Up'n' Atom....and not too late either, that's because we'd had a pact that everyone was tucked up in bed by 01.30am last night and amazingly enough we had all managed to keep to it. Everyone had slept well with help from our old friend Mr. Booze, so now we had convened to head out for breakfast. The place chosen was wittily titled "The Flying Pan" on the corner of Fenwick Street & Lockhart Road - To get there though, it was time to showcase the MTR, Hong Kong's subway. I'm a massive fan of this underground beast, it's cheap and works properly - a bit of a novelty, if you're from Blighty and are used to the trains back home. Just as a matter of interest MTR did bid for the local Arriva Franchise back in sunny Wales, but didnt get it - which makes perfect sense, why appoint a company to run a railway system that could actually make it work properly?

Anyhow, we get out at Wanchai station and do the short walk to "The Flying Pan", it's on the first floor and like everything in HK, it's a bit cramped in there, but the Fillipino ladies who work there are a cheerful lot and are quick with the orders. I'm guessing that there's an American Business person involved with this greasy spoon, as soon we're asked how would we like our eggs done..."Sunny Side up?, Flat, Fried?" - it's all above my head and like asking me if I would like a Latte, Long Flat Black with a cinnamon stick in it....... On the coffee front though, I asked for a Nescafe.....(As this is exactly what I want...and only Asia used to cater for it..) I then get told that they dont do Nescafe anymore.......(See last Palma blog for more coffee capers). The scran was okay though and brought us back to life.

We then opted to take a bit of a walk to Admiralty and head to Hong Kong Park and Cotton Tree Drive. We did get lost a few times as we tried to go through the foyers of some of the massive hotels there - and eventually we got there. Really, this is the purpose of our HK trip, Clive and Gail got married here 25 years ago, as did Jayne and myself a year later. It was a nice walk and even Cotton Tree Drive Registry Office was quiet. This place used to be like a Wedding conveyor belt...."Do you take him and do you take her? I now pronounce you man and wife...get out and dont throw confetti on the floor......Next!" Honestly, that's what it was like all them years back, looks like the wedding fad has now waned in Hong Kong, We mess about taking pictures and even go into the registry office room where everything had happened. Clive said "That's disappointing, the coat of arms has gone" ..and he was right, the old Bronze symbol of British Rule had gone & no doubt sent to the scrap yard quite a while ago.

We then stroll through the Central District, underneath the HSBC Headquarters. It's Sunday and the Fillipino Maids have their day off, so they all congregate in this area. HSBC HQ is known as The Aviary on a Sunday as the sound of everyone shouting in Tagalog echoes and reverberates around the building , it's quite deafening when you walk through.

We then head to Central Bus Station and get the Double Decker to Stanley - It's a cheap way to see the South Side of the Island. I would dearly have loved to walk it, like me & my mate Bevan used to do all those years ago, but time is tight and we have to pack as much in as we can - So the bus it is. Long story short, we head to The Smugglers Inn - It's been here forever and does a good pint and also has reasonable prices. I catch up with Bryant and Gladys, who I've met previously and pass on Regards from our Pal and one time regular of the boozer, Ray Peacock. Many smiles from the staff when Ray is mentioned and everyone wants to know when Ray is coming back - Ray, if you're reading, you'd better book a flight soon.

We do the usual things in Stanley and buy a few things, I get a great Parka Coat for HK$100.00 - (£10.00) I get laughed at by the crew, but I think it's a good one - (After I did an Internet search, turns out they retail at Euros 99.99 over in Frogland)...Kerching. Nice to know there's still bargains to be had in Stanley. It's then time for Taxis back to The Dorsett for a bit of a kip - Next up it's a top notch Dim Sum Restaurant in Causeway Bay, a very popular place, you have to queue up to get in. Clive orders "The Lot" and we dive in, it was superb. We then head up to Soho but everywhere is dead and so everyone heads back to the Hotel. I head down to Wanchai for that last beer in search of the past. I get lucky and bump into my old mate Nick Brown - known to his mates as "Strangely" - It's a laugh bumping into him and we have a couple of drinks for old times sake. But it's getting late, so bedways is bestways.