It’s my golden birthday!

On Saturday, I ventured out into the extreme humidity that is Chinese summer and had some dumplings for lunch, before walking to Starbucks, where I met Brooke and Marie. They were a bit later arriving than me and I found us a table. What I didn’t realise in China, is that reserving two empty chairs is a complete mission, and you have to be on a constant look out for a nippy Chinese person looking to either pinch one or sit down at one. I’d say at least half of the people on the outdoor terrace weren’t even customers of Starbucks, and just wanted a quick rest / sleep before heading elsewhere. This definitely wouldn’t happen in England!

We spent a couple of hours chatting and people watching, and saw a young boy walk out proudly with an ice-cream cone only to bump into a chair and lose the entire ice-cream section. I think he really enjoyed eating just a cone! I also enjoyed the amount of slogan t-shirts that were sported by people walking by, my particular favourites being ‘Don’t cry and get upset, say F you and smile’ and also a couple with the boy wearing ‘Basketball is my girlfriend’ and girl, ‘Basketball is my boyfriend’. Wow.

Celebrating Norway day 

Our dinner that evening was at an Indian restaurant named ‘Cacaja’ and it was incredible. Marie, Brooke and I were far too excited and ordered most of the menu. I then ate myself into a food coma with korma, chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, rice, pakoras and other delicious things. Of course, after every Indian meal, you should always try and use a squat toilet. It didn’t go well for me and after first accidentally entering the men’s, I then proceeded to wee all over my open-toe sandals. They were disinfected within an inch of their lives as soon as I got home (although I don’t know why I bother as I probably step in street urine on a daily basis).

Waiting for our food

The best meal ever

Inside Cacaja restaurant

On Sunday, my plan was to have a relatively decent lie-in before teaching in the afternoon and evening. Oh no, cue 7.30am drilling from the apartment directly below me. And when I say drilling, I mean the sort that is so loud I couldn’t hear my tutoring kids ring the doorbell, and my bed was actually vibrating. Luckily, the parents helped me complain about these 10 hours of hell (plus the same on Thursday and Friday) and hopefully, they’ll schedule their drilling for slightly later in the day.

I was near enough dead by the time 4pm rolled around and my teaching started, but I managed to coerce myself into an excited state to perform all the essentials e.g. ‘Heads, Shoulders Knees and Toes’ and ‘Hokey Cokey’. The children and I were practically napping by the time the class ended and their parents ended up carrying them down the stairs. My bad. Onto the adults teaching and 2 hours of listening to Chinese people speak English sounds really easy, but I’m so used to Chinglish now, that I forget what is grammatically correct and what isn’t. I particularly enjoyed one man using ‘conservation’ instead of ‘conversation’ for the entire evening, despite my attempts to correct him. Therefore, he was protecting anything and everything!

Monday mornings are so difficult to wake up for, but I had a cunning plan. The plan involved 1 hour and 30 magical minutes of Shrek the movie. Perfect timing, the students absolutely loved it (although they laughed at all the wrong times, which in turn made me laugh) and I got all my grading finished. Hoorah for productive lessons. I came home and enjoyed the golden silence of no drilling during the lunch break, but as soon as it started up again (how many tiles are there in a bathroom, I mean seriously?!) I headed over to Dean’s empty apartment and chilled whilst he was at work.

It was unusually quiet and I managed a whole movie without somebody using an electrical appliance of some sort in the neighbouring apartments. Let me give an example of my usual noise level – I have drilling downstairs, a karaoke machine above me, music to the left and music combined with constant chopping to my right. I can safely report that the man on karaoke is horrendous and the chopping hasn’t yet produced a meal, that I have been given to eat. Therefore, these sounds need to stop immediately.

Tuesday was supposed to be a day full of culture with Brooke, but it turned into a scenic ride along line 2 on the subway instead. We met at Hongshan and immediately found a Starbucks and so naturally, that was our first stop of the day. The plan was then to go and explore round that area but on emerging from the subway, we found a park and lots of buildings with not much else to see. The park itself was quite nice (although the water feature had no water so total disappointment). It did however, have the shiniest water fountains I have ever seen, because when leaving the subway you must get a drink. After our ten-minute park tour we headed to Fanhu.

Hongshan Square

The depressing buildings

At least the water fountains were shiny...

I had read online that the Wuhan museum was supposedly nearby but it was a disaster. We emerged to a completely undeveloped area with lots of workmen sitting under trees and in their vans having lunch. Not exactly an ideal location for a museum. It was ridiculously humid and we couldn’t find this museum (probably been demolished for apartments, knowing China) and decided to head back the other way and hopefully back to civilisation. Our next stop of choice was Baotong Temple but I definitely wasn’t climbing a temple in the heat. Instead, we browsed shops, ate a McDonald’s and then went our separate ways. I spent the evening relaxing in my lovely cool apartment. What an uncultured day we had!

Very unimpressed by Fanhu

 On Wednesday, I happily dragged myself to class, knowing that Shrek the movie would be enough entertainment and I could do my work. I then had to try and get a reference number for my flight home (easier said than done as they don’t exist in China). Janet initially thought that the number was my passport number .....it includes letters!? Anyway, I think I have one and so trotted off to Rosa coffee at Zhongnan Road, and waited for Brooke and Paul to join me. We were supposed to meet Marie and then go explore Hankou but this didn’t happen so instead we ended up having lunch nearby before finding the draw of an air-conditioned mall far too exciting.

What are we doing?!

On one of the floors was a North Face shop, and next to it was an area set up to be like a campsite, with a tent, table, chairs and even a disposable BBQ. We decided to play camping for a good 20 minutes (this included playing in the tent and using the blankets), whilst a crowd of Chinese shop assistants gathered. Eventually, somebody who spoke English was called to tell us that we couldn’t be here, at which point, Brooke proceeded to ask how much the chairs were. The woman actually ran off to check and we scarpered quickly!

Getting the blanket out

Relaxing in my tent

Anyone for a drink?

After all this excitement, we all travelled home and then I went to drink cocktails for the entire afternoon with Dean. By 8pm I was pretty tipsy and ended up going for dinner (where a child was walking precariously close to our table with two badminton rackets the entire time) and then onto Radio Rock for a few more drinks. I can’t handle my alcohol anymore as I was home in bed by 11.30pm. I’m so rock and roll.

Before things went downhill

The next day wasn’t exactly productive as I slept until midday before finally, summoning the energy to do something with my day. I did however, salvage the remainder of my day by cleaning and batch cooking my final set of foods before coming home. It’s like a food countdown – once the freezer is empty I can leave! I also got my dates wrong and thought I had tutoring, when in fact I didn’t so it was another excuse for me to get back into bed and relax.

After finishing my classes on Friday, I met Dean and he bought me a Burger King as an early birthday treat. We also got some delicious mango smoothies, which came with no lid, so I had to balance myself on the back on the moped with a smoothie in each hand for the ride back! It was a risky time for all involved. We ate our amazing food and watched a film before I headed home to nap before my birthday night out commenced. I turned up at Dean’s house later on and soon after, everyone else started arriving for pre-drinks. We played this game where you stick a card to your head and have to ask questions about (probably has a proper name but I don’t know it). I also had this vile drink, that sadly I’d made myself, so I definitely wasn’t having that and we headed out to Radio Rock instead.

Before we headed inside the bar, Will and Olivi wanted to get a very late dinner so I joined them and had some rice. Olivi was so drunk that he could barely use his chopsticks, so I pretty much had to feed him peppers and aubergines! It was very funny. We got to the bar and everyone was there. Literally, the whole population in Wuhan that I know were in the bar. I got bought many drinks as the birthday girl and we counted down to midnight before dancing with a group of random people – what an excellent start to my 23^rd. I went home earlyish and got a good sleep, ready for the next day.

Pre-drinks!

Excellent photography skills by the Chinese lady

Hating all the tequila in my drinks

Unbelievably, I woke up on Saturday morning at 7.30am, hungover-free and wide awake. It was a complete miracle but I wasn’t wasting my day in bed. Instead, I got up and after a highly nutritious breakfast of rainbow cookies (all the e numbers), I opened my cards and presents, although I’m still waiting on lots more from people because China takes 10 years to deliver mail! I got ready and headed out to meet Brooke at Starbucks. I arrived to find a present and drink waiting for me, which was obviously the best thing ever and so my day was already off to a good start.

We both headed up to China Normal University (yes, that is its real name) and met Marie and Carley, before heading to an international culture festival on campus. It was super busy and crazy, but I had a fabulous time eating Vietnamese spring rolls, getting a Yemen sticker on my arm and visiting the inside of a yurt from Mongolia. However, there were definitely countries there that I’d never even heard of, I’m sure some were made-up! My favourite part was how they spelt my country – United Kingdon....oh the shame. I had to pretend to be from somewhere else!

Culture festival entrance

Nobody turned up from America - it was a sad day

Fabulous spelling...

The festival was ridiculously busy

Some form of band playing (not sure which country)

Oh the irony...

Tucking in to potato salad and chicken from Rwanda

 After our snacks from around the world, we were obviously starving, so headed to meet Paul and grab some lunch. I had this delicious pak choi, spicy cabbage and rice meal and felt very virtuous for all the vegetables (we won’t mention the apple pie that happened later on). Our adventurous day then took us to Fuxinglu station, where there was supposedly a park. In China, you take the mention of a park with a pinch of salt, as a park on the map is usually 16 apartment blocks on close inspection, but this park was real. It was a very quiet, rather beautiful park with some gorgeous views and we just wandered round and relaxed. Brooke did bring her badminton set but despite the best of intentions, it remained firmly inside the bag. The walking was enough for us!

At the park

Attempting the titanic pose

Having a rest

Paul wasn't overly pleased!

I didn't want to come down

After a very chilled afternoon, we headed back on the subway for some dinner at Grandma’s Kitchen. It’s a western-style restaurant with THE BEST burgers and I had to have one, even though it took four napkins to cover up all of my white top in case of spillage. The things I do for fashion. Anyway, we had some delicious food and then desserts before saying goodbye and all heading home. It had been a pretty full on day for everyone, so I came back to Skype my family, before crawling into bed and watching a film. Overall, it was a very relaxing and sociable birthday and having my 23^rd on the 23^rd (Golden birthday!) in China, is something I won’t forget. 

My amazing spicy burger

Waiting for food at Grandma's kitchen

Why did I choose to go to China anyway?

I get asked this question all the time and I mostly give a vague and ambiguous answer, and mixed in with a few correctly positioned shrugs, it usually satisfies the person asking the question. But, really, when thinking about it, I haven’t sat down and thought about why I made the decision, so I’m going to attempt to do this in this week’s entry.

It is a well believed theory that you go abroad because you are running away from something or running towards something. Back in England, I have an amazing family and group of friends, my qualifications are up to date and I enjoy living in Lincoln. So I must have been running towards something – change. As a military child, it was a common occurrence to up-sticks and move on an annual basis. Therefore, it made me able to adapt to new places, countries and languages relatively quickly. And yes, even though I’d nipped to Chester for three years to do my degree, I was bored of the routine of daily life and needed new experiences to fulfil me. Hartsholme Park and Daisy Maid weren’t exciting anymore.

I always wanted to travel, but in reality, sleeping in hostels and working on a banana farm just isn’t me. I need my own space and a relatively stable job otherwise panic mode sets in because I will obviously run out of money in thirty seconds. China offered me my own apartment and a one year contract for a teaching job. A safe and secure lifestyle was a definite. Also, most people thought I was crazy for leaving the country as soon as I became a qualified teacher, but for me, it’s been the best decision. What happened if I got a job at an amazing school that I never wanted to leave? Who knows if I could have travelled after starting off my career. Better to complete the gap year before grown-up life commenced.

So why China, out of all the other countries? China has an intense fascination with anything English, so factor in my English degree, teaching qualification and a holder of a British passport and they were practically wetting themselves with excitement. The pay isn’t as good as other countries but the cost of living is ridiculously cheap (hence why most people go looking through my bin bags when I put them out) and I’ve managed to save money whilst living here. Also, I was offered the job in China. I didn’t have to spend hours scrawling the internet looking for jobs; unbelievably, the job offer fell into my mail inbox.

The fact that I couldn’t speak Chinese didn’t scare me; I was excited to learn a new language and culture. And I’ve accomplished that. Did you know that you shouldn’t place your chopsticks facing down into the bowl? And I bet you didn’t realise that greeting a shopkeeper that you don’t know is considered highly offensive. Well neither did I, until time and patience in this fascinating country taught me these things.

I guess what I’m trying to get at is how enriching living abroad really is. China drives me completely insane, makes me howl with laughter and has reduced me to nearly throwing my laptop off the balcony multiple times because of the awful internet speeds but I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else for this year.

With five weeks to go until I’m home (where has the time gone?), I feel ready to come home and start a new chapter of my life but I really am going to miss living in China. Age 23 (well, nearly), with an English degree, teaching qualification and year abroad in China under my belt....who would have thought it ey?....

On a quick note – I haven’t done much as of late because it’s like the Amazon rainforest every time I step outside my apartment. Summer in Britain is definitely more refreshing. However, these are a few highlights of the past two weeks or so.

- Walking along a shopping street with Paul when a Chinese woman runs in front of us and starts snapping pictures on her phone! After telling our new ‘paparazzi friend’ off, we then had a man behind us shouting “Hello!”, which forced Paul into pushing me into the nearest shop. We then had to pretend to be interested in Canon cameras for at least ten minutes, to ensure that the coast was clear.

- Going to Hanyang for the day and ending up having to walk through a half demolished building to reach Walmart. Instead of closing the whole shopping centre, they’re knocking it down bit by bit so that you can still do your weekly shop (with added extras of live wires hanging down and glass all over the floor).

- Doing a presentation about life in England at Mr Mai’s and being asked the most hilarious questions by some Chinese people.

“Does England really hate France?” (Oh France, we just love to hate you!)

“What is a Yorkshire pudding?” (Why are you so hard to explain!?)

“What is there to do in Wales?” (I told them viewing sheep and hills were both possibilities)

“Do all the countries in Britain like each other?” (Scotland made that much more awkward).

- Realising how little people care about inconveniencing your day. Had no water on Tuesday for the whole day and you can’t drink tap water. So instead of the maintenance guy trying to fix the problem, I saw him playing a few rounds of badminton with the security guard. Brill – no water and the possibility of being burgled but a free badminton match for me to enjoy. Also, there seems to be some sort of DIY going on in the flat below me, and so I would expect there to be workmen here Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, you know, the usual working hours. Oh no, every day this last week, there has been drilling, banging, shouting from 6am! 6am. GIVE.ME.STRENGTH. 

OH CHINA.......

Eat, sleep, sightsee, repeat!

I needed a break, I really did. I bet you’re all thinking “why on earth does she need a break when she lives in a foreign country and only works 12 hours a week?”. It’s because China is such an exhausting city to live in, from the people constantly staring to the non-stop horns on vehicles and any form of transport is always chocker. It’s a very intense environment and stepping off the mad hamster wheel for a few days was exactly what I needed.

Hong Kong was my saviour of choice. English speaking country, 2 hour flight and a promise of cheap markets and incredible views sold it to me and I wasn’t disappointed. I think if I were to go and teach abroad again I would definitely opt for Hong Kong. It has all the pros of China and non of the cons and with the addition of Marks and Spencer food courts, Topshop for clothes and escalators where people duly queue on one side, it feels like a sub-tropical Britain.

I went with Brooke and we arrived really late on Monday night, so our bus into the city was a bit disappointing as we saw absolutely nothing. Also, it was about 10 billion degrees and the humidity levels of the Amazon, so thank goodness our room had air con! We stayed in a complete ghetto area of Mong Kok (no biggy because I live in a ghetto in Wuhan too) and our room was tiny but clean and cool so I was sold. Our man spoke English and even booked our ferry tickets for us, because foreigners can’t be trusted with booking tickets, apparently. Anyway, it was around 1am by the time we were showered and in bed so falling asleep with all the lights and market noise proved easier than expected – I literally can sleep anywhere now after my time in China. Turbulence on the plane – no problem, landing into Hong Kong – easy, bumpy bus ride – simple.

Just a little nap before leaving China (you can tell I was still in Wuhan at this point)

Mongkok

Mongkok - the most populated area in the world

On Tuesday we woke up to grey and worrying weather but it soon turned hot and sunny – too much so for my liking! Definitely kept nipping in and out of the gift shops all day for a quick use of their fans and air con. We had bought ourselves Octopus cards (the British equivalent of Oyster cards) and were soon navigating the subway like a pro all the way to Lantau Island. Here, we walked up to the cable car terminus (catchy name of Ngong Ping 360) and despite pre-booking tickets, had to wait a fair while. I entertained myself with guessing where people were from and giving dagger eyes to the screaming child. I won.

Waiting for the cable car

Let's pre-book tickets and still queue....

Finally, we made it into a cable car with a whole family from Malaysia and they duly started taking a photo shoot of us (this time it was agreed and on our camera!). Actually, in the whole 5 days spent in Hong Kong, we must have had only 3 people ASK (I know, it’s a shocker) for photos and when we politely declined, because they usually asked when I was a sweaty, hot mess from climbing thousands of steps to see a Buddha, they graciously walked away. Take note China.

View of Lantau Island

On the cable car

Unbelievably clear water

The cable car ride was fantastic for the views of Lantau Island and eventually, we arrived into Ngong Ping village ready to explore. An obligatory subway sandwich later and we were climbing up to see the biggest Buddha in the world. I was seriously impressed with how stunning it and the surrounding views were and also how peaceful everywhere seemed. A monk was leading a procession of people around the Buddha to pray and I really wanted to join in but the language barrier seemed rather problematic.

Hey Buddha

Big Buddha

Monk procession

We visited the Po Lin monastery and had a nice rest in the grounds while watching the daily lives of monks (nothing much happens) before wandering around the souvenir shops. Now, most of the shops had signs saying ‘no photos’ but I was adamant that a quick snap wouldn’t hurt anyone. One picture taken and I had to quickly run away as the owner got very angry. At least I got my pic!

Breathtaking views of the Po Lin Monastery

So zen

Monks are souvenir shopping

Po Lin Monastery

The illicit photo....

Successful cultural trip over, we headed back to Mong Kok ready to shop at the Ladies Market. I have been to a lot of markets in my time, and this was one of the best for quality and choice. To say I needed nothing, I didn’t do too badly and Brooke bought enough bags for everyone in Hong Kong before we headed to find something delicious to eat for dinner. We found an Indian restaurant nestled amongst the Ladies Market and had some fabulous naan bread, rice and tikka masala cooked by a little, old Indian lady. I don’t actually know if this is true and it was probably a big, burly man, but let’s just stick with my idea.

I don't think I even bothered with a knife and fork

Oh the food...

Post-curry, we were ready to shop again and Brooke had picked up a few Chinese phrases and they went down very well with the stall owners. One very pregnant woman nearly gave birth when Brooke told her the ideal price of the Michael Kors bag that I wanted. Luckily, I got the bag and the baby stayed inside. Eventually, we physically couldn’t carry anything else so we headed back to our hotel for the night.

Somewhere in Mongkok trying to find our hotel...

Ladies Market, Mong Kok

My new fetching loungewear

On Wednesday morning, we had to get up ridiculously early as we were taking the ferry to Macau and it left at 9am. This meant that before 9am, we had to get up, dressed and ready, find breakfast, travel to the ferry terminal and pass through immigration because Macau is a different country. We got to the ferry terminal and to the gates for each boat but three different workers told us three different gates! Luckily, we made friends with this Hong Kong lady, who was on the same ferry, and she helped us make it safely on. The boats themselves look like James Bond boats but they certainly weren’t made for rough waters because I was feeling queasy before we’d even left the harbour.

We were sat on the top floor of the boat and I swear that I saw a Chinese granny use the toilet three times during the trip! It only takes an hour so who knows how many coffees she’d consumed that morning. We made it to Macau and stepping off the boat, the heat completely took my breath away. It was so incredibly warm and humid *bleurgh*. The main languages of Macau are Portuguese and Cantonese so I was pleasantly surprised by how much English everyone spoke over there.

With the help of customer services, we caught a bus to Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro – the main area of Macau – and went to find a café to cool down in for a while. Down this narrow back street with a man drilling up the concrete path whilst having a fag (China flashbacks), we found a lovely café serving ice cold frappes, which was the best thing ever in the heat! These refreshed us enough to walk through Senado Square and head up to see the Ruin’s of St Paul’s. It was actually a very surreal sight, with just one wall left of a whole church.

So Spanish I loved it

Senado Square

The original building

St Paul's ruins

There were people handing out freebies so we kept walking around to get more because I really needed that Macau keyring in the shape of a poker chip (gambling capital of the world FYI) and then after copious amounts of pictures, we headed back into the cooler, cobbled side streets to explore. We found a quaint shop selling very exciting things, but we must have disturbed the woman during her afternoon nap as she seemed to be plucking prices from thin air. £15 for a miniature Buddha....I think not. We made a hasty exit and instead went on a search for some local Portuguese cuisine.

Love my new shopping bag!

After a recommendation from a security guard at a jewellery shop, we found ourselves waiting down a side street with a handful of other people. The restaurant opened its doors at 11.30am and we went inside to a beautiful, small room and ordered fish and pork with rice, and we even got bread with lurpak butter to start. The portions were ginormous! I just about finished my pork but the mountain of rice was too much even for me and we waddled out to walk it off in the sunshine.

Seafood rice

Baked pork and rice - obese portion

We found a small market and there was a stall selling Thai inspired pashminas and loose fitting trousers, which he wouldn’t let me try them on before I bought them. Handing over the equivalent of a fiver, I darted round the corner to try them on over my shorts, much to the amusement of the other shopkeepers. Luckily, they fitted perfectly and I wanted to wear them immediately. Brooke bought a lovely sarong thing and we skipped happily to catch the bus back to the port.

We had booked tickets for the 6pm ferry but we managed to get on an earlier, quieter one and enjoyed the ride back to Hong Kong. We spontaneously decided to head down to Victoria Harbour so that we could watch the sunset and enjoy the light show. Next to the harbour was an art gallery and these amazing little carts with a seating area on the top, which was covered in real grass! It made us feel like we were in the countryside and not minutes from the bustling centre, so we sat there people watching for ages. We walked along Avenue of Stars but had no idea who any of the stars were (Pak Choin?! I swear that’s a vegetable) and took loads of pictures before heading to Spaghetti House for dinner.

Sunbathing in the afternoon

Lounging in my 'garden'

Which way now??

I opted for squid ink spaghetti, which sounds horrible but it just tasted so good with tomatoes and crayfish and scallops. So much seafood, something I’ve missed living inland. Wuhan river fish that tastes like the swamp water it came from....no thanks. We finished our dinner and went back to the harbour, to get a good seat for the light show. What a disappointment! There was a backing track obviously coming from a standard CD player because it was so quiet and just three buildings that occasionally shone a green laser. In the meantime, one other building was having some sort of seizure and not following the music correctly – that was the most entertainment of the whole show.

Spaghetti house

Victoria Harbour at night

Who?!

We headed back to our hotel and chilled out, before deciding at 10pm that we were starving. Again. I ventured out in my pyjamas (and still looked better than many of the catastrophes emerging from the market) and found chilli chips with jalapeno sauce, which is what every sane person should want at that time. Whilst we were waiting, we watched these street performers doing some sort of gymnastic show and to show you how stupid the Chinese are, a woman was so busy on her phone that she fell into the performers and then kicked over their basket of money. To top it off, she stood there whilst her friends scrambled for the change. Luckily, my food was ready at that moment so we scuttled back to enjoy our food before bed.

Thursday was our last full day in Hong Kong *sob sob* and we were determined to make the most of it by heading up Victoria Peak, the highest point in the city. We followed our map to the tram terminus to get our tickets (why do maps not show hills!?) and bought our tickets for later before heading into Central. There was a woman outside the ticket office selling bus tours and Brooke wanted to get a free map off her but she was having none of it (probably because we’d bought tram tickets and had no use for the bus) and so we left empty handed.

The area of Central reminded me of New York, with all the Skyscrapers and posh shops. It also slightly resembled Oxford Street in London as I saw Topshop, Harvey Nichols and Marks and Spencer! We then embarked on the longest escalator from Central to Soho and got to see lots of the city from it. I came across a Marks and Spencer food shop and practically dragged Brooke off the escalator to go inside. After 8 long months, I was reunited with the humble pork pie and it was glorious. I couldn’t even wait to pay and ate it whilst perusing the shop. I had absolutely no shame in paying for the wrapper.

Just popping to Harvey Nichols

These are not just any pork pies, these are M&S pork pies

 My day then got even better, with a visit to an English pub, ‘The Yorkshire Pudding’. This was Brooke’s first experience with English food and we munched our way through Yorkshire puddings and gravy, mushroom soup, and then steak pie with chips and peas and it was amazing. So much pastry in so little time, but hey, it’s practically a food group. We were also people watching whilst eating and saw lots of people heading for the gym and cute school children heading home for lunch in little white uniforms.

Oh Pimms you were delicious

Mushroom soup and a Yorkshire pudding

Steak and Guinness pie with minted peas

Look what I found!

After inducing ourselves into a food coma, we crawled back to the tram terminus and the walk itself was so quiet and peaceful without everyone trying out their horns. We didn’t have to queue and hopped straight on to a tram to go up to the peak. Whilst we were waiting to get on, we met an Engligh guy called Pip who was very cute and saved us a seat in the café when we reached the top. I ended up speaking German to him over an English tea, whilst sat in Hong Kong – bizarre! The peak itself had much more than a viewing tower, and Brooke and I spent all afternoon up there so it was well worth the £8 admission fee. We found a really cheap souvenir shop e.g. ten postcards for a £1 and bought lots of pointless but must-have items before going up to the viewing platform overlooking the city.

The most fantastic view

Pip is in blue on the left....our new best friend

At the peak museum

The view from the peak

The view itself was utterly stunning and I was surprised by how big it looked. We also got to enjoy the view whilst eating dinner at Bubbagumps. This restaurant is based on the Forest Gump movie, and I’ve only been once before but it sells amazing seafood. Still very stuffed from lunch, we shared a starter and a main and all of it was wonderful. On our walk down, Brooke was tempted by a chest of drawers (I’m really not kidding) but I guided her away to get the tram back home. We sadly had to pack and count up our leftover money before I fell asleep for a much needed 11 hours.

Seafood platter and garlic prawns

Friday morning rolled around and we weren’t overly happy about having to leave Hong Kong, but decided that a foot massage would help. We had a flyer with an address on it but navigating Hong Kong is a nightmare and it took us ages to find the place. Eventually, we found it up a set of stairs and we had two men massage our feet and legs....perfect after a city break. Before leaving to go to the airport, we grabbed lunch but on our way to get our cases from the hotel there was a quick rain shower. I was wearing those cheap flip flops that you wander round the pool in so I ended up ice skating back to get my luggage.

Enjoying my massage

I changed my shoes and it stopped raining, so we caught the bus back to the airport and went to have coffee before checking in. Our flight took ages to appear on the screen, making us very anxious but our check-in lady, Ingrid, was adorable and changed our seats for better ones. We were quite happy and skipped away to security, where my bag was searched because I was stupid and had left a bottle of water in there. However, Brooke’s water was absolutely fine in the side of her rucksack and so was my hand sanitiser. Welcome to China where no rules are followed.

Waiting for the train

We wandered around all the shops in departures and even got a train to our gate and were quite excited until we saw that our plane was delayed. By 1 ½ hours! I don’t think any plane ever leaves on time in Asia, because by the time we got off the runway, it was two hours later than it should have been. Thank goodness for free wifi! I was so happy to see my meal arrive on the plane and then had a nap until we landed into soggy and thunderstormy Wuhan. We went straight through immigration and both grabbed taxis home, to sleep after a fantastic week in an amazing city.