When we originally planned the around the world trip we had envisaged flying from India straight to Japan, however, our flight plan afforded us the opportunity of a stop over in Hong Kong which we gratefully accepted. An added advantage of travelling to Hong Kong was that it allowed Craig to get a visa for China which Gemma already had.

Getting around Hong Kong is so easy with its simple yet integrated transport system of buses (with wi-fi!), underground trains and of course the Star Ferry and with our octopus cards there was no stopping us.

Prior to arrival we had looked at where we were going to stay and it seemed like the Chungking Mansions were our best bet despite the reviews saying that it was dirty, dodgy and cramped. There was however some good news in that the building had received some renovation as it was seen as high risk following the SARs and bird flu epidemic. Cold comfort indeed. As it turned out we were in a tiny four person dormitory no bigger than a large wardrobe, still, it was cheap and conveniently located in Kowloon.

Once you strip out shopping from your Hong Kong itinerary (which we had to do for obvious reasons) there is still quite a lot to do, but not as much as you might imagine. We filled our first day by visiting the HK Museum of Art and the (excellent) Museum of History, then in the evening we went to the Happy Valley races where Gemma won some money and Joe Kwok advised us not to bet with Chinese bookies. We also went up the Peak, saw the symphony of lights across Hong Kong harbour and went to Lantau Island to see the largest outdoor bronze Buddha in the World. We dubbed the last site as Buddha Land as it was a mixture of Buddhist temples and Disney Land, all that was missing was a roller coaster.

On our last night we decided to go to Macau to check out the casinos (Gemma had never been to one) and to get another stamp in our passports. Macau is only an hour away by turbo catamaran, so its really easy to get there from Hong Kong. We ended up going to the MGM Grand (although our first choice had been the Venetian) as its courtesy bus turned up first and we were, as usual, short of time. It turned out to be a blessing as the 300HK$ eat as much as you like buffet was exquisite, particularly the sashimi and the roast beef. The gambling was good too, Gemma won on the slots and Craig doubled his money at the roulette table.