That's right - Hong Kong! After 2 months in Asia, the sudden Englishness of the place was most welcome. Had we started out here, I think we may have eschewed the merits of Pizza Express, Starbucks and the like in favour of more 'authentic' Chinese fare, but by the time we got there we were in exactly the right state of mind to fully appreciate the familiar.

Our first morning in the city saw us ascend Victoria Peak via the famous, antique, near-vertical tram. It must have made an exhilarating commute for those few businessmen living on the Peak when it was opened in the 1880s.. From the official viewpoint at the top, downtown Hong Kong island was hidden under a blanket of cloud, but as we took the leisurely 4km walk around the peak the morning mists burned off to reveal all but the tallest skyscrapers.

After admiring the views, we decided to walk down to 'midtown'. With every step down the slope the air became more like soup, so that by the time we had waded to the top of the midtown escalator (the longest outdoor escalator IN THE WORLD!) our shirts were clinging to our backs. Then, just when we thought it couldn't get more humid, the heavens opened in a torrential downpour. We were soaked to the bone in seconds, and when we stopped for lunch we had to be assigned a separate waitress just to mop the puddle we made on the floor of the cafe.

Having nearly exhausted the top10 tourist sights in Hong Kong after a few days (including the surreal 'Symphony of Lights') we took a day trip out to Macau on the turbojet ferry. If Hong Kong is London, Macau is Lisbon. Formerly a Portuguese trading post, the winding narrow streets, cafes and pastel-coloured stone buildings felt so European we were almost shocked to see so many Chinese tourists there.

They weren't there for the architecture. The main reason most come to Macau is for gambling. Unbelievably, Macau now generates double the revenue of Las Vegas – and most of this comes in one month around the Chinese New Year. As well as older Chinese gambling halls, a number of the US casinos have set up sister venues in Macau – The Sands, The Venetian, and soon The Bellagio will all be here. In the Venetian you find a miniature canal complete with gondaliers singing 'Oh Solo Mio' - a Chinese replica of an American pastiche of an Italian tradition.

Our last day in Hong Kong was a special one. My little sister had very kindly offered to pay for champagne brunch for my birthday whilst we were in town. We booked ourselves in to the Intercontinental (better views than the Peninsula supposedly). It was fantastic. Four different buffets, 2 sushi chefs, 2 chocolate fountains, all the papers you could read and endless champagne. Things may have got slightly out of hand. At one point I made the mistake of trying to engage the waiter in some witty banter as he topped up our glasses: 'Please stop us when we get to two bottles'. I said with a wink. Dry reply: 'I believe you passed that point some while ago sir'.

So having turned up at 11.30, we rolled out at 3 to make our way to the Sha Tin racecourse for the Queen Elizabeth 2^nd Cup. It was a select race, owing to several horses being stranded in Europe by the ash-cloud (I can picture them all sitting around the business lounge, chewing hay with an eye on the departures board). We arrived just before the main event having had some issues navigating the metro system after brunch, and so were able to get into the premium enclosure for free. Bets were closed – lucky, as I was planning on trying to double our travelling money by betting big on a horse that eventually came in 4^th – but with the help of friendly sales staff I was able to lose some money on the other races.