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Following the end of the Dragon Trip, Paul and I had a few beers at the hostel to reminisce about the previous 25 days. There we met Ally, a PE teacher from Canterbury, and Sam, a Canadian who is due to begin studying in Hong Kong.
The next day we decided to see the Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, on Lantau Island. The trip to the buddha once on the island is a 20 ish minute cable car journey and a short walk to the steps at the base of the buddha. We decided to run up the steps which was a very difficult task. Once at the top Ally pretty much departed straight away as he was getting nail bitingly close to missing his flight home whilst the rest of us stayed at the top to take photos and enjoy the view.
That evening I was very very very pleased to finally get to see my cousin Dom who has been teaching in China for the past year and recently moved to Hong Kong. We met on Kowloon island located North of Hong Kong island where I was staying. Dom firstly took us to Chungking Mansions which is an interesting place to say the least. On the ground floor, we walked around the shopping centres and restaurants. On arrival we were hounded by 'salesmen' asking if we wanted to buy either watches or hashish. I would like to say that by the end of the night we were high but knew what the time was however we did not take up any of the offers. The mansions are renound for illegal activities, are raided weekly by the police and are included in many crime novels and films. Dom then took us to his favourite pizza place, Paisano's pizza which serve some huge 24" pizzas if you're hungry enough. By this point we were starving and with no place to sit inside, we sat on the pavement outside and devoured the slices.
After Dom headed home, we decided not to call it a night and headed out to Lan Kwai Fong which is the go to party destination on Hong Kong island. The road features bars either side that pump music out on the road to compete for trade whilst the revellers stand in the road and drink beers from the 7/11 shop on the corner. It was here however that I had my phone taken from my pocket turning an awesome night into a slightly less awesome night. The next day I spent most of my time trying to sort out getting a new phone and making sure that my stolen one was locked from use.
The following two evenings I met back up with Dom and we headed out for some drinks and mexican food on the first night, and back to the pizza place and an Irish bar on the second. Before we parted ways we had a wander around the Avenue of the Stars, the Hong Kong equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The only three names there I could recognise there was Jet Li, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. The view back across to Hong Kong island from the Avenue is amazing at night with the buildings lit up next to the waters edge.
The morning after I made tracks for the airport to catch my flight to Hanoi. Leaving Hong Kong marks the conclusion of part 1 of 5 of my trip which has been incredible. Onwards to Vietnam and South East Asia.
Soundtracks of the China Trip:
Laidback Beats 2015
Oasis - (Whats The Story) Morning Glory?
Chinese square dancing music.
Onwards!
Max.
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