Day 118 – A long layover

I made myself get up early so I could take one last swim from Manly. It hit me quite hard that this was the last bit of sun and sea I’d be relaxing in for a while. I’ve been burying the thoughts of stepping back into winter and as I swam I felt pretty sad to have to be leaving.

After packing my backpack I took one last wonder round town before I was picked up by an airport transfer bus I’d booked. The traffic was heavy and the air sticky but I was glad to be going slow so I could take my final looks at the city. We drove over the bridge and over the top of Circular Quay.

Getting through the airport went without issue and before I knew it I was sat on the plane. I wasn’t too sure how long the flight was but had decided to stay awake and watch films. It turned out to be a long flight, made worse by some git in front of me slamming his chair back on my legs. I politely asked him to move it up a few inches several time but he just got irate and started arguing. I was very close to slamming him into the seat in front but I thought it wasn’t worth the hassle. I hope he enjoyed the knees in the back of his back!

Getting to Hong Kong island from the airport is simple as, I walked straight out of the terminal and onto the airport link train. In 24 minutes I was at the end of the line and looking for a way go get to the hotel. Unfortunately the courtesy bus had finished running some time ago so. I opted for the tube over a reasonably priced cab as I’ve had a crack at most tube systems in other cities and wanted to experience this one. What followed was frustrating hilarity. It starts with three lifts; I’d taken one from the to the top to find the taxis and was told the tube, MTR, was below the level I got on at. Getting back on the lift it randomly goes up before going down. Back on the first level I have to change lifts to take the one for the MTR, a level below. Now these lifts are slow and I’m carrying my full pack so I wasn’t amused. Finding the ticket machine I found out I it wouldn’t take $500 notes, the only type I had. So it was back up one lift, then the other to get change from someone at an info desk. Then reverse the process, again, to finally get back down. In total it took me a good half an hour of up and down just to get to through the barriers.

The MTR station, Central, is a good 20 minute walk underground and my final stop, Causeway Bay, another 10 minutes on the tube. From there I walked underground to the Times Square exit. I’d planned ahead and put a screen shot of a map Google map to my hotel on my camera for reference. It took some wandering and gut instinct directions to find the road. I walked to the end of the directions and couldn’t see anything. I spotted a road sign which pointed out the numbers in each direction and figured that I’d been walking in totally the wrong direction. I found the hotel not far from where I set out and by this time it was midnight. Thankfully the hotel was stunning, all gold and marble in the foyer. I must have looked a right state stumbling in late and sweaty and half expected to be thrown out. My room was a dream, the nicest place I’ve stopped in all travels and with a good view over the racecourse. Ah a comfy bed for the night!