Day 1 - 15 hours in Hong Kong

Written by Stephen Hall with Glenn Harris, Matt Irvine & Brad Robson

The 12.05 flight from Perth to Hong Kong arrived just before 8am. Most of us had a decent sleep on the plane so we ready to explore once we reached the runway. With 15 hours to burn in Hong Kong we left our carry on luggage at the airport and set off to a nearby shopping complex in Tung Chung. Most of the shops were two hours away from opening but we were able to find at least one cafe open for breakfast. With our stomaches full and a pockets packed we had a short walk to the cable car which would transport us across the ocean and over the mountains to reach the giant statue of Tian Tahn on Lantau Island. The weather was extremely warm and took us by surprise after many chilly months in Perth. We had several stops at Starbucks and Subway to cool down before we made the trek up the stairs to the statue. For 50 HKD you could enter the statue and view many ancient paintings and relics as well as receiving a bottle of water and an ice cream on the way out.

The statue was full of tourists however we were all banned from taking photos and talking too loudly. We spent about an hour wandering around the statue and enjoying the view outside before descending the steps. A bus terminal made half hourly trips down to the ferry so we waited for that and ‘enjoyed’ a wild 25min bus trip down countless switch backs/hairpins until we arrived at the ferry. The ferry took us across the ocean to well established and populated Hong Kong island. We played tourist some more and eventually found a very western looking sports bar to eat at to ensure our meal stayed down. The food was beautiful and we chatted while watched half a game of rugby. The sun started to set so we took a taxi to the shopping centre at Victoria Peak where we’d heard the view was breathtaking (thanks Dad). From the ledge you had an incredible view of the surrounding mountains, the ocean and many of the small islands located off the coast.

Our flight to Paris wasn’t until 11.45pm so we caught another taxi to the main strip and relaxed at a modern looking bar named Infusion. Eventually we arrived back at the airport and picked up our carry on luggage before sitting outside Starbucks and pillaging their Wi-Fi. The flight was slightly busier than Perth to Hong Kong so we didn’t have the luxury of lying across several seats like previously. Some of us waited for the first meal before passing out while others were done and dusted before takeoff.