Happy New Year From Hong Kong

Well New Year's Eve celebrations in Hong Kong are not for the faint-hearted. We had a wonderful time at an Aussie-styled pub, Ned Kelly's Last Stand, in downtown Kowloon and drank Cosmopolitans all night. We met some lovely people who are Hong Kong nationals and also had a jazz band playing. Unfortunately we decided to leave the pub so we could see the fireworks over the Harbour and we were packed like sardines with about 2 million people. The roads were blocked and it took us 2 hours to walk 1.5 kms. A bit scary to be in such a crush of people but a great night anyway. Today we went down to the Harbour again and then took the Metro to Diamond hill to see the Nan Lian Garden. It is a beautiful serene area of lovely manicured gardens and a wonderful way to enjoy a bit of nature while surrounded by high rise buildings.
So far we've managed to buy a few things at the markets and Stephanie is learning all about bargaining. Our hotel is placed near Temple St and very convenient but the beds are as hard as the floor. In fact we tried sleeping on the floor and I think there was more "give" in the concrete floor! It has encouraged us to get out and explore as resting on a soft mattress isn't an option. I believe that "it's all part of the experience" and any other beds we encounter can only be better.
Not a lot of use of the internet here as we haven't been able to use the HK keyboard at the hotel.
Off to explore again so more later.
Hugs, Jan Mac