Rachel Saves the Day
Hong Kong: 26th September


I woke up rather late today, my first lie in in what feels like forever. I slept until 10:30 but I didn’t have to check out until midday. My plan is to spend the morning chilling, getting ready and maybe get a VPN for China if I need one and, if I do, which one. This accommodation is far from impressive but, damn, do they have good WiFi. After getting showered and changed I spend most of the morning between researching VPNs, downloading stuff to watch on my iPad and phone (including the whole first season of F1 Drive to Survive, recommend to me by new friends India) and doing software updates on everything. I am loving the quick WiFi; the downloads and updates are a breeze however I am struggling on deciding which VPN to use. That is when I remember Rachel. A friend I made in Morocco earlier this year; she is a teacher who lives all over the world teaching in international schools and she did a stint in Hong Kong. Why don’t I ask her! She does not disappoint, recommending a service she still uses to this day to watch Strictly Come Dancing no matter where she finds herself in the world. Not only do I get a recommendation I get a referral code to save us both three months on our subs. Turns out I used the free trial at some point in the past so the code gets us f’all but I still very much appreciate it.
Next I have another ask of Rachel; what should I do in Hong Kong to kill a day and once again I get a message with a load of recommendations. Trying to save money due to the oncoming expense of optional activities I am expecting on this tour, I opt for the free ones. So having checked out and dropped my bag at the Yesinn hostel, the starting accommodation of the tour, I head to the water front for the Avenue of Stars. To be honest I enjoyed the walk through town and the view of Hong Kong Island a lot more than I did the stars. A few statues and hand prints of many famous people I am unaware of doesn’t really keep my attention, but I do enjoy doing some people watching and enjoy the boats going to and from Kowloon and HK island. As I wander back to the hostel I stop by another of Rachel’s recommendations, the Temple Market. Unfortunately I think I turned up too early with most of the stalls either just opening up or completely shut down. Luckily for me I accidentally wandered into a few other markets in the area and was still able to enjoy the views and smells of the different food stalls before heading back to the hostel. Once checked in I spent the afternoon in the hostel relaxing and preparing to meet the group for the customary welcome dinner.


Oh wait, DragonTrip don’t do that. The ‘1st day of the tour’ doesn’t even include meeting the group for dinner. Luckily I noticed this and message the other Tom and ask if he wants to accompany me to Ink, a waterfront restaurant recommended by Rachel. So once rested and both checked in, we go for another stroll through town to the waterfront and find the restaurant. It is lovely and the views are amazing. The waterfront is lit up at night with bright lights from the skyscrapers on both sides of the water. In the water itself a fun mix of modern and traditional boats are doing runs between Kowloon and HK island. After our meal Tom and I decide to go for a walk in town and have a drink.








My Moroccan mate, Rachel
Bruce Lee, on the Avenue of Stars
After wandering around the streets of Hong Kong for roughly 20 minutes we realise we should probably just google bars in the area and find there is one just down the street from us. In what I will come to learn is common in this city of high-rises and skyscrapers, the bar is up some stairs and not very well signposted. We get to the bar at roughly 8pm and it is dead; the only people here are a young girl and what I assume is her father eating dinner and the waitress/barmaid that greets us. Nonetheless we walk in and sit down at a table for a drink. The waitress asked if we would “like some Thai”. Having just eaten we decline and order some beers.
As the night progresses Tom and I realise something, Thai, didn’t refer to food. We have walked into a karaoke bar where men pay by the hour to have attractive young Thai women sit and keep them company. It takes us a while and an awkward conversation with one of the now three waitresses to realise this. The waitress laughs with me when I ask why people would be willing to have people sit at their tables and drink the alcohol they have paid for and also pay £50 an hour for the privilege. She seems as dumbfounded as me. Tom and I can’t help but stay and have more beers watching this scene in the same way we would watch a David Attenborough documentary – with pure fascination. Luckily the waitress, who I think appreciates having two men that aren’t here for the woman and just beer, kindly teaches us two dice games we see everyone playing. Tom and I struggle to get to grips with the complicated one so we end the night enjoying our beers while he thrashes me at dice. We also enjoy watching men do terrible Karaoke and pay to have women sit with them and pretend to be their friends or girlfriends. I still don’t get it but I am scared to ask anyone else at this point! Anyway we head to bed confused but looking forward to the start of our tour tomorrow!
Hong Kong waterfront at night
(click on the top right hand icon)
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