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So, Hello Hong Kong........again for Me! but a new experience for Claire.
Ok so Hong Kong is part of mainland China but is also made up of many different islands. Hong Kong centre is actually Hong Kong Island, this is where we stayed.
After a flight to Southern China and a long bus journey over the boarder to HK we arrived at our next destination. We actually had to carry our backpacks for the longest time since coming away to get to our hostel. Once arriving at the hostel we checked in and the guy said 'oh we are going to give you one of our nice rooms for one night for the same price' we thought this was a good deal.....until we got to the room, which was no bigger than a matchbox!!! We just about managed to put the dreaded backpacks in between the beds. The room was damp and NOT overly clean....great hey. We could not even be bothered to argue we just went out and got some local food which I have to say was - fab!!
We managed the night in our matchbox, but then promptly the next day we moved rooms. We asked to view the next one before agreeing to stay any longer. We saw about 5 and then agreed that one of them was ok and would be our "home" (not exactly) for the next 5 nights.Â
The first day we went into central and wandered round the shops, Louis Vuitton, Gucci etc. That is what they call window shopping! We found a small Thai restaurant where we had a great lunch, continuing the Chinese theme, for good value.
That night we sampled Hong Kong's nightlife, in Lan Kwai Fong. Its full of great bars and restaurants and a fab atmosphere. We had a good few drinks and cocktails and made the most of happy hour in more than one bar. We ordered cocktails in one of the bars we went in, we left laughing and chatting to each other, not realising we hadnt payed the bill! Oh well they didn't notice or come after us, so we had a slight result. We finished the night off getting a cab back to Causeway Bay (where our hostel was), where I was practicing my Cantonese (oh dear!) and then, dare I say it, we had a McDonalds - Sorry!!
The next morning we had mild headaches so slowly got up and got ready for the day. We headed over to Kowloon, Hong Kong's mainland. We wandered around the town and I showed Claire Hong Kong Island's skyline and informed her of a few of the highrise buildings. After that we headed to Delaney's, as Irish Bar I knew of to get a good old English Roast Dinner. We both had roast beef with all the trimmings - It was great - but not as good as yours, Mum and Sue!!!! We spent the rest of the afternoon walking, then made our way back as we were both feeling a bit tired.
On the Monday I set the alarm for 07.45, we actually got up at 10.00, we needed the beauty sleep though. When we finally got up and ready etc. We went headed to Hong Kong's Disneyland. Claire has been to both America and Paris, but I haven't been to either so it was new experience for me, Claire however has been to both. The park itself is small but we had a really nice day walking around, being photographed with the characters (check out the pics) and enjoyed the fact that the park was really quiet. The longest we had to queue for a ride was 20 minutes. We went on space mountain which was good fun but Im not too sure i would have coped with too much more - don't know what's happened in my old age!! Claire went slightly green after and was very quiet for ten minutes. After a lovely day and lots of sun, hence slight sunburn, we had a great dinner in a steakhouse. It was accompanied by salad, bread trimmings and a sauce - perfect.
The next day we got up and went to meet Emma (who i travelled with for 3 months for those of you who don't know). It was great to see her and we had a good old catch up over a coffee and lunch. She is looking very well and is very happy for those of you who know her. Emma took us to a very plush restaurant and treated us to Dim Sum, the local Chinese delicacies. Claire and I had wanted to try it since arriving in Hong Kong, as I didn't have it when i was here before, and we really enjoyed it. We had many different varieties and Emma informs me that there are hundreds of different types of Dim Sum. Thank you Emma, you spoilt us, we had a lovely time. We then went to Emma's apartment on Victoria Peak which was lovely (I was very envious). We made our way up to the top of The Peak where there are amazing views of Central Hong Kong. We caught the Peak Tram back down into Central, it was really steep and felt like we could easily fall down!!! In the evening we went to Mong Kok where the locals hold a famous street market - Ladies Market. Ladies Market is full of fake, gucci, prada etc and many more, with Chinese sellers calling "Missy, Missy, Come Looky Looky". It is actually quite amusing.
Our final day in Hong Kong, before embarking South East Asia, was a great day. We met Emma again for Dim Sum, this time in a more Chinese style restaurant. It was great. The waiters and waitresses walk around the packed huge dining room pushing trolleys full with different small dishes and we just picked what we liked the look of. Emma has sussed out the good places to go very well. I then said goodbye to my friend for I don't know how long (sad). I wish you lots of luck Emma.Â
Claire and I made our way to Lamma Island, Hong Kong's second largest island to get away from the city life. We caught the ferry over (I dealt with this ok, and didn't get too sick!!!) which took about 35 minutes. We arrived off the boat to dancing and locals playing music as it was the Tin Hau Festival (we weren't aware of the festival beforehand, but it was a bonus). The island was beautiful, no cars, peaceful and they had a beach - yay!! We sat on the beach and enjoyed chilling and not rushing here there and everywhere. We then hiked to the other side of the island - where I soon realised how unfit I was. We walked up and down hills, so we deserved the chocolate ice-cream we had at the end.
After our our nice day, Claire surprised me and said we were going to go for a drink in the Sheraton Sky Lounge which overlooked Central - Thank you Claire. Central at night is stunning as all the buildings alight and it is a mass of wonderful colours. We had a great cocktail and enjoyed the fantastic view. At 8pm we watched Hong Kong's Guinness Book of Records Light Display from Kowloon. The bright colourful lights came on and off in time with the playing music, and strobes went out across the island. It was a great last day in Hong Kong. Again thank you Emma and take care.
So there we are China, complete. Hong Kong complete.
On to South East Asia next...................................
Hope everyone is well.Â
Missing you
Lots of Love
Carly and Claire
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