Hong-Kong

29th May 2010 A morning of packing was followed by an afternoon movie and general hanging around in Starbucks. Although we were able to leave our big bags at the hotel, we still had to carry our hand luggage with us and had decided a few days ago that it would just be best to be in one place for a while. The cinema seemed like a good option :). However, we had underestimated how busy it would be and failed to get tickets for anything besides the Prince of Persia, which was predictable but good. ...

28th May 2010 Our last full day in Hong Kong was a relaxing one, with a long overnight flight to look forward to we thought it best to take it easy. The morning was spent just updating blogs and photographs followed by an afternoon siesta. Another trip to the night markets in Kowloon for some last minute bargins was followed by a nice meal at an American restaurant near the Star ferry terminal with great views over Hong Kong Island. Then we caught the Star Ferry for one last trip back over to Hong Kong Island. ...

26th May 2010 Wednesday in Hong Kong is free admission day for all museums. With about 7 different museums to choose from, including the Space Museum and Science Museum, we decided (after consulting the guide book) to head for the Hong Kong Museum of History. This museum focuses on the territory’s archeology, natural history, ethnography and local hstory. Hong Kong is very much a city focussed on the future and due to the lack of space here, the past often gets torn up in favour of this forward development. As a consequence, there are very few old buildings here and very little history ‘out and about’. The museum therefore gave us a chance to learn a bit more about the history of this country. ...

27th May 2010 We started our morning sat in the very front seats on the top deck of a tram, whizzing along Hong Kong Island with the wind in our hair (well mine at least!). It really is a fabulous way to see the city and it’s just a shame there’s only really one line. Although the underground is efficient, you spend so much time underground that you miss life going on above ground. ...

25th May 2010 We woke to a blue sky day today, so decided to return to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens that we had passed through the other day. On the way we walked past one of the ferry terminals on Hong Kong Island, offering a great view across to Kowloon. Arriving at the Zoological and Botanical Gardens we started again in the primates sections which we had passed through quickly before. It really is quite sad seeing these animals in such small cages, especially compared to Singapore Zoo. The chimpanzees in particular just don’t seem to have much space, and there is no natural greenery of any sort in their cage, just some metal framework for them to cling to. We passed by some other smaller primates - again these had no planting of any sort in their cage, and not a great deal of space. The animals just all look so sad. ...

23rd May 2010 Yesterday morning we were heading for the airport along a dusty strip of tarmac in a tuk-tuk that couldn’t go above 30km per hour. This morning we were walking around a clean, modern city with an efficient public transport system and every designer name you could imagine. The differences between Hong Kong and Cambodia are vast and highlighted by the fact we’ve jumped from one to the other in 24 hours. It’s a bit mind-boggling to say the least. ...

24th May 2010 This morning’s bright blue skies were an incentive to get out of bed and head up to the Peak Tram with the aim of getting to Victoria Peak early for fabulous views over the city. However, although the tram runs from 7am, the 360 degree viewing platform and the rest of the shops and restaurants on top of this 1200 foot mountain don’t open until 10am, so we purchased our tickets, but decided to come back later for the actual trip. ...

22nd May 2010 Although you can fly direct from Siem Reap to Hong Kong, it certainly isn’t the cheapest way to approach the journey, hence our decision to fly firstly to Kuala Lumpur, then onto Hong Kong. We really enjoyed our time in Cambodia, but were looking forward to getting back to a developed nation where getting around is not such a chore and poverty isn’t hitting you in the face at every turn. ...

21st May 2010 Since we are due to leave for Hong Kong tommorrow, today was another chillaxing day, reading, surfing the internet and popping into town for some last minutes stuff. It will be a full day of flying tomorrow, with firstly a flight to Kuala Lumpur, then a flight to Hong Kong two hours later.