I arrived in Hong Kong the following morning after a long train journey and said my farewells to the Irish lads and Vicky who I had traveled with a bit in Beijing and Shanghai. Jumped on the metro and followed the directions given to me by Ben (who for those who dont know is a friend who lives in HK), to the stop I needed to take. Fantastic metro system very modern and extremely easy to use I was clearly not going to get lost here which would make for a pleasant change! I met Roz (No this is not formerly Ben, this is his wife) outside the station and we jumped on a bus up the hill to their apartment. Arrived here and this place was like no where I could possibly of dreamed of staying at from where I had previously come from....... The place was called the legend and to say it was flash, lets just say I wouldnt expect Ben and Roz to be living anywhere else and this place could have been designed to meet their needs or maybe more to the point just their wants!! It had a swimming pool and jacuzzi outside (neither of which were open during my stay, but what I have since found out opened a few days after I left!). There was also a steam room, sauna and indoor swimming pool although of which I did make use of. It had a gym and a games room as well. Not bad for free accomodation for my stay here. The view was pretty impressive with their lounge overlooking the hillside up on the 30th floor, and so high up that you sometimes feel yourself getting damp standing outside on balcony from the moisture in the air as the clouds roll across and you realise you are standing in the middle of them!

Ben & Steve (who was out here for a 2 week holiday) turned up at apartment shortly afterwards and we had a good catch up and I was then told that if I was to be taken out in HK then I would need to smarten up. By this I thought they just meant brush my hair, but it would seem that a hair cut, shave and even a shower was what they were actually refering to!!! Still it was nice to get rid of the hair as I have never been a fan of long hair and I did not think I would be able to pull off the Pat Sharpe fun house look hair style!!

We went out that evening and met some of Ben & Roz's friends and went to some nice bars followed by a swanky club on the top floor of an office building. The views it has to be said were pretty amazing from up here while drinking some beverages and getting a groove on................ The areas we were out in were very much of a Western feel as I found some other parts of HK to be and lots of expats everywhere. Totally different feel to that which China had to offer but still good fun all the same.

The day after arriving was a Sunday and Ben & Roz therefore had day off so we got a cab down south of the Island to a place called Stanley. Had a really relaxing day of chilling in a pub having a proper pub lunch (shepherds pie, yum) followed by a wander around Stanley Market.

Ben & Roz back at work on Monday so Steve and myself headed out for a bit of exploring of area. We had a wander around the Island and then got on a ferry and headed over to Kowloon side. Nice trip over which gave the opportunity to see the skyline on the island, pretty impressive looking, with some fantastically modern structures going up and two buildings facing each other are on the island were designed by an Aussie and they have two what are supposed to be koalas climbing up the side of the building, can sort of see it if you drink enough beer, tilt your head and get convinced by Roz that this is what it is supposed to be!!!!

Got a ferry over to Cheung Cau island a couple days later which is a really nice peaceful island that has no cars or motorbikes on it and all transportation is therefore either on foot or bicycle. Went and did some kayaking and had a lie on the beach, good fun and got sun burnt in the process of it. Had lunch at a nice seafood restaurant which was pretty nice although we do not know what we ordered as it was purchase by pictures actioned by Steve.

Following day we got a bus into town then onto another bus whcih took us to a theme park attraction called Ocean Park. Had some Pandas here and these appeared to be kept in far greater conditions then the ones previously visited at the zoo in China. Rides here were nothing special but the dolphin and seal show was fairly impressive and was still a good day out. It also had a big aquarium here which was also impressive, however I might suggest to them some lights in the jelly fish enclosre would not go a miss. It was all dark in there with the jelly fish being lit up by lights, however the error in their ways (or maybe mine) was the mirrors they put everywhere. I walked straight into one and when looked up I thought I had bumped into a little Chinese man, so I was apologising and trying to go one way then the other around him but he kept getting in the way,took a local girl to tap me on the shoulder and tell me it was a mirror before I realised, at which point I hastily exited the area!!!

At the weekend we had planned to go mountain biking around one of the islands, however a typhoon level 3 was heading in and the morning we got up and decided against this idea. Instead, Steve, Ben and myself headed into town again to get some local food and then went to a bar where we played a Chinese dice game (which involved drinking) and played some pool, all washed down with beer and schnapps. Luvly Jubly. Early evening we headed to station to meet Ciaran & Tara (more friends from UK) who had also come out for a week holiday. Go from seeing no one for months then its like buses!!!

That evening we went to a funky restaurant at the top of another tower over on Kowloon side, and had a really really nice meal here (which I must hasten to add was very very genourously paid for by Ben & Roz as they said I was on a budget and being a traveller they wanted to therefore cover mine, big public thankyou therefore going out to them two!!) After this had a few drinks in some bars and headed to an area called Wan Chai for a few more! Due to Ciaran & Tara arriving myself and Steve had found alternative accomodation and we stayed in a guest house in Kowloon. WHAT A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM. We had gone from staying in a fantastic luxury apartment to living in a pit of squalor. It felt and looked like a prison cell in the room, and outside was not much better. The building was called Mirador Mansion and it contains shops, flats, guest houses all over 16 floors, but trust me the word mansion should not come into it and should be removed on the basis of false advertising!!! I had been spoilt for the last week or so mind you so it certainly brought me back into traveler mode.

The next day plan was to go Wakeboarding but typhoon had scarpered this idea too. Went to a Chinese tea shop instead and had some nice local tea together with some Dim Sum to eat. After this we got the tram up to the peak and checked out the views up here. Once again some good views on offer and had a walk around whilst up here.

Went to Lantau to see the giant buddah you can see in the photo attached to this blog. Had to get a Cable car up here from the final metro stop and this had some good views to offer once again (its all about the views). Once up here went and checked out the Buddah which was absolutely huge and very impressive.

That is pretty much HK summed up, spent my longest time on the road yet here, so I have condensed down what was done to stop me getting bored whilst typing. Especially given that being away means there are far better things to be doing then sitting in front of a computer all day typing, hence the lack of blogs of late, sorry.