After we first arrived in Hong Kong and moved around for a few hours, we were worried that staying for four days might be too long. Well, we were so wrong, we loved every minute of our stay and this is equally true for Macau

The only turn off was the difficulty and suspense involved in getting a visa for China. Looking back, it was quite funny, but being in thrown into a situation where all of a sudden all rules do not apply anymore was rather uncomfortable. We felt so very lucky to have this piece of paper in our passport, something that should not cause such emotions but should be normal procedure!

Hong Kong is an astonishing mix of an ultra-modern, efficient, squeaky clean city with huge skyscrapers, trendy restaurants and glamorous shopping centres on the one hand and a truly Asian feel on the other: narrow alleys cramped with shops, markets full of stuff you need or not and many small, busy restaurants where you can get great food for less than 2 Euros. Strolling the city was something we enjoyed most, especially watching the smartly dressed people. We were overwhelmed by how friendly and helpful people were and were most impressed by the so well-organised M.R.T transport system.

Party animals might also find a city that never sleeps, just to pass on what other people in our hostel said…

Macau is even more amazing: a mix of newly restored colonial buildings, a rather run-down, dilapidated city and its casinos which are even more extravagant than the ones in Las Vegas. A visit to The Venetian is simply overwhelming, even for people who do not gamble.

The other good news is that you can visit those two cities on a small budget. Even around Hong Kong’s Soho reasonably priced restaurants can be found, in case if you want something different than slurping the usual soup in tiny eateries.

Of course it is a shoppers’ paradise, but we had to be disciplined since we would have to carry the staff for another three months. Accommodation also can be quite affordable: a small double room in Chunking Mansion can be had for 20 Euro. On the island, at Hong Kong Hostel we paid 30 Euros per night for a clean twin with private bath and air conditioning. The best news is the most efficient and cheap MRT system, that is best travel with the pre-paid Octopus Cards. So we lived comfortably for less than 40 Euros per person a day, a bargain for what is supposed to be one of the most expensive cities in the world!

Over a period of twenty years, Macau has turned into China‘s gambling paradise with huge casinos easily matching if not surpassing Las Vegas.

In New Zealand, a couple from Hong Kong told us about “The Venetian”, named after its older sister in Las Vegas, that only had opened in 2007. So we made our way to Taipo Island not knowing what to expect. What we saw blew our mind, literally. The Venetian is a replica of the very city and what is most amazing, not badly done! The dimensions are mind-boggling: the second largest air-conditioned building in the world with 37 restaurants / bar / cafes, a whole lot of designer shops, gambling floors too big to see the other end and a hotel that provides shelter for the weary gambler in its 3.000 suites, which start at 2.300 HK Dollars. One employee we asked explained in perfect English that 90 Jumbo Jets (Boeing 747-400) could fit in the area.

Once we stepped onto “St. Marcus Square”, we froze, for a moment we truly thought that the ugly overcast weather had finally changed. We gazed at a light blue sky with a few scattered clouds moving slowly across. Nearby, a gondola floated along Canale Grande, one of the three (!!!) Canale Grande, with a female Gondolieri singing ”O sole mio”. We gawked like children being taken to the zoo for the first time.

Neither having the money, nor being interested in gambling, we watched devoted Chinese placing bets at a tremendous tempo and losing money even faster! Some tables asked for a minimum bet of 200 HK Dollars (18 Euros). At six o’clock the place was very, very busy.

Many employees are not Chinese, like all the Gondolieri and the many assistants who just appear exactly when you need them and who answer in flawless English bending over backwards to make you feel content. Free non-alcoholic drinks and free shuttles are additional nice gestures. The American owner of this magic place is in the process of creating the “Cotai Strip”. The many construction sites are impossible to ignore: 30 more hotels and casinos that eventually will line this 100.000 square metres of reclaimed land.

We passed other casinos with famous names like the MGM or Sands, like the Gran Lisboa, an incredible building shaped like a flower.

After a great dinner at “Carlos”, a so-called Portuguese restaurant, we made a fatal assumption. We thought we would have a drink in the casino right next to our modest hotel, the East Asia Hotel, and enjoy a Saturday night out, something we had not done for a month. This casino was very different to the Venetian to put it mildly. The small gambling floor was packed with chain-smoking gamblers who stared at us, the only Westerners in this place. The one and only (!) bar was closed. So we decided to go somewhere else, but there was nothing, nada! We discovered that nightlife in Macau is restricted to a few areas in town and the real big casinos. At our hotel the receptionist, with the help of some guests, managed to explain that “it is too late for going out” and “there is hot water available in the hotel”.

Macau was our destination for the weekend and also our port of entry into Mainland China. The otherwise scenic one-hour crossing by hydrofoil from Hong Kong unfortunately was more like rushing through a tunnel of fog, the same kind of fog or smog that had blanketed Hong Kong throughout our entire stay. The “Chegada a Macau” is usually via ferry from Hong Kong. Already on the boat, less informed visitors are thrown into confusion by bilingual immigration forms in Cantonese and Portuguese.

Only in 1999 did this speck of 28km2 on the South China Sea became part of Mainland China, although its status as “special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China” guarantees special privileges: economic independency, visitors do not need a visa and there is a local currency, the Pataca. This special status derives from the “One country, two systems” principle that China adopted for the former foreign colonies, Hong Kong & Macau, which came under their control.

Macau lacks the glamour and sophistication of Hong Kong and looks like a lot poorer relative, but it has undergone similar dramatic changes since Heidi last visited. Now the centre sports lots of neatly renovated old colonial buildings and the whole place is buzzing with Chinese tourists from the mainland. In the afternoon, they can be seen shopping in expensive jewelleries shops or local delicacies like Niu Ron Gan, smoked meat that comes in the shape and size of a door mat.

The main drag filled with these shops leads to Macau’s ultimate attraction, the lonely façade of a former cathedral, the only part left standing. Heidi remembers this façade standing in a field with nothing around it, and back then being Macau’s only attraction. Now the lay-out of the cathedral has been reconstructed and a small museum was attached.

But the biggest of all differences is the number of visitors. The place is now packed with Chinese tourists from the mainland who come here to gamble for big money in one of the 27 casinos, something that was unthinkable in 1988. Then a few stray individual travellers came over from Hong Kong on a speed boat and got to see dilapidated buildings and the façade of the cathedral!

What a day! On Friday, Gilles discovered that Air New Zealand had reimbursed the tickets we had to buy twice because of the mix-up in dates crossing the International Time Line and Phoenix Travel Agency had our passports and visas for Mainland China ready in the afternoon.

We had grown worried, since that same day the front page of South China Morning Post announced that from now on, visa applications have to be filed from your home country. On top of that, we ran into an American who was in the line with us on Tuesday, April 22nd, trying to get a Chinese visa. He was sent away for the same reasons as us and also ended up going through a travel agency. Nevertheless, even through them, he could not get a visa and his passport was held until April 28th in the afternoon. His flight for the US left that day in the morning so he had to change his ticket. He was not happy!

For lunch, we tried one of the famous Indian messes in Chunking Mansions and later on, just for fun, looked at some of the many hostels in this maze of businesses. Heidi stayed in this place 20 years ago and wanted to show Gilles the narrow, low hallways and tiny rooms: it feels very much like being inside a submarine. The whole building with 17 floors is served by two slow elevators so the many guests with tons of luggage staying at the cheap hostels make things worse. The ground level is simply crazy, a maze of stalls changing money, selling food and the typical bazaars ware. These are mainly run by Indians and some Africans. Very different to the glamour of Hong Kong’s other buildings but really worth to pay a short visit!

We also followed the recommendation of the Lonely Planet and went to the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and the nearby Flower Market. The latter is not spectacular at all, a street lined with shops selling pot plants. The Bird Market is simply a very sad story, birds of all colours and sizes are cramped into little cages where they can hardly move. Not talking about the fact that quite a few of them are protected and endangered species! We could not believe that an established travel guide would recommend visiting such a place!

In the evening we took the cable car up Victoria Peak. From there, 552 metres high above Hong Kong, you have an incredible view of the harbour and Kowloon. After leaving the cable car, nothing indicates that there is indeed a free of charge viewpoint outside the complex, so most people follow the big signs “Viewing Platform”, which costs another 20 HK Dollars. Of course, the path to both attractions leads through endless shopping arcades and a few restaurants. Despite the hazy weather, the view from the “free” platform was breathtaking.

An almost equally stunning, but different view offers the Avenue of the Stars. Right on the oceanfront, you marvel at the skyline of Honk Kong Island, maybe the most spectacular one. Especially now, since the 20 minute new laser show makes the skyscrapers look like a sea of ever changing colours every evening.

“The world’s largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha sits serenely atop Ngong Plateau”… This is the official tourism ad for this place on Lantau. Do not expect a quiet place, this is a major attraction for both Chinese and non-Chinese tourists! But it is truly impressive.

The Buddha was built in 1992 and financed mainly through donations. All the people who chipped in are remembered on the wall inside the big Buddha in different ways, depending on how much they donated. Visitors are invited to do the same: for no less than a 500.000 HK Dollars donation, you get a column with a dragon carrying your name!

Po Lin Monastery has been there forever and when Heidi visited it 20 years ago, there was nothing but the monastery in this area of Lantau. Now, there is the Giant Buddha, a convention centre, restaurants AND Ngong Village. Not that it is a real village, but an alley of restaurants, including Starbucks & Zen Taiwanese Bistro, and souvenirs shops… Tourists coming up in the gondola from Tung Chung, the final stop of the M.R.T. (subway) line on Lantau Island have to pass through this fake village in order to see the Buddha and the Monastery.

This MRT hugs the coast in the north of the island and was built to connect the newly built airport with the centre of Hong Kong. This was also new to Heidi who “back then” had to take the ferry to Lantau and landed on Kai Tak airport.

This new airport was built out on the ocean on land gained by dumping garbage into the sea and replaced the famous old one, Kai Tak, which was literally in the middle of Hong Kong. During the final approach, you could watch people on their balconies putting up laundry or cooking. This airport was also known to pilots as one of the most challenging one!

Although exhausted, we went on to visit the fishing village of Tai O, also a place Heidi knew from her last visit. This had undergone the biggest change: the stilt houses still existed, but lots of other houses had been built all around it. The hand drawn ferry had been replaced by a bridge and the street leading off it was lined with shops selling preserved parts of fish, catering to the predominately crowd of Chinese tourists.

This day on Lantau was a nice change from buzzing Hong Kong. Lantau is a green hilly island. Only along the new M.R.T. line can you find high skyscrapers and Hong Kong’s new pride: Disneyworld!

How many restaurants are there in this city? This is what we truly would like to know. There is no type of food or price range that cannot be found, from basic restaurants serving huge dishes for 2 less than Euros to others where starters sells for more than 20 Euros!

From the beginning, we tried to stick to small basic restaurants with a menu only in Chinese, simply to practice for the month to come… Often we had to decide by choosing from the pictures displayed in the restaurant. Up to now, communication has always worked, with someone translating for us or someone pointing at the menu just saying: “specialty, specialty”.

Yes, we are still in Hong Kong, but do not take it for granted that staff in such restaurants speak English. If nothing else works, we ask for dim sums, but even our pronunciation of “dim sum” obviously needs improving…

Of course, there is a completely different side of Hong Kong, especially in Lan Kwai Fong and Soho, where all the expatriates and business travellers enjoy themselves. There, everybody speaks English and a quick look at a few menus immediately made any desire for a drink or dinner fade away. There, it is more expensive than at bars in Vienna! So after strolling around for a while, looking at all those yuppies spending tones of money, we went back to Causeway Bay, our temporary neighbourhood, where we sampled a huge soup dish for less than 2 Euros…

On the third night, Heidi grew tired of soups, so we followed a recommendation by the Lonely Planet and went to Lin Heung Tea House, supposed to be THE place to have dim sums. There, we learned this is a dish mainly served in the morning or for lunch, hardly ever for dinner, bad timing! Food was good but not spectacular and prices absolutely in our price range with main courses selling for 4 to 6 Euros, so it was a fine recommendation.

After being to this popular place we realized that restaurants here, except the most expensive ones, are never a cosy place. Bright neon lights, plastic tables and chairs, huge rooms with lots of people talking loudly or very cramped places characterize such eateries.

Arriving in Hong Kong was as much of a shock as a delight: after spending months on small Pacific Islands and in New Zealand with its sheer unlimited space, we were suddenly surrounded by skyscrapers, traffic jams and millions of people rushing around. We had not been in such a huge city since leaving Buenos Aires and truly enjoyed it, not even being bothered by the noise and air pollution, so far.

Hong Kong is a city full of contrasts: On the one hand, it is full of ultra-hip shopping malls with luxurious designer stores, elegantly dressed people glued to their mobiles, top-notch hotels, restaurants and bars pricier than in Paris or London. Our top favourite is the super modern public transport system, the best one we have ever seen: cheap, efficient, well-organized and squeaky clean.

On the other hand, this city is truly Asian with small restaurants where neither the menu nor the staff is able to communicate with the foreigner about what there is to eat, buzzing markets with people selling just about everything, touts trying to lure into buying tailor made shirts and suits, fake Rolex and pirate DVDs…We just love it!

Our trip to the hairdresser on our very first day serves as the perfect example. Upon entering, we emerged into an almost surrealistic ambiance! The place was dominated by a huge flat TV screen showing a concert of Jackie Cheung, some kind of Robbie Williams in Hong Kong, with blond hair, glittery suit, blowing kisses into the audience. The staff was styled in a rather creative way! The owner had blond dyed hair and constantly watched the screen or checked his hair do, which was very similar to his idol.

There, we explained at great length what we wanted. Well, Gilles got the hairdresser’s favourite haircut and Heidi’s hair was dyed almost black, although she repeatedly explained she wanted her blond, sun-bleached hair only a shade darker…

Immediately after our arrival, we raced to “Chinese Resource Center” to apply for our visa for mainland China. The line was already very long at 08:00 am, one hour before the door opened and rumours were flying high.

Everybody had a story or a concern about the latest changing visa requirements. It seems that after the heavy criticism on its policy in Tibet and the massive disruption of the Olympic torch carrier, China does not want individual travellers roaming all over the place!

Our visa application was simply rejected, because (1) we had no plane ticket out of China and (2) we also had no hotel booking for every single of the 30 days we wanted to spend in there!!! Well, we had planned to leave China by bus going into Laos and naturally we had no hotel reservation, since our priority is to be as flexible as possible in our itinerary.

At that point, Gilles was determined to change plans, because he considered the attitude of the government towards travellers as a provocation, especially shortly before the Olympics. Heidi was not ready to give up that trip and eventually, she found a “travel agency” that offered to fulfil all requirements, for 850 Hong Kong Dollars a piece, a lot more than the regular application fee.

By now, our passport is in Chinese hands. We will know Saturday early morning if we can travel to China or not… Let’s wait and see!

“Have a nice flight” shouted the driver of the car rental shuttle after dropping us off at the international terminal of Auckland airport. Seconds later our eyes were scanning the huge board listing all departures, one flight was cancelled, flight Cathay Pacific CX 108 to Hong Kong, ours. Not good!

Cathay Pacific employees at the check-in desk informed us that due to a taifoon in Hong Kong, the flight had been cancelled, with our plane still in Hong Kong. “Wait there, we will know more in about 45 minutes”. Well, after waiting around much longer, getting in a queue not knowing if we were supposed to be in this one or not, we finally managed to get rebooked: to Sydney! From there, we took a flight to Hong Kong arriving at 05:30 am, 9 hours later than scheduled.

A big double-decker bus took us from the airport on Lantau to Hong Kong Island gliding along wide deserted highways, crossing giant bridges on the way. Hong Kong is not an early riser!

After crossing the border coming from Laos, we will first visit the Jinghong Region in the far south, before heading towards Kumnig, Dali & Lijiang.

We will then take the train to the famous Guilin, and spend time enjoying the less touristy Yangshuo & Sanjiang.

Finally, we plan to visit Guangzhou, Macau & Hong Kong, our last stop before flying back to Europe …