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We arrived in Hong Kong at around 7am our time and David and I were already wide awake. We could tell just from the view from the balcony that this place was going to be something special. 

 
 For clarification......The territory is called Hong Kong and it comprises of Hong Kong Island which is the main economic district , the new territories, Kowloon peninsula and over 200 offshore islands. We docked in Kowloon so not actually on Hong Kong Island which we will see tomorrow.  

 Our balcony faces Home Kong Island and it has a simply incredible skyline.  
If you thought that high rise towers could not be beautiful then you should think again. It is stunning to behold. Behind the hundreds and hundreds of high rises you have a backdrop of lush green mountains, it is breathtaking. This is one concrete jungle with oodles of character and that is simply from looking out of our balcony.  

 
We had a tour today which firstly took us on a coach ride to Lantau Island. This is the largest of the 200 offshore Islands that I spoke about earlier. In order to get there we drove through Kowloon and, not unlike Hong Kong Island itself, is full of high rise tower blocks and very little greenery. Don't let this make you think it is not wonderful to look at though....it is.  

  
Our guide explained to us that most of the residents live in these tower blocks and they are tiny inside....around 300 square feet. She said that because their living space is so restricted they do everything outside. They go out to eat, family gatherings are held outside and so on. There are just over seven million people living in Hong Kong and this is in an area which is much much smaller than the city of London. I think our guide said that in the main inner city concrete jungle areas there are around 6000 people living per square mile.  

 
Ok so our first stop was Lantau Island and a small fishing village on the coast. The contrast when we crossed the water between Kowloon and Lantau was amazing. As built up as Kowloon was, Lantau was the polar opposite. Our scenery changed from tower blocks to mountains and rugged protected coastlines. Apparently a lot of ex pats live on Lantau and I am not at all surprised. It was breathtakingly beautiful and very sparsely populated. (of course, it is tiny too!)

 
Our coach trip took us past the prison which is on the island and right down by the sea. Our guide told us at first that it was a hotel and then joked that it was easy to check in but almost impossible to check out of! She was a funny lass, she also told us to stick together and not get lost because we all look the same to her...brilliant.  

 
Once we arrived at the fishing village we were able to spend some time walking around and taking in the atmosphere. The locals were more rugged looking than those we had seen on Kowloon, darker skinned and more weathered. Everyone was very friendly and were happy for us to take pictures of the dried fish stores. The people of Lantau live on fish, both by eating it and selling it. Because they need the fish to keep, they preserve it and dry it. The smell.....the best way I can find to describe it is when you walk into a pet store. That fishy....dried leather sort of smell. It was exactly like that.

 
Everywhere you looked were dried fish, small ones, larger ones....even giant puffer type beasts. All hanging up and drying in the sun. Ah yes, the sun. It was out again today and temperatures have topped 89 degrees. The humidity is still killer though...as soon as you step off the coach every part of you which is able to sweat, does so.

 
I took a few photos of the fishing village, it was so picturesque, almost like time had stood still there. Around there village we found several cats lazing about in the sun. It must be a nice life for a cat to live in a fishing village! (No....they don't eat cats!) They live on houses on stilts and the villages are given the name 'little venice'.  

 
After the fishing village it was back on the, thankfully air conditioned, coach for a short trip up one of the mountains to the Po Lin monastery. On top of the mountain sits the largest outdoor Buddha in the world. He is made up of thousands of bronze plates and these were transported up the mountain in 1993 and, piece by piece, like a jigsaw puzzle, he was constructed. In total he stands 26 meters tall and when you actually stand at his feet and look up...wow...he is immense. I hope my photos do him a little justice!

 
Dave and I thought that the Buddha reminded us of Christ the redeemer in Rio. He is just an impressive. The Buddha faces Beijing in China, he has curly hair which signifies wisdom and his eyes are half closed which means he has compassion. Overall, the giant Buddha is situated in such a position that he looks over both China and Hong Kong. It is hoped that this keeps peace between the two....I hope so too, Hong Kong get the majority of their drinking water from China.  

 
We went into the monastery as well and learned a little about Taoism. This is the main faith, especially in the areas like Lantau Island. This faith pre-dates Buddhism but it is very similar. The familiar smell of burning incense was all around us as we wandered about the monastry grounds. I do love the smell...so much so that we bought some incense to bring home with us!

 
Our tour group was tiny and we all sat down for a meal in the monastery. The diet is almost completely vegetarian, especially within the temples and monastery. The food was delicious....soups, crispy pancakes....broccoli and sweet corn stews all with rice and other finger foods. I never knew totally vegetarian could taste so good. Really healthy too!
I also bought a traditional Chinese straw type hat. It works really well keeping the sun off and David reckons it suits me!

 Little little would like a mention now....She had a big night last night and we actually left her at the bar with Inna because David and I went off to play a trivia. When we came back she was sitting at the bar with a drink and was definitely the worse for wear....not good! I know Inna took a few photos of her and will be posting them on facebook.

 
Whilst waiting for our tour bus today, she met the lovely Daniel and his husband Jay. They fell in love with her and had their picture taken. Daniel explained that they also have a bear and little little would be added to his facebook. Cute! 

 
Ok, we are back in the room now and just changing before heading out to experience the Hong Kong district (not Hong Kong Island, that is tomorrow) by night. We are here for two days remember. Hope you are all well!
Another update tomorrow or tonight depending how tired I am.