Hong Kong

The flight into Hong Kong left Auckland at midnight and landed at just after 7am meaning we had the full day to explore on arrival so long as we weren't too tired! Luckily we both slept reasonably well on the plane, despite the snottiest fellow passenger in our row(!), and felt surprisingly fresh as we came into land. Our hostel was on Hong Kong island in one of the huge 'mansion' building blocks they have here although it was also very compact! Still it was nice and clean and we were able to have a quick shower and change into summer clothes before heading out to explore. I was keen to get another blazer made here so we spent the first couple of hours in countless tailor shops looking for the right colour material and bartering hard until we came to an agreeable price. Once this was all sorted we had planned to have Afternoon Tea at The Peninsula hotel...very civilised! Annoyingly, however, there is no way to book ahead so you just have to queue on arrival. Luckily we arrived half an hour before they opened for tea as we still ended up waiting for around an hour and the queue was far longer when we eventually sat down. Even still it was definitely worth it and I was very impressed with my first proper afternoon tea experience (Poppy is now somewhat of a connoisseur). We finished our first day by heading up to 'Ladies Market' to have a look round and pick up some souvenirs before retiring back to the hostel relatively early, both nakered from the time difference! 

 

 Afternoon Tea

 

 

The following day we woke up a lot earlier than planned so went for a wander around causeway bay before catching the bus over to Stanley, on the other side of the island. The market here was good to look around although we found it more expensive than the ladies market and didn't end up picking too much up here. We had a nice lunch overlooking the bay before getting the bus back over to Hong Kong central to make our way up to The Peak. The queue for the peak was very long but actually moved faster than we expected and soon we were on board the red tram making our way up the very steep slope to the peak. The views out over the city here were fantastic and definitely worth the wait! After the tram ride back down to the city centre we jumped on the MTR over to Kowloon side to walk along the goldfish and flower markets. These were interesting to have a look around as asides from lots of fish in small bags for sale along the street there were also numerous tortoises, cats, dogs and various small fluffy animals. Before heading to Temple Street Night Market we went for a lovely sushi dinner and raced to make it just in time for the nightly 'Symphony of Lights' that takes place on all the buildings along the harbour. This was very impressive to see all the buildings lit up, many of which flashed in time to the music playing. We finished the day looking around Temple Street Night Market, although both agreed that the ladies market seemed to have a lot better stuff on offer. Absolutely shattered and with very sore feet we were glad to get back in bed for a well earned sleep. 

 

 Getting measured up

 

 Stanley

 

 Stanley bay

 

 Times Square Hong Kong

 

 Bamboo Scaffolding

 

 Tram up to The Peak

 

 View from the top of The Peak

 

 Goldfish Market

 

Nightime skyline of Hong Kong

Having realised that not much seems to open before 10am, we decided to queue up early for Jenny's Bakery in Kowloon to buy some of their famous cookies...apparently the best in Hong Kong. We arrived there at around 8.30am, about an hour and a half before it opened and were still around tenth in the queue! Still, by the time the bakery actually opened the queue was huge and the temperature had risen dramatically! It was, however, well worth the wait as the cookies were absolutely delicious! From here we made our way back over to Central to wander along Hollywood road although found that there was wasn't too much we were interested in here other than a quick visit to Man Mo temple. By chance we also wandered into a small tea shop and found ourselves trying a few different teas on offer with the owner, which was very enjoyable, before having yet another afternoon tea for lunch! We the wandered over the the IFC mall as you can climb to the 55th floor of the IFC 2 tower for fantastic views and also an exhibit on banking and money in Honk Kong. By this time I was able to go and collect my new blazer and whilst very excited I was also a little bit nervous as to how it would come out. We caught the Star ferry over from Hong Kong to Kowloon and made our way back to the tailor shop via the Avenue of the Stars. Luckily everything fitted well and I was very pleased with the finished product. We made our way back to the hostel to dump a few bits we had bought and have a rest before we headed back out to ladies market again for one or two more last souvenirs. 

 

Definitely worth the wait! 

 

 Man Mo Temple

 

 Tea Tasting

 

 More Afternoon Tea

 

 IFC 2 Tower

 

 The Star Ferry

 

 The only actor we had heard of!

 

 The finished product

 

 

Having done almost everything we had planned we didn't have too much to do on our final day and due to the presence of a tropical storm the weather was a little wet to say the least! Still, after squeezing everything into our bags ready for the flight later in the day we made our way to a restaurant that had been recommended for lunch, serving dim sum and various other Chinese delicacies. We sat down at our table shared with an American girl and a few other locals and tried to work out how to order food. Eventually with a bit of help from the locals we found out that all the food came round on trolleys and you got a card stamped whenever you picked something off the trolley. Unsure about what we were actually eating we tucked in and luckily found that most things were actually quite pleasant so long as you didn't take too much notice of how it looked! One of the more unpleasant dishes that we thought was chicken actually turned out to also contain fish stomach...even the Chinese on our table refused it when we offered some to them! Still we were pleased to have tried something a bit different and made our way back to the hostel to finish collecting our things together before heading to the airport for home! It has been a fantastic trip and we have enjoyed every second. Whilst both sad to be returning home to reality we are also looking forward to seeing everyone and making the most of some home comforts! As with most people that travel, we have already identified the next few places on 'Our List' to travel. The weather here has closed in so fingers crossed our flight is all ok! 

 

 A more local lunch

 

 Chicken and fish stomach...yumm

 

 

Last days in New Zealand

Following on from Rotorua we planned to visit Waitomo and the glow worm caves. Waitomo was a very small town and other than visiting the cave we didn't have much else planned so enjoyed a bit of down time reflecting on our trip so far and planning the last few days in New Zealand as well as Hong Kong. Our visit to the cave was very enjoyable, the highlight being a boat ride through the pitch black cave with millions of glow worms lighting the ceiling like stars in the sky! Unfortunately we weren't able to take any pictures here to show you but it was amazing to see. 

Moving on from Waitomo we were stuck between two options before we made our way to Auckland. Eventually we decided to visit Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsular so that we could walk to see the famous Cathedral Cove! The journey there was a little awkward however and meant we had to spend a night in Hamilton due to the times the busses ran. Fortunately, we had met a lovely couple on the bus to Milford Sounds earlier on in our trip and they put us up for a night. On arrival at Hahei, we checked into the cosy hostel and got chatting to a man who was part of a large group from Auckland staying there for the weekend. As it so happened they had made too much food and so we were invited to join them for dinner and games that evening! The next couple of days were very quiet and other than a lovely walk down to see Cathedral Cove we spent most of our time enjoying some more down time before we moved on up to Auckland. We were unfortunately victims to a theft whilst in Hahei...a German boy stole some of our sausages that we had bought for dinner! Bloody Germans and their wurst! Still at least it was nothing too important and just more of an annoyance if anything so no harm done. 

 

 Cathedral Cove

 

 

Auckland was our last stop in New Zealand and we were looking forward to exploring the city and picking up some last minute souvenirs. On our first day in Auckland we hopped on the ferry and went over to nearby Waiheke island, which supposedly this used to be a very 'hippy' area full of artists and poets. The island was very quaint and we enjoyed the morning exploring the main town there before having lunch at a small cafe with fantastic views out over the bay. Returning back to Auckland for the afternoon we narrowly avoided a sudden downpour, taking refuge in an ice cream stop for some gelato before walking along Queens street looking around some of the shops. The next day we decided to have a walk up to the top of Mt. Eden, one of many dormant volcanos that surround Auckland. This was the highest point in Auckland and gave stunning views back over the city and surrounds, we couldn't have had a nicer day for the walk either and almost couldn't believe this was still winter weather for NZ! We have loved our time in NZ and are both sad to leave but also excited for the next few days in Hong Kong...back to Asia and back into our summer gear! 

 

 Auckland from the ferry

 

 Lunch on Waiheke island

 

 Atop Mt. Eden

 

 The crater of Mt. Eden

 

Auckland sky tower