Take a Peak

I see that Meister has added a few photos so here are a few more and a couple of videos, taken at The Peak. A trip to The Peak is an absolute must for the fantasic views of Hong Kong Island and across the harbour to Kowloon. There are buses that go to the peak, taxis are cheap and I suppose if you had some sort of deathwish you could try walking it. But the best way is to take the Peak Tram which climbs its way perilously up an implausibly steep incline to the top.

It's pretty commercialised at the top with a shopping mall, restaurants and the obligatory souvenir stalls.There are also some marked trails for walks around the peak, although according to Lons you shouldn't take any notice of the one that says it's only a 30 minute walk. There are plenty of observation points to take in the views but they do charge a few dollars to get to the very highest ones. It's well worth it though and you can pay by Octopus card.

Time for the Kids!

Whilst Hong Kong was essentially a trip for the over 50’s (sorry Lon’s – whilst you are not over 50 you certainly looked like it for most of the trip!), I cannot allow the Blog to remain entirely for the benefit of us mature folk. We must also consider those youngsters who may stumble upon this masterful work and ask ourselves - what is there in this that would hold their interest?

This section should therefore be viewed as the ‘interactive’ content and an opportunity for the little folk to engage more directly.

Instructions:

1. Ensure your computer is connected to a printer, that this is loaded with paper and that there are adequate supplies of ink.
2. Select one of the pictures below
3. Print the selected picture
4. Proceed to colour the selected picture.

Is it just me or does Pete have a strange resemblance to Robert Robinson of ‘Call My Bluff’ fame?

Happy colouring kiddies!!

Man Work’s Down the Chip Shop …

Well it’s been a week or so since the travellers returned from their sabbatical so I thought I would drop a few more items into the Blog and could not do so without providing some evidence that Elvis really is alive and kicking (well shallow breathing at least) in the White Stag in Wanchai. This guy is clearly dehydrating and in serious need of a drink!

The more observant of you might also notice David Bailey in the background - a little more rotund than I remember him but still clicking.

The disinterested lounger is of course the great 'Hodge' doing his best not to 'get on down' and join Elvis in a duet. Interesting that Elvis actually did a duet with Hodges called 'I Will Be Home Again' - bet he felt a right Charlie!

The following examples demonstrate quite clearly that, for some of the cheery chums, enjoying a well earned break from the office also involves concentrating on the job in hand (well at least the one we can publish pictures of):

These guy's really do take their responsibilities as fathers and husbands seriously don't they - never a quiet moment to yourselves even when on drinking duty on the other side of the globe!

Mind you, the following might rate as interesting diversions for the less encumbered of visitors to Hong Kong - those with somewhat fewer domestic responsibilities:

More to come from the Meister soon!

Funny to the End

You can't really go to somewhere like Hong Kong without the childish pursuit of pointing out silly names. Meister has some of them on camera and I suspect he'll create a post just for them when he's sorted out his photos. However to be going on with, and proof that this tour has been funny to the end, our cab driver to the airport was one Chu Fook Hing.Seems like an ideal room mate for Pete.

3 and a half days and 15 nights

A final post from Hong Kong as the netbook will be going in the suitcase soon. Lons and I have a 6pm check-out ready for an 11:15pm flight. Pete and Hodge will only be around 3 hours from Blighty by now and Meister will be around 5 hours into his journey. Not too sure about Kiwi's plans, when are we ever, but I believe he's on a train heading into mainland China. Al is in Canada on a business trip so come midnight none of the 'Magnificant Seven' will be left in Hong Kong.

There are so many things and moments to look back on but that will come later in quiet reflection. I'm also sure there'll be many things that are remembered when we meet up again in the UK and start chatting about the trip. I really can't say that there's been a single highlight for me, the whole trip has been fantastic and, apart from my travelling companions who really made it a great trip, Hong Kong itself has been the star. It can best be summed up in the title of this post, which is the answer to the question "how long were you in Hong Kong?" It's that sort of place.

Homeward bound

Sat in the airport with Pete at 04.30 waiting to check in for our Quantas flight at 07.35.  Pete is confident that we can upgrade but I question his abilities to do this  on the basis he hasn't been able to negotiate himself a single room at the hotel all week. Clive surprised us all tonight at one minute past midnight (well not Lons as we was tucked up in bed) announcing it was his birthday - he certainly kept that quiet but many happy returns mate.  Clive was quick to point out that his birthday will last 31 hours taking account of the 7 hour time difference - as if he needs an additional 7 hours!
It's times like these that you reflect on your family and what they mean to you.  I've missed them desperately and it's only been an hour since we said goodbye back at the hotel.

It's Four in the Morning

And so it is, "It's four in the morning and once more the dawning just woke up the wanting in me".

The fact is that it is four in the morning and I've just said goodbye to Hodge and Pete who jumped in a cab to the airport for a 7am flight. I suspect Kiwi is still in reception trying to blag Lons' room number so that he can wake him up, Lons having made a sensible exit earlier to catch some well needed sleep. Meister fell by the wayside a little later but that's understandable as he's on a mid-day Sunday flight, I might see him for breakfast if I decide not to sleep. Lons and I are on a flight around 11pm Sunday so I'll no doubt catch up with him later. The Kiwi? you may well ask (again), he's heading into China somewhere for a bit of business and a bit of pleasure. I just hope he gets the balance right, and has sorted his visa, his credit cards, his bank account, his wardrobe and his life.

Please be assured that this blog has not closed, it will continue for at least a couple of weeks as we get back to blighty, remember a few things that happened and post some photos (Meister has 843 at the last count). We're looking to finish with some quotes from the tour, including the famous Meisterisms, so watch this space - actually don't keep watching it now, it may be some time.

The Steaks are High

Friday night and we decided to treat ourselves for a sort of 'Last Supper'. Our restaurant of choice was the strangely named Wooloomooloo Steakhouse on the 31st Floor of the Hennessy Tower on Hennessy Road, and we managed to get a window table. Having been astounded by the views over the city we were even more astounded by the prices on the menu - Hodge was happy he hadn't agreed to pick up the tab on this one. Pride of place in the menu went to the 20 oz Porterhouse which ended up on the plates of four hungry tourists. It was quite an exclusive place and the service was second to none, however they were a bit fazed by Pete who when asked how he liked his steak answered "in a baguette". As Pete might say "Don't talk to me about sophistication, I've been to Leeds".

After the meal we adjourned to the roof top terrace bar to get over the shock of the bill. This was my first sighting of the Hong Kong skyline at night and I really don't think there'll be a better one. Vertigo sufferers beware, this is not for the faint hearted, and it wasn't helped when Hodge and Meister started a discussion about suicide methods and whether throwing yourself off a high building was better than drowning. I think I stepped back from the edge at that point.

The view was clearly too much for Kiwi who decided to take a nap in one of the lifts - seriously though he just needed to collect himself (well nobody else would!) before joining the intrepid adventurers later in the evening.

We considered trying to parachute from the top of the building into the White Stag but that would have meant putting a severe dent in the world's silkworm population, so we decided to use the lift, stepping over Kiwi on the way. Onwards into Wanchai to find a bar with air conditioning and without loud thumping music, not easy on a Friday night. But we settled into The Doghouse (where Meister had another chance for laser treatment) for a couple of pleasant beers before an inevitable visit to the White Stag.

Releasing Don

OK, now we have to address the burning question, what's hapenned to Don? I'm sure Don's plight has gripped the world in a "who shot JR" sort of way over the last week and I can now reveal all in the final episode of this saga. As readers who have been with us from the start will recall, Don was leased from a donkey ride operator on Brighton beach by Meister just before we came away. Along with some industral strength laxatives and a length of strong rope this was to be Hodge's birthday surprise as we set him and Don marauding down Wanchai main street. We did start to feel sorry for Don though and felt it was unkind to subject him to this, we had no such worries about Hodge of course.

So we've granted Don his wish and set him free. He wasn't really happy in the stables we selected for him and had already moved in with Donna, a Jenny that he met and fell in love with on a night out in Wanchai. He now wants to stay, marry Donna and apply for Hong Kong residency so Meister will have some explaining to do to that bloke on Brighton beach. We had a bit of a whip round to send the happy couple on their way but I'm not sure how long it will last in this city. Don has already been spotted down at the Star Ferry Terminal with a sign reading "Will Bray for Hay". So all our best wishes to Don & Donna as they set out on their new life together (and while we're at it we should probably say the same to Selby & Ginny who tied the knot on the day we left). 

Pete - The Final Room Mate

Right enough of that culture stuff, I'm sure you're all waiting to hear what's hapening with Pete and his ever-changing room mates. Well he finally got fed up with Walter Sidebottom and stormed down to reception to complain. As a consequence he spent his last night in the hotel sharing with Jurt Osser, a marine biologist from Stockholm. It seems Pete's Anglo-Saxon may have let him down as well !

The Culture Bit - Part 2

After another strategic exit from the bars of Wanchai before the sun came up I set off reasonably early this morning on another cultural trail. First stop was the small Tin Hua Temple which is just the other side of Victoria Park from the hotel. Then a combination of three MTR journeys took me to Wong Tai Sin in Kowloon and the wonderful Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple. This is a whole temple complex covering about 18,000 square metres and, like many temples in this region, celebrates three religions, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Exactly what the latter would have to say about the souvenir stalls and fortune tellers outside the temple I don't know. "Man who build Temple must sell cheap keyring to Pilgrims" maybe. Anyway here are some photos, the first two are of Tin Hua and the rest from Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin.

The Culture Bit - Part 1

Just to prove that we have seen a little of cultural Hong Kong, well I have, here are a few photos of the Po-Lin Monastery and the Big Buddah, and he was big even by my standards. A good day out this one, 30 minutes by MTR to Chung Tung on Lantau Island then either a cable car, for those not hungover, or a bumpy twisting 40 minute bus ride (the number 23) through the mountains, for those who are just a bit hungover, to Ngong Ping. It's all a bit commercialised when you get there but it's worth the trip. I think Meister may have gone today.

It's now or never

So continuing in the White Stag on Thursday eve.  We all feel really at home here as we know that the locals are not allowed in to let the "lilo's" down. Clive's comments about Elvis were spot on but he didn't mention that the guy was probably about 103 years old or could it just be my suspicious mind.
Enter Ken and Debbie McGee.  Can't remember having so much fun with card tricks.....and I still can't.  Seriously though, Elaine (aka Debbie) was magnificent as she left us all shook up and we all had a hunka hunka burning love for her. Jan and Al of course were in attendance which made for another fantastic evening.  All bodes well for the next intrepid adventure....viva Las Vegas.

The Jazz Singer

Following on from the last post and that awful Elvis impersonator, it does have to be said that they like their live music over here and there’s a fair amount going on in the bars in the tourist areas. It was the same in Macau where I got chatting to one local in a casino who told me he was a big music fan and that one of his favourite memories was when Stevie Wonder played his first gig in Macau. He said the crowd was initially a bit quiet so Stevie asked the audience for requests. A man jumped out of his front row seat and shouted "play a jazz chord!"

He said Stevie then played an amazing 10 minute jazz melody and when he finished the whole place went wild except the man in the front row who again shouts "play a jazz chord, play a jazz chord". Stevie was probably a bit hacked off by this but, being the professional that he is, spoke to his band and dived into a 15 minute jazz improvisation that really tore the place apart. The crowd went wild again but the man in the front row jumped up again and shouted "no, play a jazz chord, play a jazz chord".

Well and truly fed up that this guy didn't seem to appreciate his playing ability Stevie says to him "OK smart arse. You get up here and do it!" So the man climbs up onto the stage, takes hold of the mike and starts to sing...…….. "A jazz chord …..to say …..I ruv you..."

Elvis has Reft the Building

Before Hodge finishes off Thursday night in the White Stag here's a little taster. At one point in the evening a white-suited bloke with a guitar turned up and did the worse Elvis impression I've seen since Vegas. Al reckoned that for HK$20 he would sing any Elvis song you could name, the problem was he didn't know any of the words. See if you can guess what this one is.

Lights, camera, action!

The intrepid party made their way on the Star Ferry across to Kowloon seeking further adventure and excitement.  The original plan was to visit Ozone bar on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton but sadly Al had not told us about the dress code so sandals and Speedo's were not permitted even though the "S" was still intact. So first stop was a visit to King Ludwig, a German bar bestowing 5 litre steins for the very thirsty. We were thirsty but not that thirsty and went for the multiple glass option thereby managing the 5 litres collectively in rapid time as the light show was looming.
We were hoping that the lasers might have a correcting effect on Meisters Blackberry vision but sadly he will still have to use arm extensions to view his emails.  
On to Mongkok night market, confusingly named "Ladies Market" on the basis it was the only place in HK they weren't for sale. Clive haggled for hours over a 20p discount on a couple of belts only to be undercut by Pete who is a far more experienced in the "Ladies Market". Unfortunately we didn't get a "Grouper" discount this time.  Hodge bought some cuff links and managed to haggle upwards and Pete bought something for "the little fella", no sniggering at the back please.
Back to the White Stag in the Wanch......more to follow.

Bankers and maps

With wallets replenished and bulging we made our way to Happy Valley racecourse on Wednesday evening and managed to answer the question en-route "how many bankers does it take to read a map?".
Clearly we needed more bankers as we spiraled our way to the target pub called The Derby. A nice little boozer where Meister and Pete caught up on food with a local and traditional dish....a steak sandwich. Full marks to both for being so adventurous. Kiwi's negotiation skills once more came to the fore as he was haggling to pay the bill twice resulting in confusion across the whole of the pub including the local HK police. At least we managed to pay the correct sum in the end...we think although Kiwi continued to protest in his usual calm and collected manner (yeh right).
So on to the racecourse. For those that have not been, it's a stunning spectacle with a backdrop of towering Hong Kong. Hodge explained that he had not had a winner at HV in 3 previous visits which equated to 24 races which augered well for the evening. Meister and Kiwi made a B-line for a prime spot at the rails right next to the Heineken tent. Meister had a great view over the rails whilst Kiwi could only peer through them. Clive was holding the whip for the evening (we take it in turns) and joined the queue to purchase a couple of 2 litre jugs - the first of many. We watched in amusement as he tried to negotiate his exit route through the snaking maze of the queuing system.
Al joined us after the first race, tucked into the beer and proceeded to explain the complexities and as it turned out the uselessness of the form guides. By this time Kiwi's brain was mush (actually it has changed since touchdown on Saturday) and despite several attempts to explain the betting slips he still completed his as if it was a colouring by numbers exercise.
Clive was doing a fantastic job with the beer jugs keeping us well oiled and therefore he deserved the groups first winner. Gladly we persuaded him not to do a streak across the course. Erica would have been upset with the competition as the police don't wear helmets here.
The course started to become crowded with people vying for space around our spot. Despite the hustle and bustle we stood our ground to ensure we had a good view.....of the beer tent. Kiwi used his usual diplomacy by physically removing other peoples drinks from our table. When all hopes were fading of a further winner by the group, up came number 4 to surge home in race 7 of 8. What a great achievement (also the name of the horse). Well done Pete and well done .......Hodge! First winner from 31 attempts and Lons managed a 99 to 1 place after seeking devine intervention via a text home this time seeking a winning number as opposed to attention.
So homeward bound via local tram. Nodding dogs not allowed but no such restrictions on nodding Kiwi's which was just as well as he defied the laws of physics by sleeping standing up. This week we have experienced the wonders of levers and counter-levers with both Kiwi and Clive.
Back to the White Stag for pizzas and beer and a cup of tea for Kiwi. Despite this attempt at sobering up the landlord had to remove him from the store cupboard in order to point him towards the gents.
Off to see the lights from Kowloon later today god only knows what's in store.

The Dark Side of the Moon Festival

Right, we have a bit more catching up to do so even though it's 2:30am on Thursday morning I'm going to forego an hour of frankly pointless beauty sleep, break open the minibar and tell you about Tuesday. Clearly most of the early part of the Moon Festival was spent in bed as we took breakfast at around 8am having come straight off the Macau ferry. But our intrepid band of explorers were all present at Dickens Bar at 5pm for onward transportation to the ferry terminal where we again met up with Ken and Al, plus Al's other half Jan. It was good to see Jan again after a number of years and I think Jan was also excited to be spending some time with Al for the first time since we arrived. Up until now I suspect it's all been fumbled keys in the lock in the early hours and sheepish goodbyes as he leaves for work the next morning. 

Calm Down Hodge, it's only a Container Ship



Our mode of transport was the free shuttle ferry that was to take us over to Lammu Island and the Rainbow Seafood restaurant. There were some very impressive vistas of the HK wsaterfront, Kowloon and the back of HK Island as we made our way. Hodge however was more impressed with spotting a container ship. Al regaled us with a seafaring story about the origins of the word "shit", which apparently stood for "Ship High In Transit", reference to a need to store fertilizer above the waterline lest it explodes due to an errant fag end carelessly tossed by the shops boy. I have since discovered this to be a myth, confirmed by no lesser an authority than Wikipedia, which sits just below The Sun in the believablility stakes. 

Anyhow, we arrived at Lamma Island and the excellent Rainbow Seafood Restaurant and a table for 9. We played it safe and ordered one of the set menus plus a local speciality, steamed grouper, that you have to choose from the fish tank at the back and whack it over the head yourself. Pete volunteered for this task but his Cantonese let him down again and he ended up holding the fish while one of the staff whacked him over the head. Al warned Pete to be careful as they try to charge non-locals, or Guilos as we are known, more for this speciality. Lons misheard this as 'Lilos' which cued up the obvious line about Lilos being charged inflated prices and how let down we felt about it. However as there were 9 of us Pete did manage to negotiate a 'grouper' discount. John insisted on a side order of clams but it didn't shut him up.

I'm not sure how many more fishy puns we can fit into one blog but this is the last - I think. As the Grouper arrived Al told another tall story about seafarers believing that if someone turns a fish over then a boat will sink somewhere. Just as Hodge sought to disprove this by trying to flick it on it's back we noticed a bit of a swell out in the bay and heard a faint haunting Pink Floyd chord accompanied by someone shouting "Oi Guilo, Leave That Fish Alone".

OK, no more fishy stories, I'm even starting to bore myself now. We had a great meal and an excellent evening, thanks to Al for arranging it and Hodge for paying for it. Back on the 9:30 ferry to HK Island where we headed to Lan Kwai Fong and a few beers before going back to the hotel. Of course some had a lot more beers and arrived back at the hotel later than others but it would indiscrete of me to mention that.

Wednesday morning was a bit of a touristy thing for some as we all readied ourselves for the onslaught at Happy Valley Races in the evening. But that's for a different blog, I need some sleep now.

Mooning in Hong Kong

Date stamp Tuesday 13th September.

Today is a public holiday in Hong Kong for the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival, lanterns, celebrations and those artery busting Mooncakes. According to Meister it's "Big Moon Day" but I don't think it's compulsory, I suppose it depends on how much beer we have. Well it had Don rolling on the floor laughing his arse off.

　

Speaking of Don, these celebrations might be a good time to fit in Hodge's birthday treat. If we can get the laxatives loaded up in time I reckon Wanchai main street should be an appropriate place for this marauding tableaux. There don'r seem to be too many Gendarmes around and judging by the performance of the Russians outside the White Stag the other night anything goes.

I'll let you know how we get on.

Macau or Bust!

Due to Sunday night's activities, Monday morning, and indeed much of the afternoon, didn't exist for most of us. This was especially the case for Lons who has picked up a dose of something, food poisoning he says, alcohol poisining we reckon, he can be a bit of an attention seeker apparently. But he bravely made the 5pm meet, only half an hour late, and we headed off for the Macau Ferry Terminal where we met Al, who impressively had just come from a full days work. We also met up with Ken, another ex-pat working in HK and known to some of us previously in the UK. Pete invited Jack along but apparently he had a big presentation to the Sainbury's buying team to make so had to decline, he did however promise to pick Pete up two pounds of sprouts on the way for him to share with Walter.

So eight of us set off on the 7pm ferry and were in Macau an hour later and being whisked off by the shuttle bus to the City of Dreams Casino on the Cotai Strip on the South Island. Rather like HK, Macau has two main islands and the casinos are split between the two. An hour and a half here allowed me to rediscover my Blackjack form and for the guys to discover the game of Sic Bo, an ancient Chinese game played with three dice. Next over the road to the Venetian, an impressive replica of the one in Vegas, and just as big and difficult to find your way around. So after Al took us on a misguided tour of the property we found somewhere to eat with the plan of moving on at midnight. The food wasn't particularly good and the service was so slow that come midnight we were still complaining about the cold chips and ordering our second Margaritas. Lons wasn't up to eating but kept us entertained with his frequent, and urgent, trips to the Gents. Another similarity with Vegas is that the casino restrooms are always in tip top condition, well until Lons gets in there of course.

The eponymous Hodge

Cabs now over the bridge to the North island and to the Sands, which everyone agreed was probably the best casino. Time here to try to fathom out the complex rules of the game of Baccarat, which is huge over here. For us it remained unfathomless, although I did experience a little more beginners luck than Meister. Next it was cabs to the Wynn where we turned up at different entrances and took 10 minutes to find each other. Much like the Vegas version, which I've never really liked, the Wynn in Macau is a bit up its own arse and when we saw the HK$500 minimums on the Blackjack tables we decided to give it a miss and go across the road to the Casino Lisboa, the first and original Macau casino. Once we'd actually found the casino we realised that it was essentially a locals place and that 8 westerners walking in raised a few eye brows. So we headed next door to the newer version, the Grand Lisboa, which was a bit friendlier. The Caribbean Stud poker tables were particularly severe on poor Al but I had a bit of sucess at Blackjack. The guys found a Sic Bo game and this kept us all amused until 5:30 when we headed to the ferry terminal for our return to HK. Arrived back around 7am and straight back to the hotel for breakfast before a few hours sleep. All in all a fantastic night.

Thunderbirds are go!

I'm blogging on the basis Clive has amnesia of Sunday eve post our dinner at the American restaurant - which I'm pleased to say exceeded all of our expectations - world class.

More news on Pete. Having spent a couple of nights with Jack Hughes, he decided enough was enough and change rooms. So he chanced his luck again with his grasp of Cantonese. This time he asked for a water-side room not too high up, a little closer to the bottom of the hotel. He's now sharing with Walter Sidebottom, a member of a traveling brass band from Yorkshire. Suffice to say, he hasn't had too much sleep since but he's confident he will get a room on his own by the end of the week.

Back to Clive. At 4 am he was "pulling some shapes" in Escape bar but these "shapes" were merely to stop him from falling over. But the best entertainment came from Kiwi. I can only describe his dance routines as Virgil from Thunderbirds, practicing River Dance whilst being stung by a swarm of wasps - absolute quality.

Kiwi finally negotiated his journey back to the hotel in the wee hours - no strings attached.

Macau here we come!

Meisterman

Meisterman, Meisterman, does whatever a Meister can.

Sunday am. The Tourist Bit

As expected Meister was the only one up and about Sunday morning and I met him in the breakfast room. We decided to do the tourist thing and get the Star Ferry across to Tsim Sha Tsui. I suggested we get the MTR to Central and pick up the ferry there but Meister had other ideas. After speaking to reception he said we should go from the Wanchai terminal and that it was only a short walk. And so it was that about an hour later we arrived hot and sweaty at the ferry terminal having toured the local construction sites, gatecrashed a Christian prayer meeting, encountered a number of deadends and dodged a countless number of deathwish bus drivers.

On arrival at TST we encountered a plethora of hawkers trying to sell us anything from suits to their grandmothers. The enquiry "you wanna watch" was of course met with the standard reply "why, what are you going to do". On my insistence we headed to the air-conditioned paradise of the Ocean Terminal Mall, more designer labels than you could shake a very big stick at and a perfect example of Western decadence if there ever was one.

Out into the heat and a quick tour of the local area before sheltering in the calm of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. They had a wonderful photographic exhibition and Meister hit on the idea of photographing the photos so that he didn't have to visit the real thing. Great idea but he was a bit stumped about what setting to use to snap the nightscenes. I feel an e-mail coming on "Dear Amateur Photographer, if it is daytime and I am inside taking a photo of a photo of a nightscene should I use the night time setting on my Fujitu 3000 or just get a life?"

I do have to say that during our time in TST Meister became quite efficient at spotting escalators and avoiding stairs, I suppose that was some sort of recompense for taking me a on an effing route march to the ferry. Onwards to the viewing gallery with magnificent views of HK Island and then to the Avenue of Stars where Meister delighted in trying to spot as many silly names as he could (in your best Glaswegian accent, you're Wong Yue Jimmy!).

Back to HK Island on the MTR and Meister convinced me that we should stay on until Tin Hau station as that was closest to the hotel, two minutes later we retraced our steps to Causeway Bay. By this time we thought we deserved some sort of reward for our hard work and dropped into Royal's Pub near the hotel for a couple of beers. Here we encountered Andy, a strange Brit with an interesting story of a failed career/relationship in HK who was heading home. We didn't get the full story which was fortunate, otherwise I may have had to stab the boring bastard in the eye with a sharp pencil. We also encountered perhaps the slowest waiter in Hong Kong who seemed to be working in slow motion, so much so that Meister nicknamed him Mr Tai Chi.We must take the other guys here to see this amazing example of controlled movement in action.

First signs of life from the main party as we received a call from Hodge. Headed back to the hotel to shower and change for the evening activities and Hodge's birthday meal at the American Restaurant. I'll probably leave the report about Sunday night to someone else, largely because I don't remember much about it, I do know that it involved beer though.

World class food and spilt beer

What a fabulous evening. Joined Al at the White Stag post the Welsh v South Africa game. Not a tonking for the Welsh as I had envisaged whilst posting my previous blog - just goes to show how live we are!
One year ago I had a vision of my very best friends sat around a table at the American Restaurant helping me to rationalize my big five O. Well, not many things in life go as planned but I am so delighted to say that this one did - world class food and company to match - thank you gentlemen.

Now on to things post dinner. When Clive knocks over a glass - it doesn't matter if it's full or just dregs - you know we are in trouble. At the same time, Lons was being asked "outside" by a long haired idiot who he had spotted "molesting" a bar waitress. In true knight in shining armour style, Lons had taken control of the situation. Well, control is perhaps not the best word to use but hats off to the Lons anyway.

Day 2

What a night last night - I think. We only to wait until about 7pm local time to hear those immortal words from Pete "one more, no more". Unfortunately the "one more" lasted into the wee hours of today. Lons and I thought we would have a test run for our 12 hour round trip to Macau - in fact we did 15 hours in the end so Macau will be an absolute breeze !
Meister had an encounter with 3 drunken burly Russians who for some reason thought his offer of bottle of water was a poor substitute for vodka and proceeded to fall about laughing or throwing up or something like that.
Kiwi relived his formative years by hopping to a good rendition of Led Zeppelin and Al lost the plot in the Stag - of course nothing to do with the sambucca and baileys shots.
In Dickins bar as I write this watching the Welsh get a battering from the Springboks. looking forward to our dinner tonight.

Morning has Broken

Timestamp Sunday 11th - 08:30 HK Time.

Awoke this morning to a wonderful cityscape of HK, which was just as well because that's where we're staying. The sun is now coming through and it looks like being a hot one again, the heat over here is a bit stifling. Al did us proud last night and we had a great time at the Globe Bar. Despite England's attempts to spoil the party they just pulled through with a narrow win. John the Kiwi turned up after his mamouth journey to HK and although he remembered the bar where we were supposed to meet he'd forgotten the hotel we were staying at, no real surprise there if you know John. But he finally arrived at the Globe and the Magnificent 7 were complete. Al guided us through the nightlife of Lan Kwai Fong then we headed to his local pub, the White Stag in Wanchai, where we watched the 10pm (3pm) Premiership games. Lons took a photo of us in a LKF bar and e-mailed it to me to post on the blog. It hasn't arrived so no doubt some other poor sod is now the recipent of a blurred photo of a lot of drunken blokes in an unknown bar - hope it's not his missus.

Wandered around Wanchai and did some bars until I left the guys in the early hours and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. I've already had a message from Hodge to say he's "taken the opportunity to discover his favourite place on earth" and is unlikely to see us before teatime today. The plan is to meet in Dickins, the hotel bar, at 5pm then Hodge is treating us to a birthday dinner at the American Restaurant in Wanchai.

Time now for a shower and a bit of breakfast then out exploring before it gets too hot. Not sure who might be around, Meister and Pete are the only candidates I think, don't imagine I'll see the others until 5pm. Must check on Don on my way out, make sure he's not making an ass of himself.

Nous sommes arrives



We finally arrived after the near 12 hour flight, notably only for the fact that we nearly missed it. Only arrived at the aiport with three hours to spare and that 'bar to gate' condundrum was a bit of a challenge. Took around an hour to clear HK immigration, and Pete successfully smuggled in a mountain of cigars, discretely hidden in a Harrods bag.  The journey to the hotel wasn't exactly easy but we got here and met Meister while checking in. the Kiwi has landed - apparently.

All successfully checked-in to The Excelsior although Pete did have a few problems. He'd noticed that they had some deluxe spa rooms and tried to blag himself a free upgrade by using the local lingo. Unfortunately Pete's Mandarin seems a bit rusty, after asking for a room with a jacuzzi he's now sharing a room with a bloke called Jack Hughes, a sales rep from Nottingham. I'm sure they'll get along fine.

Don is in stables around the corner, there was no room at the inn.

Must dash, meeting in 15 minutes to go to the Globe Bar and watch England's first game in the rugby.
　

Jack Hughes' Room

The Last Post?

Last post before we go mobile so things might get a bit sporadic, or even non-existent, from now on. Meister should be in the air shortly as he's the advance party, Pete and Hodge will be arriving at Heathrow around 3pm to check-in and get maximum drinking time before the 6:40 flight. Lons will be catching a connecting flight from the North and meeting us at Heathrow and Don is on his way up from Brighton by horsebox. I'm trusting my journey to Greenline buses and based on previous experience aim to get one that arrives at Heathrow around 2:30 on the basis that I should be there by 4:00. Kiwi?, I have no idea really, he may still be in a queue outside the Chinese Embassy waiting for his passport back.

Off we go !! See you in Hong Kong unless there's a chance for a pre-flight post.

Flight begins at Fifty

50 Not Out

Whilst all the other guys are still preparing their blockbusting posts for the blog I thought I should give you something to be going on with. So here's a bunch of pointless statistics. When checking the other day I discovered that the flight out to HK will be the 50th I have taken. Assuming I make it to the end of the week the return will of course be 51. Following the HK trip I will have spent more than 8 days in the air and completed more than 100,000 miles of air travel, enough to circumnavigate the globe about 4 times (and get 42% of the way to the moon). At 5,991 miles the HK flight will be my longest, beating a 1981 flight to Los Angeles by around 500 miles. In case you think I'm making all this up it's all recorded at  Flight Memory a special website for sad gits.

Right, if that doesn't get the others reaching for their keyboards nothing will.

Fly me to Hong Kong

With only 7 days to go (this time next week we'll be in the air), it seems like a good time to check the flight details. When planning this trip I decided to use the Virgin Miles that I have accumulated over the years and splash out on Upper Class flights. Unfortunately the Virgin (dis)loyalty scheme had other ideas. After weeks of checking the website and numerous phone calls all I could find available was an outbound flight on 5th September returning sometime in October. You'd think they didn't want you to use the miles!

So instead I switched to British Airways and booked into World Traveller Plus class, with the bigger ‘Fatboy’ seats. Hodge and Pete are on the same flight, as is Lons who is in the seat next to me. I think it was a bit of a disappointment for him, he was hoping for someone Blond, Busty and Beautiful and he’s got Fat, Fifty and Flatulent. Don is also on the same flight but he’s in cattle class, of course. (Pedant alert – Rob, I’m well aware that a donkey is not considered part of the ‘cattle’ family but read the bit at the top about poetic licence!)

Meister forms the advance party with an early flight on Cathay Pacific. I think he saw that story about two air crew being caught in flagrante delicto in the cockpit of a Cathay plane and thought he might get a floorshow to go with the in-flight movies.

Kiwi?, you may well ask. I think he might have already left, he was last seen clutching a google map muttering “Winnerish Triangle and turn left”. The rumour is that he’s on a Qantas flight with a two night stopover in Glasgow and three in Minsk. Rather worryingly the Qantas website is reporting a rail replacement service due to cloudworks over the Caspian Sea. So it looks like a connecting flight to Omsk and picking up that famous oxymoron of travel the Trans Siberian Express. We’ll see you there mate.