A 10.5 hours flight from Fiji saw us arrive in Hong Kong late afternoon on Thursday so, by the time we had got to the hotel and checked in, it was dark by the time we hit the street to explore.Overwhelming would be an understatement as the emotion after an hour on the streets of Kowloon Island. The humidity and sheer volume of people on street without us having any real idea where we were going, was a buzzing sensation.

We found a ‘Malaysian Chinese’ restaurant down one of the side streets full of locals so that seemed a good place to start and being at boiling point temperature wise, the two large bottles of ice cold Tsingtao were most welcome!

Being four hours behind Fiji it was a good night’s sleep and we were as fresh a daisies for our ‘City Tour’ which started from a different hotel, so it was a Hong Kong taxi ride to the Kowloon Hotel for an 8.15am start.

We met two lovely couples, one from South Africa and one from OZ on the trip which made it a great morning out. We visited first, Aberdeen Harbour for a boat trip around the houseboats, fishing boats and yachts domiciled there. We only had to stop once to clear rubbish from the propellor. It’s not water you would want to fall into.

Next stop the jewellery showroom, one of those frustrating stops you get on all these tours. Then it was off to Stanley Market, which was a cool place by the beach to look around for your souvenir needs. Final stop was Victoria Peek which although it was cloudy, gave spectacular views across Hong Kong Island.

A stroll back to the hotel via our new favourite restaurant (recommended by Ed) Din Tai Fung for lunch. It’s a bit like Waggamamas, Hong Kong style.

In the afternoon we met up with Andrew, the husband of old friend Jackie who Pete worked with at UBS. Andrew took us on a local’s tour which was great and we all met up in the evening for drinks and dinner. The humidity was so oppressive that all the calories had been sweated off before we even started to eat. A brilliant night and really our last party evening of the trip. 

It’s 29/31 all weekend. Saturday was a general walk around and exploring day. We start with a stroll around Kowloon Park, which had a cool exhibition of comic book characters on the go. 

Hong Kong has a population of over 7 million people and the only real place to build is upwards. The apartment blocks are enormous and reach for the sky being 60-80 storeys high.

In Soho there is the longest escalator in the world that is spilt into different sections going up the mountainside to Various apartment buildings, passing restaurants and bars on the way, for non local’s it’s all quite cool.

The whole island seems to be a building site, new roads, tunnels, buildings and yes people, just everywhere, It seems like organised chaos but in truth it’s one throughly efficient city that can support this amount of people in such a small area.

Saturday evening we head for the harbour for our sunset cruise which is very impressive as the sun goes down and the lights come on. There is a laser show each night which we watch from the shore before heading off for dinner.

Sunday dawns and OMG, it’s the last day of our trip! 

Sunday is Mothers Day in Hong Kong and everyone takes their Mother out it seems for a bit of shopping and a meal. If we thought the streets were full before, Sunday is really impressive!

Not being picked up for the Airport until 8pm and 32 degrees on the crowded streets it’s one of those days hanging around the air conditioned hotel. Hey ho!

Well it’s all been a long road these past 3.5 months, up mountains and down the other side, we have crossed the skies, crossed seas, lakes and rivers. Driven miles in Cars and camper-vans. The scenery we have seen and the experiences of the trip have been at the same time, mind-blowing, humbling and unforgettable as has the lovely friends and people we have met or been in contact with. Their help and generosity has been so heartwarming. When any of you come to the UK we hope you look us up so we can return the hospitality! 

So now it’s time to head home, I am sure all our family and friends are keen to see even more photographs 🙂 

Pete & Jules  
  

“Bula” is the greeting as we arrive at the airport, from the taxi driver, from the ferry crew to the island, from the singing staff as we step off the ferry on to Plantation Island ….. Come mid week we are Bula’ed out …. But it is all very nice meaning that everyone says ” hello’

We have eight nights at the Plantation Island Resort and it is immediately evident when we arrive that this hotel has been mis-booked. Think Torremolinos in the summer season. 

This is a family island resort during OZ/NZ half term and it’s loaded with families and their kids, parents and grandparents. We find ourselves tired and disappointed on arrival but as you do, you adapt and after a couple of days we work out what time to get to breakfast, grab a dip in the pool during Kids Club and before the teenagers are out of bed etc etc.

There really is no village life on this Island just three resorts. We hire some bikes which gets us out and able to view the the other hotels, all of which look better suited. We get told off for riding our bike to close the ‘couples only pool’ when surveying their hotel, ha ha.

In the end you just have to remember you are in Fiji and it’s time to relax, so we are soon in a chill zone, hammocks are great for that as well as by the Fuji bitter. Fijian’s are lovely people it’s a shame we have not seen more of local life. We have an overnight stay on the mainland when we leave so that may provide another picture.

Sunday evening was a highlight, Kaylene was chatting to Julie in the pool and recommended the yacht Club Island Bar (fabulous cocktails) so, along with Kaylene’s partner Stuart we all ended up at the bar for sunset. 

This is followed by the best meal of the week (the Fijian’s know how to cook their fish!) and then, a general nightcap(s) sing-a-long with the resident band (lead by the hotel manager) and a friendly Australian netball team!

Monday morning brings surprisingly, no hang-overs but a grey day. A shower or two before the sun comes out and it’s hammock time. By mid afternoon the wind is up and the branches and coconuts are flying off the trees so, it’s worth looking up.

Wednesday arrives and we are back on the catamaran heading for the Nadi on the mainland for our early morning flight the next day. Our cab journey from the dock to the hotel takes an hour so we get our glimpse of life on the main island. 

Lovely people, lovely islands (it’s just a different hotel next time) Hong Kong is our next stop and we are on the way home. 

Pete & Jules