Xin’an

Mark and I don't wake till midday and he is pretty ill, absolutely full of cold. I go down to reception and reserve for another night and have a chat with a couple of people in there. After a short chat I am now aware we need a visa for China. This is not good news as we hadn't planned on staying in Hong Kong too long. I take the short walk round the corner to Starbucks and treat us to an egg and bacon croissant and a coffee before breaking the bad news. When I get back Mark is sat up in bed and his eyes light up when he sees I have food. I tell him about the Visas and after a short discussion we decide to make our way to the immigration office on the other end of town. Well actually it's on another island but still classed as Hong Kong. After a few queries we are in the immigration office to find that tourists have to go to the building next door. One thing that is immediately apparent here is they are not friendly and when asking for help they are quite rude. We enter the building and are greeted straightaway with security before making our way to the third floor. The guy here gives us a form to fill out and there is a place to get our passports copied and photos taken all at an expensive price. All info gathered and it's back to the guy who issues us with a number to join the huge queue. An hour later we are called to the counter where the lady asks if we have our flights booked when I tell her we will be travelling by boat she says we still need proof and when I ask how will I know we will get the visas in time she tells me in a stern voice that we will have to go to the agency upstairs.
What a surprise the price is an additional 30 pound each(more than the actual visa itself) but at this point we have no choice, and I reluctantly hand over my passport and told to return in a week. With this crossed off our list we have decided to go and see the light show over this side of the water. We arrive to the waterfront at just before 7 and I'm pleased to get a seat right on the front but within ten minutes people just literally stand in front of us so as the motto goes, if you can't beat them join them.
Slowly the night draws in and the buildings start to illuminate until finally it's time for the show. Junks float on the water as the buildings light up in time to the music. The show finishes 20 minutes later and along with 100s of other people make our way back to the tube to head back over to the other side of the water.
A couple of things we've noticed is that Hong Kong is a maze of Malls, but that the city also seems bigger underground than on top. The metros are pretty easy to use and very cheap especially with an octopus card.
Back on Hong Kong island we look for somewhere to eat. Inside a shopping mall close to the hostel we sit down and after being brought tea no one comes near for over 15 mins so I tell Mark we are leaving. In another mall we make our way to a Thai restaurant and after eating a delicious dinner it's back to the hostel.Read more