After heading off and buying a far too expensive breakfast, I was lucky to be let into the hostel when I returned. All checked in and showered, I was ready to head out into the big city!

Just as I was about to leave, I met a nice French girl called Paloma who happened to be going to Hong Kong Island too so we decided to go together.
While we chatted on the ferry Paloma suddenly began shouting,
“Racheal! Racheal!” I wondered if I had chosen to spend the day with a crazy woman but a red headed girl and her friend turned and came over to us.
It turns out they all knew each other from travels in China so we joined forces and spent the day together. Their names were Racheal and Sophia and they are also from England. I was pleased that they were all keen map users and, as this isn’t The Duke of Edinburgh awards, I didn’t expect I would have to take turns using the map.

Our first stop was a temple that was filled with incense sticks and Buddhas, the smell reminded me of when I was a teenager and would buy cheap incense from the crystal shop and stink the whole house out. Unfortunately, I didn’t know then that you can get giant incense wheels that burn in a huge spiral.

Along one of the streets was an antiques market, I had to talk myself out of buying a ramekin with a plastic fish at the bottom. Apparently I have a thing for fish related souvenirs like the time I bought 5 glass fish in Venice and was stopped at customs. The security guard unwrapped each one curiously before deciding that I wasn’t an 8 year old drug trafficker but just a geeky ginger child with a bunch of ornamental fish.

Sophia was keen to find Soho, nobody warned me about all the steps! I thought I was done with steps now! We walked the narrow streets and climbed and climbed eventually reaching Soho. After 5 minutes it was determined that it’s probably better at night...back down the stairs!

Oh goody, an aviary. My favourite...
I pushed myself through the 70’s style metal chains into the pits of hell! Hell may be a too strong metaphor, the scenery was splendid but as I caught sight of one of the feathered beasts, I had visions of birds swooping over my head causing me to me fall over the banister and drop the 3 meters to the ground. Now dead, they all arrive to feast on my flesh, one pops an eye ball into its mouth! My new friends look down in horror knowing that they are to blame for my painful and undignified death.
“She didn’t even want to go!” Sophia would cry.
As it went, I was not attacked by birds, they had fruit out on the trees to keep their evil little minds occupied. Better still, most of the birds were on the trees or on the ground below so they kept their distance.