Well, we are finally underway. Left home at 3.30 snd had a trouble free journey to Heathrow. Plane left on time at 9pm, and I can recommend the service from Air New Zealand. An unbelievable array of films were available to view, and Paul got his veggie meal as pre booked. We did not get a lot of sleep on the plane, as there were only about 4 hours of darkness, however the plane arrived about an hour earlier than advertised so that was compensation. The views of central China from the plane were fantastic. On arrival at the international airport on Lantau Island, we passed through customs without problem, and quickly found our bus to the hotel. The drive from the airport to our hotel in Kowloon took about 40 minutes, and was a tantalizing drive as the sun set over the city and we weaved up and down bustling streets filled with shops and markets selling every conceivable item. We are on the 11th floor of the hotel but the view is limited to the tower blocks on the other side of the road. Having had an evening meal in th hotel restaurant which was nice but expensive, we took a stroll around the immediate area. Despite being 9PM there were lots of shops and stalls open. We found one street that had noting but shops for pets. There were shops selling nothing but dog food, several shops selling puppies and kittens, and a shop specialising in clothes for your pet ! We finally retired to our hotel at 9.30pm feely slightly jaded after our travelling. One final challenge for the day though - Ali reports that she cannot open the combination lock for her suitcase - the number she set it at back at home seems to have changed and the lock now does not work - meaning she will be lugging a suitcase full of clothes round Australasia for a month without being able to use any of the contents ! Luckily a bit of trial and error results in the case being opened by using one digit different from the supposed number, and the use of heavy duty pliers was avoided !