Hi folks,

So we arrived in Hong Kong on the 22nd after taking the train down from Guilin. Train journey was much the same as the others - we slept, read and chatted - all good!

The first night we stayed in Kowloon with our group and this was the last night together so we went for a Thai meal to celebrate this and two of the guys birthdays. The hotel was nice and conveniently located for most areas, although as is everything in Hong Kong, as you can easily jump onto their MTR (underground system) and pretty much get anywhere at minimal cost and in no time at all! To top it off, it is so clean and modern that it absolutely wipes the floor with the London Underground - ever heard of air-con on tubes London? Come to Hong Kong!! It was pretty sad to say goodbye to our group and our tour leaders even bought us individual pressies to say thanks - ahhh how sweet! Before we parted ways we went to watch the Symphony of Lights on the harbour, which is a huge light show that they put on every night with flashing and strobe lights coming from the buildings on either side of the water - it was pretty cool and I managed to get some ok photos, which is a bonus as my camera usually has a phobia of the dark! After this we got the ferry across to Hong Kong Island and had a drink at a bar in Lan Kwai Fong, Central - the prices were shocking! Instead of $10 for a beer that we paid at the restaurant it was $60, hence the fact we only stayed for one and hot the 7-11 on the way back to the hotel to pick up some booze to enjoy there, with a few games of cards, that I won nearly everytime ;-)

So that was that for the group thing and we were on our own! We had two further nights at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Wan Chai, which was an even nicer hotel. We did a few more touristy things when we there . . . Victoria Peak, where we took the vertical Peak Tram to the top for an impressive view of the city. This is a must do in Hong Kong for sure! We also visited some night markets and a local fruit market to get our fill of fruit, which was delicious! Apart from this we chilled out really and made use of the hotel gym!!

Hong Kong is a cool place, but unfortunately since China took over in 98 they have let it go a bit and some areas are becoming quite rundown, which is a huge contrast to the modern areas, which are impressive even by London standards! Worth a visit, as are most places we've been to!

Sorry still no photos yet - nowhere in Asia seem to have the facilities and I'm dying to put some on . . . . .