Sharon had been to HK previously and wasn't keen, I went with an open mind and also wasn't keen - we are learning that we do tend to like/dislike the same places which is a good thing!

For me, HK is a place that I'm sure is nice to go to when you are staying on HK island and you aren't on a tight budget! Kowloon and our hostel especially weren't so nice! Saying that the views from Victoria peak were spectacular and well worth the star ferry ride, bus 15c, tram and trek to the top that I did with Jessica and Kate (the 2 girls from Wimborne on our tour. which goes to prove it is a very small world!). The cable car ride to see the big buddha was also worth a look. HK also talks about it's mid level escalators in all tourist information so I kept on and on about going to see them, not really sure what i expected but it was simply 800m of escalators that ran up a steep hill nr central on HK island, i took the olbligatory photos and on we went...

To pass time in HK we did visit an indian restaurant aptly named "Gaylord" for an amazing all you can eat buffet, played cards and Mah Jong with our fellow travellers Kim and Mark, and found free internet in cafe pacific bars to sort our onwards jounrey to Bangkok.

I'm not sure I can put into words the part of HK that me and Sharon will remember the most. However, lets just say our hostel was interesting! blokes with boxes of electrical equipment packing up in the room next door, lighting up cigarettes in our room (which was actually communal area off of 2 oither rooms, staff building beds in our room at 10pm and a toilet to share between 8 that didn't flush plus it leaked and flees should just about sum up the main bits.

We did manage to escape HK for one night, Naomi (another girl from our tour, infact the nurse that bandaged Sharon's ankle) dragged us kicking and screaming off to Macau for a night in a 5* suite in the Venetian. A portuguese style Las Vegas it was a shame we were on a budget and didn't have the money to gamble it away in MOPS (the Macau currency). We did get a nice stamp in our passport though! Clearly we weren't paying for the suite and were slapped back down to reality as the next night was our first night in the dodgy hostel.

I'll leave you with a quick game to play, i have uploaded 4 photo's, 2 bathroom shots and 2 bedroom shots - see if you can work out which is which, hostel or Venetian. Goodluck !!

Until next time. x