Hong Kong

Up On Victoria Peak

I couldn't wait to be back in Asia. I had so many incredible experiences and memories of my times in the South Eastern parts of this section of the world, that I couldn't wait to see more. I had never been to Hong Kong but of what many had told me - it was just like most Asian cities - hot, busy and pretty much pure chaos. I was ready.

It didn't take long for me to find out that the hot part was right. We stepped out of the airport and suddenly my sweat glands went into overdrive. And as soon as we got out onto the streets I realsied that the chaos part was pretty much spot on too.

Actaually, this time round, we wern't spending too much time in Hong Kong - in fact we were only staying for one night. The plan, was to leave for China tomorrow, spend a hectic week or so traveling the mainland and then returning to Hong Kong for about 6 days to look around and rest up after our intense travels in China. So this first taste of Hong Kong was just that - a taster.

We got the MTR (their version of the underground or subway, except that it is extremely clean, unbelievably efficient and far more comfortable) and headed off to Kowloon. This time in Hong Kong we were staying on Kowloon because it was close to the Train Station and it just made our already complicated lives that little bit less complicated. On our return trip we would be staying on the main island - known simply as Hong Kong Island.

Kowloon is north of Hong kong Island and borders with mainland China. It is an urban sprawl littered with hectic lives and unbelievably busy streets. At the heart of the busy streets is Nathan Road, which just so happens to be where our hotel was located. The hotel was pretty smart. I had left all the hotel booking to Harriet, so I wasn't suprised when we walked into this grand hotel - far more plush than anywhere I had stayed in my previous days of traveling.

To say that Swine Flu is taken seriously here would be a bit of an understatement. I mean I heard it was a problem in other parts of the world but these things seem to go unnoticed somewhat in New Zealand. It's like all the major drama around the globe seems to bypass the little country way out in the South Pacific, so it was a bit of a shock to see a women disinfecting the door handle with bleach as soon as I walked through it. In fact our whole hotel was being cleaned every hour, on the hour.

Apart from that the hotel was comfortable. We had a brief look up and down the manic Nathan Road before deciding it was all too much and it would probably be better to hide in our hotel room. The next day we reached Hung Hom Train Station, went through immigration, showing off our approved visas for China and got on the train. As the minute reached our departure time, the train started up and slowly pulled away from the station. I wanted to see more of Hong Kong but that would have to wait a week. First we would be heading into mainland China. It was a 20 hour, overnight train ride, where we would arrive way out on the Eastern Coast. We were first heading to China's biggest city - Shanghai..............