After 13 weeks on a tight budget our greatest highlight in Hong Kong is our accommodation. Before our trip began we booked all our accommodation except for Hong Kong. The plan was to see how the budget was going and maybe book a nice hotel online on the way home. In fact we are about 22% under budget for the whole trip so we decided it was fitting to end in style.
We booked a room in the Shangri La, a fancy 5 star hotel in Kowloon. We had stayed in one of their other hotels in the past and we knew that we were in for a treat. However what really convinced us to stay here was the following items that were thrown in as part of a package deal (seemingly almost designed for us)
a. Free airport transfers in a limo. After countless metro, train, bus, tram and long walking excursions to find our accommodation this sounded like a wonderful treat.
b. Free laundry. For 13 weeks we have hand washed our clothes every night and hung them out in various places around our often very small rooms to dry. After seeing some of our clothes come back from the laundry we are astounded to be reminded of their original colour. Had we paid for the laundry they have done for us it would have cost a ridiculous $250!
c. Free Breakfast. Probably the most challenging meal each day of our trip has been breakfast. When we had cooking facilities we could organise some cereal and milk but often we had to resort to a bread roll, croissants or bagette. About half we through the trip we bought a small plastic container, which served as Wendy’s breakfast bowl while Richard used a metal travelling mug. Free breakfast, with lots of choice, is heavenly.
d. Free Internet. We have had this in some places, especially hostels, but after many weeks of being Internet pirates it has been nice to end connected.
e. Late check out at 6pm on the final day. Again this was perfect as our flight home leaves at 11pm
f. TV in English! Again such a treat and as we have not had TV in English for about 7 weeks.
The room is sensational, the bed is such a delight (we could write a series of blogs about the standard of beds around the world but we might leave that for another day), the harbour view is resplendent and it’s so nice to end in a style that we are not used to at all!
As much as we enjoy this 5 star treat it is worth reflecting on the whole trip. We estimate that had we stayed in this standard of accommodation throughout the trip the total cost of our adventure would probably have been 2 or 3 times as much. So Born to Runs in the future will need to continue to be on a tight budget,but there is nothing quite like a celebratory, end of trip, under budget splurge!
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