Sunday, we were collected at 6:00 for our drive to the airport with a fellow bristolian travelling to Bangkok. Our flight to Hong Kong was at 10:40 and only took 2 hours so by the time we were served our very delicious plane food, to it being cleared away after, we were pretty much there! It was very straightforward at the airport, we exchanged our left over Dong, collected our bags then walked to the bus station and caught the bus to Causeway Bay. Ben was so disappointed that no one was wearing their face masks! On route we drove past a huge shipping port, it was absolutely massive with stacks and stacks of shipping containers, we found out it's one of the largest shipping ports in the world in all three categories, shipping movements, cargo handled and passengers carried. About 450,000 vessels pass through a year carrying 245 million tonnes of cargo and 25 million passengers. It took about 1 hour transfer from the airport to our stop and as soon as we hopped off our bus we were at our accommodation, easy peasy. We checked in and put our bags away, only dorm rooms in Hong Kong could have triple bunk beds! We went for a stroll, we walked around a shopping centre and found a 7/11 which we were super excited about but soon disappointed when we realised there were no toasties. We went back to the hostel to figure out what we wanted to do over the next couple of days and decided to head out to see the light show tonight. We hopped on the MRT to the Avenue of Stars, where the best view of the city is supposed to be, the view of the city and skyscrapers was beautiful, we waited 3 hours for it to get dark, it was very cold and the lightshow was pretty rubbish, just lazers shooting into the sky from some of the tallest buildings. The actual tallest building in Hong Kong is the International Commerce Centre and stands out compared to the rest standing at 484 metres, however it's only ranked at number 8 in the tallest buildings in the world list. After, we caught the MRT back to Causeway Bay and had dinner at a Dim Sum restaurant, Dim Sum is a style of Cantonese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions, traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. We liked some of it and hated some of it! We walked back to the hostel and went to bed.

Monday we had a long lie in, we found a Bakery to buy breakfast then hopped onto the MRT and bus to head to the south of the island to do some hiking. We decided to follow the Dragons Back Trail which is a ridge along the southeastern side of the island with great views, it's amazing how scenic and quiet it is here compared to the hustle and bustle of the city centre. When we got to the end of the trail we caught the bus to Stanley Market and had a wonder around, prices are crazy expensive compared to markets in South East Asia. After, we went back to the hostel to chill then later we went to Pizza Hut for dinner.

Tuesday we had another long lie in, we decided to take the MRT to the central district, where all the high rise financial buildings are, for a stroll. We had some lunch at a Mexican and visited Hard Rock cafe for Laura to get yet another glass! All the shops in the centre were fancy designer shops, there was even a Marks and Sparks!! Ben enjoyed watching all the people crossing the roads at the green man, a pure rush of madness. We got the MRT back to Causeway Bay and went for a walk in Victoria Park, when we were walking back to the hostel we found a IKEA! We contemplated going in but decided to save that luxury for when we return home. When chilled out in the room for a bit then took the MRT to Temple Street Market, pretty much the same as all markets we've been to in Asia but somehow they are not becoming boring to us! After, we headed back to pack our bags as tomorrow we meet our group and leave Hong Kong for our 3984 mile trip around China!