Destination Hong Kong

This year I decided that I would go for an experience type holiday rather than a destination type holiday. I’m lucky enough to have been able to get a ticket to the Hong Kong Sevens tournament (in Hong Kong obviously!) I also decided that this year I won’t get the coach to Heathrow, but drive there instead. I was getting a bit fed up of the time it takes to get to Heathrow by coach, and the time you have to wait for the coach on the way back and the 8 hours it takes to get back! I could have flown to Toronto in that time.

The meet and greet parking went quite smoothly. I was able to get to the terminal and drop the car off without having to wait, and it was the same when I picked up the car. I had a short wait until the baggage drop off opened so I had a cup of tea and had a read until it opened. Going through security was easy and didn’t take long at all. I spent the next few hours sampling whisky and even had time for a pint of ale; great start to the holiday.

The flight was uneventful and I even managed to get a few hours sleep before touching down in HK. I met with my Auntie and we started on the G&Ts, after dinner I went out with my Uncle for what was supposed to be a few drinks as we had to get up earlyish to get to the stadium; I think it might have been after 2am that we got home…oops! I did manage to get up in time to get to the stadium to hold seats and enjoy the start of the Hong Kong Sevens.

The first match was Japan v Brazil and the Cherry Blossoms absolutely smashed the Brazilians. There was some very good rugby to watch over the three days, big hits, big scores, and big beers! The Hong Kong Sevens needs to be experienced to understand how much fun it is and what the atmosphere is like; words just cannot describe. Luckily for you guys I took some video and photos. David Hasselhoff was there as the main guest and he attempted signing Delilah, however he managed to forget the words, perhaps a beer too many…

Brian O’Driscoll was there too for the opening ceremony. The highlight of the opening for me was the dragon going through the stadium. The entertainment for the second day was The Hoff lipsyncing to the Baywatch theme song surrounded by cheerleaders, followed by The Proclaimers doing a 30 minute set. I’m not sure they were the best choice of band to do the entertainment as nobody seemed to know any of their songs other than 500 miles.

The weather changed on the last day of the Sevens and it absolutely poured down. There were waves of water on the pitch any time somebody went to ground. I’m sure one guy managed to skid to the try line from the 10 metre line! The tournament finished with the two favourites in the final and it was a great match; never thought I’d see New Zealand beaten so badly. After the final I to the HSBC pavilion and continued the celebrations. I’m not quite sure where I ended up but I had a fun night.

The rest of the holiday was spent catching up with family and friends over lunches and dinners. The weather was raining the majority of the time so I didn’t go to the tourist attractions as I’ve seen them before and I didn’t really want to get wet. I did go to the markets though to practice my haggling and managed to get a few souvenirs at decent prices 🙂

All that’s left to do now is to plan the next holiday! Enjoy the photos and videos.