Sabah, Borneo

Some places are best described with pictures, rather than words, and even then it's not quite adequate in capturing the blissfulness of lying on a pristine white beach with turquoise tropical waters lapping at your feet. A welcome and much needed break from the dazzling madness of big cities:

This is my third time on Malaysia's relatively unspoiled coasts - the first being on the amazing Perhentian Islands, which I just can't rave about enough, and the second in Sarawak,during my first visit to Borneo. The fact that I came back should say enough really...

We stayed on the idyllic Gaya Island for a few days where I was lucky enough to spot about 5 black-tipped reef sharks whilst snorkelling, and also unbelieveably relieved to get back into some scuba gear and explore the depths. The diving wasn't as impressive as what I'd found in Perhentian and Indonesia but still well worthwhile. At one point, we found two horseshoe crabs stuck in a net on the seabed which our diving instructor freed - giving us the chance to take a close look at the alien-like species which is effectively a living fossil dating back over 450 million years.

The last couple of nights of our stay were spent at the Shangri-La Resort in Rasa Ria where they are wrapping (today is the last day) up their orangutan rehabilitation programme. We spent the morning watching two two-year old orangutans clambering over each other and their keepers - followed by a canopy walk where we introduced to the pit viper. Our guide gleefully told us that it was called the 100 step snake (because that's as far as you'll get once it's bitten you) whilst poking it with a stick:

Another of the highlights of the trip was a night tour of the mangrove forests that line the rivers around Rasa Ria. At night, the shadows along the river banks come to life with the twinkling glow of hundreds of miniscule fireflies. The scene looks like it's been lifted straight out of a Disney movie - our guide held a small blue-ish light on our boat which mimics the light given off by female fireflies, making the tiny twinkling bulbs lift out of the shadows and float towards the boat

Our last day in the sun was spent sipping coconuts whilst topping up our tans on the beach and hiring out a small catamaran, skippered by Stanley, an ex-mechanic.

Our return trip was broken up by a one day layover in Hong Kong - the mist had finally cleared and we were finally able to enjoy the unbroken views of the amazing skyline:

Sleeping:
Gaya Island Resort - absolute relaxing bliss. They organised snorkelling and scuba diving trips for me and both were great. Evenings are a little quiet as you are stuck on the island so definitely a place for relaxation!

Shangri La Rasa Ria - set on the most amazing stretch of beach and within close proximity to the rivers and mangrove forests - we chose it for the orangutan rehabilitation program which is now closed. 

Hong Kong

Most new places I travel to have the ability to tug at my heart strings and each one seems to strike a different chord making it that little bit difficult to leave each and every time. Hong Kong (which means fragrant harbour) is no exception. Coming from the tiniest of places I have a great love of big cities and although Hong Kong is not the biggest, it certainly knows how to make great use of the space it has available.

I'm at a bit at a loss as to how to describe it in words. It feels as like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces still jumbled up in its box - everything seems a little out of place somehow and yet connected ... cheaply built concrete tower blocks cozy up next to sleek modern glass skyscrapers in the shadow of which you can expect to find anything, thrown together in a seemingly haphazard manner -  a small street lined with vegetable vendors interrupts a row of trendy gift shops (wan chai), a chic coffee place sits next to a sweaty fluorescent-lit noodle joint, stylishly dressed party goers on their way to high end roof top bars, dodge their way through hordes of stumbling drunks outside the 711 (a pretty happening spot in Lan Kwai Fong as people try to avoid the considerably high drinks prices).

Skyscrapers old and new:

At one point we even got lost in a lift for a hour ... although I'm somewhat convinced it  was a tardis - every time the doors opened they revealed a different world; a gym, a wedding banquet (chandeliers and all), shops, a tapas restaurant, a food court, a toy store/amusement arcade ... when we gave up on the lift and tried to take the stairs we stumbled across a sleeping man in wellington boots ... my cheese dreams are less surreal, but it's all part of the quirky charm of this seemingly haphazard city. 

Mong Kok is home to the ladies night market which is a seemingly endless cluster of streets lined with stalls selling pretty much anything you can imagine being sold. Apparently it's also the most densely populated area in the world and might have been for awhile as the name means prosperous/crowded corner.

Mong Kok:

On our last day after giving up hope of having the relentless fog clear,  we took the tram up to Victoria Peak. We were very lucky to coincide with a slight break in the grey weather which allowed us to get a glimpse of the stunning views.

Victoria Peak:

On the way back to Tsim Sha Tsui where we were staying,  we took the ferry as darkness set in and the sky scrapers came to life to reveal stunningly lit skyline shining through the fog. 

The ongoing grind of human history has no understanding of, or interest in, the logic of physical geography and as a result it occasionally churns out a few anomalies. Gibraltar,  my home, is one of these and Hong Kong is another. Whilst wildly different, there seem to be certain parallels across these two identities. I'm told that before Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the first opium war, there wasn't actually too much going on there. Much like Gibraltar,  it was its unique status as a colony that catalysed it's growth - as a result, the Hong Kong have an identity that is unique from that of China or the UK. Now that it has been handed back to China, (whilst retaining its unique status) political tensions are rising between the local population and China, culminating with several protests and riots which have been fuelled by the ongoing manipulation by the Chinese government of the agreed terms of the transfer of the territory.

As is often the case when visiting cities, we left with an appetite to see more and I'd return to Hong Kong in a heart beat to continue enjoying all it has to offer. Special thanks to Resham, Mathias and John (aka "Stu''s friend") for each giving us tips and a glimpse of their version of the city (including the infamous syringe jelly shot):

Sleeping:
Hotel Icon in Tsim Sha Tsui. Lovely hotel in a slightly awkward area. They provide a free shuttle service to the tube which is very helpful and taxis are so cheap that location wasn't that important anyway. There's enough going on around the area that you don't feel at all isolated.

Eating:
Soho: Little Bao (recommended by Resham) was well worth the visit - there is a queue for a reason! The salted caramel dessert was amazing (and I am not a dessert person).

Drinking:
Lan Kwai Fong: Ce La Vi has amazing views (and oddly enough a jacuzzi to dip your feet in)
We stopped for a cocktail at Paradis - It's a restaurant really but has a nice bar area and a really great vibe.
Staunton Street in Soho has tons of cool and quirky bars.