It’s our first visit to Hong Kong and we have no real sense of what to expect.

An hour in the cab and we are at our hotel. Thanks to Tablet we have an upgrade to a delightful room that comes compete with our very own dwarves.

How can you not like a room that comes with dwarves?

It’s hot and it’s sticky outside a far cry from the weather we’ve left in Adelaide and we are tired from our 3.30am start, necessary to make our 6.30am flight. I am no longer used to the crack of dawn flights that were very much part of my work routine. Still all those flights do mean that I have earned lifetime membership of One World and access to the Lounge at 5am is welcome.

As we set off from our hotel we decide that rather than heading to the night markets we decide to walk the few blocks to Time Square. This takes us through one of the local markets that as we become aware are everywhere in Hong Kong, as are the shopping malls that are filled with high end retail sores. They provide an opportunity for some window shopping but we are just  exhausted from our very early start and so pack it in and have an early dinner at a local restaurant across from our hotel where the dumplings are delightful.

You can never have enough socks!

We are back in our room in time to watch the second half of the AFL first semi final – Geelong beat Sydney comfortably meaning that my team, The Adelaide Crows will play Geelong next Friday night for the right to play in the AFL Grand Final. I have already worked out that the timing of the football will be when we are on a ferry in the Orkneys. I doubt we will be able to watch the game live but we might be able to watch a replay on the AFL Watch App assuming we have reasonable wifi at our B&B.

After a good night’s sleep we have a few hours before meeting friends who moved to Hong Kong a few years ago. I found a website that made some suggestions on what to do in a morning in Hong Kong and it suggested taking a ride on the double-decker tram and paying a visit to Hollywood Road and take in the shops. It all makes sense as this will head us very much in the direction of our friends’ apartment in the Midlevel.

Hollywood Road is pretty ordinary apart from the black sesame tea we buy from a local street vendor and a walk we take through another of the markets, so we continue up the escalator to the Botanic Gardens and Zoo which conveniently are on the same level as our friend’s apartment. The escalator makes the trip up the steep hill bearable on a hot and sticky morning.

The Botanic Gardens provide a respite from the heat of the day and the zoo although small is definitely worth the visit. Continue reading →