Hi All,
This is my review for the Hong Kong add-on to the Roof of the World trip.
There were 4 of us doing this, and we joined up with the Japan tour, the Inspirational China tour and a few people who were doing HK as a city break, so there were 22 of us all together. Sarah Wrightson was our TM, and was superb - we were issued with HK maps immediately, and she had already highlighted places of interest on them, for us. The Kowloon Hotel is well located, but enormous, and very busy. Some of us had rather small double rooms, and if your case opened out sideways (which mine does) it was a bit of an obstacle course to get around your room. Also, it took half an hour for most of us to work out how to turn the room lights off (they are on the far side of the bed, to the right!). Plugs are British 3 pin. There is no porterage when you leave the hotel, so you have to take your own case down.
Hong Kong is very, very busy. Full of skyscrapers, designer shops and sadly very little of the "old" HK left. I have never been in a city where there is so much money in evidence!
The first evening we went out for an included dinner - great if you like jellyfish! A lot of restaurants seem to have their air conditioning turned up very high (hence quite of few of us had colds from Tibet/China!) but the view outside the restaurant (much warmer) was worth it.
The next day was an included half day tour. Victoria Peak by funicular railway - great views, but another shopping mall at the top! A gentle sampan cruise around Aberdeen Harbour (this is where the millionaires keep their yachts!) and Stanley Market. The afternoon is at leisure, and I can thoroughly recommend taking the Star Ferry (15p if you are of a certain age!) for a trip across the harbour. Unless you want to do some serious shopping, avoid Harbour City which is again a massive shopping mall. We had great trouble trying to find somewhere to have a coffee/tea - eventually found one - £4.50 coffee, £5 tea!! Top tip, the hotel serves Illy coffee and a lot cheaper (they do good roast beef sandwiches too!). HK at night is quite impressive, and we went down to see the "light show" on the harbour. Dinner is at your own expense - I can recommend the Carpaccio Italian restaurant, but HK is not cheap - a plain lasagne and a bottle of Peroni beer - £22!
The optional excursion to Lantau Island was wonderful. A ferry trip of about an hour. A green island without the crowds (apart from around the Giant Buddha!). A traditional fishing village, where we were lucky to see the "Dragon Race boats" preparing for their races, super scenery, and a very good vegetarian lunch in the monastery. The evening was a Harbour cruise with free booze! If you like your G & Ts strong, this is for you! An included dinner at a restaurant at The Peak - excellent steak, but be aware of the beer prices (not included) - they tried to charge me £11 for a large beer! Temple Street market ended the day - not that impressed, rather a lot of tat!
As there were 4 different groups on this trip, we all left the hotel at different times for our various flights back to the UK the following morning.
In summary, it was good to see HK, but I personally much preferred Singapore (although I am slightly biased as I spent part of my childhood there!). It was just too busy for me, and too modern.
Cheers,
Hils
