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We arrived in Hong Kong and after we had the standard awe and amazement evoked in us by the skyline, we took our place in arguably the biggest s***hole in the developed world, Chungking mansions. This is a great big high rise apartment block in the centre of Kowloon which houses about 10,000 backpackers, natives and criminals, awash with crime drugs and god knows wot else. So we moved swiftly on the next morning to Hong Kong Island, which is far livelier than the sedate (!) Kowloon. I had never seen a place like Hong Kong in my sheltered young life, seriously it makes Central London on Xmas Eve look like a small remote village and getting the Hong Kong tube is an experience in itself. I have to say i was quite surprised at the lack of British influence, barely 10 years after the handover. Very little english spoken, but non-stop commercialiam and people everywhere made it feel just like home. Our first full day, we flicked on the TV at our much nicer hostel and found england getting battered by New Zealand at the Hong Kong rugby 7's! Quality! On checking out where this was taking place, we found it to be a 10 minute walk from where we were staying in Causeway Bay and promptly went down to find no tickets left, but very randomly i spied a guy that i'd met touting during the Ashes many moons ago, who got us two tickets for the afternoon. Not being massive rugby fans, this was not the sort of event we would normally rush to go and see but it was actually fantastic, a full crowd, dozens of nationalities, drink flowing, great atmosphere. They should try doing this with a good sport like football or cricket, it could be massive... Afterwards we took to the apparently legendary rugby 7's after party where the three day event culminates in one of the biggest nights in Hong Kong's calendar. And Punch and i celebrated by watching spurs play reading on a big screen... Seriously tho it was a great night to cap of a really fun day.rnWe stayed on Hong kong Island for the rest of our trip, with Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai the main areas to head to of an evening. Personally i was delighted at finally being able to watch football again and the nightlife was far better than we had seen in Singapore. It is however nigh on impossible to find women in many parts of Hong Kong that are not prostitutes, most of the bars and clubs filled with western men, usually quite ageing and prostitutes. On one particular occasion we spent a highly surreal evening watching PSV Liverpool with some english lads only to be joined by three thai working girls who would not leave, only too keen to impart their views on the Champions League tie. One of the main highlights of Hong Kong Island are The Peak, a 550 metre hill that gives an amazing view of the city and harbour below. Unfortunately seeing as the weather for the 5 days we were in Hong Kong could most accurately be described as s***e this was somewhat ruined. Similar tales abound when we went accross to Lantau Island, a more secluded island to the west, twice the size of Hong Kong Island but without any of the hustle and bustle. We climbed up to see the largest and highest buddha statue in the world but could barely even make it out in the fog! It is a stunning island however, with Pa Lin monastery, the largest tempole in Hong Kong and the Pillars of Wisdom well worth a visit. Lantau Island was without doubt my favourite part of Hong Kong, completely contrasting to everything the city represents. Our lack of stunning views was probably made up for by the experience of seeing the view across the harbour from Kowloon, where ervery night they put on a laser show above the hundreds of skyscrapers, which is a pretty impressive sight, busy western Hong Kong at its best.rnOur last couple of days were spent trying to immerse ourselves in all of the history and culture Hong Kong has to offer, such as the worlds longest escalator! Amazing as this was however, we also managed a trip to the Hong Kong history museum which is very interesting indeed if you like that kinda thing and a trip to Possession point, where Britains first fleet landed in 18 hundred and something. So after an action packed few days we were off north into China and just a couple of hours train ride into the southern city of Guangzhou....
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