I have decided that after a year of neglect it's finally time to update - I often get emails/faceook messages asking me to update people or help people out with their travel planning and so I am once again putting it all in one place!
Also, it's nice to give something back! I spend hours reading strangers blogs about places that I am planning to go and its so helpful with my planning, I figured I would help someone else in return!
So, back to it.
May 1st, we landed completely shattered in Hong Kong airport, one of the most incredible airports ever. Situated on almost an island off the main Hong Kong, flying into it is spectacular!
It was late afternoon and just starting to get dark, so we grabbed our bags and headed out the rather confusing process of finding a bus ticket and then finding the right bus to get into. Eventually we got there and once you figure the public transport system out - you'll find it's actually incredibly easy and incredibly efficient.
The difficulty is knowing where to get off......
After asking a few locals on the bus, we find the right place-ish - thankfully Hong Kong is one giant free wifi zone, and so the trusty iPhone map lead us to our room in the 'Oi Suen Hostel' located in heart of busy Mongkok.
After living in a gorgeous wooden chalet in the beautiful snow topped mountains... this was a shock. Located in a fairly grim high rise building, our room had no windows just pale green tiles from floor to ceiling, two bricks to sleep on and our shower was a hose above the toilet.
Thankfully the excitement of being in a new place meant our depression was short lived and taking on the thinking of 'bugger it, we've just booked for two nights' we headed out onto the streets to spend as little time in the box as possible.
Our first stop was the Mongkok ladies market, quite a culture shock. The streets had all been closed off to accommodate hundreds of markets stalls selling literally EVERYTHING, tons of street food vendors and street entertainers. The place was rammed. But it was incredible.
After a few hours of browsing and watching a man bend a steel rod with his neck, we found a little, super cheap restaurant. The owners didn't speak a word of English and so we attempted through mime and hand gestures to tell him we wanted something vegetarian (Pete had already declared himself a vegetarian for the duration of the trip - except the occasional Big Mac)..... We were served bowls of soup and noodles (with a strong resemblance to dishwater)...... with pink meat balls floating around. In an effort to be polite, I managed to finish most of mine off - Although Pete was having none of it and sticking to the green vegetable side dish - only to be greeted with another bowl of the stuff from the owner. Yuk. Then trying to help me enjoy it further, he gave me some sauce to put in it. Chilli sauce. And that was the first of my near death experiences in Hong Kong. Time to return to the room.
The next morning we awoke in the pitch black room unsure of whether it was midday or midnight and set about our first full day in Hong Kong. We had decided to tick a few of the major tourist spots off the list today and so headed off on a walk down Nathan Road to find the famous Hong Kong city skyline.
Nathan road is enormous and stretches on forever. It has the majority of the hostels, hotels, shops and restaurants along it and is always super busy no matter what time of day it is.
We eventually made it to the view we had been searching for and it was pretty special.
We paid a tiny fare of 20 pence and took the boat over to Hong Kong Island and wandered around the city for a while checking out beautiful parks hidden amongst the high rises. The first place I've been to where you can walk into a city park and find flamingoes in the pool! And decided to take the vertical tram up to 'The Peak' for views across the city.
The views were incredible - Although it was a little misty, it was still fab! The photos don't do it justice at all.
And there is a big, tacky heart where you can write (not so) heartfelt messages to people and tie them onto this giant heart.
After living in a gorgeous wooden chalet in the beautiful snow topped mountains... this was a shock. Located in a fairly grim high rise building, our room had no windows just pale green tiles from floor to ceiling, two bricks to sleep on and our shower was a hose above the toilet.
Thankfully the excitement of being in a new place meant our depression was short lived and taking on the thinking of 'bugger it, we've just booked for two nights' we headed out onto the streets to spend as little time in the box as possible.
Our first stop was the Mongkok ladies market, quite a culture shock. The streets had all been closed off to accommodate hundreds of markets stalls selling literally EVERYTHING, tons of street food vendors and street entertainers. The place was rammed. But it was incredible.
After a few hours of browsing and watching a man bend a steel rod with his neck, we found a little, super cheap restaurant. The owners didn't speak a word of English and so we attempted through mime and hand gestures to tell him we wanted something vegetarian (Pete had already declared himself a vegetarian for the duration of the trip - except the occasional Big Mac)..... We were served bowls of soup and noodles (with a strong resemblance to dishwater)...... with pink meat balls floating around. In an effort to be polite, I managed to finish most of mine off - Although Pete was having none of it and sticking to the green vegetable side dish - only to be greeted with another bowl of the stuff from the owner. Yuk. Then trying to help me enjoy it further, he gave me some sauce to put in it. Chilli sauce. And that was the first of my near death experiences in Hong Kong. Time to return to the room.
The next morning we awoke in the pitch black room unsure of whether it was midday or midnight and set about our first full day in Hong Kong. We had decided to tick a few of the major tourist spots off the list today and so headed off on a walk down Nathan Road to find the famous Hong Kong city skyline.
Nathan road is enormous and stretches on forever. It has the majority of the hostels, hotels, shops and restaurants along it and is always super busy no matter what time of day it is.
We eventually made it to the view we had been searching for and it was pretty special.
We paid a tiny fare of 20 pence and took the boat over to Hong Kong Island and wandered around the city for a while checking out beautiful parks hidden amongst the high rises. The first place I've been to where you can walk into a city park and find flamingoes in the pool! And decided to take the vertical tram up to 'The Peak' for views across the city.
The views were incredible - Although it was a little misty, it was still fab! The photos don't do it justice at all.
And there is a big, tacky heart where you can write (not so) heartfelt messages to people and tie them onto this giant heart.
Although staying in Mongkok was amazing - it feels more authentic and rather than office looking buildings, the place feels more like 'Hong Kong', we decided that we had spent enough time there and decided to move across the water to Hong Kong Island and so relocated to the 'Hong Kong Hostel' in Causeway Bay. It was luxury in comparison! We had a window, a separate shower, comfortable beds, a common area and even AIR CON! Amazing. And all for the same price all made for a fantastic nights sleep!
The next day brought sunshine and we had read about a hiking track at the edge of the Island called the 'Dragons Back' and wanting to ensure we saw every side of HK we hopped on the MTR Subway right to the end of the line and we greeted with this to climb.
After trekking up this in 30 degree heat I was about ready to die as we made it to the top, but the rows and rows of gravestones certainly made for an interesting view.
And so the 'Dragons Back' begins.
To start it was easy, flat, shaded.... what was all the fuss about? And then we hit the first peak - apparently it's called the 'Dragons Back' for a reason.
And so we walked the unshaded up and downs with our complete supplies - one small bottle of Vitamin Water. Genious. Talk about unprepared.
Although both of us were exhausted, dehydrated and a little grouchy, the views more than made up for it! And we probably saw around 5 other people in total on the walk and it seems that pretty uncommon in Hong Kong.
It was an incredible walk and I'ld recommend it to anyone - just take a lot of fluid and some snacks!
And probably a phone as it's kinda difficult to get back once you reach the end! We managed to flag down a few buses and eventually got one headed in our direction!!
And so back to the city for a well deserved bottle of water and Pete's obligatory Big Mac meal.
Time for a chill out day, we took the scenic bus ride down to Repulse Bay for a day of sunbathing and swimming - a well needed rest on a gorgeous beach.
Further along the bus route is the Stanley Plaza which has a shopping centre and also huge markets which are amazing.
We stocked up on our fake brands and off the back of a lorry jobbies and a tacky oil painting of the Hong Kong skyline that Pete decided he needed as a souvenir and then headed back to the Hostel for our last night.
Hong Kong was completely amazing. It had never really been on my 'Wish List' but I loved it and I still need to go back and theres so much I'm yet to see there!
The highlight? Every night Hong Kong puts on a light show where they light up the buildings on the skyline and sync it with music. And every night we went down to watch it. It's just brilliant.
Next stop. The Philippines.
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