Thursday 11 to Tuesday 16 November – Hong Kong: Concrete jungle where dreams are made

It was time to go slightly off the backpackers' trail by visiting Hong Kong. Matt and I had good reason to go there – Matt's oldest brother Michael is currently living and working there. Initially we were not sure we would make it due to the flight prices, but fortunately good old AirAsia had a deal on which meant we managed to get there from Bangkok for a very reasonable price.

We decided to visit for a long weekend, however we managed to fit so much in it felt like far longer. We certainly made the most of our time in Hong Kong, although I am certain there is still so much of it to see.

Michael lives on Hong Kong island, so we were centred around there and spent much of our time on the island. We stayed with Michael, and he kindly gave us his really rather comfortable bed. Initially we thought we would be staying in Michael's old studio apartment, which would have been rather cosy to say the least. After popping over the apartment during our stay and seeing the curtain which separated the bathroom, I sure was pleased that Michael had moved only a few days prior to our visit!

Our first full day in Hong Kong provided one of the highlights of the trip. Whilst in Hong Kong we spent a lot of time with Michael's lovely girlfriend Sandy, who was not only a lot of fun to be around, but also a great tour guide. It was decided that on the first day we would go to the Big Budha by cable car. It was a lovely day, and upon arriving at the start of the cable car we were gobsmacked by the length of the queue. It would have taken at least two hours to get to the front. Fortunately for us, one of Sandy's best friends worked at the cable car, and we not only got to skip the entire queue (much to the disgust of everyone in the queue!), but we also got to go on one of the 'Crystal' cable cars, which has a clear floor.

The view from the cable car was amazing. You go incredibly high over Hong Kong, and can see so much of it. I was a little alarmed when Sandy told me that one of the cars fell off a few years ago, but once I managed to push that from my mind I thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights. I would highly recommend doing this to anyone visiting Hong Kong – I would argue that it is better than the Big Budha itself!

One of the other highlights of Hong Kong was the food. Again, I think we have Sandy to thank for this. Throughout our trip we have tried tasting all the local foods. This doesn't prove easy when you can't speak the local language (and the words aren't even familiar looking as they are in say France or Gemany) and are stuck eating at places with a picture or English menu. As Sandy is a Hong Kong native we didn't have any problems with this, and we got to enjoy some delicious Chinese food. I particularly enjoyed our traditional dim sum breakfast, however we didn't have a bad meal in Hong Kong. There is such a variety of food at a variety of different prices, it was hard to eat badly.

Matt and I managed to fit in all the usual tourist attractions in Hong Kong. We watched the light show (not sure I “got it”), went up the peak tram for a spectacular view of Hong Kong, and even went to Ocean Park, Hong Kong's theme park. Ocean Park was a great day. It certainly isn't up to scratch with the Thorpe Park or Alton Towers, but it had some cracking rollercoasters next to the ocean. I also enjoyed seeing the pandas, and the very rare red pandas, both so very cute.

My most random spot in Hong Kong happened on Sunday. Michael had told me about the Filipino maids in Hong Kong; they tend to all have Sunday off, and meet in various locations over Hong Kong to eat, do each other's nails and generally chat. Whilst the others were resting, I decided to head to the HSBC tower, the most notorious spot for the maids meeting. Well, seeing is truly believing in this case, and I don't think I can put into words what it looks like! On every spare piece of concrete there were Filipino maids, all surrounded by make shirt cardboard box walls, doing all sorts of things. It was completely surreal, and something that anyone in Hong Kong on a Sunday should witness.

I think the ultimate highlight of my trip was the Lan Kwai Fong carnival. Matt and I had wandered through the carnival earlier in the day, and we suggested to Sandy and Michael that we checked it out in the evening. What started with a yard of beer each ended up being a really good night, and it didn't end at the carnival. I think perhaps the evening took a turn for the worst when Michael suggested playing Mallet's Mallet, and many hours later it ended with Michael cutting Matt's hair... I think Matt has learnt a valuable lesson there. Indeed, bye bye mohawk, hello skin head! Don't ask me how it happened, Sandy and I were fast asleep!

Hong Kong truly is a phenomenal city. I prefer it to Singapore as it has slightly more personality. Like Singapore, everything works perfectly. Everything is so smooth and slick, and there are Western expats everywhere, most likely drawn by the low tax rate. The buildings are tall, the people live a life of luxury, and designer shops are everywhere. By the end of my trip, Chanel seemed more common to me than Primark. I can see why people would want to move there.

Overall though, as far as mega cities go, I think my heart still lies in London. Yes, most of the underground doesn't have airconditioning, it breaks down all the time and you can't use your phone on it. But on the other hand, some parts of our underground are well over 100 years old and every station has character. We also have the West End, a wide variety of cultural influences and some cracking food. This isn't the time for me to list why I love London, more to say that although Singapore and Hong Kong work perfectly, I still prefer London. We'll see if I am still saying that in a few years' time though...

So, to end, a great time was had in Hong Kong. Thanks again to Michael and Sandy for their outstanding hospitality and generosity. It wouldn't have been the same trip without them, and I am extremely grateful.

Time now to move on the north of Thailand, should probably decide how we are going to get there...