We travelled to Bangkok from Koh Tao by bus and boat and it took 12 hours and acting like we had on the whole trip we got far to drunk the night before and we really didnt want to go on a boat with everyone being sick when we were in our delicate state, but we had no choice so whilst on the boat we both sat in silence holding back the sea sickness and by the end of the boat ride both of us had never been so glad at the prospect of getting the hell off a boat before. on tje way to bangkok we stopped at a Thai service station, and at these place there is lots of strange sweets and packets of food but we were not in any fit state to sample these things so we got back on the bus and tried to sleep. once we arrived in Bangkok the taxi to the airport cost us 12 quid we were pretty sure we were being ripped off but again they see a white face and try their luck, the taxi driver was also insane, cutting across lanes at random and speeding. We paid 8 pound to go into an airport lounge at midnight, our flight was not til 6am. it was a bit more comfy in there as we hads internet, tv, free food and drink and could try to relax on the big sofas. The flight was really good, we were dreading flying with air asia as we thought them to be like ryan air or easyjet, a low cost airline, but it was a brand new plane, we had great seats and the flight was smooth. we both slept straight the way through the flight and were so tired we could not eat our pre ordered pancakes which only cost 1 pound, chewap for an airline meal! We landed in Hong Kong and were through security, had our bags and were waiting for a taxi in under half an hour, so efficient! It was funny because the airport is so huge, you have to get on a tube like train to get from were you land to where you pick up your bags (this was the first of many tube rides). We got in a red 'urban' taxi and were bracing ourselves for our arrival in the notorious chungking mansions. This is a huge tower building, full of guest houses, hostels, refugees from all over, people trying to sell you fake stuff and rip you off, shops and travel agents. It was pretty mad, we booked into the apple hostel on the 10th floor and we greeted by the Chinese version of Beckys aunty Sue, it was hilarious but sorry aunty sue we didnt get a photo! The room was tiny- see photos! but it was cool and we had a tv which is a proper luxury to us now. We dropped our bags and headed straight out to explore, we walked Kowloons Nathan Road, it is truly bustling, with designer shops and the black and asian people who try to sell you 'copy watch' or 'copy handbag' or 'tailor suit' as soon as they see your white face. We wandered into a massive shopping mall and spotted the fast food chain 'cafe de coral' we ate there because it had a huge que of chinese people and tried roast goose and pork with rice and chicken curry with rice, it was amazing, like a proper meal but ready in minutes and cost 3 quid! We walked and walked all around Kowloon but Ash was feeling really ill at this point, fluey, achey and coughing so we decided to spend the night resting in the room and trying to get him in better health for the mad few days to follow! We got up and headed staright out to the MTR (tube) station. We wanted to go to the Ladies Market and it was easy enough to find out which stop we would need thanks to Becky's friend Laura, who had given us a pop out map of Hong Kong as a going away present, thanks Cookie! It had a clear MTR map on it, and we went to the station knowing we needed to get off at Mong Kok(hehe!) it was so busy in there we enjoyed it so much, nuts - truly a buzzing atmosphere! What we were not prepared for were all the different exits. You know you wanna get off at Mong Kok, but which exit, a1, a2...d3 etc, crazy! But thank god there were big maps on the wall of all the exits and which tourist attraction needs which exit, and it was translated into English and also had pictures, phew! We loved the ladies market, just a big market all the way down a street with electronics, clothes, souvenirs and all sorts for sale! We were expecting things to be a lot cheaper though and were disapointed when we saw ipod speakers were 10 quid, we really wanted some, you can haggle but we could not get them down by much. It is shocking when you can buy an iphone case on ebay from Hong Kong for 99p with free postage to the UK and they are asking 6 pounds for it when you actually in the country! Maybe another case of pulling a fast one on the white face plus the market was full of rich tourist who were willing to pay the stupid prices. We tried to find some nice Chinese food for luunch but none of the places seemed to open until 6pm so we headed for McDonalsds, Ash was so excited when he saw the prices, Hong Kong is the second cheapest mcdonalds in the world a big mac meal being 1 pound 60 pence!(malaysia being first) plus this is were Ash had his very first Big Mac and loved it. We headed back to the market and We bought some pretty chopsticks, some gifts for people at home and Ash bouhgt a fake omega seamaster watch for 20 quid when they are thousands of pounds, it is a really good copy and he was delighted with it! He also bought a fake diesel bag and a really powerful laser pen that you could shine on clouds. Becky could not find anything to her taste, the hippy goods in Thailand are more her thing than fake Chanel, so we ploughed on to Temple street night market. It was dark by this point and all the bright neon flashing lights were on full show, the food stalls were setting up and we were really excited. Ash saw a magnet which read ' you look like angel have glamor but talk like barbarian' and was also in Chinese and he thought this was hilarous and wanted to get it for Becky as this was the perfect way to describe her after a few incidents that have happened during the trip. We bought some Hong Kong t-shirts and Ash was feeling pretty ill again, convinced he had dengue fever which is common on Koh Tao (he did not have it, just a cold) so we stopped for a drink in an Indian restaurant and headed home about 9pm. Walking through chung king mansions is not for the faint hearted, it makes you feel pretty uncomfortable and the lift was ancient and always full in this place also it was constanly beeping saying that there was to much weight (thats all the cheap mcdonalds), we had cockroaches in our bathroom and it was pretty much a dump, but the cheapest and best located accomodation in Hong Kong. It didnt really bother us but we were looking forward to moving onto a better accom the next day.