03/11/2017 - Arrived and moved in

The relaxation in the new home was short-lived. After our hosts gave us a careless tour of the house, the shock was deep. To describe the apartment in a few words: it was a mix of worn-out, messy household and dirt. We spare you any details and pictures.

After a brief discussion of the situation, there was only one solution for us - get out of here!

We had booked the room for 14 days through Airbnb and had no idea what legal options were available to us. After a brief search, we found an emergency hotline for New Zealand customers.
Fortunately, our hosts saved us from the mess. We used the time - contacted customer service and took pictures of the apartment. We sent these to our contact person. She promised to deal with the situation.

Hunger and the need for fresh air struck. So we went to the nearby supermarket. At Countdown, we stocked up on the essentials and marched 'home' again.

On site, we tried to find a solution by talking to our hosts; without success. The Airbnb staff stood up for us and refunded us the full amount for the two weeks.
Pretty tired and mentally battered, we desperately searched for a new place to stay. At this point, it was already 5 p.m. ...
Through Airbnb, we found a new room nearby. Unfortunately, the owner did not get back to us immediately, so we decided to take a chance and walk to the given address.
Sleepless, without internet but with full luggage, we started our hike. After an hour, we arrived at a flower shop in the Pakuranga Heights district (the name says it all ;)). The door was open and we started talking to the employee. It turned out that she is the owner and wife of our new landlord. We explained our situation to her and she contacted her husband shortly afterwards. He arrived a few minutes later and confirmed that the room was still available. By then, it was 7 p.m. and a great relief washed over us.

Ed, our host, showed us the premises and wished us a good night.

After this adventurous first day, we fell asleep within a few minutes.

PS: In hindsight, it was probably a good decision not to go to Hong Kong city center.