'OK' I'd thought, 'Hong Kong: it will be busy, it will be hot.'

It's one thing thinking that, its quite another to be smacked in the face with heat and noise and masses of people when you are tired, sweaty and carrying the equivalent of a small person on your back. Arriving in Kowloon was overwhelming to say the least!

Kowloon is just as you imagine HK to be. Everything is built up and the towering blocks drip with neon signs advertising everything from restaurants to yoga classes, while the streets and pavements seem far too small for the herds of cars and people that throng them.

Everything you might want and need is here, and with the toe-curlingly splendid view across the harbour just a few minutes walk away, Kowloon really is rather great.

But bustle and hustle is only fun for a little while, and what I really wanted was something I couldn't get in London (or in Eden on a Saturday ha ha).

I think I found that on Lantau Island, which is only a ferry hop from HK island and touristified in moderation: there are aircon buses and water stalls but no Starbucks or Gucci shops.

I caught a bus up the windy hilly roads to see the largest seated Buddha in the world, which is nestled right on a peak with a delicious view of the green hills rolling down towards the sea.

There are loads of little trails to various temples and pretty things, and I loved getting away from the herds of tourists and letting the views wash over me. It is simply stunning, especially under a roasting blue sky.

Another treat was the Tai O fishing village, which was a scrubby little place with squat houses on stilts over the bay.

They have embraced tourism (there are ferry tours and bag shops galore) but underneath all that people are still living and working in this tiny little place, hanging out their fish to dry with their washing, chopping wood in what appeared to be a front room and singing along to the TV as they mashed the fish into paste.

I loved peering into their darkened tiny houses and get a little glimpse of their lives, so different from flashy business men not an hour away on HK island.

I am fascinated by the fact that these tanned, wrinkled people will still be here, catching their fish in the South China Sea when I am back in Bourne End.

So HK provided the contrasts I was looking for. It has beaches and city and temples and lots of awesome food. I have had a little taste and will certainly have to come back.

What tickled me was the Brit influence of order has merged with the Chinese thoroughness and so everything is signed, everything you might touch is disinfected every three hours and every slope in the city (and its a slopy place) is registered with a number and a committee! Love it.

So a quick taste and now onwards, a train and a bus and two border crossings and I will be in Vietnam!