Wow. Hong Kong has a fantastic international airport. Here, you can obtain your Octopus Card ($H150) for the trains and buses which is very convenient. The ordinary card serves just fine and they're easy to spend so be prepared to top it up. McDonalds and 7/11 are just two more places in addition to transport that allow you to use the card as payment, with 7/11 also allowing you to top up your card.
We chose to take the bus, which was a third of the price of the train and delivered us to less than 100m from our hostel in Kowloon, run by the amiable Jackie Chan.
It's the sort of city that keeps air-conditioning manufacturers rich, with a sheen of sweat adorning every visitor almost as soon as they step outside. These machines drip down onto passersby below, and we became practised at avoiding the damp spots on the ground as we trooped all over this concrete jungle.
The majority of tourists to Hong Kong these days are from China, and they join the locals in keeping the area pumping well into the night, every single night. It has got to be one of the world's great after-dark cities, with areas such as Kowloon not slowing down until close to midnight every day of the week. We were taken aback by the sheer density of human traffic, lights and noise even at 11.30pm - on Tuesday!
Not content to sit around recovering from the flight, we headed off to The Peak to watch the light show. It was packed with tourists and for good reason - the view is unforgettable. Absolutely spectacular at night. As for the light show, well... The Peak is the wrong place to view it.
On the way up we stopped by an unusual business called "Wax Hand Union". Hold your partner's hand, dip it in wax a few times, and receive a mounted cast of your relationship! It'd be interesting trying to get that one through an international trip without destruction.
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