Baby Barrett has become quite a jet setter and seems to enjoy time on a plane…except when the seatbelt sign constrains him! On the flight to Hong Kong he made great use of the near empty flight by climbing over the seats and practicing his new sitting skills. We’re not sure the Jet Star staff were so delighted but since we haven’t been so enamoured with Jet Star (think less tacky but more shit than Ryanair) so we didn’t care. 

Hong Kong was Dad’s choice. Despite all his previous travels he had never made it here and really wanted to see it. With BB in tow we were expecting frantic, humid, hot and maybe hard work.

How happily surprised were we? Hello Hong Kong you gorgeous, shiny and fun city. The setting is beautiful – hilly terrain surrounded by stunning blue sea. Hong Kong centred on the harbour between HK island and Kowloon. Sky scrapers litter the bay – more NYC than Canary Wharf. Behind, beneath and next to them there is the real HK in hiding. Neon signs, noisy restaurants, big shopping malls, busy street markets – it is all there. 

Perhaps it was our previous stops in Hanoi and HCMC that made HK feel quite chilled. I don’t think we saw a motorbike in our time here. It is busy, but polite busy.  Even the hawkers hand out business cards!

In case you can’t tell we have loved our time in Hong Kong. BB got his first experience of an open top bus as we sped around the city area taking in the sights.

One highlight was visiting Stanley beach just out of town – much more like our Aussie favourite Port Douglas than an Asian beach town. We also enjoyed checking out the ladies market in north Kowloon. 

Then we headed up Victoria Peak on HK Island and were blown away by the stunning view. 

We were hankering after some western food and so went for a NYC deli style dinner. Check out guilty BB who developed long arms and took a successful swipe at Dad’s beer glass 😮.


We did finally hit the Cantonese food. Honey roasted pork was the best bit. BB also seemed to like the food but I think it is a good job we are returning home – time for a sugar and salt detox!

We finished our 11 week tour standing in Victoria harbour, overlooking Hong Kong island and it’s beautiful Christmas light display. There simply couldn’t have been a better place to end this little adventure.