we got up and checked out of chungking mansions which was a bit of a relief! the hostel was fine and the room was fine but the lift was well dodgy and the building so busy we were glad to be rid of it! we had a short walk with our bags to the next place we were staying called the hop inn. it is a boutique kind of hostel. We were so happy with our room which featured a sculpture of a giraffe and a very cool bathroom! See Photos. We were pleased that the hostel staff were so friendly and eager to help us make the best out of hong kong, asking us where we wanted to go and telling us how to get there. We were also happy that the hostel common room backed onto a roof terrace overlooking several skyscrapers which was really cool and we had a Tv in our room. It is always a fun experience to watch local TV in a different country!

We headed staright out again on the MTR(tube) to some more intrersting markets which an American guy told us about in the hostel. First we went to the goldfish market (yes a market for goldfish!) and saw stalls and shops with hundreds of different kinds of fish in plastic bags for sale. It looked like most people have very beautiful aquariums but very small tanks, we guess all the apartments are small so they have to have small pets! There was also pet shops all around this area, selling all different types of kittens and dogs. We saw most of the dogs were tiny breeds, chihuahuas, yorkies,bichon frise etc. (much to Beckys delight!) but there were also a few huge huskie type puppies and a few labs (which Becky called Rexys after her brothers puppy). We have noticed most places we have been to sell puppies in pet shops, we wonder why they do not do this in the UK, is it considered cruel? Maybe but all the puppies looked so healthy here. Then we walked in the direction of the flower market and stumbled upon a local market with no tourists. They were mostly selling clothes, (a lot of trackie bottoms, maybe it was the chav market?!) and food. We saw so many huge fruits, really weird like literally what looked like apples and pears and lemons the size of rugby balls(GM?) and a lot of dried fish and squid - yummy. On to the flower market, it was so pretty the street filled with flowers as far a the eye could see. They were selling a lot of orange trees, which are considered good luck for the Chinese New Year which was coming up soon. Then we walked to the bird market which again is like a big pet market, budgies, canaries, love birds and finches and then more exotic ones like parrots and even toucans. The cages are so pretty and they even feed and water their birds in little porcelain bowls. Beck said Ash can have a budgie when we get our own place if he keeps it in a cage as ornate as these ones. We headed back to the MTR in time for rush hour which was a fun experience, busy but still not as crazy as the tube in London at 5pm, there was no one running up the escalator, but there was still the stand to the right rule to let people past.

That night we got ready for our harbour cruise to see the Symphony of Lights laser show, where they shine lots of lazers and flashy lights from all the skyscapers along the harbour side. We were so excited but also a tad worried about being cold as we only had summer clothing. So Becky piled on a vest underneath a dress, with a cardi on top and then a hoody on top of that. Ash put on a vest underneath a t-shirt, with a cotton shirt over that and then a denim shirt over it all! It was pretty warm but it still did not help the fact that Ash only had shorts and we both only had flip flops (and had a cold for past few days) and with only 1 pair of socks betweens us that Becky nicked off the last long haul flight. We hoped the free alcohol on board would keep us warm! And oh yes it did!!! The boat was sold to us as a traditional Chinese junk which we expected to be a large wooden boat with red sails, iconic! But it turned out to be a big boat which was in the Chinese style but not as old as we expected, oh well never mind, it was still very pretty! The commentry on board was good and told us a brief history of the Hong Kong harbour, and we stocked up on a few drinks, the alcohol included barcardi rum and gordons gin, brand names! Such a luxury to backpackers! The laser show was stunning, a must see in Hong Kong, then the boat cruised all along the harbour where we saw the residential areas, huge skyscrapers, like 20 in a row all exactly the same. The cruise was an hour an a half long and we got some stunning videos and photos and then when it was time to leave we were really drunk, unlimited free drinks is not good for us! We stumbled back to the hostel, stopping to take some pretty terrible photos of the shopping mall which is in the subway.(they put shops pretty much everywhere!) It is funny beacuse in other places a subway under a road to get to the other side is pretty much gonna stink of urine and have tramps in it, but in Hong Kong there is a full on shopping centre with gucci and burberry shops underground! We picked up a McDonalds and ate it on the roof terrace at the hostel, Ash getting really excited at how his laser pen shines onto neighbouring skyscrapers (It is soooo powerful, wow!)

The next day we struggled to get out of bed, forcing eachother to get up and showered at 12pm! We got on the MTR bleary eyed and knackered and headed over to Central station on Hong Kong Island. We did all the touristy things like taking a ride on the escalator that is the longest in the world and gradually takes you up the hill to different areas. We saw the main street for antique shops and strolled through a fresh food market, we got told off several times for trying to take photos of the produce - weird. We rode on the public tram that travels along the main road which was great fun but hard to work out how to pay and stuff! It cost us 16p to get to the stop we wanted! Then we went on the touristy Peak Tram which takes you right to the top of the hill to a viewpoint. When we got up there yet again the was a shopping mall which you had to walk through to get to the viewpoint. The weather was pretty crap and there were clouds rolling in fast so we did not have the best view from up there, but it was great to look down on all the skyscrapers none the less. It was bloody freezing though and as it started to go dark we could see our breath and it was raining. We ate at Bubba Gump shrimp up there which had a great view of the city. We could not afford two meals though so had to share one! That night we were so tired and were exstatic when we found out that out TV had a DVD player and the common room a full library of DVDs that you can borrow, so we stayed in the room and watched films which is becoming a real treat on this trip, but it is something you can do anytime at home, it is really weird.

The next day we got up all excited about our plans to visit Repulse Bay and the famous Stanley Market. The bus was great, the trip was gonna take over an hour and it only cost us 90p! The weather again was cloudy and rainy but we sat at the top of the double decker bus and had a great view of the city as we drove through. We got off the bus at Repluse Bay, thank god all the signs are also in English or else this trip would be impossible! The beach was great, really pretty but the water was COLD! Beck collected some sand for her collection and we went into the 7/11 shop to grab something to eat. The food is all weird but we settled on some tuna sandwiches. We usually eat pretty much local food everywhere we go but in Hong Kong we found it really hard, Becks stomach churning at the thought of anything not of plain flavour, we were both kind of off colour and were not too happy about it. We got back on another bus and carried on the journey to Stanley. The bus driver did not speak English and Ash decided that a random stop in the middle of a residential estate was Stanley market and got off, meaning that we had to get on the next bus and pay the fare again. Thankfully the next bus driver was much more friendly telling us when we were at the right stop (as ash tried to get off again at another place) even though he did not speak English either.

Stanley market was pretty crap to be honest, aimed at tourists, and full of full on TOFFS who obviously had money to burn there meaning that everything was so over priced the only way we could afford to eat was to head to McDonalds again, making Beck feel so sick. The area was quite clearly where the rich toffs who were decended from the British of the colonial times lived or hung out and we did not much like their demeanor or attitude so got out of there pretty quick. We got off the bus at Central again and as it was a sunday afternoon decided to head over to the Lan Kwai Fong pub and bar street, we were shocked to see none of them open, people at home would not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon if the pubs weren't open! Most of them would open later, but we saw the prices in the windows and decided against coming back for a night out.

The next day we headed back to the Ladies market intent on buying some ipod speakers as we really did need some to last us through the next leg of Thailand coming up. We wandered around the area and decided that today would be the day we would try some foods which the loacals were eating. Beck decided on a donut, there is loads of cakes and sweet treats in Hong Kong so we were pretty sure they would be goooood. It came on a stick and she bit into it, and then spat it straight back out again. The icing was not icing on the top, it was mayonnaise. What the hell?! Ash was sure he saw a guy put mayo on his Maccas apple pie a few days earlier and Beck had not beleived him till this point. We wandered into a shopping mall which was full of amazing cheap mens clothing. It was primark prices and Ash neraly weed himself with excitement. The boys in Hong Kong are so trendy and this is where they must shop. Ash really wanted to buy some clothes and post them home as you can not get Topman style jackets and coats this cheap at home, but he tried on xxxl and it was more like a UK mens size medium so looked ridiculous on him! He asked a few times for bigger sizes but one girl just laughed and shook her head when he asked if she had anything that would fit him! God damn these tiny asians!! We did not want to give up on the food just yet so wandered to Temple Street night market where there is lots and lots of street foods. We sat on little stools by the side of the road and looked at the menu of one place. Deep fried baby pigeon? not brave enough for that. Turtle eggs? hmmmmm. Shark fin soup? No chance. In the end we settled for chicken fried rice (how very english of us). We weren't convinced, it was not nearly as nice as the stuff from the local chinese takeaway at home. One thing we have noticed is the quality of the meat is terrible, they pretty much throw in all bits of minging chicken which Bec can not deal with, she only eats breast at the best of times. I know this sounds so snobby but coming from Thailand it was quite a shock, we would of expected it to be worse over there but it is great in Thailand. We wandered around some more and gave up on our hopes of Chinese style food and headed home, pherhaps we were looking in all the wrong places or pherhaps we are just closed minded Brits abroad!

The next day we packed all our stuff and checked out of our room, we left our bags in the stroage area in the hostel and headed off to the History Museum which Beck had been looking forward to all week. It was in walking distance and on the way we passed a street full of stalls all selling sexy underwear - odd. When we got there it was shut, a sign reading that it was closed on the first two days of the Chinese New Year celebrations, today and tomorrow, damn! But next door was the Science Museum so we headed in there. It was well and truly a boys dream in there, ASh loved it. They had one them giant mechanical circuits which balls travel round perfectly timed going down shoots and into baskets etc. It filled the whole building and was pretty impressive. It was all very educational and full of school kids but it was a fun way to pass the time until our flight later on that day.

Overall, Hong Kong is spectacular, it is amazing and has a great buzz about it. We could have easily stayed for another week there was so much to do and see. The airport is proberbly the best we have ever been to, huge but so well organised. The taxi services, buses and MTR system are great, cheap and easy. It would be a great place to go if you had money to burn, like any city, it was not really backpacker friendly but we had the best time. We would pretty much recommend it to anyone.