Sydney!!

Arrived early this morning after a long sleepless night. Despite this Qantas is better than BA- John Lewis rather than Tesco!! Very proud of ourselves- we caught a train into Sydney and found the hotel all by ourselves. We had breakfast in The Rocks and explored the street market before Matt and Kim succumbed to sleep. We were a fantastic addition to the hotel lobby as our room wasn’t ready! John went exploring and has become our unofficial tour guide. Beer is like a fizzy light ale and the Australians are big supporters of NFL which looks like rugby for wimps. We’ve had dinner overlooking the harbour and the weather is ideal- warm and sunny but nowhere near as hot as HK, thank goodness. We shall walk off our dinner by going round to the Opera House and then back to the hotel to watch Wimbledon and the Grand Prix!

Time to leave Hong Kong

Our time in HK is at an end and we’re making the most of our last few minutes in this amazing hotel while waiting for our shuttle to the airport. It’s sooooo hot and sunny here!
Last night we ate in the chinese restaurant in the hotel, lovely food but we’re still not quite sure what abalone is! This was followed by a walk along the harbour front. What was supposed to be a gentle stroll turned into a long trek into the main shopping area in Kowloon in very warm, humid conditions. The views across the harbour at night were spectacular and well worth all the blisters and sore feet.
We had an early start and, ahead of the crowds, took the tram up to The Peak. Fantastic views across the whole of the island.  We made our way back on The Star Ferry after spending time in the biggest Apple store ever and deciding that we’re really not shoppers. Hong Kong is definitely for shoppers!  We returned to the hotel with a sigh of releif, it really is too hot for us, and the afternoon’s been spent relaxing by the pool. We shall miss the luxury and hospitality…..

Hong Kong at last!

Finally arrived in HK after a long flight. We can understand why people would want to upgrade!! Not too sure about whether the plane will make it back intact as it lost all electrical power on landing, at least we won’t be on board.

Transfer to the hotel was well worth the extra cost as we were able to sit back in an air conditoned coach and see the sights without having to worry about finding our destination.

The Harbour Grand Hotel certainly lives up to its name with fantastic views across the harbour to Hong Kong Island. We can’t take credit for the picture but that is the view from our room! We’re on floor 18, Kim and Matt have never been this high before and as it’s our first visit to HK we have been given VIP membership of the Harbour Club, so this is being written with a bottle of complimentary chilled white wine while Kim and Matt graze the free buffet before we go out and eat. Complimentary afternoon tea on arrival was the best welcome we’ve ever had and much appreciated after the eleven hour flight. In fact we may not leave the comfort of this fabulous place, having spent the afternoon on the roof terrace soaking up the atmosphere by the pool.

On our way

Arrived at Heathrow with hours to spare, thank you to Dad for the taxi service. We’ve survived our first dilemma. The flight’s over subscribed and we’ve just turned down €900 to fly later tonight!! Anyone who’s name is Ken will never forgive us! It took us a while to turn it down, there is only so much time you can spend at Heathrow and we may never see Hong Kong again. John’s just pointed out how many shoes I could have bought but there’s no turning back now. The next challenge is keeping Matt out of the DutyFree shops!!

New kitchen or Australia?

 A frequent conversation, usually with a glass of wine, but the decision is made and we are off on our travels on Thursday.

It started 10 years ago with the television series ‘The Crocodile Hunter’.  Steve Irwin left a lasting impression on 6 year old Matt, Kim’s always had a desire to see croc’s in their native land and John just has itchy feet! (Probably some type of disease) 
  
We’re spending a couple of days in Hong Kong before flying to Sydney.  Sydney is followed by Cairns where we’ll stay in Palm Cove and Matt will compete in the annual David Todd Memorial 1 mile run. Then we’re off to Brisbane and the long awaited visit to Australia Zoo before a few days on Fraser Island. Back to Brisbane for a couple of days and the final leg of our trip is three days in Singapore.
Watch this space for updates …….