Part 12: Avenue of the stars... The previous night proved to be every bit as lively as I feared. When the rugby fans, who where a heady mix of French, Australian, Irish, and English, had finally stopped drinking. Their raucous and annoyingly loutish behaviour was replaced with the most earth rumbling snores imaginable!! My brain was literally rattling in my head. I'd deciding on going down to reception and spent most of the early hours in the hi-tech massage...

Part 11: Mongkok.... An early start beckoned for me with a huge itinerary of places to see on the ever increasing list. So I opted to visit Mongkok on Kowloon Island first. Learning that it was Hong Kong's most congested shopping and residential district, I had a good idea it was going to feel really crowded. But not letting that put me off, I headed to the MTR station, quite a bit later than hoped. With mostly girls staying in my dorm, the bathrooms were i...

Part 10: I ❤Hong Kong.... Flying into Hong Kong did not quite hold the same apprehension I was feeling when I was approaching Manila before. Although It would be fair to say that I was more than a little excited for my first ever visit here. I had no friends, guides or contacts in Hong Kong; just me. The budget flight on Cebu Pacific Airlines was pleasant enough. Quite jovial in fact, as the beautiful, china-doll like Filipino air-hostesses, who smiled li...

Part 9: Intramuros.... I wanted to visit somewhere historic, where I could learn all about Filipino history, Art and culture. My friend said that nowhere summed up what I wanted to see, more than Intramuros and insisted I went and take a look for myself at one of Manila's most famous sites. Derived from the Latin words 'within the walls' this is exactly what it was, a city surrounded by a giant stone fortified wall. It was built in the 15 century to protect t...

Part 8: The summit.... After what seemed like the shortest sleep ever, Alfred woke me unzipping my tent. 'come on or we will miss the sunrise' he beamed. looking at me all sprightly and full of life, even at this early hour. I was starting to think that this man was a machine - no one is this chirpy after such little sleep!! Unfortunately the rest of the camp decided on drinking till they literally collapsed - they were going nowhere. I heard laughs and jok...