So here goes…

It was back in April when Teddy and I took off from Auckland on our journey to Hong Kong and the 2018 HK Rugby Sevens.

I remember back in the late 90’s when I was working in Fiji, the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was a big event where the Fiji Sevens team would inevitably go into battle with the New Zealanders, creating a great rivalry. My memories take me back to living in Suva and heading to the gym in the mornings where the Fiji Sevens team would be in training in the next room. (A sigh of nostalgia!) Those were the days when Waisale Serevi was in his prime as scrum half for Fiji and known as ‘The King of Sevens’.

But back to our trip!

We were a tad disoriented during our early morning arrival in Hong Kong.  Our flight from Auckland on Hong Kong Airlines was uneventful but at the arrival gate we were directed down an escalator to a subway platform where a rapid train transported us to the main arrivals building. Our processing through Immigration was a breeze, but then we were knocked for a six. 

Our pre-booked hotel transfer was no more. The tour company who accepted our booking no longer serviced the hotels on Hong Kong Island, so we were up for an unexpected taxi fare to our hotel. The company did give us a letter on our arrival at the airport suggesting we make our own way to the hotel and also to make alternative arrangements for our transfer back to the airport in 5 days time!!!

I definitely recorded a black mark against you Buffalo Tours Hong Kong. After all it was 7 months earlier that you took our booking!

We eventually arrived at our hotel (about NZ$95.00 poorer from the taxi fare) to be told that our room would not be ready until after 2pm. It was only around 9.30 in the morning at this stage. But surprise, surprise, if we wanted to upgrade, there was a room we could have immediately. I was surprised to see that they had a pre-printed information sheet showing the additional rates for upgraded rooms and I figured that this was a strategy to score a few extra dollars from the tourist.

We bit the bullet and paid the extra dollars and were able to rest up for an hour or so to catch our breath.

Our Hotel, the Regal Hong Kong Hotel in Causeway Bay was a comfortable resting place. A thought initially crossed my mind that it was a bit Trump-ish, all gold, marble and chandeliers, but realistically, that was an unfair criticism.  Although the rooms were small, it  was only a 10 minute walk from the stadium which we could actually see from our hotel window. We spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and looking for somewhere I could find some food for Teddy. Luckily there was a Seven-Eleven just around the corner so it was easy to find something to satisfy him. I had one of my few meals of local food which was just delish.

The next day we decided to check out the stadium and on the way, we stumbled upon the Women’s Rugby Sevens being played at a neighbouring sports ground. Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day watching the women’s qualifying rounds.

The following day, the tournament started in earnest as the women’s finals were played, along with the opening round of the men’s tournament. The New Zealand women’s team didn’t compete, opting instead to travel to the Gold Coast in preparation for the Commonwealth Games due to start a week later.

For three days, we drowned ourselves in sevens rugby. The crowds (the stadium was packed), the costumes (I can’t even start to describe some of these), the entertainment (music, solo singers, lives bands) was everything we thought it would be. The stadium certainly had its own amazing and very memorable vibe.

Our Kiwi boys played okay considering the team was minus a few top players. But they did well. It was of course the Fiji team that took away the tournament. They had decided to field their top team, praying that they wouldn’t suffer any injuries and jeopardise their chances in the Commonwealth Games the next week.

On the last day of our stay in Hong Kong when the tournament finished, we again joined the throngs of people winding their way down the narrow streets away from the stadium. This was an experience on its own. Bedraggled costumes, alcohol-soaked punters, cars a-tooting, police whistles a-whistling, traffic jams, mouth-watering spicy foodie smells from the rows of restaurants lining the route back to the city. An experience to behold!

The tournament experience was a tiring but extremely enjoyable three days, but we needed sleep. We had to catch a flight in the morning and be ready when our re-arranged transfer arrived to pick us up. At least the new transfer arrangement was on time and all set to shuttle us back to the airport.

It only seemed like we had just arrived in Hong Kong, but no, we were soon back at the airport and heading to our next destination, Tokyo.