So the final stop on the Wirld tour was to the lovely city of Hong Kong. Having blown most of our cash over the past year, it felt like being a 14 year old during you summer holidays with only pocket money to your name. See how we got on.
Hong Kong
After an awesome flight on Emirates which was like a flying Marriot hotel, we landed safely in HK at 5pm. Immigration was simple and once we had our bags we got the bus to the city centre to find somewhere to stay. As Hostelworld had said that the majority of hostels were in an area called Chunking Mansions, we decided to head that direction. Little did we know that the Mansion is an infamous 18 story building where you get offered drugs every 2 minutes. Perfect! After being harassed by about 10 Indian men to stay at their hostel, we managed to get a triple room. So we dropped the bags and headed out for some dinner before hitting the hay as we were a bit wrecked.
Hong Kong
After an awesome flight on Emirates which was like a flying Marriot hotel, we landed safely in HK at 5pm. Immigration was simple and once we had our bags we got the bus to the city centre to find somewhere to stay. As Hostelworld had said that the majority of hostels were in an area called Chunking Mansions, we decided to head that direction. Little did we know that the Mansion is an infamous 18 story building where you get offered drugs every 2 minutes. Perfect! After being harassed by about 10 Indian men to stay at their hostel, we managed to get a triple room. So we dropped the bags and headed out for some dinner before hitting the hay as we were a bit wrecked.
We were up mid-morning the following day for some breakfast and to walk around the town. We made it down to the promenade for the view of the skyscrapers and the Avenue of the Stars before the skies opened and we were washed back to the hotel room for the afternoon. Once it dried up a jog was on the cards along the harbour which was nice for the 10 minutes it lasted. In need of some protein we hit up a very nice local restaurant called McDonalds as it was the cheapest thing you can get in the city. It was a Friday night and all was kicking off but we decided to save money for the Saturday night for our send off. So we just strolled the promenade to get some night photos and then headed back to the ranch.
We were up early the next day, grabbed some brekkie and went straight to the metro to go to Lantau Island to visit the big Buddha statue. After an hour travelling we got there but couldn’t see too much as the clouds covered the statue completely. But it was still nice to see the monastery and the view from the top. In the afternoon we checked out the Ladies Market back in the city before grabbing some dinner. For our last night we met up with a friend of mine Kilian, whom now lives in Hong Kong, for some pre-drinks before heading out to the party district Lan Kwai Fong for a class night. The street is just packed with people drinking in the bars and more importantly on the streets…knacker drinking!
We woke up severely hungover the next day so productivity was at an all-time low! We spent the day moping around and munching on fast food. We finally ventured out in the evening time for some Indian food. I made the schoolboy error of asking for a spicy vindaloo. I couldn’t eat a morsel it was so hot. Poor choice. On the way back we did a little bit of Irish dancing in the street before retiring for our last sleep over together a group. Sad times.
We checked out the following morning and got the Star Ferry across to HK Island and then the bus up to the famous Peak lookout point. The views from the top were pretty amazing but the lookout itself has been made into a shopping centre so have your wallet at the ready! We moseyed on back to the hotel in the late afternoon before grabbing the last supper together at another Indian restaurant. Lesson learned this time! We picked up our bags, hopped on the bus to the airport and were on the way to the UK for a night stopover before making for Dublin.
We woke up severely hungover the next day so productivity was at an all-time low! We spent the day moping around and munching on fast food. We finally ventured out in the evening time for some Indian food. I made the schoolboy error of asking for a spicy vindaloo. I couldn’t eat a morsel it was so hot. Poor choice. On the way back we did a little bit of Irish dancing in the street before retiring for our last sleep over together a group. Sad times.
We checked out the following morning and got the Star Ferry across to HK Island and then the bus up to the famous Peak lookout point. The views from the top were pretty amazing but the lookout itself has been made into a shopping centre so have your wallet at the ready! We moseyed on back to the hotel in the late afternoon before grabbing the last supper together at another Indian restaurant. Lesson learned this time! We picked up our bags, hopped on the bus to the airport and were on the way to the UK for a night stopover before making for Dublin.
Although we only had 4 days in Hong Kong, it was clear that’s it a cool and fun place to live. The weather didn’t do us any favours but we could definitely see ourselves stopping off here in the future (once AIB approve the loan). Thanks to Kilian for showing us around town and to the crazy Indian drug sellers who just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Persistence. I admire that.
See you all soon,
The Lads
See you all soon,
The Lads
