Hong Kong

Thursday

Sea Day with some people recovering from having opted to do the 7 hours in a coach to Hanoi - did seem a shame to come all this way and be so close yet so far but......

Quite an interesting path to Hong Kong through China military waters - Captain very enthusiastic and said they had to go through special permission and previously had to go through with no radar but this time were allowed.

Friday

Arrival into Hong Kong @ 7am. Alarm had been set for 5.40 to get up and watch however had not been set right and we awoke at 7.30 to find we were already here (not sure Ian ever intended to get up at 5.40!!!) Turns out the clouds were low, very misty and probably did not miss too much.

What a change in temperature - jeans and jumpers out the case which had been half packed...says it is 20 degrees which I am sure is tropical compared to home, however having come from 34 it is decidedly chilly.

Ventured out to do our own thing with a trip on over to Hong Kong Island (costing around 20p) then bus out to Stanley Market...had a wander round, grabbed some Mango juice in a cafe and headed back - quite a scenic route via Repulse Bay.

Light show in the evening had been built up as a "must see" but was a little bit of an anticlimax due to the visibility but more on that to follow.

Packed in about 10 mins flat, cases outside door and headed up to the join 'the gang' for our last evening and farewells before getting to bed about 2am

Saturday

Time to leave the ship (got the alarm clock working this time) breakfast and headed off around 9am, collected bags then off to the hotel which was about 2 minutes away overlooking the Harbour. (view from ship is from our room) Managed to check in and get settled in the fab room before heading out for more exploring. MTR station on our doorstep so headed up to Ladies Market during the day followed by Temple Road Evening Market...every corner has people wanting to sell you a suit or copy watches and handbags. Weather still chilly and coats and scarves are on too!

Sunday

Ian had the best nights sleep of the holiday and we woke up to a very wet day and decided to chill out and postpone our bus tour until Monday (if weather still the same we will not be venuring to the open top and are likely to give Victoria Peak a miss!)

Watched the lights from our room and much better - realised the lasers are not the main attraction but are only a suppliment to the amazing lights on the buildings...hype makes sense now!

Headed out about 10pm for a bowl of noodles at a restaurant near the hotel and came back to update the blog. Airport tomorrow for midnight flight so busy day planned sightseeing.