Hong Kong was our stopover in both directions, and we chose to stay for a whole day so we could have a decent sleep and look around a bit. We loved Hong Kong, and we'll definitely be going back there for a couple of weeks next time.

Going from chilly Autumn at home, to hot humid Hong Kong was a bit of a shock to our systems, and we were relieved when we finally found our hotel (after 45 minutes of wandering up and down Nathan road in a daze with our suitcases) and discovered a very nice airconditioned hotel room with the best shower pressure ever.

From talking to people before we left, we were under the distict impression that all there is to Hong Kong is smelly smoggy atmosphere, and shopping districts. What we found was a clean, modern city with amazing architecture, very friendly locals, and wonderful parks.

We weren't there to shop, so I can't comment on that side of things.

While we were there we spent the day exploring Kow Loon Park, Hong Kong Zoological Gardens, the Peak Tram, and various restaurants. We loved it, and regret not spending more time there.