HK to Singapore

New Years Eve was particularly good in Hong Kong. We had dinner on the Peak and a large party was going on in the restaurant, and although we didn't really get a countdown (it somehow always goes wrong) we had a very merry beginning to the New Year, in which I shared my hugs with just about everyone inside. To get from the Peak into Central/Wanchai (where the bars are), we had to get a bus and even at 2 in the morning the queue was enormous and looked like it would take at least an hour. I then knew, with a sense of fate, that it was time for the true test of Mandarin. I went up to the two policemen manning the queue and began a very jolly chat with them that lasted about 10 minutes in which we got along very well. Just as the bus was about to leave, they told us to cut the line and get in. Massive success. I then proceeded to make Chinese buddies in the bus on the way down, which would have seemed a bit odd because while I was chatting away in questionable Chinese, my lense was being silly and one of my eyes was crying spontaneously (they very kindly gave me a tissue). We got back around 6 30 after having to bribe several taxi drivers to take us. This is because on events such as these they turn their meters off and become very annoying indeed, making you pay something like quintiple the normal price. After 4 hours sleep, Alexandra and I arose, ready (or not) to spend the day on a boat. I was woken up pretty quickly by this, as I tried one of those rubber "biscuits" where you're pulled along by a speedboat for the first time. I was terrible at it and couldn't keep my knees on, so every time I would just be holding on with my hands while the rest of my body was flat out behind and smacking against the waves. I'm glad no-one filmed it. It was a bit humiliating in fact because the other person doing it was an 11 year old girl who was doing a really good job.
The family left, leaving me alone in someone's flat for a final night, which I decided was a good reason to hit the town one last time before my flight the next morning. We went to Lan Kwai Fong and met some very cool Dutch individuals, wrapping up what was a very fun part of this trip. I missed my alarm clock the next morning, shouted "S**T" and ran out the door with all my stuff; I couldn't even call a taxi because it was rush hour but fortunately when running down the street I found one. It all went surprisingly smoothly after that thanks to the efficiency of Hong Kong. A fantastic feature of the airport is that you can check in your bags at the train station before taking the Airport Express! However, due to Herbert Smith getting my visa wrong, it had expired 6 days earlier and I was detained at the airport in a tiny room while they made me fill out paperwork and give them money.
Singapore was none other than awesome. It is a truly funky town. In my few days there I did the usual tourist things, such as the Botanic Gardens, the zoo and the Science Centre. A nice man at a restaurant introduced me to a local dish called "laksa" which was spicy and delicious. "Chicken rice" is another local dish that is delectable. One thing about Singapore is that it has the slowest subway in the world. I'm sure one could bike faster, and you tend to be forced into taking irritating detours to get to the right station.