Alex breaks the loo

We had a bit of a problem with our water throne this morning. The toilet cistern lid managed to slip through Alex’s fingers and upon collision with the floor instead of deciding to remain in one piece tried to spread itself into as many different corners of the bathroom as possible. The situation arose because the toilet cistern wasn’t filling so Alex was having to use the shower to fill it. So really it was all the hotels fault. Obviously. However we doubted that the hotel would see it this way and so after a quick search and rescue mission we’d located the vast majority of the lid and piled it onto the bed. Alex then pulled out his ever trusty superglue and attempted the nigh on impossible task of emergency reconstructive surgery. Sadly there were none of the sterilising options available that are normally present in an operating theatre and so there was a lot of skin left behind on the toilet lid as the glue really did what it said on the label and actually dried quickly. This also meant that the moment of truth came around very soon and it wasn’t long before we were staring at the finished article complete with stylistic cracks. Our hearts trembled as we separated it from where it had attached itself to the bedspread , we hoped against hope that it would hold as we placed it back on the toilet. Luckily it did and now it just needed to hold until we came back at the end of the day to collect our bags. Erk!

We had most of the rest of the day to kill before our flights to Vietnam so we decided to head across from the mainland to the island. There is a ferry that takes you across for HK$2 which is really cheap. We had read somewhere that this is one of the top ten short boat rides in the world. This is not the case. The skyline was definitely interesting but unless there’s a giant rampaging lizard of some kind it is like every other big city skyline in the world.

After disembarking we formed our plan of action and set off in the direction of the eight hundred metre long escalator that makes it way up the start of Victoria Peak. Once we’d gone up far enough we made a turn off and made for what was billed as the famous Man Mo Temple. After struggling to find it we had a brief look around. It really isn’t all that impressive as a temple but the history behind it runs very deep and as such it is often held in quite a high regard. However it definitely wasn’t a place to spend the entire day and so we meandered our way back through the streets trying to put from our minds the thought that our superglue ruse might have been uncovered. We eventually made it back to our hotel to pick up our bags. There was a tense moment when the receptionist came out to greet us and for a second both of our hearts dropped when he started talking as we were walking off, but he was only wishing us on our way. We had gotten away with it; as they say he who dares, wins!

There was then a quick bus to the airport before a relatively pain free entrance onto the plane in readiness for Vietnam. We were originally planning to go overland via train but we hadn’t planned ahead and got the multiple entry visa for China. Flights was the stress free option as opposed to hanging around waiting for visas to come through and then two days of travelling. It was a little more expensive but actually in terms of timings will probably work out better for us. And so it was that we took one last look at the bright lights. Not too sure what to expect when we touch down but either way we’re sure it will be something to look back on.

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• At this point we well amend one of the rules in The death of a comrade, super glue can also be used to fix toilets.

• The Man Mo Temple is an important landmark and if you have time worth seeing but don’t bank on spending the whole day there.

• Check out Rach's reviews of the Hong Kong attractions: Man Mo Temple, Mid-levels escalator and Star Ferry Pier