Casual 4 hour hop over to Hong Kong was next on the list for Claire and I. Plane full of comedy as always, large array of people coughing in our faces ala Anne from Little Britain #computersaysno and our true favourite, woman in front of Claire who was the spitting image of Little Jimmy Cranky #butasian

Greeted at airport by woman with what looked like a giant barcode scanner from Sainsburys randomly pointing it at people and checking the temperate of their heads?! Not sure what happened to those who failed to have a head within required airport temperature range?! I would not have faired well if the same had been done in sweaty Singapore or KL where my melted face made me look like I was 85% tomato #burntforeheadalert

Also thrust a leaflet about the importance of only using legal transportation and not to be tempted to take unlicensed taxis. Not immediately obvious from the image that it wasn’t in fact a leaflet about importance of not letting Daley Thompson drive your cab?

Arrived at Bishop Lei International House after ridiculous wait for airport shuttle bus. Took the windy streets up the Mid Levels Hong Kong and checked in. Verdict: 4 days in the Shangri La was more than enough to realise we prefer 5 star travel! Missing smell of lemongrass in lobby (more a smell of actual grass?!) and room on the small side, but important to acclimatise to real life again ahead of 26 days backpacking around China.

Wandered the streets after it became blatantly obvious the Concierge was just a man with a badge and no actual knowledge of the area or helpful tips. Not even sure he even worked there!?! Went in search of dinner and had some traditional Asian fare in a cafe near Central station, packed with locals which is always a good sign.

 

Top tip 101 of Hong Kong: no one believes in queueing! It is literally every man for himself. Decided to stop getting annoyed at the rudeness, tutting loudly and being all round English and adopt if you can’t beat em join em approach. Got a feeling same will be true of China. Will be interesting.

Spent Saturday doing what all people who had just 2 short days to explore an entire metropolitan city would do…go to Disneyland. Hong Kong marks the 4th of 5 worldwide Disneylands I have visited, and with Anaheim, California the final stop of my adventure it was a must. Pretty sure 5/5 will make me an honorary member of the Mickey Mouse club or something. #alifenotwasted

 

Was an amazing, magical day as always! Arrived for Park opening as advised it gets crazy busy. Had 3 hours of bliss wondering with little to no queues before the bulk of people arrived.

Castle is hands down the worst I have ever seen. Looked like a model village! Thought it was perspective at first but actually titchy!

The park isnt full of big thrill rides, but we were expecting this courtesy of a wonderful Tripadvisor post from “Willia34USA” Who had outlined there are no rides there which are “balls to the wall insane”…………

Some fun new things including Stitch Encounter where stitch interacts with the audience. Claire got hit on (again) by him but when he found out she had a boyfriend agreed to settle for me instead #sloppyseconds #gotnodisneyaliengame

The whole park can be easily done in a day, went on everything that was open, saw some shows, went on some rides again, ate overpriced processed foods and generally lived the 5 year old dream #culturevultures #highbrowdayout #allwhilstinMinnieears

Watched the fireworks and headed home after walking 10.5 miles and in the spirit of embracing cultures and trying different foods we went to maccy ds and had a fillet-o-fish as we’ve never had one and always wondered! Ha! #branchingout #whatholudaysareallabout

Spent Sunday honouring the ancient tradition of dim sum brunch. Headed to the world famous Maxims Palace at City Hall. Adoreable inside, if slightly “faded glamour”, traditional dim sum carts are still pushed around the dining room and you select from each. If you can ignore the air of hospital dinner trolly / asian meals on wheels about it, it’s fun. Food was yummy but in all honesty I think we were both expecting to be blown away…I think you forget living in such a varied colourful city like London you’re lucky to have so many excellent versions of international cuisines right on your doorstep.

Wandered the famous “Ladies Market” over the bay on Kowloon, got a few more bargains and did some more deals on things we didn’t really need, but all part of the fun.

Headed to the harbour in desperate search of hallowed skyline snaps but thwarted yet gain by the ridiculous fog that has shrouded the city ever since we arrived. You can’t see the tops of skyscrapers or even the end of the road in front of you! Such a shame as that famous iconic skyline is the first image you conjure up when thinking of Hong Kong! Will have to admit defeat this time and hope for a miracle when I pass back through here after The Dragon Trip ends.

Said a fond farewell to Claire who has been the perfect travel companion over the past couple of weeks and I will be sorry to see her go. Safe flight chef and I shall look forward to seeing you when I’m home!

But now all back packed up and headed to the next and third chapter. Since everything is blocked behind the infamous “great firewall” not sure when next update will surface. Regardless, China here I come!! Xx