and was our first glimpse at Hong Kong island. We headed to a recommended Indian restaurant, which was situated in this strange block of businesses and from the outside was just a grey door, inside it was small and we had to wait 20 minutes for our table as they were full up, a good sign hopefully. Although the service was slow, the food was fantastic a really great meal and great way to end the first part of our trip. It was left down to me to make a speech and present the card to Baidi our leader, I was happy to do it as she has been brilliant. Although I think it might be left up to me again when we say goodbye to our next leader.
We headed off to an incredibly expensive club, luckily you didn't have to pay, but Pete's beer cost around £6.50, but we realised it was worth it when the live band came on, they did loads of cool songs which we danced and sang along to. It was sad to say goodbye to some of our group, but hopefully we can all keep in contact.
25th March
We woke up early to make the most of our final day in Hong Kong, I think that has been our first disappointment with the trip, only having one full day in Hong Kong. We dumped our two large bags of laundry at the cleaners and found a bakery to grab some breakfast before catching the Star Ferry to Hong Kong island, it is such an iconic thing to do and although the journey is only a few minutes it is really exciting, if a bit choppy today.
We got off the boat and immediately spotted the Big Bus Company bus and thought this would be a fantastic way to see as much as possible, the lady who gave us all the details and sold us the tickets was so fantastic, and apparently they had only been going in Hong Kong for 2 months. The ticket included our tram ride to the top of the Peak and also our tickets back on the Star Ferry. We sat up top admiring all the sky scrapers and the slightly hazy view.
The Peak was fantastic, even on an unclear day you could see enough to appreciate the charm of this place. Our timing could not have been better, because as we sat down to a hot drink in the café, the rain started to pour down so we stayed a bit longer than planned. Once we were safely backed on our bus, bottom deck this time, we carried on with our tour. When we arrived at the ferry terminal, we were given see-through rain ponchos from the Big Bus Company, which came in handy and we wore all afternoon so that we could still roam around Kowloon. Admittedly looking rather silly, especially Pete who had t-shirt and shorts underneath his.
That night we met our new leader Suzy and three new members of the group, as it was our last night in Hong Kong we didn't have to have a group dinner, so Pete and I headed out to the local night market for a look around.
We were sad to say goodbye to Hong Kong, but promised to come back and do it properly, perhaps we might stay at the Mandarin Oriental!!!
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