It took 4 hours to get across town and pick up my passport with my Russian visa, get some paper work printed out for my Mongolian Visa and to try (and fail) to find a Road Atlas for China in English and Chinese. It was rather frustrating as I have already seen this area of HK. Tweetie Pie enjoyed himself though.I did explore another area on the way back to find an outdoor clothing shop. It took a while looking in different ones but eventually I found some camping gas and another waterproof bag (my panniers are no longer waterproof). Yippee it means I am now independent again and I can cook my own food and boil hot water for drinks etc. I could not find either of these things in India and I did not want to buy them in Nepal as I would not be able to carry them on the flight to HK.
I also bought some spray to re-waterproof my Gortex stuff. My waterproofs have taken a bit of a battering over the last 8 months. The trip to get the outdoor stuff was very productive and it meant that I visited yet another area of HK. Admittedly it was just about 4 new malls but it was still interesting. It is amazing that the economy here supports soooo much shopping!
I met Helen when I got back to the Hostel and asked her if she fancied coming swimming. We walked to the big pool just off Nathan Road in Kowloon. It was closed until 6 and it was only 5.30 so I went off for a run (I was planning on going running after the swim anyway). The park is actually really lovely to run round. There is a bird sanctuary and hundreds of flamingos in a lake - right in the middle of HK. HK city really has been planned out very well and there is lots of open space and green areas to get away from the business. The city is SO clean and well organised. There are traffic rules and everything! Such a contrast to India.We had a great swim in the outside pool. It was very busy though and difficult to do lengths. We watched the sun go down and the lights come on in the pool. I love being in a hot country where it is warm enough to swim outside. Having a huge pool in the middle of the downtown area is also quite cool.
We went out for a meal of chicken and potato wedges at the Irish Pub just next to the Hostel. I do not usually go to Irish pubs just to meet expats but it was actually quite fun. The first glass of wine was too nice and so we ordered a bottle. It was good to have a girly chat. I have not done that in a long time (Jacob does not quite count). 
We dropped our bags off at the hostel and we were going to go for a quick night cap at a wine bar before going to bed but we ended up chatting with some guys on the street as we were crossing the road and they said that they were going to a bar with live music. We decided to tag along. They took us to this awesome secluded street where there were loads of wine bars and it was very busy. We would never have found this place just exploring on our own. 
The bar that we went too had 2 amazing live bands which were still playing when we left there at 4am. The drinks were very expensive but it was a great atmosphere. I had not been out dancing like that since I left the UK. This photo is of my shocked surprise at the water costing £4.50! 
We chatted with loads of Chinese people and also some Europeans as well. HK is such a interesting mix. I hated feeling so tall and big though in comparison to the Asian girls.When we were heading out of the club we got chatting with an English guy who is over here coaching rugby and went off with him for a late night pizza and found an all night bar on the way that was very happy to serve us another bottle of wine. We walked back to the Hostel in the daylight. The streets were still very busy even at that time. HK really is a 24/7 city.
A fun evening. I was very glad that I went on to the water at about 12 though and only had one more glass of wine at about 4. My head was very thankful the next day. Back at 6am! 
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