Still haven't worked out why Thailand has Bon Voyage everywhere - I'm fairly sure they weren't a French colonial outpost, but there you go, makes for a better title!!

So, what to say about Bangkok? Not sure really. Definitely not as nice as Singapore, but not as rundown as the bit of Bali I was in. Still a fair bit of poverty - lots of "shack nasty" places alongside the railway line (can't remember where I learnt that description, but it is very apt!) where there is still absolute poverty and many of the areas in Bangkok were dirty and rundown. Very built up, lots of infrastructure, but none of the nice finishing touches that I saw in Singapore - very little in the way of parks and greenery which gives a city a nicer aspect. To be fair, I think they are trying - the SkyTrain is fab, the airport is good and they are building new housing blocks, but they still have a fair way to go. I think part of the problem is the land - it's absolutely dead flat, until you hit mountains, which kind of just randomly rear up out the ground; no hills, no foothills, no rolling countryside, it is completely dead flat and that becomes a problem in the rainy season. The people are pleasant enough, all very polite and they seem to be very religious (don't bother visiting temples on a saturday, you'll be flattened by hordes of visiting Thai's) and very loyal to the Thai royal family - masses of pictures of them and the King everywhere. Lots of flags too.

The tours were all good and my guide for the 3 days was excellent - I actually gave her a tip at the end, but it was just too hot for me. I couldn't cope with the 35+ degree heat and that really took any possible shine off it for me. I don't think I would go to Thailand again.

So, flight to Hong Kong with Emirates airlines, which was a very nice flight, aside from the delay, in quite possibly the biggest airplane I can recall ever being on. Emirates was definitely a cut above the other flag carriers I have been on. Unfortunately the plane was full of Chinese, who I found very loud, very rude and had no concept of personal space!

First impressions of Hong Kong - a light pollutionist nightmare, the place glows like a beacon!!

Transfer to the hotel was a faff, as it was a seat in a coach and all felt a bit disorganised, but I got here okay. It took me a while to realise I am not actually staying on Hong Kong island itself, but across the way in Kowloon - guess I should have read my itinerary a bit more carefully!! I'm staying in the Mong Kok area of Kowloon, which is incredibly built up and somehow it all feels a bit cramped and claustrophobic, though maybe that's just because there are soooo many people here and it's so bright and busy. There is little greenery or open space, just lots of buildings and lights and signs, but it will be interesting to see it in the daytime to see if my impression is the same.

My hotel is okay, pretty upmarket for the area - some of the other drop offs on my transfer did look decidedly seedy, but my room can probably be best described as "compact & bijou" (answers on a postcard who can remember which advert Stephen Fry said that in...), but it's okay. The hotel is probably a bit hip & trendy for me and all the extra services are a bit on the steep side - just cost me best part of 40 quid to get some laundry done (having sweated through all my trousers in Bangkok), so perhaps it's good I am pretty much out all the time on tours. Thankfully it is a good 10 degrees or more cooler here, so it is totally bearable, which is good news. The downside, no free wifi or internet (except a sneaky 20 mins on communal pc's in the business area), so I don't think I will be updating much - they want about 10 quid an hour for in room internet!!!! So will either be out of touch or severely limited in my onscreen time!

Day trip to Macau tomorrow, which I am looking forward to, but a bit of an early start - yes another one!!