HONG KONG, 23RD-30TH NOVEMBER 2017

Hong Kong, Big, Bright, modern,traditional, and everything in between. Loved it.

We landed in Hong Kong and it was one of the smoothest airport transitions we’ve had. Hong Kong is fairly high tech and it was like magic, everything just worked.

We bought a SIM card and it instantly worked. We bought an octopus card and took the express train into Kowloon train station where you link up with a free bus shuttle to your hotel.

Our hotel room is more luxurious than we’ve had the last month and there’s a few extra facilities and amenities to make it all a little more comfortable. And I’m sure the power works 24/7 here.

After unpacking a little we were keen to get out and explore a little.

We walked for too long to be honest and we were pretty tired when we returned home to rest. Saying that we passed a little cafe about 100 metres from our hotel that looked great for breakfast.

Waking up slowly and getting our internet fix over with, we headed to that little cafe and had an awesome breakfast and I had my first cup of coffee for quite some time. Apart from a few sips of James over the last month and 2 at Buzz cafe in Coron I’ve not had my own due to not liking the brewed style mostly on offer.

We had also passed a little hair salon also close by and I was keen to get a cut as my hair literally felt like straw after all that swimming and sun in The Philippines.

I’ve never had a hair dresser like it. So casual with how he cut my hair not even combing it down properly smooth before cutting. In the end after he blow dried it, it looked pretty good, but to be honest it’s a bit of a hack job and my darling Susan will sort it out I’m sure when I’m back in Australia.

The hotel here runs a free shuttle service so we hopped on and got off for Mong Kok station.

Where we decided to take the train over to Hong Kong Island to check out where we were meeting Angela and Duncan at 4pm that afternoon. These two are legends we met on our Cruise earlier this year. They lived here for 20 years and gave us so much information on what to do here and then coincidentally were here on a port stop on another cruise!

We checked out our meeting point on Lockhart street and then took an Uber up to Victoria Peak.

Great views to be had here and we were so lucky as Angela had told us about a one hour loop walk to do.

Finding ourselves going down instead of around we asked a couple passing if they knew if we were going the right way. “No” they said but come with us we’re on our way to do it now. We spent a great hour walking and chatting with them as they pointed out landmarks along the way. It was a great time and we’re so grateful for the company and conversation.

Finding ourselves going down instead of around we asked a couple passing if they knew if we were going the right way. “No” they said but come with us we’re on our way to do it now. We spent a great hour walking and chatting with them as they pointed out landmarks along the way. It was a great time and we’re so grateful for the company and conversation.

We took the bus down to meet our friends and we were just a few minutes late but all good and we enjoyed another hour and a half having a few drinks and catching up before they had to start heading back to their ship.

It was fantastic to see them and to see someone familiar, with Andrew, Jung Won and Jett being our last ones in Korea.

We stayed at the pub after they left and the manager came over to chat, she was from the Philippines believe it or not and not the first Filipino we had met that day. We had a great chat about her life there and now.

Once we left there it was time to think about food, we’d only had breakfast and our drinks at the pub all day. We found a Thai restaurant close by and had a great meal. Would you believe we started talking to another couple who came in and she was Filipino and he was American, another couple joined in and they were identical to the other couple in that the man was American and wife Filipino.

Everyone waved us off when we left and we took the train back over to Kowloon to Mong Kok station and walked home, stopping to talk to some woman and their dogs who were so spoilt, they even had a dog pram for them and of course they were Filipino!

A great first day in Hong Kong.

Our second day we again didn’t leave hotel till around 10 am to go for breakfast at our little cafe.

We then took the hotel shuttle down to the waterfront where we bought tickets for The Star ferry, one hour harbour tour.

Weather was cooler and were glad for our warmer clothing.

The commentary was just enough without being boring and it was an enjoyable hour.

We decided to walk back to our hotel via Kowloon park and Nathan road.

Had one stop at the store selling all things Chinese and I was able to purchase some more of the magic potion that is great for stomach upsets.

We were tired when we arrived home and only ventured out to eat dinner almost next to the hotel. Delicious Chinese and we shared a big bottle of Chinese beer, which was good!

Another good day.

Day three and another later start, back to our cafe for breakfast and then walked downtown to go to uniqlo. We intended to go on to the waterfront and catch a couple of local ferries but after our shopping we headed back for a rest before heading out again in the evening. It was Sunday night and in one of the main streets it became like a buskers paradise etc just like you’d find in most cities during the day, but here it was Sunday evening.

We ended up back at our little cafe for dinner and we started chatting with a lovely young local couple Katherine and Alex whom live near by. They gave us a few good tips for other local restaurants and day trips.

We left the restaurant together and walked up the road till they waved us off at our hotel

This is what we love, chatting to locals and getting their tips and views on life.

Day four, actually got to breakfast by 10 am! Chatted with a family from Sweden who also go to the cafe every morning they said.

We took the hotels free shuttle downtown to the waterfront and caught the ferry over to Central station, HK island. Our idea was to catch a ferry to Lamma island but we missed the ferry by “ that much! Next one wasn’t for two hours so we decided to ditch that idea and take the bus to Stanley. Great bus trip, excellent views and freaky trip when on top deck of us right up front.

We walked the markets, the Boulevard, had a snack of dim sum and took a walk around a track that lead us to a little beach, two Buddhist temples,

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viewing platforms and a park with wild pigs, ( which we thought was a bit of a joke until we came across them).

Walking back to the beachfront of Stanley through residential area and bus back to Central. Caught the train to Mong Kok station on Kowloon and walked home via a delicious meal of Vietnamese food.

Better have an early night so we can leave earlier than today to get that ferry to Lamma island.

Oh and our breakfast cafe is shut tomorrow so they told us of another place to go. Tick, tick another great day in Honkers.

Day five, having our usual lie in we decided we best not miss that ferry to Lamma island and headed down to the waterfront to catch a ferry, stopping just long enough to devour a McDonald’s breakfast which to be fair is cheap and they make a flat white as well.

Once off the first ferry at Central we boarded the ferry to Lamma island and were quite surprised at one, how long a ride it was and two, how much bigger the island was than we surmised from seeing it from on top of The Peak on our first day.

Lamma island turned out to be a very pleasant experience.

After arriving at the ferry terminal at Sok Kwu Wan and walking past the sea front with the different restaurants offering some great offers on seafood, we took the track to the other side of the island to where the other ferry terminal back to Central is.

The walk/trek to Yung Shue Wan was extremely pretty and interesting with plenty of side paths to explore.

Yung Shue Wan is the more eclectic side of the town with a little slice of Old hippie and new hipster vibe going on, mixed with considerable old traditional charm.

There were old villages, beaches, pavilions, look outs,and great scenery along the way making it well worth an add onto your itinerary of Hong Kong.

Stopping back in town for an late lunch/afternoon tea meal of noodles we arrived back at our hotel for a few hours break before grabbing the free shuttle down to waterfront again to watch the nightly light show.

AQuite a few of the big buildings along the waterfront have some really impressive Christmas lights on them so when the actual light show started it was well to be honest a bit ho hum. Had we not made the effort we would have always wondered if we’d missed something special as it is we enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights around the city so the trip out was a success in that regard.

We had so enjoyed our Vietnamese dinner the night before we bought a serve of takeaway spring rolls to eat back in our room, we think they’re the best we’ve had anywhere and you wrap them in a lettuce leaf to eat them. Along with a individual airline size Aussie red, dinner was done and dusted and we went to sleep for our last time in Hong Kong.

Day six,

Our usual cafe gave us a pleasant final breakfast and the waiter even made me a flat white as he had been on a working holiday in Melbourne. They waved us off like old friends and we were again reminded of why we like to establish a rapport with local eateries by finding one we like and visiting frequently.

Some may say it’s not adventurous of us, but it gives us a sense of being part of a community and that is what makes slow travel appealing to us.

Hong Kong does this remarkable thing of being able to check in and drop your bags off at several of the train stations, great if like us you have a long wait between hotel check out and your plane leaving. Of course we could have left our bags at the hotel and gone back up to get them later but our plan was to spend the day over on Hong Kong Island once we checked out at 2 pm.

Having all that sorted we headed to Hong Kong park and a little late afternoon lunch.

We had so enjoyed our Vietnamese dinner the night before we bought a serve of takeaway spring rolls to eat back in our room, we think they’re the best we’ve had anywhere and you wrap them in a lettuce leaf to eat them. Along with a individual airline size Aussie red, dinner was done and dusted and we went to sleep for our last time in Hong Kong.

Strolling back to the waterfront as the sky darkened into evening then night, as the lights came on and the working day over for the locals, we found ourselves a little rooftop bar, celebrating happy hour and ordered ourselves a couple of N Z reds to pass the time for our last moments of this city.

Hong Kong has been a delight, the city is an eclectic mix of big bright lights and modern skyscrapers while still holding on to some old traditions and its working, just wish they’d all walk on one side of the path, walking the streets here is like playing body dodgems.

Next stop Frankfurt, Germany.