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I bloody love hong kong, but as a traveller on a budget it's not destination number 1, still, I'm so glad we went! Aside from how expensive it was we had an amazing few days, met some great people, found my inner child and witnessed the best city views yet.
We got there in the evening after a nice short 2 hour train from Guangzhou, went through immigration and brought an 'octopus' card in preparation for the stay. The octopus card is so good, it's basically like an oyster card but can used for just about everything; all public transport, in most supermarkets and shops and some bars and restaurants too, London needs this! After a long 50 minutes and 5 changes on the tube, laden with backpacks we found our hostel in causeway bay - the hong kong hostel, which aside from the very unhelpful staff was a great hostel on 'fashion walk' and the 5th floor of a high rise. It was in a really good location with walking distance to Victoria park, central and the star ferry and financial district, the only downside being that it cost just over £15 a night which doesn't sound a great deal but feels it after 6 weeks of nicer places for £3 - 4 a night!
We met one of niamh's friends who'd been there for a few days already that night and went to a really good Thai restaurant and for an explore after. We got the tube to tsim sha tsui (the star ferry port and promenade) to look at the incredible city skyline and views by night, it was actually mind blowing in all it's neon-lit glory and I got some great pics, then the heavens opened.... By the time we'd got back on the underground and made our way to the night markets and jade market at jordan it was torrentially raining but that didn't stop us, we braved the crazy, heaving streets for a bit if shopping ( it could have been day light thanks to the amount of lights and neons everywhere!) by the time we got back to the hostel our waterproofs had soaked through, trainers squelched and Az had developed hair like a middle aged italian man with a penchant for hair gel haha
We had an early start the next day and for a very good reason.... Disneyland HK!!! All I can say is that the pictures pretty much sum it up, we'd met a couple of nice lads from London called max and George at the hostel who joined us for the day, along with Denis niamh's mate, so there was a group of 7 travelers with an average age if about 25 skipping around the positively magical grounds if Disneyland with the biggest smiles on their faces! I can honestly say that I actually reverted back to bring a 6 year old as soon as I stepped off the special Disney train, complete with Mickey mouse shaped windows that took us there, and was greeted inside by a Disney Christmas parade and snow falling all around! I styled Mickey mouse ears out of my hair and we ran between the rides in the gorgeous sun, then ended the day with the amazing firework display in front of the castle. It's a small world, space mountain and queues for autographs, nothings changed in the last 15 years then!
We walked from the hostel the next morning all the way into the centre of the city and financial, past all the super car garages and in the shadows of unbelievably huge buildings to the peak tram where we met max and George again and all took the 'steepest tram in the world' up to the sky terrace - the highest viewing place in HK to witness some stunning views of the entire city, we wee really lucky and had a perfectly clear really warm day so got some brilliant pics and spent a while taking in the views. We got the number 70 bus to Aberdeen after that for s sampan ride around the water villages and HK harbor, perfectly timed so that we were on the water whilst the sun was setting! Getting dark, we busses it back to Tsim sha tsui and walked to find ladies market which wasn't particularly difficult considering amount of lights around the streets and markets, street performers playing in the streets and hoards of thousands of people there for their Saturday nights entertainment. It was 'hustle and bustle' at it's best and great fun to potter around, we did a bit of shopping and got dinner in a good little market side restaurant. The rest of the night was spent with beers and banter in the hostel with randomers and new mates (the decision for our where our next destination is going to be actually came from this nights conversations!)
The next day was Sunday - race day! After finally managing to send to send a parcel home and being charged and extortionate amount of money for the privilege, Az and I made our way to the other side of the city with backpacks full of beer at 1 o'clock for a few hours watching the horse racing. It was very nearly my highlight of HK for me, if was so good to be sat amongst thousands if locals in huge grandstands, shouting at horses as they few past with our 20dollar bets riding on them! It only cast £1 to get in and there was 10 races, it was beautifully sunny and we sat overlooking the track (or practically on it did some races) with the most incredible setting behind it, a mountain range fading away into the background with HK city's high rises to the right. We had such a good day, we got half cut, didn't win anything and spent all our money, so sold our octopus cards to be able to afford the tube back without having to take any more money out and went in search if the star ferry!
The girls were waiting the other side as me and az stumbled off the ferry to meet them and watch the infamous light show, crap Cantonese music played on and it was all a bit corny but looked great through beer goggles and I got some good pics too. Niamh left this morning and It turns out we've actually, unbelievably, been travelling with her for 2 and a bit weeks now! She's off to Bali, sun and beaches though so I'm sure Shes not complaining!
As I write this I'm currently on a 9 hour sleeper bus to yangshou, 42 beds, 3 across and 2 high and it's brilliant! It's literally like strange little bunk beds on a bus, you can just lie down listen to music and watch the world go by. We got from Kowloon to Shenzhen then luckily got on this bus to our next destination, were lying in what would be the back seat area of the bus, across 3 beds as at the back, the walkway between beds has been risen to bed height so as longs as this holds up it's going to be a bloody lovely journey!
UPDATE - I have since completed that bus journey and an now in (the most perfect place in china) yangshou, it turned out to be a 13 hour journey, we stopped a couple of tomes along the way, 1 of them being in a tiny village sheer the bus stop was shared with a farm, a makeshift table had been out up selling bits if food and the toilets were in a tiny farm building next to the pigs, open squatters so just a room, no drainage or water and a ridiculously bad smell. It was literally a concrete room with a channel along each wall! Lovely! Our bed situation didn't improve either, by 6 hours in, the 3 beds we had been sprawled across was now being inhabited by me, az, 2 Chinese men, and old woman and her 2 year old son! Haha all cuddled nicely together for a good few hours, next time I'll opt for a top bunk with sides so I don't end up sharing!
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