Happy New Year 2009

Even though we are a few days late we just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year for 2009.

The week between Christmas and new year has been really relaxing. We've mainly been just lounging by the pool or on the beach to recharge the batteries.

New years eve night was fantastic. There was an absolutely massive party on the beach, far bigger than the one for Christmas Eve. There must have been somewhere between ten and fifteen thousand people there and about 20 different sound systems and clubs set up.


For some strange reason the most popular way to have a drink on the island is from a bucket! For your money you get a small plastic bucket full of ice, a hand full of straws, a couple of cans of mixer and a quarter of a litre of spirit . . . oh plus the obligatory can of Red Bull! It's not really what you would call a subtle drink, but 6 quid for a bucket of gin and tonic (and Red Bull) is certainly good value for money!



On new years day we had a little visitor to our bungalow garden; this lovely little bat who hung for the day on a palm leaf outside of or door. Probably nursing a hangover too!



Yesterday (2nd January) we caught the boat over to Koh Samui where we'll be spending the next few days. Thankfully the half hour crossing was a lot calmer than when we caught the boat over from the mainland to Koh Phangan. We're staying in a resort called Chaweng which is the main town on the island and has a completely different atmosphere to Hat Rin on Koh Phangan. Over there it was definitely a more rough and ready backpacker type place where here it's more of a package tour resort . . . which means that everything is twice as expensive - no more buckets of gin! We may even have to resort to ordering drinks from an old VW camper van . . .

Our Favourite Hong Kong Bar

Hong Kong has some great bars but the our favourite was at an outdoor plaza on the 4th floor of IFC2. There are 3 or 4 different places to have a drink with great views over the city but the whole of 4th floor plaza is a public space. So even if you were totally skint you could get some drinks from the local shop and take them up there and enjoy the sights.

One of the views from the plaza . . .

There's no escaping Cannock . . . Even in Hong Kong

Couldn't find Bar Sport or Silks though!

Hong Kong . . . It's Not Phooey

In fact its fantastic! We've had a great time and have crammed a fair amount into our four days here.

The highlight for me was the trip up the Victoria peak on the peak tram. Although the tram only hauls you up about 400 meters above the city there's a totally different climate, much cooler and breezier than the humid city. The panoramic cityscape of the North side of the island and across Victoria Harbour to the Kowloon peninsular is really spectacular. We made the trip at dusk which allowed us to see the city as it lit up.

So what were our other top things to see? When in Hong Kong you have to go on the Star Ferry at least once. So we took one over to Kowloon and had a trip to see some of the great markets over on the peninsular. The flower, bird and goldfish markets are all well worth a visit along with a trip to the Temple Street Night Market for all your nik-naks, designer fakes and general tat.

Bird Market . . .


Goldfish market . . .

Whilst on the Kowknon Peninsular we also did the Avenue of Stars, it's a bit like the Hollywood Walk of Fame but featuring Asian celebrities. We didn't have a clue as to who any of them where! However the main reason for us being there was for the 8p.m. light show where the sky scrapers of Hong Kong island are illuminated in a music and light show. It was really spectacular.

Although there's no way we could afford to stay at the Mandarin Oriental we did manage to soak up some of the luxury there by going for brunch in their bakery. It was probably the most expensive breakfast I've ever had but it was definately worth it just to sample some of that 5 star luxury and to pretend that we are high rollers!

One of the stranger sights in Hong Kong is the mid level escalaters in the Soho district. It's nearly 1km of linked escalaters that take you up the the hills and streets of Soho past all the bars and restaurants. It was very surreal to see people gliding past the window as we ate our dinner.

The main thing that dominates Hong Kong is the sky scrapers.
Our favourite is the Bank of China building although it doesn't please all the locals. Those who know feng shui say that the triangles used in its construction project negative energy onto the surrounding buildings.

The biggest building is the International Finance Center 2 (IFC2) which is the 6th tallest in the world at 88 storeys. On the 55th floor, which is the highest open to the public, is a exhibiton on Hong Kong currency. But the real reason that us and most of the other people seemed to be up there was for the free view. Like a lot of the promenant buildings IFC2 has been given a nickname. Apparently the locals refer to it as Sir YK Pao's erection, a reference to the owner of the builders of the tower.
My favourite nick name the locals have given one of the buildings is for Jardine House, which is affectionatly known as the House of a Thousand Arseholes due to its 1750 round windows.
It's not all sky scrapers though, Hong Kong Park is really pretty and has a fantastic walk through aviary where you can get up close to some exotic birds (not that sort).

Here's a quick quiz for Keith. Can you identify the following birds?

This last ones a bit tough, I saw it first in Birmingham . . .

It's fun to stay at the YMCA!

Our first bit of accomodation has been fantastic. We thought we would ease ourselves into things by having a bit of a treat to start with by staying in a proper hotel. Something that is a bit more expensive than our normal backpacker budget would allow.

There were two reasons for this, one to help ease the culture shock and the other due to the bad reports that I had heard about Chungking Mansions, which is the main backpacker option. The Hong Kong Lonely Planet refers to Chungking as a "ramshackle high-rise dump of a place" and the DK Eyewitness Top 10 uses the words "unpleasant" and "oppressive". This coupled with a raft of bad internet reviews and horror stories had kind of put me of a little!

So we ended up at a place called the Harbour View International House which is a Chinese YMCA run hotel in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong island. Wan Chai is probably most famous for being the setting of the Richard Mason book (and film) The World Of Suzi Wong.

Having never stayed in a YMCA hotel we weren't really sure what to expect . . . would the cowboy, red indian or builder be manning reception! Anyway, enough of the lame gags, the hotel is great. The rooms are modern and really nicely decorated and the staff are really friendly.


The hotel is one and a half blocks away from the main night spots that are clustered around Jaffe, Lockheart and Hennessy Roads and only two stops on the MTR (underground) from Central, which is the financial and commercial heart of Hong Kong. The only thing our "backpacker" budget wouldn't streach to was a room with a view. Instead of a harbour view we had skyscraper view. . .

Here's the outside of our hotel

One For The Watsons

We thought Kirsty, Brian, Kira and Erin might appreciate one of Hong Kong's more popular drinks!

We hope it has not been freshly squeezed from a Watson!

Hong Kong Hotel

We've booked our first bit of accommodation for our travels - we'll be staying in the Harbour View International Hotel on Hong Kong Island. The location of the hotel looks great as it's right in the center of Wan Chai with views across the harbour to Kowloon on the peninsula.

The plan is to spend the first 4 nights in Hong Kong and then catch the boat to Macau. We'll then spend 3 days there before heading West to see the sights of North Vietnam and Southeast Asia