RTW Trip Preview – Hong Kong Then Home

Image above: My clothes consultants Seline and Ada helping me shop in Causeway Bay. [Saturday 03 October]

After Cambodia, a one night stopover in Hong Kong before heading back to London and thus completing my crazy round the world trip.

Arriving back late on Friday night, Ada took me to this tiny piano bar in Soho to chill out with her friends until 03:00. Then, after a good sleep in, we met up with Seline for dim sum at IFC before they took me clothes shopping in Causeway Bay. A lot of fun trying different styles on and having them comment on what worked for me … or not. In the end my AMEX card took a definite hammering! Then it was finally time for me to head to the airport and take the final flight of my trip back to London and home.

Image above: Gazing at the cloud formations over Greenwich as sun rises on my return to London. [Sunday 04 October]

Looking back at the trip, the 29 days seem to have just flown to the point that arriving back in London it felt that I hadn’t actually left at all. Though, looking through my Twitter and Facebook updates during this trip, it’s a fun summary of what I got up to:

06 Sept: Having a fab time in LA and after being up for on and off for +48 hours now I’m crashing for a proper night’s sleep. Blog post to come.
06 Sept: Awake and Brian is taking me out for a Hawaiian breakfast.
08 Sept: Now in Rarotonga arriving to overcast skies, wind, and rain. What happened to my beach paradise? :( Hoping for better weather tomorrow.
10 Sept: Finishing up with Rarotonga and in 12 hours heading onwards to Wellington. Blog post to follow …
10 Sept: Kinda jetlagged after all-night flight from Rarotonga to Auckland. Waiting for my connection to Wellington. Then will crash … hard.
11 Sept: Been a much needed relaxing day just chilling out with Clara and Richard in their home and playing with their kids. They are so cute.
12 Sept: Was taken around Te Papa museum by Tom, my 4.5 yr old guide and had to explain electricity to him. *cue really random explanations!* :D.
13 Sept: A gorgeous blue sky day in Wellington (finally!) and after a fun day with the kids I am utterly exhausted. How do parents keep up???
14 Sept: Getting a break from the kids took a jeep along the south coast to watch the seals. Now final night in NZ before flying to Oz tomorrow.
15 Sept: Goodbye New Zealand … Hello Australia! :)
15 Sept: Sharing my bed with Oscar, Lynn’s cat, tonight. http://twitpic.com/hte9l
16 Sept: Had two delicious bowls of pho last night and back out this morning to try out more yum food in Melbourne.
16 Sept: Yay … off to meet @bluntpencil whom I’ve not seen since 1999. Way overdue for a hug and proper face-to-face catchup over Korean!
17 Sept: Great meeting up with Jason from my January India/Nepal trip and laughing together at old memories over an Indian lunch to celebrate.
17 Sept: Night walk in the CBD followed by an hour long night drive with Peter to try and get Qian to settle and sleep. And it kinda worked! :)
18 Sept: Final night in Melbourne and packing for my early morning flight to Perth. Thanks to @bluntpencil for taking me to the airport tomorrow.
19 Sept: In Perth and heading to bed for an early night before @justyn_sg wedding first thing in the morning.
20 Sept: Surprisingly good night’s sleep (i.e. passed out) and all ready to head to the wedding venue.
20 Sept: 03:45 and finally going to bed after a great time at @justyn_sg and Donald’s wedding. Only four hours of sleep ahead then SG.
21 Sept: Congrats to @justyn_sg and Donald on their marriage and its off to Singapore for me now.
23 Sept: 41 hours in Singapore catching up with five friends and now at Changi waiting for my HK flight.
23 Sept: Randomly watching “Let’s Speak Korean” on Arirang in my HK hotel room. Really should review my Korean!
24 Sept: Relaxing day in Discovery Bay with Carmen and now off to check out an exhibition with Seline.
24 Sept: Hilarious night with Seline and her friends and finally got the Perth post out. Macau in 6 hours. Really got to sleep.
25 Sept: Yawn … off to see Bela’s home town of Macau today and how am I still hungry after all the food last night???
25 Sept: Waiting for my ferry back to HK after a fab though sweltering day trip to Macau. Think that I’ve got even darker!!!
25 Sept: Five hours of sleep and then it’s up again to catch my flight to Siem Reap and start the Cambodia stage of my trip.
26 Sept: All checked in and having breakfast with Ada at HK airport before we fly to Phnom Pehn first.
26 Sept: Yay! Arrived in Phnom Penh, almost lost my jacket, randomly found free wifi, and now waiting for our flight to Siem Reap in an hour.
26 Sept: Loving free wifi + iPhone. Teatime snack in Siem Reap. http://twitpic.com/j6qct
27 Sept: Had an amazing day seeing Angkor Wat then quad biking for the first time through paddy fields at sunset. Totally covered in mud!
28 Sept: Watched the sunset on top of a temple. Simply breathtaking. Out to a floating village and a flooded forest tomorrow.
30 Sept: Monsoon season = having to wade through knee high water to get from dinner back to the hotel whilst wearing a black bin liner!
30 Sept: The dark side of travelling is when you get robbed. Ada just got her bag snatched. Thankfully nothing major but not liking PP much now. :(
01 Oct: Chilling out in a boutique cafe overlooking the grandiose Royal Palace in Phnom Pehn.
02 Oct: Sucking up free wifi at Phnom Penh airport at the end of my Cambodian adventures heading to Hong Kong to end my RTW trip.
02 Oct: 04:00 in the morning and just going to bed after an interesting night out with Ada and friends in Fresco. Shopping spree when I wake up!
03 Oct: Day 29 and my last day in Hong Kong and of the whole RTW trip. The time has flown by. Final bit of shopping then airport.
03 Oct: Day 29 and boarding my flight back to London with some awesome memories I’ve collected on my adventure. Time to plan the next one. :)
04 Oct: 05:30 and touchdown after a good flight back to London. Glad to be home. :)