Day 46 – Hong Kong to London

We checked-out of China using the best airport check-in in the world. Go to a terminal in the centre of the city – for us 13 hours before our flight, check in your baggage and get your boarding pass. You are then free to do what you want for the day. I wish I could tell you we had the most exciting day of the trip but in reality we just relaxed, visited the botanical gardens and ate our last plate of dumplings.

The flight home was long, boring and packed, the weather on arrival was wet. It's not all bad news however, before leaving I bet an actor friend an extremely large sum of money (enough that I don't have to work for the next year) that Chelsea would get to the League Cup Final. So I am now off to claim my money from a certain Mr Ledger.

So that is it, after nearly seven weeks on the road I am going to the local – I am gagging for a good pint of Ginger Finger and some beans on toast.

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for 'The Amazon Adventure' coming to a screen near you in 2009.

Day 45 – Hong Kong

We start our last full day with a train and bus ride out to the peak of Lantau Island and a visit to the largest seated Budda in the world – not impressed with that are you? Being a functioning temple they have lots of tourist tat on offer including incense sticks the size of light-sabers, what I would have done for one of those last night.

We take a fantastic 30-minute cable car ride back down (which seemed an easier option than the 7-hour hike) and spend the afternoon in the manic crowds of the central markets.

Day 44 – Macau to Hong Kong

With the finish line in sight we catch a short ferry ride from Macau back to Hong Kong, stopping en-route for a Portugese tart – which is a Macanese sweet cake rather than a dubious service offered by seedy hoteliers,

After a mammoth hunt for a hotel room that was not only central but clean and decent sized (most rooms in Hong Kong would only be considered big by the supporting cast of Snow White) we give up and decided clean was good enough. After being made to wait outside for over an hour for it to be cleaned, we are then bizarrely moved into a different one. We are too tired to care, so simply check that the suspiciously shoddy looking adjoining door is securely locked and head out for food.

Returning several hours later, we find our room resembles a Rastafarian kipper smoking factory. Choking back the tears we investigate the cause further to find that the adjoining door is connected to a Buddhist temple and they are having a monumental incense burning festival. Not feeling particularly Buddhist about the prospect of spending the night expecting Pink Floyd to appear through the bathroom door the obliging manager gets an earful and we get yet another room.