Hong Hong - Again

Our last day in HK, indeed the last day of the holiday unless you consider a whole 24 hours of travelling a holiday!

Tom was still ill so it was the 3 of us agan. Jenny wanted to pack so Susan and I went for a wander, we found another market where they sell live fish and meat, it's relly barbaric, these poor fish are flopping around on trays trying to get a breath until somebody buys them at which time they are gutted alive.On some fish the head was lying on a tray and the mouth was still trying to get a breath. This could put me of fish for life, not that I am very keen on it anyway

We met up with Jenny at the hotel and headed to the Star ferry to get us over to Kowloon to go to the history museum. We really enjoyed the ferry ride, short but exciting. On Kowloon we had lunch then walked to the history museum, just after we arrived there was a guided tour in English so we bought tickets and joined the back. It as taken by a Chinese librarian who obviously didnt get to say much during his normal job and never stopped talking. It was quite interesting and he was a funny little man but I've had better days. The tour lasted 2 hours by which time we were fed up.

Tom had called to say he was feeling a lot better so we went back to the hotel and had a drink with them, then we headed out for dinner alone leaving them to get ready to leave. We had a meal in town then came back.

Up really early tomorrow for our flight.

Hong Kong

Another exciting day, Tom was not well so declined to join us on our trip to Stanley Market so it was just the 3 of us. We took the public bus, that was a journey and a half on its own but we got to Stanley safely if a little shaken. We had a walk round the tacky market, Susan bought some presents just for a laugh but I spotted some head torches, we had been planning on buying 2 of them for our camping trip but never got round to it. They were priced at 125 dollars, I asked what price for 2 she said 225 and I suggested 200, she said ok then I felt really guilty and had images of her family going hungry tonight. I got 2 head torches (probably crappy) for £12, hope they last a camping trip!

We had a call from Tom to say he was feeling better so we agreed to meet him back at the hotel for lunch so we got back on the bus again. Tom joined us for lunch but was feeling bad again so went back to the hotel, the 3 of us set off for Aberdeen - a floating village where people live in abject poverty on old boats. The taxi driver had no idea what we wanted so he stopped a security guard who spoke English and that got us on our way. He tried to drop us off at the fish market, this brought great hilarity from the girls in the back but we persuaded him to drop us someplace else. He dumped us in some dodgy part of town where there was hardly anyone. We walked by the river for a bit, through 2 building sites until a woman driving a Sampan (wooden boat) shouted at us something about getting a lift. We were not keen but she was very persistant, we had a 8 foot drop from the walkway to the boat and I was certain that one of us was going in the drink but with the help of a small step we all made it safely. I was then convinced we were being abducted so I was watching how she drove the boat to see if I could do it, it looked simple enough so I was sure if it all went wrong I could chuck her over board and drive back myself. She drove us round the junks and dropped us on the water edge for 100 dollars (£6), all good value and very pleasant.

We tried to walk round the edge to get closer to the main town but we ended up in some real dodgy homeless shack shanty town and had to beat a hasty retreat, we hopped in a taxi to get to the chinese market - which was closed - just our luck.

So, we took the tram back to the hotel and found a massage parlour which we had seen round the back of the hotel, I fancied a Chinese Massage so we stopped to check it out. It looked all above board, no mention of extras so I booked a full body massage and Susan booked a manicure. Jenny booked to go back for a body massage later in the evening. The massage was weird, I put these green shorts on and waited, eventually this young chinese girl came in and told me to lie on the table, she then prodded, poked, pulled and squeezed every muscle in my body, it was hardly relaxing as I was in considerable pain and was terrified what might come next. Anyway, eventually it got better and I relaxed a bit and it was quite pleasant, until the end when the girl presented me with a form to sign saying how much of a tip I would give her, she kept getting closer saying please and thank you a lot, I was getting very worried by this time, given that I was wearing nothing but a pair of green boxer shorts that she had had her hand pretty far up. Anyway we settled on $100 (£6) and that seemed to be fine, she left and I got dressed as fast as I could. It's a pity that my first real massage was spoiled at the end when I should have been relaxing. I would go back again - maybe!

Susan enjoyed her manicure and Jenny has not returned yet.

Hong kong from victoria peak

Our rooms were not ready which was not a great surprise so we had hours to kill, we had breakfast then set off to Kowloon where I had heard there was a cheap camera shop as I wanted to buy yet another camera. We took the subway and landed right in the middle of Kowloon. This area seems to be right on the edge and I was not happy with some of the shops I went into - certainly would not trust my credit card to them. I found the camera I wanted and tried to haggle but it was not to be, the owner would not even chuck in a free case. Bought the camera! Discovered that the menu was in Chinese and had to go back to get somebody to convert it for me, Tom bought an I-Pod.

we found a street market selling fish, animals, fruit and veg. The fish were all alive and some of them were flopping round on trays waiting on someone to buy them when they were chopped up - it was quite barbaric. The worst bit for me was the chickens, there were cages of them in the market, all alive. Somebody chose this nice plump one, the woman took it behind the counter, there was a bit of clucking then thump - it;s head was off and that was the end of the chicken. I could turn vegie - not really.

We went back to the mainland and then came back to the hotel, the rooms were ready so we managed a shower and a rest before heading back out to the Victoria Peak. The views from here can be stunning but as you can see the smog was down so we were disappointed, if the smog gets better I'll go back. We had a Chinese meal up the peak which was nice but not really my thing but "when in Rome" and all that. We've just arrived back at the hotel at 9.00pm.

Not sure I like Hong Kong, the buildings are impressive and the hussle and bustle is fine for a while but after New Zealand where everything is so relaxed it's a little overwhelming for me. I'm glad I've been but I cant see me returning. People are very subservient when they are serving you, lots of bowing but then you get knocked over by people rushing to catch a train. It is also quite dirty.

Christchurch 2

16th October 2007 21.41 UK time
10 km above the earth around 1 and a half hours to Hong Kong near Banaue where ever that is!
Our last day in NZ was really good, we only had until 3pm so we set off early for the Gondola which took us up to a peak on the south side of the city, the day was bright and clear so the views were fantastic. We spent a hour or 2 looking at the scenery and learning about the geological history of the area, very interesting. NZ has a lot of geological history
We drove back into town with the view of hopping on the tram system for a while. The trams are genuine old fashioned wood trams that do a circular route round the city and you can hop on and off as you wish. The drivers are all really good and give a fair bit of history of the part you are passing through. We went through the whole circuit and then had a coffee. Susan and Jenny had expressed an interest in Punting on the rive Avon which flows through the town and as we reckoned we had time we got back on the tram and headed back to the boat sheds where the punts are located. A nice young American lad took us for a half hour punt up the river which was very relaxing, the daffodils have just finished and the sun was shining. I tried to stroke a Mallard Duck but got bitten instead, the other wildlife we saw was a water eel, not very exciting though. Then we had a very quick wander through the museum then back to the hotel to collect the suitcases and head out to the airport.
We were far too early but we were checked in by yet another very pleasant and helpful New Zealander we asked for seats in rows of 2 which are quite scarse, she offered us rows of 3 but said she could block the 3rd seat so nobody was beside us, that was fantastic. She also said that the flight was very empty so we might get a row each.
Our flight up to Auckland was uneventful, slightly late but no hassles and again we had a while to hang around. We had dinner and I tried to buy a camera but the sales assistant was not very helpful so he lost a sale.
When we got to the gate we realised that the plane (which seats almost 400) would be more than half empty I decided to try and get a row of 4 seats for myself which thankfully I managed, I was frightened to leave it in case somebody else stole it so I placed all my possessions round about, even took my shoes off and put them on the seats. I managed to get a fair bit of sleep, on and off for around 7 hours, maybe sleeping for an hour then waking up for a bit, not great but much much better than being crammed upright in a seat. Susan, Tom and Jenny each got a row of 3 each and Jenny slept for hours, Susan and Tom got a bit. Susan thinks I am flirting with the air hostess but I cant help it if she fancies me!

New Zealand is a brilliant country, I just cant get over how helpful everyone is and we will definitely go back, so the holiday of a lifetime has turned out to be just another exploration for a future visit.

We land in Hong Kong in about an hour – susan is currently watching Blades of Glory and laughing so loud people are turning to look, she almost lost her yogurt at one point, I must watch this movie on the way home. Hopefully when we got to the hotel our rooms might be ready, a long shot as we land at 6am local time but you never know.

Christchurch

We had a lazy start to the day, Susan was keen to do some washing so we used the hotel facilities which took an hour or so. We went to a great cafe for breakfast, there were photographs of the owner with loads of famous people round the walls, even Michael Barrymore! They didn't want our photo!

We had booked tickets to the Antarctic Exhibition which is out near the airport. The tour began with a trip in a Hagglund all terrain vehicle, up hills down hills, through water, across gaps - it was very exciting. The we watched the penguins being fed, they are called "Little Blue Penguins" and I am sure Susan has one in her pocket, she fell in love with them right away, especially the one that was blind and had to feel its way round the enclosure using its beak. We experienced a typical antarctic wind storm in a storm room where wind chill temperature dropped to -18.5 Celsius. The whole thing was really interesting and informative.

We had planned to take the gondola up to the top of a local mountain and have dinner there tonight but it is closed so we'll do the gondola tomorrow but we wont have time for dinner as we have to be at the airport by 4.00pm.

Kaikoura to Christchurch

Well, the Dolphins didn't want to play. We got up early and missed our showers, Tom had hummed the theme tune from Jaws over and over but we still went along. However, the Dolphins decided it was too rough so the trip was cancelled. Thankfully we managed to get back to the hotel before the room had been cleaned and the very kind woman let us back in to use the shower. We went back to town and had breakfast.

After that we headed south towards Christchurch, the rain came on and it was pretty miserable but it cleared when we got to Christchurch. We have booked in to the Camelot hotel, a motel style building which is kitted out like the knights of the round table, it is so tacky it is actally quite good. The owner is a really nice guy and very helpfull.

Had a wander round Christchurch and managed to find a Chinese Dragon and some Brazillian Dancers, all what you'd expect in NZ. We also found a statue of Captain Scott soi we paid homage to him - the plaque didnt mention Discovery or Dundee so we were disappointed.

We've bought tickets to some antarctic exhibtion for tomorrow and plan to dine up the mountain that overlooks the town tomorrow night.

Kaikoura

13th October 05.32 am uk time 17.32 NZ Time

We took the ferry from Wellingtom over to Picton, the ferry journey was excellent and the scenery was very impressive. There were some weird and wonderful people on the ferry so we had a great laugh speculating on who they were and what they were doing.

The scenery as we approached Picton was out of this world, so much better than the North Island and we made the decision to come back here soon and spend more time on the south island. Picton was a lovely wee town, full of backpackers and vey friendly. We collected the car with no probs and were on our way. We took Highway 1 south towards Christchurch and stopped for lunch en route.

We landed here in Kaikoura, a fter a brief stop to look at some seals that were lying on the rocks by the roadside, some of them were not happy about being photographed but others posed happily.

We found the tourist info office and the very helpfull girl sorted out a great hotel for us, it's costing around £35 per room and is very nice, almost brand new and spotless. Susan and I have booked to swim with Dolphins tomorrow and T&J are joining the boat but not swimming - cowards.

The scenery is stunning round here, like a mixture of the West coast of Canada & Scotland, we really must return another time. Campervans seem to be the order of the day, the country is so geared up for campers.

Wellington

Not a lot to report today, we tidied the house and left fairly early. We drove down to Wellington through mist and rain, it was very like Scotland green and mountainous with mist and rain. Tom and I split the driving.
We arrived into Wellington by the port which was pretty dodgy looking but we found the ferry terminal and a very helpful young man that got us booked onto a ferry for tomorrow and agreed to look after our car until we found a hotel.
We walked round Wellington and found a Holiday Inn, typically I haggled for a better price, they started at 150 dollars, I offered 120 dollars and they suggested 135 dollars, I said we'll leave it so we ended up in the Hotel IBIS at 120 dollars, I have since realised that I was haggling over around £6 – not really worth it.
We had a really nice Indian meal and a wander round Wellington before settling back in the hotel as we have a really early start tomorrow morning.

Napier - Again!

As this is our last day in the house we had a morning cleaning the house.It was very exciting! Tom did really well on the ironing and I did - well nothing really!

After that we popped up to Napier as I really wanted a new pair of walking shoes, we had lunch then split up for a wander round. I got the shoes I wanted and then wandered round taking photographs of the art deco buildings. It was a lovely hot day so we sat in the park and watched the world go by.

We came back and I cooked tea then we packed the bags - not very exciting really!

I dont think we'll have inernet access for a while so this may be the last blog entry for a few days - sorry !!!

Havelock North Village

This is where we are staying

Rotarua

We went to Rotarua, the centre of Mauri culture. It was a long drive but well worth the journey. We started off in Te Puia with a demonstration of Mauri dances and fighting, it was short and interesting - just the way these things should be. When that finished we took a guided tour in the rain, thankfully we had been given huge white plastic jackets cos it was chucking down and despite these jackets we got absolutely soaked. The guide was a really funny guy and the talk and tour was interesting. We learned that people from NZ are called Kiwis, not after the bird but after the Shoe Polish. Soldiers from NZ were sent to fight in Europe in the 2nd world war, part of their kit was KIWI polish and other soldiers wanted this polish so they traded goods with them for the polish. After that people from NZ were called Kiwis.

The polish was invented by a Scotsman called Ramsay who moved to Australia and married a woman from NZ, he then called the polish after his wife. A bit of useless information for you all!

Maori culture is very interesting and they still follow many of the traditions today, it's weird seeing 2 completely different races in one country, it is so obvious who is of Maori decent and who is european, I know that seems an obvious statement but it is quite weird and I cant help but wonder if they are really hacked off with the Brits for colonising their land. I've never had the courage to ask as they are pretty scary people!

In Rotorua they have a hot spring where the water comes out of the ground at 90 degrees c and many commercial pools and spas have sprung up along side the town. After getting so wet we decided to have a soak in the pool and even tried to get a massage but they were fully booked. We sat and bathed outside in 40 degrees c with the rain falling down, it was really relaxing.

We stopped for a meal in Taupo where we had been the other day, we found a nice steak restaurant where a pub quiz was being played, we ended up helping the guys at the next table, we managed the questions like "who is a famous Scottish poet whos birthday is in January" . I was a bit offended when they asked a question relating to the 80's and said c'mon it's your decade. It was my decade but I dont like to be reminded.

It was a really great and relaxing day

Wine Tasting

No photos to day - sorry. Te wine tasting didn't lend itself to photographs, the fact that it was right at the end of the season and all the grapes had been collected, the wine made and bottled - there was nothing to photograph.

We chose a specific winery which Susan and Jenny knew about, it was just up he road in Hastings and we chose it because it had a nice restaurant too. The plan was a nice relaxing lunch and a wine tour, great! The restaurant was one of these places where you pay more and get less, poor Tom thought that his main course was just an appetizer and finished it in seconds, mine was the most substantial of the lot and still wasn't a great deal. It took ages to get served and we almost missed the tour, had to ask that the start time be delayed.

The tour was quite interesting,even for a non drinker like me, it is a pity that there was not more happening but we now know all about wine production. This particular winery use their facilities to process Olive Oil in the off season so at least something was happening.

After the tour we had a walk round Hastings, not a lot happening there so we headed back to Havelock North for a coffee and more supermarket shopping - supermarkets are beginning to become the basis of this trip.

Tomorrow Rotarua, hopefully more photographs!

Taupo

We decided to head inland to Taupo, a lovely little town on a huge lake. It was the first day of bad weather, we drove through cloud and eventually landed in rain. Taupo is a popular spot with travellers and you can bungee jump and do various other high Adrenalin activities, not that we did. The Tourist office suggested that we do a boat trip to see some Mauri drawings which we agreed was a good idea.

The boat didn't leave for a couple of hours so we drove up to look at some waterfalls, had a bite to eat (I wont say what we had 'cos somebody doesn't want to know what we eat!) then headed back to the boat.

The rain and wind started as soon as we left dock so we got decked out in bright yellow waterproofs and all felt a bit stupid. The Captain was a fine lad, quite informative and interesting, we sailed out to the rock drawings that some people say have been there for years but he said they had been etched 26 years ago - who knows! Tom managed to offend most of the other people on the boat, first he said "Ching Ching" pretending to drink a glass of champagne, not realising that a Chinese Man was behind him, he then said "look no Hans" when a German couple were within Earshot, Jenny was none too pleased!

After we left the boat we had a wander round the town then drove home, stopping once again at the supermarket. The people here are so nice, even the wee lassies that pack the bags in the shop were asking where we came from, when I said Scotland, one said "Oh I love Scotland", have you been there I said, "no" was the reply!

Tom is cooking Tea !!

Cape Kidnapper

Wtoe set off for a day at Cape Kidnapper, a nice stretch of beach where we were told it is possible to go and see thousands of Gannets at close range. We were looking forward to a walk along the beach and some interesting photographs. The beach was closed as the Gannets were still breeding so that put that idea in the bin. We had a cup of coffee and mulled over the options. We decided to have a walk as far as we could, not really far - just about a mile or so then we turned back. The walk took us through a caravan site which had some interesting street names; Coronation Street and Ramsay Street to name a couple.

The weather was fantastic, clear blue skies, very warm with a sea breeze to help with the temperature. After our walk we had Lunch.

After lunch we set off for Te Mata Peak a national Park with a huge hill. We chose to drive up most of the way then walk to the summit, we might return later for a longer walk when we are more prepared for the day out. The views were stunning from the top as you can see.

I was persuaded to go for a Thai Curry for dinner, it was actually not too bad, very spicy and I couldn't finish it but quite tasty then we went to the cinema to see the Bourne Ultimatum, a great film but Susan fell asleep, she blamed it on the fact that the guy next to her had removed his shoes! The cinema was tiny, only 4 rows of seats and a total of 12 people there. I was fascinated by the toilets, you had a choice of Male, Female or Paraplegic - very PC!

Napier 6th October

Today we went up the road a few miles to a town called Napier to see the Art Deco architecture. Just after we arrived I realised that my camera battery was dead and I was so annoyed with myself. Anyway, we were faced with Kilted Bagpipe players who played various Scottish tunes like Flower of Scotland, Highland Cathedral etc - it was very bizarre.

We booked ourselves onto the tour of the Art Deco buildings at 2.00pm and then went for a walk round, found a Farmers Market which was rather lacking in farmers but we managed to buy a pot of Jam and a few fruit drinks - exciting ehhh!

We had a quick walk round town and found a nice cafe for Lunch, the gay waiter took a fancy to Tom - this happens very often.

The tour was really interesting; Napier was pretty much destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and the whole town was rebuilt in 2 years, as Art Deco was the style of the time most of the buildings were built using this style. We are all now experts on Art Deco and easily spotted the typical design features such as Speed Lines, Zig Zags, Sun Bursts and Zigaretes. We were shown round by a very enthusiastic man called Leigh who dresses up in typical costume of the 1930s when they have revival weekends. There was a woman called Dorothy from Beverly in Yorkshire on the tour and she took quite a fancy to Leigh we think. It was quite strange to see pretty much a whole town that still looked like the 1930's.

After stopping at the supermarket for a few little bits we came home where Susan cooked a lovely salmon dish for us.

5th October

Havelock North 5th October 9.22pm local time

We've had a really relaxing day today, we had a stroll through the village of Havelock North, it is a very well off area with loads of coffee shops and delicatessens and other nice shops. Very relaxed and friendly, we even managed to find some nice dogs to talk to. Sat and had drinks outside a coffee shop, watched old women trying to park, wandered round a little and bought some food for dinner.

We came back to the house and as the weather was so good we sat on the deck eating lunch and then read our books for the rest of the afternoon.

I cooked dinner and then it was an early bed, we are off to Napier to see the Art Deco houses tomorrow, weather looks changeable for the week so we'll do it when it is dry.

The House

The house is stunning, Architect designed in a kind of Mediterranean style. Built in a horse shoe shape with the bottom end looking over the town to the mountains beyond. Each "leg" of the house has a bedroom so we are well apart from each other and the main living area is at the bottom of the U shape. The middle is a central courtyard laid out nicely. Our room has a huge master bathroom with massive shower, the only thing is that the outside wall is of glass bricks -Susan doesn't seem to think that anyone would be interested in watching me shower so not to worry.

Every gadget required is available including a well laid out kitchen with every appliance needed.

Susan has managed to fuse the lights already but it was easily fixed in the fuse box.

Auckland Sky City and Journey

We checked out of the hotel and headed to the sky city - the large needle shaped building in the middle of town. People jump off here tied to rubber bands, not us though. A couple of people jumped when we were watching and it did look quite good fun. After that we went back to the hotel and took a taxi to the car hire place.

It was a lovely drive down, very like Scotland, green and mountanous. Tom and I split the drive but he did more than me.

The house is lovely, we were shown round by the neigbours and settled in quickly. We then took a drive down to the villa and got a little shopping then found a nice restaurant for dinner. It seems a lovely place, very village like and friendly. We are going to have a walk round tomorrow.

This is a picture of the 4 of us on the Sky Tower.

Tirau

This lovely wee town of Tirau has public toilets in the shape of a sheep and a dog, this is the dog, some debate as to whether it is a pig or not. We stopped for Lunch

Sky Tower at night

Taken this evening on our way to get an Indian Meal

Auckland Wednesday night

Auckland, 4th October

Well, I was right, we did get up at 2am, Susan got back to Sleep but I didnt so I am flagging a little now but we are just off to eat now.

It's been an interesting day – we went on a tour of Auckland on a bus that you get on and off as you please. The rain started so we stayed on and did the whole city tour then went back to the things that wanted to see. It was a good way to see the city and kept us dry. We ended up at a museum where Susan was frog marched off the premises – ok I exaggerate for effect! She bought a bottle of water from a machine but after drinking half of it was told that she was not allowed to drink it in the museum. (seems they are happy to sell it but not allow you to drink it) a foreign woman in uniform escorted her to the exit where she was allowed to drink it, she chucked it in the bin anyway.
After that we walked through a district called Parnell which was really nice as the sun had appeared again, stopped for coffee and then got the bus to an old electric station converted to a shopping area. A bit arty and hippy, Tom even contemplated buying candles to stick in the lugs which are meant to be a cure for everything. He didnt!
I bought a new carry on case and 3 t-shirts.

Auckland

Auckland 4.51 pm
We are knackered, really tired. Had lunch and a walk round Auckland to try and keep awake, it's important to try and get back into the correct time zone so it was our intention to stay up until 9pm, that was brought back to 8pm and now at 5pm we are really considering going to bed. The problem is that we'll end up waking up at 5am tomorrow morning and then be tired by tomorrow afternoon.
Auckland is a really nice city, friendly, unhurried and full of interesting buildings. We'll be going on a tour tomorrow to get our bearings before we head out alone expolring.
Off to bed

Auckland

Tuesday 12.00 mid day – Auckland NZ
The flight was ok, shorter than we expected at only 10 hours and it seemed to pass quite quickly, I think the others are flagging but we seem to be quite awake for now. The flight did not fall out of the sky as suggested by the Air Hostess so that was a relief but it was very bumpy at times to the point that they delayed serving food and hot drinks in case they ended up over people.
Some famous Rugby team were on the flight with us and when we arrived at Auckland there was a huge welcome party for them, I thought it was for us! The people are so friendly, they offer free drinks as you wait for baggage and everyone is so friendly, not like the US. There was sniffer dogs running round the baggage carousel so that was interesting and they picked some poor bloke out – the dog fancied something in his pocket, the handler could hardly contain him.
The hotel is lovely, a typical business chain but good room and great shower. We are meeting T&J 1.00pm for a lunch and wander round.

The Flight

04.00 AM 10.6 kilometres above the earth between Manado and Koror (wherever they are), I think we are on a path to pass by the east coast of Australia. The seat back television keeps us in touch with the flight path, just noticed that the equator is not too far away, I've never been across the equator and apparently “equator virgins” get stripped and covered in goose fat, that should be fun!
After we got to the cruising altitude (or at least I think we were there), the seatbelt sign was still on and I was needing a pee, I asked this Chinese Air Hostess when the light would be switched off as I was needing to go to the toilet, she said it was ok just to go but to be careful. She followed me up the plane saying (say this in a Chinese accent) “it can be dangerous in toilet, sometimes on this rote airplane falls from sky due to air pockets and it possible to hit head on roof, you no want to be in toilet when that happens. “ I did point out that if that happened the best place might be the toilet 'cos I'd probably have an accident – dont think she got the joke.
We've been fed, watered and are now occupying ourselves with movies and books.6 hours 24 mins to go

HK Airport

4.00pm Local time Hong Kong Airport
We had a great sleep and as the hotel was so good we decided to book up again for our return trip. We had a few hours to kill so we wandered round HK. Well, actually I got the address wrong, we hopped in a taxi and ended up at a conference then had to take the underground back to within 5 mins of the hotel. We found a huge shopping centre and I went on my quest to find a Sony Bluetooth Watch, after around 10 shops that didn't have it I found that it has not been released in HK yet.
We walked back to the hotel then took a taxi to the airport. The guy drove at 140 kph all the way with his radar detector going mad, poor Tom almost wet himself!
HK is so hot and muggy and apparently this is quite cool. We are sweating buckets here.
Currently at the airport and waiting for our flight which is in 2 hours time. Another 12 hours in the air.

View from hotel window

A little hazy but incredibly warm and muggy

Food and sleep

Well we found a nice italian called Fat Angelos which was really good, I was worried about eating a fried cat or something but the pizza was great. The hotel is not in the real centre of town but a nice neighbourhood and everything is so cheap! We left a 6 pound tip and the waitress came back to say it was too much, she seemed stunned when we said no just keep it. HK is a really bizarre place, kind of like Britain but also a little like China - I am so well known for my profound statements. It is odd to se such a mixture of brits and chinese living so close.

The evening finished with Tom arriving at the door wearing just his white pants and free hotel slippers saying something about Tennis - he must have taken up the drink!

Going for a quick look round the area before we head back to the airport for the next 12 hour flight. Tomorrow we arrive in Auckland at 6am local time. Hopefully we can get into the hotel early at least for a shower. I am hoping that I can send some pics from somewhere. The hotel PC wont let me connect my camera and I cant get the laptop on to wifi.

Here at last

Well finally we landed at Hong Kong after a hell of a long time in the air. Air NZ were great though, the service and food were excellent but it was still a cramped economy class seat. Tom and Jenny managed quite a lot of sleep, Susan managed a few hours and I managed an hour or so.

HK Airport is great, very new and modern, we took the airport train to HK central then caught a cab for the 15 min journey. I was put in the front and I eventually managed to figure out that the cabs dont have brakes on the passenger side. However, the driver got us to the right place (almost - wrong hotel but just next door) for around 5 pounds including tip. Our luggage was hanging out the boot held down by rope - all very exciting. HK is a stunning city, full of sky scrapers but seems safe and friendly.

The hotel is modern and clean, we upgraded the room for an extra 10 pounds each to a "big" room, would hate to see the smaller ones! We seem to be having a second wind, on the plane I'd have given anything to lie down - now I probably wont sleep so we are going out for a meal then early to bed. We only have a few hours in HK tomorrow before we have to go back top the airport for our next 12 hours to NZ. We'll probably stay here again when we return in 3 weeks time. I am hoping for a little gadget shopping before we go and Susan has discovered tat she brought an empty sunglas case but no glasses so she'll look for them.

Sorry there is no photo here, I sent the last few from my mobile but I cant get the camera to connect to the hotel computer. I'll upload more later.

On the plane

At last on our way