21-Jan & 22-Jan
Train ¥190, 380, 740
Breakfast ¥1365
Camera strap ¥500
Locker ¥300
Chicken kabob ¥100
Hasedera Admission ¥300
Postcards ¥300
Donations ¥22
Gift ¥1680
Admission ¥200
Dinner ¥1880
Coffee ¥210
Hotel ¥4450
Subtotal ¥29,432 (US$245)

23-Jan
Internet cafe ¥125
Sandwich & coffee ¥480
Train ¥800, 260
Breakfast & water ¥520
Gift ¥2000
Hanoke Freepass ¥3010
Lunch ¥1540
Hostel ¥2940
Laundry powder ¥50
Washer ¥100
Subtotal ¥41,257 (US$343)

24-Jan & 25-Jan
Drier ¥100
Breakfast ¥315
Hostel ¥2940
Ferry ¥760
Pineapple juice ¥350
Ferris Wheel ¥900
Burger ¥420
Water ¥120
Train ¥470, 300, 1060
Dinner ¥1740
Beers ¥1200
Locker ¥100
Drinks ¥1338
Concession to exchange USD ¥1000
Breakfast ¥750
Subtotal ¥65,120 (US$542)

Bus card HK$200
Room HK$150
Subtotal HK$350 (US$46)

26-Jan Today we got an early start - which we damn well should have, considering we slept for about thirteen hours regardless. Yesterday when we laid down in our tiny guest house room for a two-hour nap, we never woke up again. I guess missing the last train home, staying out all night and then taking a five-hour plane trip will do that to you.

On a whim, I checked for Internet access from random, unsecured wireless access points. Sure enough, there were about a dozen to choose from - which makes sense because we are staying in arguably one of the highest population-density ghettos in the world. I saw that I received an email reply from the Hong Kong Hostel about room availability. HK Hostel was actually in the next building over and quoted us a rate of HK$202 per night, which was HK$98 cheaper than Mr. Yung's guest house. And we've found great value in this trip of being around other backpackers, so that was the primary drive for us to pack up and switch houses.

When we arrived at HK Hostel - a grueling trip of going down one elevator, about twenty meters down the street to 47 Paterson St, and then up another elevator - we encountered the classic bait-and-switch. The desk rate was about HK$350 for a private room with two beds and a shared bathroom. When I showed the desk woman the email from the manager quoting HK$202 for the double private shared and HK$260 for the double private ensuite (private bathroom), I was all but ignored. I think she went to the bathroom, ate some food and maybe even read the newspaper while I was waiting at the desk to straighten this out. In the end, we settled on a rate of HK$250 per night, which Scott and I felt was the bottom line since we were entrusting these people to not only (a) give us a clean room, but also to (b) not steal our kidneys while we slept or (c) sell our backpacks on the black market while we were out being tourists.

I lost my lens cap in Hakone and needed a new one immediately. Luckily there was an authorized Nikon retailer on the corner of Paterson Street, so I stopped in there. He had the coveted Nikon 18-200 VR lens that is all-but-impossible to find in the USA. The lens has an MSRP of US$699 but sells for over US$1000 when you can find it. This shop was asking the equivalent of US$850, which was too much for my blood. I might pick it up if he will go below US$750. He also has the 70-300G lens for US$280, which is ridiculous because that is a discontinued lens that should go for about US$120. I ended up bargaining on a UV filter and cap for my 18-55G kit lens for US$30 cash.

We asked the cameraman for the best local dim sum place - a dish which Hong Kong is famous for. We ended up just down the street, back across from our hostel, at the Causeway Bay Fung Shing Restaurant (36 Paterson St G/F, 2F). The only people inside were middle-aged and elderly "Hong Kong people," as they call themselves, so we knew this place must be good! At the very least, it had better match the food quality of K&W Cafeteria in the USA since it matches the clientele. We ordered a dish with pork, another with shrimp and a third of classic spring rolls. All the dishes were excellent and we've passed along the name of this restaurant to other travelers in our hostel.

After breakfast, we decided to spend the day touring Lamma Island - an excellent choice. Lamma Island is a short, 30-minute ferry ride away from the piers at Central and a much slower pace. There was supposed to be good hiking and very nice open-air seafood restaurants. When we got off the ferry, I knew this was the Asia I was looking for. Life was more basic, I was being heckled by street vendors and the ocean was just a stone's throw away. Scott and I asked about rooms on the island and found out that they can be had for HK$150 per night or HK$300 per night with a balcony and ocean view. Being from the Washington, DC, area, I consider that a great deal for a beach front hotel room only a 30-minute ferry's ride away from downtown.

The walk across Lamma Island was pleasant and took about 90 minutes. It was paved the entire way and wound through the hillside, constantly in view of the ocean. Unfortunately, this meant it was also frequently in view of the huge LNG power plant which looked to have been recently built on the island - but these are the trade-offs of industrialization, I suppose.

At the end of the hike, we ended up in Sok Kwu Wan and had lunch at one of the dozen open-air seafood restaurants. My table was actually on the dock and the workers were unloading various creatures of the deep as we were eating. We had a set lunch, which was a multiple course meal including lobster with cheese sauce and scallops. We chose the cheapest restaurant with the best view - which may have been a mistake, since they charged us HK$10 for an extra bowl of sauce and clearly served less food than their competitors. On the way to the boat, another restaurateur dragged us in for an order of squid and a 500ml Tsing Tao for HK$55. The bowl of squid was quite plentiful here and definitely delicious - so much so that we sat a bit long and had to sprint to the ferry and had them lower the gangplank to let us on just before they left.

Room HK$125
Lens cap & filter HK$228
Dim sum for breakfast HK$45
Water HK$5
Ferry HK$16
Lunch HK$103
Squid HK$22
Food HK$75
Subtotal HK$619 (US$81)

27-Jan
Hotel HK$125
Jeans HK$350
Drinks HK$14.40
Lunch HK$45