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.

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.

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. The monkeys put on quite a show and the birds are very pretty.

From there it’s off to our friends who are surprised we’ve walked from the zoo as the hill to their apartment block is very steep. Perhaps if we’d known that before we might not have taken the walk.

After a cold drink and catch up on what’s been happening to each of our families over the last few years, it’s off to the tram for the ride upto the peak. It’s a pleasant ride with views over the city and harbour. Unfortunately, it’s very hazy so as we walk around the peak the views are limited but still spectacular. It’s about 3.5kms and gives a view of Hong Kong from all angles. The glass of wine and snack after the walk on what is a hot and humid afternoon is refreshing.

Our friends have booked a restaurant with spectacular views and seats that give us front row views of the Hong Kong Light show. To get to Kowloon, we take the Star Ferry across the harbour providing another opportunity to take in the harbour views that make Hong Kong so famous.

Any doubt that purchasing our Octopus Card was a good idea was now dispelled. We’d used it on the double-decker tram rather than fumbling for correct change as we exited. Our Octopus Card meant we’d jumped the ticket queue to get on the tram upto Victoria Peak. And at the ferry terminal it meant just walking on the ferry rather than hunting for a ticket booth.

Our friends made sure we had window seats for the ferry trip and also at the restaurant. As we sat for dinner our friend’s asked a waiter if we might shift to somewhere with an even better and after a few minutes we were shown to a prime viewing spot. Dinner was delightful and had a price tag to match, but it was worth it. Over the two nights we’d experienced some great dumplings at a simple local restaurant and then fine dining at one of Hong Kong’s finer restaurants.

At about 8pm the light show begin. It is a little underwhelming. I think this is because the view across the Barbour to the buildings lit up in their normal fashion is already stunning. After dinner we wander back toward the ferry terminal through some of the markets and onto the harbors edge to just gaze again at the harbor and the city lights. I doubt I’d ever lose my enthusiasm for this view if I saw it every night.

I mentioned to my friends that I’d been to an ATM earlier in the day and that it had dispensed two HK$500 notes rather than something useful and that I’d need change in the morning for our taxi ride back to the airport. No problem my friend said – just go to a local 7-Eleven and buy a bottle of water using a HK$500 note he said. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, I did just that at the harbour one and now had plenty of change for the taxi ride.

As it wasn’t late we decided to check out another of our friend’s local night spots for a night cap on the Island side of Hong Kong. Through what seemed an endless series of malls and walkways we arrived at one of our friend’s local upmarket haunts where I had my first chance to pay for something other than our share of dinner, snatching the drinks bill from my friend before he’d had a chance too.

From there It was back to our friends apartment for a night cap, yes another one, and back to our hotel for our last night in our short stopover on our way to the UK.