The deluxe park view room in Atlas Hostel is definitely a great deal: really nice view of Kowloon Park and the mosque, extremely convenient and vibrant location in Tsim Sha Tsui, very friendly and well organised staff members and instant check-in and check-out. But most of all, the host of Atlas Hostel, Mr Suraj, really knows how to help a visitor in need.
If it has not been for his help after I left my documents and wallet on the airport bus, I might now still be waiting for a replacement passport in HK with no money or place to stay.
Mr Suraj helped me work out the best course of action. He dropped everything he was doing and accompanied me (and paid for the return MTR journey) to Honghom Station where the bus terminated. Along the way, he assisted me in reporting to the bus company with his fluent mandarin and Cantonese, while remote-controlling the checking in for other Atlas guests.
We missed the bus I had taken when we got to the terminus, but three hours later, the bus company confirmed that my wallet had been found and arranged for me to pick it up around the airport. Suraj then lent me 500 HKD and arranged a chauffeur for my journey to collect the documents. Many thanks to the trustworthy bus driver, travellers on the bus and Suraj’s assistance I had everything back in my hands 4 hours later.
Travelling in Hong Kong is reportedly a mixture of material satisfactions and helpless loneliness, if you have seen the movie ‘Needing you…’ and ‘Chungking Express’, that’s the feeling. Anyway, whether you aim for a treat with real quality or an adventure in the multi-ethnic and dissipated Tsim Sha Tsui area, you know where to find a host with a kind heart.