香港, Hong Kong (again!)

... However after seeing on the news that some flights had been effected by the Typhoon, we checked our flight to see if it was cancelled. Unfortunately it was and we had to ring Hong Kong Airlines to find out more. I was on hold for nearly 30 mins but once I finally got through they were really helpful. The good news they could reschedule of flight for free, bad news it wouldn't be for another 3 days!

Crap! we needed to find somewhere to stay fast! and in a city which is renown for having the most expensive accommodation. By this point we had already checked out but we needed to use the internet so we settled down on the floor (as it was the only place we could sit) and started searching. Luckily it was throwing it down outside so we didn't mind being inside. After 3 hours of searching we finally settled on an hotel, hoping it would be nice as the Typhoon warning had been given category 1 (which is the lowest, we only had to start being concerned if it got to 8 or higher) and if it got higher we may have to stay in. The rain still coming down hard we decided to get a taxi to our next hotel which was still on Hong Kong island but a few metro stops away.

We arrived at The Mingle on the Wing http://www.mingleplace.com/wing/hotel_concept.html and I wasn't so sure about it as it was quiet expensive and in need of TLC. It may have been because we had such a nice place at YWCA. By this time it was about 4pm so we dumped our bags and went to Causeway Bay in search of food and a belt for Nick. The hotel by this point had taped up their windows and put a sign saying the Typhoon was at category 4. We ended up eating Japanese in one of the department stores which was surprisingly nice and we were given a discount! Deciding we were going to head back as it was really windy and raining, we soon discovered the Typhoon category had risen to 8! However no one seemed concerned and were going about their business as usual. We on the other hand went back, via Starbucks again and settled into a room to watch a movie. The hotel was fab as it had all the latest films for free on demand which was perfect as we had to stay in for a while.

After a very rainy and windy night we woke to discover that the typhoon had actually swerved away from Hong Kong during the night so apart from being covered in mist the city appeared to be back to normal. We had another very lazy morning waiting for the rain to stop before walking the 100 metres to the Western Market; an indoor Edwardian style market housed in a redbrick which was a former Shipping Office http://www.westernmarket.com.hk where we picked up some "breakfast". The Western Market looks surprising out of place, as it's the smallest building in the area at 3 stories high and is surrounded by high rise buildings. Inside it has a very british feel even having a red telephone box but the shops are full of tacky souvenirs and bakeries. The next floor is more interesting as it's full of fabric stalls all the way round, wear you can buy fabric in inches and yards and can buy every kind of fabric imaginable at a great price and quality. The top floor houses a restaurant which looks set up for a wedding and looks expensive.

From here we decided to walk a little further to the Golden Bauhinia Sculpture a symbol of the handover of Hong Kong back to China. The walk ended up being further then we thought as we went the long way round! While walking we could see lots of debris from that night with some area's blocked off while they cleared the paths and the lovely skyline now looked very foggy. Now it was time for a spot of shopping as this is really the reason to come to Hong Kong, you can get everything cheaper as you don't have to pay the tax! Deciding the shopping was better in Kowloon we took the famous star ferry over to the island, this is actually cheaper then the Metro and quicker at 2.50 HKD (20p!!) Heading for one of the colossal shopping malls which did the cheaper brands we settled in for shopping, coffee, dinner and a quick stop at the night markets again before getting the ferry back to Hong Kong island.

The last day was very much a lazy day, with breakfast on the harbour, a stop at the post office and wrecky for the airport bus stop. It was actually quiet nice to chill out and not feel that we should be sight seeing every second.

The last morning again started off slow with a lay-in, a spot of packing a stop for brunch and then off to the airport to finally start our journey into South East Asia.