South East Asia Part 1

On arrival in Hong Kong, we were immediately hit by how busy it was – there was hustle and bustle all around us. Hong Kong is made up of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, the New Territories, and over 200 offshore or outlying island. There is more to Hong Kong than the well-known urbanised centre, the financial hub and skyscraper skylines and is worth exploring. Whereas in New York you’ll find a Starbucks on every corner, in Hong Kong, you’ll find a Rolex shop instead which really highlighted the wealth!

You can do as the locals do and ride the Star Ferry which takes you from Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula for as little as 20p.

No trip to Hong Kong is complete without a visit to Victoria Peak. Standing at 552m, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island. To get us to the top we took a ride on the funicular railway which will give you sweeping views down into the harbour and looking down on the skyscrapers.

A trip to Lantau Island, the largest of Hong Kong's islands, which lies at the mouth of the Pearl River will allow you to see Tian Tan Buddha, a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni.

A visit to the fishing village of Tai-O Village will give you a completely different view of the way of living in Hong Kong. A shanty town where the community of fishermen folk have built their houses on stilts above the tidal flats. Despite being extremely poor, everyone who crossed our paths were extremely happy and positive and a reminder that money doesn’t necessarily buy you happiness.

We boarded the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship ready to do the Southeast Asia cruise. This ship is the is the first of the fleet to be modernised as part a $500-million investment to improve all of their fleet.

Our next blog will tell you all about our cruise itinerary.