Hong Kong Thursday 16th December - Monday 20th December

We arrived in Hong Kong, our third country in a week, to an entirely new culture and an entirely new climate. All eyes were on us as we queued for passport control but for once it had nothing to do with the fact that we were foreigners with huge backpacks. We were the only idiots in the airport wearing flip-flops and shorts amongst a crowd of people clearly dressed for weather at least 20 degrees colder than what we were prepared for!

After catching a bus into the city, a bus that had free on-board WiFi as standard as the fact that it had seats and 'stop' buttons, we arrived at our base on Nathan Road. The road is the spine of Kowloon and stretches for miles, almost as wide as it is long, and is a bustling hub of electronics shops, neon lights, dim sum restaurants, an army of Indian men attempting to sell you a tailored suit and enough 7-11's to feed an army (with chicken-floss buns and iced green tea). Whilst on the subject of 7-11's, it's important to note that they are ubiquitous across Asia and as such we always find ourselves using them as a yardstick for how expensive a country will be. Don't be surprised to wander through the red and green striped doors into the icy air-conditioned stores to hear backpackers saying things like 'Ooooh, look! Oreo's are like 50p here, amazing!'.

It's also worth mentioning that Nathan Road is a pretty fun road to walk down if you're 6'2" like me and thus a good half a foot taller than the average local because the Chinese have a much less formal idea of personal space or walking etiquette. I felt like Richard Ashcroft in the video to Bitter Sweet Symphony, ploughing through the crowds without feeling any guilt that I'd almost knocked out a local with my shoulder, it really is ok, honestly! Janine, being vertically challenged as she is, had less fun!

A short walk from Nathan Road is the terminal for the famous Star Ferries over to Hong Kong island, the main business district of Hong Kong with the incredible skyline. Taking the harbour ferry over to the island is an attraction in itself especially at night, and costs a ridiculously small sum. Once on the island, we took the cable car up to Victoria peak to take in the breathtaking views of the city skyline below and then boarded a bus over to the south side of the island to Stanley Market. Arriving in Stanley is like arriving in a completely different country, leaving behind the shining lights of the city and wandering around the undercover market and along the beachside boardwalks it feels like you could be in a Mediterranean Resort.

Later that evening we made our way to the rather grandly titles 'Avenue of Stars', Hong Kong's equivalent of LA's more famous walkway. Had either of us been into Chinese Movies then I'm sure we would have recognised some of the names and handprints, but the main reason for being on the Avenue is not the film stars but rather the view of the skyline, specifically at 8pm every night when the light and laser show illuminates the skies above the harbour. Looking across the water the city appears as the stage, with the many unique and brightly-lit skyscrapers the stars. Each skyscraper is introduced one-by-one and does a little flashy 'bow' of its multicoloured facade before the show of music lights and lasers commences.

Hong Kong is also the home of the worlds cheapest Michelin-Starred restaurant, a tiny little place (the name of which we never discovered given that neither of us can read Chinese) that would be easily missed if it weren't for the huge queue of people outside. We took a ticket and were told to come back in around an hour for a seat, which we did. The dim-sum we were treated to inside was incredible and I will never again be able to taste a bbq pork bun (baked instead of steamed and then coated in sugar) without comparing it to those we had inside along with a multitude of other delicious dishes, washed down with green tea and all for the total price of around £8. You'd struggle to find a bread roll for less than that in the Fat Duck!

Our penultimate day in the city was reserved for a little 'culture' with a trip to the Hong Kong Museum for a little education on the history of the former colony and of Chinese culture in general. We finished the day with a few drinks on a tiny hidden-away gem of a street called Knutsford Terrace, lined with fantastic little bars and restaurants, most of which show the Premiership highlights, perfect!

We couldn't leave Hong Kong without indulging in a little retail therapy, especially given that the city has some fantastic markets selling some of the best 'replica' goods you're ever likely to find. We both found a couple of bargains on Ladies Market, using our finely-honed bartering skills to get some great deals (you know you've got a good price when the stall owner stops trying to be your best mate and angrily shoves your purchase into a bag before selling the same item to a less savvy Westerner for 3 times the price a minute later). For our final night we made our way back over to the island and up the worlds longest escalator, a series of outdoor escalators that weave through the mid-level neighbourhood up to an area called Soho, and treated ourselves to a Mexican dinner and a couple of beers in a posh bar. Soho itself is very expensive by Hong Kong standards and made up of restaurants and bars to cater for all tastes, full of city workers letting their hair down after a long day at work.

We left Hong Kong having both loved the place, with its uniquely Chinese charms and boarded a plane to begin our Oz adventure.