19th May - Hong Kong with M' Jakey

Arrived on time at Hong Kong airport but had not had very much sleep (2 hours) and so I went very slowly through the airport to get all of my things and get through customs. I remembered the airport straight away from when I had visited HK 5 years ago. It was strange to be in such a clean, westernised place again after India and Nepal for the last 4-5 months.



I was not sure whether it would be OK to get my bike (which is all boxed up) on the train and then on the free shuttle bus to the Hotel but it actually worked out absolutely fine as they provide trolleys for every step of the journey.

The train ride from the airport takes 20 mins and is fab as you get to see all of the surrounding areas and the water on the way. Again I remembered it from my last journey but I was surprised by just how clean, sparkly and new everything was in comparison to India and Nepal. Saying that though HK is much cleaner than London for instance. The coach ride also took about 20mins and dropped me off right at the hotel door. What a difference it makes when you are having a few days off budget. If I had been on budget I would have been all tired and jet-lagged and I would have built my bike at the airport and cycled to some shit hole somewhere....

We got the room at the Harbour Grand, Kowloon, for a really good discounted price. It is an amazing place. The room was huge and there is a glass fronted pool on the top of the roof. When you swim you can see through the side of the pool and have a view of Victoria Harbour and all of the sky skyscrapers. There are 6 restaurants and amazing views of Victoria Harbour from most of the rooms, the restaurants and the gym as well. I arrive at 10am and they let me check in early. I showered and went for an explore of the hotel and then out shopping for some supplies for the next few days.

This is the view from the room.

I know m' Jacob and how much he likes booze and junk food and so rather than him hitting the mini bar in the middle of the night I thought it best to stock up - especially on red bull. It took a while to find everything but fortunately there are loads of shops locally. There is a big shopping mall situated under a big boat.... very random. These photos are of the shopping area right outside the hotel.

I had a nap and a swim in the afternoon and then Jacob arrived about 7pm. It was really fantastic to see him. He is one of my bestest buddies and I had not seen him for 8 months. He had flown in Toronto via Chicago just to spend the weekend in HK with me :-) He was so happy about the Hotel too. We are such big kids.

We went out for a wander round town and to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We stayed up late drinking wine and catching up. Awesome!

I'm SOOOO HAPPY!!!! :-)