Hong Kong by night

Hong Kong seems much more exciting at night. The smog and daily grind is replaced by a kaleidoscope of neon illuminating the entire city.

Hong Kong

Without hiking a steep 40 minutes to Victoria Gardens, the easy way to take in the best views is along the one-hour loop walk along the Harlech and Lugard roads. These vistas, although good, are fleeting as dense undergrowth obscures most of the lookout points.

Hong Kong

Peak Tower, Hong Kong

I'd read that some of the best views of the city are had by taking the Peak Tram up to the Sky Terrace. The tram is hauled up a sheer slope by a single cable. Although it has a faultless safety record I feel its strain as it struggles up the hill loaded with tourists. At the top I'm greeted by yet another shopping centre and a wax work model of Bruce Lee. It's another 10-odd escalator rides before I reach the viewing platform. The views are breathtaking.

Temple Street Market, Hong Kong

I'm excited about Temple Street Night Market remembering the excellent one I went to in Bangkok a few years along. But this is disappointing. I could be in any market the world over. There are stands down one street selling all the usual tat of bags, sunglasses, CDs, fake label clothes etc. I'm keen to try some street food as I haven't seen much of it here but all I manage to find are a couple of corner restaurants with tables sprawling onto the streets. The food is admittedly good.

Hong Kong

As I force my way through the thick crowds on the streets of Kowloon, with echoes of 'copy watch, ma'am?', 'tailor for you?' (I know I'm scruffy but no need to rub it in) bouncing off me like a pinball machine, I wonder if Hong Kong has a spiritual side. All of what I've seen so far is commercial. You can buy anything in Hong Kong as long as you have the cash. I know I should be buying up electronic gadgets like there's no tomorrow but I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff on offer that my brain can't cope.

Hong Kong

View of the financial district from the dirty windows on the 43rd floor of the China Bank Building

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is busy, smoggy and chaotic. It's largely what I was expecting but a bit grubbier. I take the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island, the financial heart of the city, and explore. Everything is well sign-posted in Chinese and English so I have none of the problems I had in Beijing a few year ago.

The Escalator connects the upper and lower parts of the island with a series of escalators, avoiding the need to walk up steep steps. Excellent.

(Photo - the Escalator, Hong Kong Island)

Hong Kong

After spending all day in Brisbane airport and eight hours on a plane I'm tired. I look at the email Mr Chen sent me which scares me a little.

I'd booked my budget accommodation on Nathan Road (Hong Kong is expensive) through a great little website called www.trav.com. A couple of days later I received an email from Mr Chen giving me intructions on how to get there. Every second line mentioned people 'cheating me' in capital letters so I wasn't to talk to anyone, tell anyone where I was going or show anyone anything. 'THEY WILL CHEAT YOU' was firmly engrained in my brain. Have the Triads taken over Hong kong?

I call Mr Chen when I land at midnight and he tells me to go to the Holiday Inn and call him from there. At the plush hotel the porter takes my bags and asks me if I want to check in. How awkward. In a meek voice I say I'd like to make a phone call as I'm waiting for my 'friend'. I don't want to say 'Mr Chen' in case I look like a lady of the night, but I'm certainly not well-dressed enough to be one of those.

While I'm waiting I'm hoping Mr Chen's 'hotel' is as nice as this one but I know it won't be. Ten minutes later Mr Chen shows up in the lobby and says 'this way'. I'm too tired to ask questions or worry, so I follow him on to the neon highway that is Nathan Road and into a shabby labyrinthine building. There's rubbish everywhere and it smells of wee.

We take lift up to the 14th floor and enter a tiny reception crowded with random items. Mr Chen shows me to my room. It's the smallest room I've ever seen. Like a cupboard with a bed. There's a shower cubicle with taps off the wall. It reminds me of a marine shower. I spend a couple of seconds wondering where to put my backpack and realise I can only put it on the floor. I'll have to climb over it to get in and out of bed. The air conditioning rattles like an unfastened gate in the wind. At least it's clean.

To Hong Kong

As I check in at Brisbane Airport for my flight to Hong Kong the attendant says: 'You know it's delayed don't you?' ' No' I reply 'By how long?' 'Five hours' she says. It takes a couple of seconds for this to register. I then ask why. Not that it matters. 'I don't know' she says. I'm now due to board at 4pm instead of 11am but at 4.15 there's an announcement at the gate that there are mechanical problems. The boarding time has now been put back to 5pm. I hear someone behind me say that the flight may be cancelled altogether. I start to become annoyed although thinking about this logically - do I really want to get on a plane with mechanical problems? On the positive side I have managed to finish my book, the brilliant 'Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood. We finally board at 5pm and I notice for the first time that the flight takes eight hours. On the world map Hong Kong doesn't seem that far from Australia so in my head I'd estimated three or four.

I'm sitting next to a psychiatric doctor. Having always been fascinated by psychology I ask him the differences between Schizophrenia, Bi-Polar Disorder and clinical depression. He says Bi-Polar is the new expression for manic depression, a term you don't hear that much anymore. He also says that an estimated 1% of the population is schizophrenic. Really? That high? 'That must mean that there are four schizophrenics on this plane', I say. He laughs and says that he's not sure schizophrenics would be flying. When he says that the percentage of people with Bi-Polar Disorder is much higher I cagily ask how they differentiate between this and 'ordinary' depression. 'Patient history' he replies.

Brisbane, Australia

Queensland houses upriver

Brisbane, Australia

Well Sydney it ain't although it does have a mini version of the Harbour Bridge. Still it's not a bad place to spend a few days I reckon.

Brisbane, Australia

I'm not really sure how much I can see in a day pounding the streets. I'm also feeling lazy if the truth be told so I decide to take a cruise up the river.

Brisbane, Australia

I'm not expecting much of Brisbane. Everyone I've spoken to has said it's not interesting at all. Poor Brisbane. Having to compete with Sydney and Melbourne. I've decided to spend a day here, not doing very much, to relax mainly before I fly to Hong Kong. Walking around the city centre I'm pleasantly surprised. It's not that bad at all. It's also got great shops although I daren't look too closely.

Whitsundays, Australia

Whitsundays, Australia

Sailing is such a chore

Whitsundays, Australia

Cataran Bay, Border Island, Whitsundays, Australia

Cataran Bay, Border Island, Whitsundays, Australia

Snorkelling at Cataran Bay on Border Island

Whitsundays, Australia

There are 74 Whitsunday Islands, and they're all much the same. Rounded forested hills dotted in clear azure waters. I could stare at this scene all day without getting bored.

Tongue Point, Whitsundays, Australia

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays, Australia

Oh beautiful Whitehaven Beach. White sand. Turquoise water. No people. Heaven.

Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays, Australia

Oh but there's a glimpse of silver sand. And the sun is coming out...

Whitsunday Islands, Australia

The weather is grim. As we board we're handed yellow raincoats to ward off the driving rain. Sitting on deck and not being able to see much beyond grey skies is depressing. It's always supposed to be sunny in the Whitsundays. Surely.

Not only that but I'm with a Contiki group of 20 somethings. They're ok really. I'm just really attached to my bed these days. Later that evening a couple of hours after I'd gone to bed I hear the Deckie say to the Dutch girl in the bunk below me 'My bed's wet, I'm sleeping with you. Have you done spoons before?' Oh no. I can't believe it. They're going to have sex beneath me. Luckily I don't hear anything else. The next day she tells me she kicked him out an hour later.

Airlie Beach, Australia

It's a five hour bus ride to Airlie Beach and almost as soon as I arrive it clouds over and begins to rain. Although Airlie Beach is a nice enough place to stay for a few days, it's also the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. I only had time to visit either Fraser Island or the Whitsundays. I decided the latter was more conducive to relaxation. Due to time restraints the only sailing boat I could get on was Hammer. At least it wasn't Spank Me.

Yongala Wreck, Australia

As the Yongala is a mass grave (the instructor says if you look carefully you can sometimes see shafts of bone) it's been a non-penetration wreck for the past 14 years. This is also to preserve it as long as possible as oxygen bubbles from diving tanks accelerate corrosion. This means you can only dive around it or above it but not inside. To be honest the wreck is so stunningly beautiful I don't feel I'm missing out. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to see it.

On the way back I tell the instructor that I've been feeling woozy for the past few days and does he think I have decompression sickness. 'No. It's because you don't stay at a constant depth' he replies. 'I think I did' I say. 'You're terrible with a camera' he says. Ahh. He may have a point. I do tend to risk life and limb for the perfect shot.

Yongala Wreck, Australia

As there's nothing else around but sand the wreck has become home to a huge number of fish, some of mutant size. As I swim alongside I find myself swimming through huge schools of fish. There are so many. I spot the usual giant Trevally, Groupers, Wrasse bigger than a metre, Angelfish, Batfish, a huge Marble Ray and an Eagle Ray, several turtles and five or six Olive Sea Snakes streaming from the wreck. I can't believe what I'm seeing. It's without doubt the best dive I've ever done.

Yongala Wreck, Australia

The wreck sits in tact on a sandy bank listing to the starboard side at 60-70 degrees. The top of the wreck lies just 16 metres below the surface while the deepest part lies in 30 metres of water. Since 1911 the wreck has gradually become a dynamic artificial reef hosting an enormous range of corals and fish.

The colours are dazzling. A dream in Technicolour. Lurid purple, red, yellow, in fact every colour coral covers the whole structure. I can't think of any otherway to describe it other than an exquisite coral garden. A small piece of heaven.

Yongala Wreck, Australia

The SS Yongala, which means 'Wide Water' in Aboriginal language was a passenger and freight steamer which left Mackay, on Australia's east coast, on 23 March 1911 bound for Townsville.

With no radio on board the captain was unaware that he was steaming into a cyclone. The vessel sank with a loss of all 122 lives. The wreck was discovered in 1947 but not identified until 1958. It's one of the most historical intact wrecks in Australian waters and is one of the top 10 wrecks to dive in the world.

Diving the Yongala Wreck, Australia

The Yongala Wreck lies 48 nautical miles south-east of Townsville and takes four hours to reach by boat. It's a nauseous bumpy ride out and several people are sick on the way.

Reef HQ, Townsville, Australia

I've come to Townsville purely to dive the Yongala, one of the top 10 shipwrecks in the world. The dive has been arranged by www.divethereef.com who organised my Advanced Open Water course on the Great Barrier Reef. When I call the dive shop to 'check in' the man asks me to call back after 3.30 when he has the weather report. 'Does that mean we might not go?' I ask. I wasn't expecting this. 'Need to check the wind' he says and puts the phone down. What I didn't realise at the time was the boat hadn't been out for eight days due to high winds. I'm at a bit of a loss as I didn't even think there was a possibility we wouldn't go.

There doesn't seem a lot to do in Townsville either so I head off to the recommended Reef HQ. I'm just in time to join the 'Venomous Animals'' talk which covers the Box Jellyfish, Cone shells, Stonefish and sea snakes. I'm starting to drift off when I hear the Yongala is a breeding ground for sea snakes. Oh lord.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Back in Cairns I pop into Peter Lik's landscape photography gallery. His photos are the ones I wish I could take. I'm particularly mesmerised by one particular photo called Angels Heart, an intoxicating swirl of pink and orange, and enquire how much a large print would be. Four thousand Australian Dollars. They are fantastic though. www.peterlik.com

I've been invited to dinner by my Advanced Diving buddy Angie and her boyfriend. Angie is a nurse from Canada but lives and works in Cairns. As I sit on their huge candlelit outdoor porch overlooking their equally large floodlit swimming pool I feel a little homesick.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

I've seen an amazing array of marine life. Aside from a wide variety of corals there have been sea anemones, giant clams, sharks (White Tip Reef and Grey Reef), Hawksbill Turtles, sea cucumbers, feather stars, Parrotfish, Angelfish, Batfish, Triggerfish, Clownfish, Rabbitfish, Lionfish, Napoleon Wrasse, Trevally, Snappers, eels, and a thousand others I couldn't identify.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

I have a possible three 'fun' dives left on my last day but I literally cannot get out of bed this morning.The dive instructor knocks on my door at 6am. 'Are you diving this morning?' he says chirpily. As I stand there bleary eyed in my pyjamas Bill Bryson's quote comes into my head and I feel like saying 'I'd rather have open bowel surgery in the woods with a stick'. But before I can speak he apologises for waking me up and leaves.

My first dive today is at 11am and as there are only seven of us on the boat and only two of us are certified, I have no choice as to who'll be my buddy. Bizarrely enough I met Christophe on my travels up to Alice Springs. He's an Advanced Diver too so I have no qualms about diving with him although he's very nonchalant about everything.'Yeah yeah don't worry' he says to everything. Although I didn't bargain on him being as bad at navigation as me. After exploring the reef canyons and figuring it's time to go back, neither of us has any idea where the boat is. Chris signals for us to surface. To my horror we're about half a kilometre from the boat and nearly out of air. We're forced to swim through choppy waves back to the boat.

After this experience I'm reluctant to go on a night dive with him. Who knows where we'll end up, and in the dark. The instructor tells me I'll be able to see the lights from underneath the boat for miles around. He's right.

Leopard Shark, Australia

Just kidding! I would have loved to have seen this gorgeous Leopard Shark on the reef but this was taken at the Reef HQ aquarium in Townsville. I did see a few White Tip Reef Sharks and some Grey Reef Sharks but unfortunately didn't manage to grab any photos.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

I dive twice again today including another night dive. After five dives, I'm completely exhausted. I am now a certified Advanced Open Water Diver, even though I wasn't very good at navigation and still struggle to clear my mask under water. I ask the instructor if everyone passes their certificate as I've never heard of anyone failing. 'Not everyone' he replies. 'I had a couple last week who couldn't swim'. I contemplate this for a minute. I can't imagine wanting to dive in deep water if I couldn't swim. I'd be terrified. Later that day I talk to a girl from Hong Kong who started the first Open Water course to be told that 'she wasn't ready' and was downgraded to a scuba diving course.

(Photo - A Clownfish or 'Nemo' as everyone calls them hiding in the sea anemone)

Saxon Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Guide to the reef

Saxon Reef (Clipper), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

After the four compulsory dives, it's time for the more fun electives. Of course I've chosen Photography as mine but have also asked to do Underwater Naturalist so I can at least identify some of what I'm seeing and photographing. We've also moved to Saxon Reef which seems more abundant in marine life. My camera steams up half way through the dive so I'm disappointed I don't manage to capture the White Tip Reef Shark ominously poised on the sand. The camera also has a red filter which restored the true colours of the reef (I think red is the first colour in the spectrum that's absorbed by water).

Saxon Reef (Sandras), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The last compulsory dive and the one I know I won't be any good at is Underwater Navigation. We need to navigate in a square underwater with a compass. I barely manage it on land therefore I have little chance underwater. Hopefully the visibility will be so poor the instructor won't be able to see me. The visibility is poor but unfortunately I'm paired up with a buddy and we're told to go off. After navigating half the square I become confused with my compass bearings which is when my buddy (who's male and no doubt better at directions than me) takes over and navigates us back. My instructor doesn't seem to mind this and in turn sends me to check he's going the right way when it's his turn. As if I'd have a clue.

Norman Reef (Playground), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Having done four dives yesterday, the thought of plunging into deep cold water at 6.30am does not excite me. If there was anyway I could avoid it I would. It's not even properly light yet. It's the third dive of the Padi Advanced course, the Deep Dive, which requires me to dive to a depth of 30 metres. That translates as cold water in my head.

It actually turns out to be the best dive I did. The water is calm and free of currents, and the sun is just rising, filtering down a subdued light. On the ocean floor the instructor breaks open a raw egg that's immediately gobbled up by a giant silver Trevally fish. He then takes out a slate with numbers to test our alertness. Nitrogen Narcosis starts to set in at 24 metres for most people impairing mental functions. I can't remember if he told us what to do or if I wasn't listening properly so when he signals 3-2-1 I'm not sure whether he wants me to add the numbers up and which numbers? Obviously Nitrogen Narcosis has always been a problem for me. I then realise he wants me to count to 26 on the board while he times me. 38 seconds. He will then test me on land. I am only marginally faster above water.

Norman Reef (Playground), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

It's the one I've been dreading most: the Night Dive. I've struggling to work out why anyone would want to blindly jump into cold inky water. The fact that a torch is needed to see anything surely means we shouldn't be doing it. Despite my reservations and fear, I've been told by those in the know that these are the best dives they've done so there's no way I'm not going to try it.

As I launch myself off the boat saying inaudibly I thought 'I'm not sure I want to do this' the instructor replies 'it's alright'. Even with a torch it's not as bright as I expected. Perhaps the visibility is too poor. The instructor points to something on the corals. I can't see anything but nod anyway. Then it moves and I notice two Reef Octopuses with linked tentacles gliding over the rocks. Afterwards he asks if I saw them change colour as they became more wary of us. I didn't as I was just thrilled to see them in the first place.

Even more amazing are the Grey Reef Sharks. Shortly before I jumped in the instructor had thrown some bread off the boat. As we're ascending on the anchor line seven or eight 1-2 metre specimens circle us in the floodlight of the boat. I'm transfixed, not quite believing what I'm seeing. Sharks.

(Photo - Hawksbill Turtle)

Norman Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Norman Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

To be honest I've already had enough and am not looking forward to my two other 'Advanced'' dives today. The first is Peak Performance Buoyancy. It would not be a good time for a runaway ascent so I monitor my buoyancy carefully. While the other two are practising hovering for a minute, the instructor decides I have too many weights on so removes one which leaves me struggling to avoid an ascent. I'm not sure I manage to hover perfectly for a complete minute but my swim through hoops (literally) impresses the instructor sufficiently to pass me.

Norman Reef (Troppos), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

On my second 'fun' dive I ask the instructor if I can switch masks. 'They're all the same' he says. Unless I have a face that just isn't compatible with snorkel masks I know this isn't true so I grab a different one and hope this one is better. It's also my first dive without an instructor so I'm a little apprehensive.

There are four of us, with me and my buddy at the back of the group. The visibility is still poor so I stick close to my buddy. As we're moving up the narrow sand bank between two walls of coral my buddy turns around and signals what looks like a snake. A snake. Really? Actually I've no idea what she's trying to communicate but as she turns around and continues I follow on anyway. Suddenly I'm thrown against one of the walls of coral and pinned helplessly. I'm clinging on for dear life which makes me feel guilty as I know I'm not supposed to touch the coral. There's no option but to surface. I can't see anyone anymore so I can't signal that I'm going up. When I do reach the surface I realise I'm perilously close to the waves lashing the shallow areas of the jagged (?) reef. I signal to the boat to come and pick me up as we were told to do in our briefing. The lookout signals for me to swim back to the boat. What's the point of signalling for help if they're going to tell you to swim.

Norman Reef (Plate Top), Great Barrier Reef, Australia

My first two dives are 'fun' dives, not counting towards my course. Just as well because when I jump in both my fin and mask come off . The latter promptly sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor in water too deep to retrieve. It's not a good start. I was anticipating problems with a leaky mask but none before I'd actually put my head in the water.

The sea is choppy, full of currents and surges and the visibility is poor. As expected my mask leaks and I struggle to empty it. While I'm on my third or fourth attempt (I never mastered this skill) the diving photographer motions for me to pose by some coral. I've never felt so close to murder.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

As I wasn't expecting much of Cairns I'm heading straight out to the Great Barrier Reef for three days of liveaboard diving organised by www.divethereef.com who managed to find me an Advanced course dive package that didn't cost a small mortgage.

It's raining and the seas are so rough people everywhere are being sick in bags. There are 30 of us, an assortment of snorkellers, experienced and non-experienced divers. After 1.5 hours of travelling 30 kilometres from Cairns, we arrive at our diving spot on the reef. I look out and see we're in the middle of the ocean. If it wasn't for waves breaking over a shallow part of the reef we could be anywhere. It's not how I imagined the Great Barrier Reef. I envisioned a string of sand bars with inviting warm turquoise lagoons. This water is dark, rough and looks cold. I don't want to jump in.

Cairns, Australia

I'm surprised to see Cairns doesn't even have a beach. The sea is so far out they have a lagoon instead. A huge swimming pool really.

Cairns, Australia

It isn't possible to fly from Broome to Cairns so I end up having to fly around the whole of Australia to get there: Broome to Perth, Perth to Brisbane, Brisbane to Cairns. A total of 15 hours travelling. Come on Virgin Blue. Sort it out.

Australians have told me not to bother going to Cairns as it's horribly touristy. I tried to avoid it but could seem to find anywhere else to do my Advanced Diving Certificate. I'm not expecting to like it so am pleasantly surprised. It is touristy but I welcome that after four weeks of nothingness. It's also raining which I find strangely pleasant after a month in the dry desert heat.

Broome, Australia

Broome shuts down at 10pm so we're forced to go to the Roebuck pub which seems to be the only place open late. It's the sort of place you raise your eyebrows in disbelief at and then quickly leave but as there's nowhere else we stay for a couple of drinks. I pretend to be engrossed in the athletics on TV so I won't be dragged up for karaoke.

Cable Beach, Broome, Australia

Cable Beach is a gorgeous wide expanse of sand that stretches as far as the eye can see. It's one of Australia's top beaches and one of the top three in the world according to some marketing literature I read in the hostel. Marketing people will say anything.