We stayed in an area in the Kowloon district called Tsim Sha Tsui (Chim Sha Choy) which is just on the waterfront bank overlooking Hong Kong Island. Our hostel was in the middle of an infamous, rundown shopping mall called ChungKing Mansions well known for its scams of electronic items. Our first impression whilst trying to make our way through droves of Sri-Lankens offering "copy Rolex' and "hashish for you Sir?" was that we may have made a grave error! However, when the lift doors parted on the 5th floor of the shopping mall, we were pleasantly surprised by our extremely compact yet hotel-like room. Our first night was spent wondering along the harbourfront watching the Star Ferries cross to the famously bright lit Hong Kong Island and looking at the Hollywood style monuments to famous chinese actors such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. On our second day we escaped the bustling city to meet some of Robs distant relatives he had never met before. We travelled to an area called Sai Kung town, which is a famous waterfront seafood market town overlooking picturesque waters over to multiple little islands. We were treated to a lunch of the best chinese food we had ever eaten and even got to try the local delicacy of fung jau (chickens feet), it tasted better than we expected but we won't be putting it on our shopping list anytime soon! It was lovely to chat to Leslie and her family, who gave us an excellent insight into chinese life and culture. We went on a wonder through various alleys with traditional chinese shops down, saw some little old ladies playing cards out on the pavement, saw some people practicing the art of tai chi in a garden area, it was great to see so many people spending the time out of their tiny houses taking part in various activities which we learned are so cheap as they are subsidised by the government allowing all walks of life to partake i.e. Leslie has a 4 month membership to tai chi and sailing for just 3 pounds! After parting with Leslie we quickly dashed to the loo as chinese culture dictates drinking vast quantities of tea! So it was nice walking down the promenade watching local fisherman busy at work whilst somehow managing to fit in an ice-cream! That evening we took the romantic night time star ferry over to Hong Kong Island and boarded the Peak Tram which is almost vertical in its ascent to the Peak (the richest place to live in HK). On reaching the Peak we were treated to an amazing panoramic night time view over HK Island which was cut short due to the chilly breeze! We were so caught up in the moment that we decided to splash out on a meal and bottle of wine at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co restaurant (from Forest Gump) as the restaurant had the same view. The next day we searched out Sweet Dynasty restaurant well known for its weekend Dim Sum or Yum Cha which literally translates into, "drink tea". Here we sampled the delights of local dishes such as my favouraite steamed barbequed pork buns (as they reminded me of my Mums dumplings!), steamed beef dumplings and sticky egg rice wrapped in lotus leaf and of course a teapot full of tea! After that we took a bus up to Stanley which is a famous waterfront market town. I sucumbed to temptation treating herself to a new dress/skirt. It was a lovely little market town. Along with the relaxed embience and cool, almost English like weather, we were almost entranced, gazing out over the water. We came to realise there was so much more to Hong Kong than high rise buildings. Due to what we would consider one of the worlds easiest and reasonable public transport system you only have to sit on a bus or train for 30 minutes until you are out in a relaxed market/waterside setting. We really did fall in love with Hong Kong and can see why there are so many Expats there such as Leslie and will definately have it on our itinary for the future. Next stop Vietnam for the hectic 1,000 mile journey by train over 17 days from Hanoi in the North to Ho Chi Minh City in the South..........................