in which Roz and Layla hike all around Hong Kong and eat so much food

By Roz

We woke up on Friday morning and felt fear. We had been promised sun and yet there was none. However, we had come to Hong Kong for the hiking and so were determined to get in a few hiking trips. Especially me, since I have a feeling that my autumn is going to be spent looking at photos of Layla in Hong Kong where she is looking smug having been on beautiful hikes and eaten delicious food whilst I weep in Tokyo - so I may as well try and hike and eat all I can whilst here myself!

Consoling ourselves that at least it wasn't raining, we headed out, picking up lunch and coffee en route. We were off to do a hike on Lantau Island, making our way from one tiny port (Discovery Bay) to another on the other side of a mountain (Mui Wo).  The ferry trip to the island was brief and cheery, but we felt properly remote as we landed in Discovery Bay, home to rich Hong Kongites. Our initial way took us through the back streets of the area through almost shacks (presumably home to staff working for the rich. It was both fun and felt a bit intrusive (though it was clearly a proper walking path) so we were both relieved when we were through this bit and onto the mountain / large hill we were planning to climb. This relief was obviously only temporary since it then required us to start climbing (never a favourite). We passed by a trappist monastery (and felt bemused they would put themselves at the top of a large hill voluntarily) and then finally headed downhill, with fantastic views across the island and out across the sea and Hong Kong itself. We found ourselves arriving into Mui Wo more quickly than we had expected (It was because I'm so fit - Layla) and so mused on our options over a drink. Unexpectedly, we ended up deciding to do a second hike, this one much smaller and flatter to a waterfall. As we did so we mused on all sorts of things (are our urban biking days over?) though primarily we discussed the great joy of the recent photos we have been receiving from our friend depicting our dog Kaseki in all sorts of countries.

When we got back to port, we had ice creams whilst we awaited our ferry. Back home, we hopped into the shower and at this point we discovered that I was massively and unexpectedly sunburned. Though we hadn't seen the sun, my neck and shoulders had. Layla was as peely walley as ever. Bizarre.

Cleaner and a bit sorer (in my case) we headed out for pre dinner drinks and cheese in our local, Classified, before we went off to dinner at a place called Pawn. This is a bar and restaurant in an old building that doubles as a cool art venue, and has some kind of British connection. Both food and setting were excellent. Though Layla was deeply dismayed when she realised she was so full that she hadn't got room for sticky toffee pudding (and I was almost more sorrowful since I had planned to steal some of her dessert). So we headed off to the delightfully named Jolly Thinkers club, which is a slightly terrifying but adorable board games venue. One of the nice staff selected a range of games for us to play and then patiently taught us the two we selected (Lost Cities, then Jaipur, for the boardgame nerds), and he kindly tried to hide his genuine pain when I made fatal mistakes that lost me all the games. It was a very jolly evening all in all.

Next morning, we awoke to a blazing sun and a blue sky. Hooray (though this was not what my sunburn said). We leapt up early and headed back to the pier, destination Lamma Island: another beautiful island nearby. In an ambitious fashion we were planning on two hikes on the island, one up a mountain and a second "family" trail to another port. The first hike proved to be ambitious (by which I mean super steep) but there were beautiful views of Hong Kong, of the beaches and of the sea. We ate lunch in convenient hut with a bunch of excitable locals - and felt very happy that everyone was so cheery and lively and jolly. (This is probably one of the things that I like most about Hong Kong - people have vim and passion and enthusiasm and express it seemingly at all times.)

The second trail was much more crowded than the first, perhaps unsurprisingly because it was pretty flat and hugged the coastline in a scenic fashion. We felt disconcertingly fit that it was our second hike of the day...until we realised our faces were pinker than everyone else's and we certainly didn't look fit. We stopped for a drink half way along, and a read of our books. Delightful.

The ferry ride home was disappointingly quick (by which I mean we both fell asleep and then awoke to find everyone else getting off the boat). As we caught the metro home we debated our dinner options for our last night. I can't remember a trip where I have had so much lovely food (or perhaps that is just how it feels because Tokyo is such a grim struggle on this front). In the end after we had showered and packed we decided to go to Pico, the delightful Italian we had been to last Saturday, since both food and ambience were so lovely. A second visit can be a risky affair, but on this occasion it was just as good, but with the added bonus for Layla that she managed to find room for her first - and last - dessert of the holiday, a tiramisu. We then had a nightcap and made friends with some adorable poodles (and missed our own dog). Back home, we watched Netflix before going to bed early to allow us to leap up early in order to squeeze in one final hike on our last morning.

As such, we were up unpleasantly early to catch a bus to take us to the starting point for today's hike, known as Sir Cecil's Ride. Sir Cecil was a former governor of Hong Kong and we were unclear on the merits of his taste in horse riding paths when we began the hike - the guidebooks don't mention it, but Google had implied it was awfully convenient. Initially we were anxious as the hike seemed less than delightful. However it turned out that we had got on to the hike through some weird extension, and soon we were on a delightful Country Park path, clearly much beloved by locals. The views were amazing - the Hong Kong skyline in all its glory, as though it were posing for a postcard. And the path was mainly downhill. What could be better?! Well, since I hadn't had coffee because of our early start, one thing could have been better... But all too soon (well 2 and a half hours after we had started) we were finishing the hike, and I swiftly steered us to a delightfully hipster coffeeshop where I drank flat whites with glee (and ate toasted banana bread with even more glee, were that possible).

After this delightful interlude we hopped on the metro and were soon back in our hood. We did a final tidy up of the flat, before having a delicious lunch in Beef and Liberty. And then we were headed to the airport (albeit with one final farewell stop in Marks and Spencers). I cannot express how envious I am of Layla for being about to live here for three months (in the autumn, to do a fellowship). They have the best public transport system I have ever seen, amazing hiking, easily available terrific food, copious flat whites and a population with a passion for life. But I am glad that her fellowship will mean that I will be back if only for a visit.

In which Layla and Roz, bounce, perform, and hide from the Hong Kong rain

By Layla

Most of our films at the Hong Kong International Film Festival have been at Metroplex, a cinema in an outlet mall just outside town which also houses something else... A trampoline park! On Monday evening, pre-film, we donned our extra-grip socks and bounced forth into a world of trampoline fun. We were magnificent (well, we slowly jumped bravely up and down) and it was a ridiculous amount of fun. Which is more than can be said for the dreadful Houston, We Have a Problem, the mockumentary that followed and contained zero laughs. Rather, it was just like watching a serious, but entirely inaccurate documentary! We drowned our sorrows with cheese and prosecco at Classified near our house afterwards...

The next day started in jolly form with an animated film about the Hiroshima bomb in Japanese with English subtitles (ironically we cannot watch Japanese films in Japan as they lack subtitles!) in the rather cool arthousey Cinematheque Broadway. There's some deal here which means that senior citizens can get cinema tickets for $3 / £2 during the day and they flock to films as a result - as we learned from am elderly and friendly Chinese man who was a former English teacher who also spoke annoyingly good Japanese. It certainly led to a jolly holidayish vibe (which was rightly absent from the film). And from there to lunch in the adjacent Cafe Kubrick. It's such a delight knowing there's always going to be something vegetarian on any menu here so we can eat in all the cool places. Afterwards we dashed through the rain to the Science Museum which was a bit rubbish but delightfully interactive and I infuriated Roz by beating her on a virtual reality game. She still hasn't forgiven me... That evening we went to yet another cinema, Sky, and saw an array of mostly rubbish short films, before returning to our neighbourhood for a superlative meal at Spanish restaurant 22 Ships. Mmm delicious.

On Wednesday it was STILL raining: infuriating for two people with two plans for Hong Kong: films and hiking. Luckily a local storyteller who I had come across had sent me a rainy day plan so we intrepidly followed it.  We ventured into obscure buildings filled with hip art galleries, up the famous giant moving stairways and escalators that convey Hong Kongians up and down a giant hill (Hong Kong seems to be all about giant hills), and lunched in PMQ, a hipster's dream of cool building and design shops and cafes. We hid from the rain in Fine Print, a coffeeshop where Roz had her best flat white so far in Hong Kong and we lamented Tokyo's paucity of this fine beverage, ubiquitous in other world cities.

We headed home to glam up because tonight was a big night: my first performance at Hong Kong's storytelling show, aptly named Hong Kong stories and housed in the historic and cool Fringe Club. But first, outstanding Mexican food in the nearby steampunk-ish Brickhouse restaurant. The story event was cool - an audience of about 80, some great stories, and I did the closing story (the one about how Roz and I got together, which I first performed at the huge 9:30 Club in Washington). This proved a grand (and possibly alarming) introduction to me for the Hong Kongites.

Yesterday we'd wanted to hike but the weather said no so we kicked off the day at the AMC cinema with a film about Holocaust deniers. Sticking to the jolly film theme, as you can see... (Note from Roz: both this and the Japanese anime were very good notwithstanding the less than holiday vibe.) We headed up a big hill for a delicious lunch at Mana cafe, then hopped on the train to... I'm almost to shy to reveal it... A second trampoline park! Ryze at Quarry Bay felt less cool than Bounce at the Metroplex but soon we were gleefully bouncing and resolving to find more local trampolining when we get home! Roz (eventually) learned to jump from one trampoline to another and we felt - ridiculously - like Olympians as we bounced from one to another. Entirely exhausted by all that excitement, we finished off the day with outstanding Indian food at nearby Himalaya. And went to bed with the promise of mere cloudy skies. Will today be a hiking day? We are hoping yes! 

In which Layla and Roz are thrilled by Hong Kong and climb lots of stairs

By Layla

When we first planned to come to Hong Kong for this year's International Film Festival neither of us had any idea of (a) how good the city is, and (b) that I'm going to be living here for three months. But within an hour of arriving, Hong Kong had charmed us.

First, amazing public transport. Next, a station full of British food places like Pret a Manger and Marks and Spencer, crammed full of delicious vegetarian food as though it were not a freakish delicacy requiring special research and expeditions to track down (I'm looking at you, Tokyo). Then delightful streets (Star Street, Sun Street, Moon Street) crammed with our very favourite types of hipster cafes and restaurants. Everyone dashing past with cute dogs and yoga mats. Views of the harbour and the hills. Everything in English. And an adorable little AirBnB apartment for us to live in. Never mind that the apartment was up four flights of stairs or that the weather forecast said rain for our whole stay. We could already tell that Hong Kong was going to be our kind of city.

After stocking up on M&S food in a manner reminiscent of a gleeful supermarket sweep, we dashed home in the torrential rain with our spoils. Then went out for dinner to a random restaurant brimming with delicious vegetarian options, then hopped on a subway train and a bus. It was time to head to the obscure destination of Metroplex for our first film festival film! It was animated shorts. They were okay but depressingly themed...  Afterwards we had prosecco at a charming Italian restaurant under our apartment and rejoiced in lovely Hong Kong.

The next morning we realised Roz didn't have her wallet and briefly felt wrathful about Hong Kong. But we decided to overlook it and go on a free walking tour which was really interesting. We learned all about how Hong Kong came to be British, and then no longer British. Fascinating stuff. All while strolling along harbourside parks and admiring the famous banking buildings and fancy shops and clusters of maids from the Philippines clustered in impromptu picnics on their day off, all at the Central area of Hong Kong Island.

After a huge vegetarian lunch we popped home to change into warm clothes: that cinema the night before had been freezing! But before we entered today, we asked at the cinema front desk and hooray: they had found Roz's purse, complete with money and cards! We did a jubilant dance and celebrated by buying her a pair of heavily discounted Vivienne Westwood shoes from an adjacent shop, and going to two films. We messed up the times and missed the first half of Window Horses which was very good, about Iran and poetry and family. Then we saw our best film of the festival so far, Our Finest, a British and surprisingly feminist film about making a film about Dunkirk during the war. Don't miss it.

After our cinema extravaganza, we gathered our things, returned to our neighbourhood, and stood in a long line for Pica, a very popular local Italian restaurant. It was a beautiful night and the whole street was convivial and we were drinking more prosecco and when we finally got seated, the food was amazing. Hooray!

The next day's weather looked unpromising but it was time for a hike so we headed to  one of Hong Kong's most famous hikes: Dragon's Back Ridge. Initially a massive queue reminiscent of Disneyland to get the bus, we were delighted to find ourselves hiking in the surprising quiet, over undulating hills with fabulous harbour views, and a Pret a Manger picnic to round it off! A beautiful hike. The rain didn't start in earnest til we were near the bus stop, and soon we were back in town, settling down in a lovely cafe called Elephant Grounds. They had ice cream sandwiches and I was very happy indeed.

That evening we dined in Beef and Liberty - yet another hip, brilliant place brimming with veggie options. Then headed to The Grand, a cinema in west Kowloon, to see a film about Emily Dickinson with Cynthia Nixon  that turned out to be pretty rubbish. But we recovered the evening back in our neighbourhood at Classified cafe where Roz had a cheeseboard, I had a sticky toffee pudding, and we mused on how fat I'll get when I live here...

To combat the expanding waistline, today was another hiking day. We walked through Hong Kong park (which I say looks like a miniature golf course) and then took a very fun, very steep funicular train (aka tram) up to Victoria Peak. As is often the case with our scenic expeditions, the view was obscured by dense white mist. Nevertheless, we set off on a hike on the Victoria Peak Loop, then merged onto the Morning Loop, and walked for a couple of hours amidst lush forest and sort-of harbour views and dogwalkers aplenty til we were spit out... At exactly the building that I'll be living in from the end of August! This was most exciting (well, til I realised it is perched at the top of a large, steep hill) and we pottered around Hong Kong University til we found the train back to Central. We then walked up many more steep hills to Soho and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and halloumi in a charming cafe, before catching a bus home to rest our weary calf muscles.