Aboard the Hong Kong express, we are now 2053km from Beijing. The lights were off when we came back to the restaurant car last night and the elderly lady who was supposed to be on the top bunk opposite me has moved to another carriage. I'm not surprised as you need a mountaineering qualification to get to the top bunk. So Sam hopped up there instead, which is great as the first thing I see in the morning will be her and not some snoring Chinese person.

Talking about seeing, it's lucky I still can. The lights went on this morning at 6.46am, they are only two feet away from my head and they burnt into my eyeballs like a miniature sun. I now know how the rabbit caught in the headlights feels.

Looking out the window as we speed through the countryside at 120km/h, I can see people wearing T shirts. Hurrah, we are on our way to the warm weather! My apologies to all of you about to brave another British winter. The scenery is very different to the Trans-Siberian route; there are actually regular reminders of civilisation along the way as opposed to 100's of miles of nothing.

Arriving in Hong Kong at 1.45pm, it's about 28°C and we take a bus from Kowloon to Causeway Bay on Hong Kong island where we are planning to stay. The bus fare is HK$8.90 each, but the ATM has only given us HK$500 notes and the conductor wants exact money only.
I had just persuaded him to take 20RMB instead, which is approx the same amount, when an English speaking Russian came over and helped out by using his Octopus card. These are useful travel cards that you scan when you get on most public transport and can be topped up. I gave the Russian, who lives on Landau island, the 20RMB.

We found the Wang Fat hostel on Paterson street without much trouble and as we hadn't booked crossed fingers that they would have a room. They did for HK$260 per night with shared bathroom, but they have a room with private bathroom available tomorrow.

Off to explore and it is absolutely heaving with traffic, shops, restaurants and skyscrapers, totally manic. It is also an extreme shock vis a vis the prices, after Beijing. Our room is double the price, the beer is ten times the price and comparable restaurants are near London prices. The tram is good value at HK$2 for as far as you like. They are tall and narrow and are the only all wooden trams still in use in the world. We didn't have change again, but a lady kindly changed a HK$20 note for us.

After some very spicy Szechwan chicken, we walked to the peak tram which takes you up the mountain for HK$30 return. The journey only takes a few minutes, but the ascent is incredibly steep.

The views from the top are fabulous as by now it is dark and the skyscrapers are all lit up. There is a 3km trail around the peak which we will do in the daytime and a great bookshop, which as usual has several books I want. Unfortunately my rucksack has no room so I have to reluctantly walk away.

We ate in an Indian restaurant in Soho, which is part of Central district on Hong Kong island and is full of bars and clubs. The meal was good, but despite being in the lonely planet 'cheap eats' section was still HK$414 (£30). We will have to eat in the hostel or leave Hong Kong very quickly as it's too expensive here.

Day 20 - Friday 28th October 2005 - Sam's Account

The train is really very modern. Better than the trans-siberian trains I would say. Compact and  streamline with all the mod cons. We had bought a "hard sleeper" ticket opposed to a "soft sleeper" which basically means you have 6 people in one cabin opposed to 4 - and yes, as you can imagine it is rather cosy indeed. Our cabin "mates" faces dropped when they realised we were booked into their cabin too with our vast amount of luggage. I think they were impressed we actually managed to stow it all away. The scenery was fabulous; rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, rice fields, little villages, farms, cattle, donkey's and carts driven on main roads shipping mountains of farm produce. The goings on inside the train were nearly as fascinating as the scenery going by. All the Chinese in each cabin were chatting away nineteen to the dozen, getting to know their cabin mates. Unfortunately of course Colin and I couldn't really join in with this and other than some polite smiles and nodding of the head we were left out of the "in" crowd! This really didn't bother us though, we were quite happy watching the scenery and popping off to the restaurant cart every now and then to sit comfortably - even if the service was atrocious. 

I slept sooo badly. One of the disadvantages of sleeping in a cabin for 6 is that there is a strong possibility that you will end up with someone noisy. We did. The husband of the middle aged couple on the bottom bunks was not just a snorer but an earth shaker. He must have kept our whole carriage awake, especially as there aren't any doors on the cabins. Funnily enough Colin, who is always the lighter sleeper of us both, went out like a light. I was so close to screaming at this guy to shut up and then... I remembered I had some ear plugs. The problem was I had to find them in my rucksack, in the dark. After a lot of ferreting around I eventually managed to dig out my ear plugs and shoved them as far as I could into my ears to try and get some sleep. I'd got so irate about this guy's snoring it took me ages to chill out enough to sleep. Hey ho, worst things happen at sea.

Unfortunately I'm still not feeling very well, coldy and bunged up BUT it is absolutely wonderful to at last feel the warmth in the air. We stood on the platform at one of the brief stops before Hong Kong. I was wrapped up in all my jumpers, my thick socks and boots with a handful of tissues to the ready in case of an inopportune sneeze and as we stepped out onto the platform an inane smile crept across my face as I realised we were at last leaving behind the cold weather for a good few months to come.

On arrival in Hong Kong we immediately noticed that the train station is very modern, very clean and very organised. Having hauled all our luggage onto our backs again we established where we should be going and took out some HK$ from an ATM. The public transport system is excellent in Hong Kong and we hopped onto a bus over to Hong Kong Island (the train comes into Kowloon on the main land). Paying the bus driver worked out to be rather tricky as he wanted the exact change and nothing else - the ATM had of course only given us 1000HK$ notes -> not hugely useful! Some Russian guy overheard our kerfuffle with the driver and offered to take our Chinese RMB (or Yuan as the local Chinese call it) in return for paying our fares in HK$. Phew! Well he made a buck out of it too. To be honest I think his real motivation was to chat up Colin! He was definitely very complimentary of him... ooh err missus! ! !

Manicly hectic is an understatement of how busy the streets in HK are and as we got off the bus in Causeway bay and picked our way through the streets and people to our hostel we were both slapped in the face with the sheer disarming organised mayhem. Luckily the hostel we had chosen from our trusty Lonely Planet guide had one last room available - rats another twin! However we asked to be put on the waiting list for a double and a room with a bathroom as we were sharing a bathroom with 5 other rooms. Once our bags were down we could relax and have a look around.

We ended up having a very packed first afternoon in Hong Kong. We ordered some sechuan chicken for a light bite before exploring in a local restaurant. Hmm... it was basically a plateful of red chillies with a few chunks of chicken meat on the bone. Not exactly what we expected but it certainly helped me clear my nose (sorry, is that too much information?)!

Following our red hot snack we walked around until we found our bearings and then hopped onto a tram to "central". Again we had problems with the driver as he wanted the exact change which we didn't have. Luckily a Chinese woman helped us out and gave us change for a small note. We then walked to the peak tram to take us up to Victoria Peak. The incline must be at least 45° and because the ascent is so direct the trip lasts only a matter of minutes. Once at the top the views are everything you expect them to be. Wonderful.

Darkness fell extremely quickly and we sauntered around the peak in the fresh air, nature and cooler climate. The environment was a welcome change from the stuffy, polluted heat from the streets below. The peak is not a park though,  it has a shopping centre, bars, restaurants, houses and appartment blocks, the buildings leave space for some greenery though and you feel less claustrophobic. I really loved it up there with views of Hong Kong's skyline at night I was wondering how much an appartment would cost....

Bump. Back down to earth, well back down in the thick of central and Soho where we found a place for dinner which was recommended in our guide as "exceptional value for money", it was an Indian restaurant which offered an extensive buffet for 150HK$ each. However, by the time we'd both ordered a drink the bill came to over 400HK$ and it is fairly well accepted that you cannot eat out for any less than this in Hong Kong.

Our first afternoon and night in Hong Kong cost us 1170HK$ in total. Ouch!

Day 21 - Saturday 29th October 2005 - Colin's Account

Put our laundry in for washing, hurrah and changed our room for a double with bathroom. I looked at 5 before choosing as some were noisy or small, etc.

We went off to Concorde travel to book our flights to Bangkok, the lady seems to think we need an onward ticket if we don't have a visa and will check on Monday morning with the Thai consulate and let us know.
We took the Star ferry (HK$2.2 upper deck) over to Kowloon, which was the only way of crossing prior to the tunnels being built. Despite Versace vying with Tiffany's for space, Kowloon is rather seedy. We walked up Nathan Street, past the infamous Chungking Mansions, where even the cockroaches need bodyguards. After lunch from a stall, we went to the Space Museum, which is shaped like a giant golf ball.
The exhibits were very interesting, but the highlight was a film we booked for HK$32 each in the space theatre. The seats are tilted back and the roof, which is in fact the inside of the golf ball, is a huge curved screen. The film was on climbing Kilimanjaro and followed the attempt of a small group of people, who together with their guide were trying to reach the summit. The guide who has climbed the 5985m (19000+ feet) mountain over 250 times did most of the narrating. The scenery and magnitude of it all, especially with the special screen, has made us want to have a try ourselves.

Dinner was at the three-five Korean in Kowloon, where we had loads of little dishes and Kimchi, with a cup of muddy tea (remember the muddy tea at the Durham lunch club, dad?).

Prior to our meal we had stopped off at a bar for a drink, which didn't look seedy, but judging by the some of the mismatched couples sitting around together it appears obvious that we had stumbled upon a den of iniquity. However, Madam who was doubling as bar maid is obviously used to serving real couples a drink or two before they head out for the evening and was not the slightest bit fazed.

Day 21 - Saturday 29th October 2005 - Sam's Account

Woke fairly early but still weary. Sorted out our room negotiations and moved to a marginally better room but of course for more money. General jobs were needed to be done i.e. laundry, internet etc... and we set off to Concorde travel agents (again found from our guide) to organise our travel to Bangkok for the 2nd November.

Concorde travel agency insist we need either an onward ticket leaving Thailand (which of course we cannot yet buy because we don't know where we want to go yet) or a Thai visa.   Our faithful guide tells us that none of this is necessary so we hold our flight reservations and plan to contact the Thai Embassy on Monday when they open. I'm now concerned about our entry to Thailand and I want to play it by the book as we can't jeopardise messing up our itinerary for my brothers wedding. Can't do anything about it until Monday though so I try to put it to the back of my mind.

Being in "central" we decide to go back over to the main land by ferry to visit Kowloon. The ferry taxi is fast, cheap and good fun, plus you get great 360° views of the surrounding area. Kowloon however is pretty much plebeville. "You can't say that!" I hear you cry it is simply just not PC (politically correct) but unfortunately it is the truth. Compared to HK Island, Kowloon is dirty, smelly and very much more down market. However, the atmosphere is electric, the people watching is even more fascinating, the potential "deals" available for fake rolex, electrical goods etc... are numerous and the food and accommodation prices are very much more within our budget. The immediate difference you notice when arriving in Kowloon from the Island is the fact that people are totally in your face trying to sell you anything and everything everywhere. HK Island just does not have touts on it, a haven for touted out travellers like me! The Island is where all the financial industry is based, so yesterday we saw thousands of people suited and booted for work. In Kowloon, on the other hand, the work attire tends to be boob tubes, mini skirts and high heels if you get my drift.

Having had our fix of people watching we potter off to the science museum which I thought was very informative. Colin knew quite a bit of the presented information already, but I learnt lots and found the whole experience put our insignificant little lives very much into perspective.

"Young stars shine white or blue and are very bright. They settle down into a long middle age, the length of which depends on their mass. The heavier the star, the shorter its life. Our sun is approximately half way through its ten billion-year lifespan." 

After the museum we saw a film about climbing Kilimanjaro in the adjoining cinema. This was no ordinary cinema though. The screen was a vast concave 360° circular bubble. The effects were impressive, we really felt as though we were here with the group climbing Kilimanjaro and by the end of the film we both said we'd love to tackle it. Let's see how first base camp of mount Everest goes first though!

A sundowner was the order of the day after our film and as we continued to stroll around Kowloon we were very quickly invited into a bar which was offering a happy hour. What luck! And yet not, well not for me anyway. It was plainly obvious we were in a knocking shop. A group of Thai girls took their turns in welcoming middle aged, fat, balding Brits and Germans come into the bar on their own. The girls knew their regular and loyal client base and the designated Chinese girl joined the sweaty European in question. Drinks were bought, spilled, re-filled out of view and hands were allowed to roam wherever they pleased. A huge dildo was on the glass shelf in front of us and as Colin asked me if I'd like a second beer he said discreetly to me "I think there's something funny going on in here..." ! You don't say!

Moving on... dinner was in Kowloon as well. We opted for a Korean meal which was really very good indeed and then made our way back to Causeway Bay on HK Island by boat and then by tram.

We are now getting dab hands at tram travel and sitting on the top deck with all the windows down is a fantastic way to travel around Hong Kong soaking up the atmosphere and chaos below us from a cooler more relaxed vantage point.

Our first bottle of red wine in weeks was purchased from the local supermarket and enjoyed whilst watching a film on the computer in our room.

A great day.

Day 22 - Sunday 30th October 2005 - Sam's Account

Today is the first time we have actually felt that Sunday feeling. People were milling around in casual clothes instead of the usual frenetic bustle in suits. It was a good feeling to know that somewhere in Asia people do relax at least one day of the week!

Today we went back up to Victoria Peak to go for a walk, this time by taxi as the peak tram had horrendous queues. Funnily enough the queues were not western tourists but   local Hong Kong residents and Chinese holiday makers. HK seems to be a very popular holiday destination for retired couples from Beijing.

Once at the top of the peak, all the Chinese family's were up there doing the same thing; a Sunday stroll. The 3km walk is around the peak and takes in the wonderful views of HK. We had shopped at our local supermarket for breakfast and also planned a few previsions for a packed lunch. Unlike yesterday we had a relaxing, chilled out day. We took the bus back down to central with another loony bus driver and then once back in our hostel we had diner in the room. We bought sushi from our supermarket and watched some HK television.

Day 22 - Sunday 30th October 2005 - Colin's Account

Popped out to the pharmacy this morning to buy some bits for Sam and found a supermarket with a good range of products at  reasonable prices, thank god for that as Hong Kong is quite expensive. The beer price, just for comparison with everywhere else you know, was HK$12. However I actually bought some fruit and some orange juice which had bits of aloe vera in it. This struck me as an unusual combination, but it was really good.   In fact I didn't even know you could eat it, I though you just found it in shampoo etc.

Things seem marginally quieter today, even though all the shops are open there is less traffic on the roads. We took the Tram to the Peak railway station and seeing the queues to get on the Peak tram opted for a taxi, which cost HK$37. Compared to the Peak tram which climbs almost vertically up the mountain in a few minutes, the taxi had to weave it's way round and round as we climbed and the journey took a surprisingly long time.

Once at the peak, we took the walk that we had looked at on our 1st afternoon which was 3km, with great views of the sea, the harbour with ships and fishing boats dotted around in the distance and , of course, skyscrapers. I saw several black Kites taking advantage of the air currents  as they glided around looking for dinner. We also saw the reservoir, the name of which escapes me, but which was created many decades ago to solve the water shortage in the growing Hong Kong.

All the slopes and believe me there are lots of them, have their own slope registration number, marked on a plaque bolted to the rock. I assume this is part of some sort of maintenance program, although what sort of maintenance a rock face needs is beyond me.

After lunch (sandwiches), we headed back down to the hustle and bustle in a little minibus HK$7.4. The driver seemed to think he only had one gear and screamed the engine most of the way down.

The top of my right foot has been hurting a bit, so I think I'll avoid too much walking for the next few days. Dinner was sushi from the supermarket I found and once I'd mixed up my soy sauce and wasabi to form a lethally hot dip we tucked in. Perhaps eating in your room does not quite fall into the spirit of visiting new places, but it tasted wonderful and was cheap!

Day 23 - Monday 31st October 2005 - Sam's Account

Wow, the HK'ers are totally into Halloween. Not only do all the shop keepers decorate their shops in a BIG way with cobwebs and spiders etc... the streets themselves are decorated with flying witches on broomsticks and hanging corpses - very macabre.

That aside, today was quite stressful trying to organise our visas and our flight tickets to Bangkok. We were given conflicting information from various people at the Thai Embassy and in the end (having been told by immigration not to bother applying for a visa) we though it would be best to be on the safe side. They only cost 200HK$ each for a 60 day tourist visa which isn't bad (my Mongolian one cost £100 in the UK for an express service).

We were assured that our passports with our Thai visas would be ready for collection at 9am the following morning so the flights to Bangkok for 2nd November were booked and paid for.

This visa situation had scuppered our plans to go to Macau for the last two days so we ummed and aaahed about what to do for the following couple of days. Eating and drinking was high on the list of priorities and so we had lunch in Soho in a Thai restaurant and then went to the hairdressers so that Colin could cut his hair and look smart for the wedding. He was given a free beer to drink whilst they cut his hair so he was a happy as larry!

As the darkness fell all the HK'ers were emerging in Halloween costumes The costumes ranged from the sheer outrageous to the subtle approach ; the one thing in common was that everybody was in a party mood. As a hired open topped bus drove by with party goers singing and dancing on the top floor the atmosphere was verging on carnival.

Being reasonable and feeling weary Colin and I went to the supermarket for dinner and ate in our room again whilst watching some .

Day 23 - Monday 31st October 2005 - Colin's Account

After a bit of a lie in I phoned the travel agents and Thai consulate who seemed to think it would be wiser to get a visa, so we immediately rushed off to the consulate as they close at 12.30. By a stroke of luck we found it straight away, despite having only the vaguest idea of where it was. The consulate didn't seem to think it would make much difference whether we had a visa or not, but Sam was concerned about Luke & Jam's wedding so we decided to get one anyway. The cost is HK$200 each for a 60 day visa and will be ready tomorrow morning. I wish all our other visa's had been this easy and cheap. In fact due to its small size, Hong Kong is an ideal place to get all your visa's if you are travelling around Asia.

Due to the visa problem we have decided to cancel our trip to Macau, which was going to take up the remainder of our time here. I am sad to miss out as it sounds quite interesting with it's Portuguese influences. Instead we decide to go to lunch and walking down a tiny backstreet in Soho we are accosted by dozens of restauranteurs keen for our business. Settling on the 'Good Luck' Thai we sit down outside and order our food. Sam has gone for the Tom Kha Gai, which is my speciality and is made with coconut milk, together with chilli's, chicken, mushrooms, lime juice & leaves, lemon grass, ginger/galangal etc, etc... Fortunately, although good, it didn't knock me off my pedestal and apparently I still make the 'best' soup in the world. At least according to Sam, my friend Kevin's wife Andrea and a few others 'you know who you are'.

My hair is getting a bit unruly, so I have gone to the hairdressers for a cut. The cost is HK$200, but includes free drinks. So not only did I get given a beer, but every so often the hairdresser would stop cutting and invite me to take a sip of my drink, very civilised.

After this we walked around window shopping or 'leche vitrine' as the French would say, literally translated as 'licking windows', ugh!

Dinner was again in the room, but this time it was roast duck, with stir fried vegetables and rice.

Every where we look the streets are decked out with flying witches, spiders webs and other Halloween type decorations. Trams, buses and buildings have lanterns, pumpkins and the like hanging from them and a lot of people are dressed up either in full regalia with masks/painted faces or perhaps just a witches hat to show willing.

Day 24 - Tuesday 1st November 2005 - Sam's Account

Today was a good day.

Colin went over to central to pick up our passports with our new Thai visas and the tickets from Concorde travel agents whilst I took my time to wake up and get ready. We leave for Thailand tomorrow - yippeeee ! Can't wait to see Mum, Dad & Luke.

For our last day in Hong Kong we decided to go to Shek O, apparently the only real village left on the Island. We had discovered from Colin's hairdresser a couple of days ago how to get there and therefore as per instructions we set off initially taking the metro for a few stops and then took the n°9 bus.

Shek O is a total contrast to central Hong Kong it is a little rambling village on the south coast of the Island and the scenery is beautifully rugged. Tree carpeted mountains surround the village and a white sandy beach is most definitely the focal point. Surfers are out catching waves and the locals are selling the fish caught that day. 

We wandered around this sleepy little village enjoying the fresh air, sea breeze and warm weather.  Having sat on the beach watching the locals we sauntered some more and came across an open theatre which seemed to have been temporarily erected in the car park using bamboo, corrugated roofing and the odd blob of cement. An amateur production of a Chinese musical of some description was showing as we were there. The costumes were as colourfully lavish you would expect them to be and their make-up, including the men's, had been applied with a trowel it was so thick - but very effective.

We decided to go for a walk along the coast and the scenery was a welcome change to the skyscrapers in central. With our lungs full of clean air and our cheeks glowing we hopped back on the bus to go back to the mayhem of town. Stopping at a market en route we   bought some dragon fruit to try. Very tasty indeed. Dinner was a supermarket take away in the room again.

Day 24 - Tuesday 1st November 2005 - Colin's Account

I went off to collect the visa's and plane tickets for Bangkok this morning while Sam got ready. I have been quoted £775 each for plane tickets for my daughters to come over to Thailand at Christmas, ouch! and ouch again! I will have to think about this a bit.

We took the MTR (mass transit railway) for the first time today, it is easy to use, well signposted and had the flashing LED's just like in Beijing. We are on our way to Shek O to see a bit more of the island. It is in the south eastern corner and compared to central of most other parts of Hong Kong island is a sleepy, slightly ramshackle village.

The beach is golden sand, the temperature is 26°C and we sit watching a few people surfing even though the waves are tiny. Nearby a group of teenagers are on a school trip and are busy throwing each other in to the water. A lifeguard is sitting on a floating platform about 30m out to sea and occasionally the swell of the waves completely hides the platform leaving you with the image of a man just sitting cross legged on the top of a wave!

Walking up through the village we pass Mr F**k Lee's grocery store and restaurant, I'm sure they do it on purpose and headed up to the peak. The views out over the South China Sea are great although there is a bit of a haze. We can see ships of all sizes in the distance, including fishing boats and hydrofoils making their way between islands. There are more birds of prey here and through the binoculars I can see them studying us intently as we are the only humans around.

After another hair-raising ride back to the train station we went for a walk through a great little market, bursting with fresh produce and we are the only westerners in sight. We bought some dragon fruit to try. The flesh is white with black specks and it's really quite good. We took the tram home as opposed to the MTR which took a lot longer, but enabled us to see yet more of Hong Kong.

Jamie from the travel agents rang me back at our hostel following my email to him and I bit the bullet and booked the girl's flights. Dinner is definitely going to be budget tonight and tomorrow we are off to Thailand.

The Journal now moves on to the Thailand link

The Hong Kong section has now finished