Sunday 13 March

It's still foggy today, in fact it's worse than yesterday. Steve has just been reading an article in the “Sunday Morning Post” which says that clear views of the harbour are becoming a rarity. The article closes by saying “It (a clear view of the harbour) doesn't happen often, so we should cherish these brief interludes in the slow poisoning by pollution of us all, if only to remember that it needn't be this way.” So, it looks unlikely that the visibility will improve sufficiently to make a trip up the Peak worthwhile.

The Sun rises over Victoria Harbour in fog

Something else we have noticed is that most of the hotel staff have English first names. I'm sure one of our friends who have lived in HK could explain the reason for this, but it baffles us.

We've had a busy day today. First we visited the Museum of History, which covers Hong Kong's history from the beginnings of time through to the handover of the colony to China. The museum has been built since the handover but it appears to give an accurate portrayal of events. We particularly liked the re-created scenes of streetlife, festivals and boat people and also the information on the opium wars – even though it didn't make good reading for us as Brits! It was a real gem of a museum especially as it cost less than a £1 each.

We have finally discovered that Steve's lactose intolerance can actually have advantages! Susanne had recommended that we go for afternoon tea at the Peninsular Hotel, a grand hotel with strong British traditions. So yesterday we went to enquire about whether they could do a dairy free afternoon tea for Steve and they said yes, provided they were given 24 hours notice. So we booked for today. Normally, people who are not staying at the hotel can't book for afternoon tea and have to wait in a queue. However, because Steve's afternoon tea had to be prepared specially we were allowed to book. So we turned up at 2pm and smugly walked past the very long queue that had already built up, to be escorted straight to our table. To say that Steve was impressed with the dairy free cakes that had been prepared for him would be a gross understatement, he was in seventh heaven!

Afternoon Tea at the Peninsular Hotel

Just as we were leaving the hotel we saw yet another bride and groom having their photos taken. Both were dressed entirely in white, the bride in a long flowing dress and the groom in a tail suit. The only thing that spoilt the image was that the groom was wearing white plimsolls! As we left the hotel we followed this couple and their photographer as they headed down a busy street and through a subway (the bride holding her train aloft) to reach “1880 Heritage” another popular place for wedding photographs.

After our leisurely afternoon tea we walked over to the “Star Ferry “ pier and caught one of the ferries for a harbour trip. A nice relaxing way to let our meal go down. When we got back to dry land again it was after 5pm and the area around the pier was manic so we decided to catch the free bus back to our hotel for a rest.

Tomorrow we leave HK at 11.30pm for London, so our next and final blog will be from home.