Hong Kong, health insurance and driving to Dorset

Got a question? Our expert, Simon Calder, can help

A tourist gives her luggage to security as she tries to enter the gate during a pro-democracy protest at Hong Kong international airport on Tuesday (AFP/Getty)

Q We have a flight and hotel booked for mid-September to Hong Kong. We have paid a deposit and the final payment is now imminent. We would really like to visit Hong Kong, but the thought of being confined to a hotel for a fortnight does not appeal. If we cancel now what are our rights?

Diane S

A If you cancel now, bluntly, you have no rights. With no Foreign Office warning against visiting Hong Kong, you will lose your deposit. And, given it is only a month before departure, I fear you may even be pursued for additional payment. First, let me say what I would do in your position. I have been lucky enough to visit Hong Kong several times, including around the time of the Tiananmen Square tragedy 30 years ago. At all times I have found the city-state welcoming, energetic and safe.