6 out of 7

                                                             Bruce Lee at Avenue of the Stars

I've reached Hong Kong and that means I've officially made it to 6 out 7 continents of the world. After almost one week of being here I can honestly say that Hong Kong continues to impress me one way or another each day. A small area that is highly populated. Yet, for all the people and lack of space, HK runs with amazing efficiency and is one of the cleaner cities I've ever seen, especially when you take in the number of people that live here.


Since the place is so small and easy to access, it took me only about 2-4 days to cross off the major things on my list. Victoria Peak, Ferry across the Harbor, Avenue of the Stars, walked in and around several large bank buildings, jade market, night market, various parks, Big Buddha on Lantau Island, Po Lin Monastery, yatta, yatta, yatta. You get the idea. One of the more interesting things they have in HK now is a light show every night at 8. The show consists of select buildings on both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon that flash lights in particular patterns and some have lazers on top shooting into the night sky, all synchronized with music. According to a couple different sources, that may or may not be credible, the show costs a million dollars (HK dollar, US dollar, I'm not sure which) each night. The show lasts for about 15 mins. and to be honest with myself and HK, it's not all that impressive. While I sat and watched the show, I couldn't help but think I was at Disneyland. It was actually kind of sad.

View of HK Island from Kowloon


In other news, I officially surfed on my first couch with couchsurfing.org. I'm not sure if all of you who read this are aware of the site, but it's a social networking thing that allows travellers to meet up with like-minded travellers. You can either offer up your couch for a traveller where you let people stay for free and help them navigate around the area, or you can surf couches while travelling. My first surfing experience went extremely well and it looks like I will be doing it again very soon in Beijing. Of course, this time around, I stayed with a girl close to my age and, as a bonus, was fairly cute too.

I surfed for 4 days and then moved so as not to over stay my welcome. I took up residence in a hostel in the infamous "Chung King Mansion." This place deserves a quick explanation because in my mind, it is one of a kind. The Chung King Mansion is a fairly old building in Hong Kong that is very diverse in its purpose and people. On the bottom 3 or 4 floors of the building, you literally have your classic organized Black Market type shops. Cell phones, toys, clothes, food, whatever. The remaining 14 odd floors above are essentially guesthouses or hostels. Probably doesn't sound all that crazy, but imagine yourself walking in a market while people from all different corners (mainly India, Africa, and other areas of the Middle East) of the world beg you to come into their shops. You're caring a large pack so obviously you are coming to one of the hostels. Several people approach and claim they have the cleanest and best deal HK has to offer. You are being attacked. You just want to find the elevator to "Block A" and find the hostel you booked. Haha, the hostels in themselves are fairly amusing. One of the tiniest places I've stayed in, most of the rooms at Chung King Mansion do not actually have a window for outside light. It's like a dungeon of small rooms that have space for one (which is actually an upside because then you don't have to share). The bathrooms are even more entertaining. The bathroom literally comprises a space that allows you to sit on the toilet, stand up, take one step forward and wash your hands in the sink on the right, and then step out. Pretty small. However, the catch is that this space is also your shower. There's a water heater on the wall with a shower-hose. Essentially, you can s**t, shower, and shave, all at the same time. Incredible. I've been told that this bathroom arrangement is actually quite common throughout a lot of Asia. Shows how much I knew.

As of right now, I'm actually spending my time on Lamma Island ( a 30 or 60 min. ferry ride from HK Island). The place is gorgeous and not as frequently travelled by tourists. With a beach and walking trails around the island, it's the perfect get away from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. As beautiful as the landscape and alley-way like paths that snake through the houses is, there is also one thing here that sticks out like a sore thumb. A giant coal plant with 3 huge towers. The irony of the situation is somewhat amusing, but also sad in way. I suppose we all have to get energy somehow. Your interesting lesson for the day, in WWII, Japan occupied Lamma Island. Before leaving, they let loose a variety of venomous snakes on the island. I've done some hiking around the island, but let's just say I've restricted it to daylight hours.

Well this has become quite the novel. My apologies. I'm gearing up to go to Beijing very soon (Sunday, the 5th) so don't be surprised if I have to write you another long entry explaining all the new and cool things I will see there. Before I go, I have to say one more thing. My amusing story for the day. The topic: shirts with statements. I myself have never really been interested in t-shirts with statements (i.e. "I'm with stupid -->" ), but in HK, they seem to be fairly common. I don't know if it's the fashion or trend, but a lot of people have these type of shirts with English statements written on them. Some are not that far out, some don't make any sense, some don't seem to be translated correctly, and then there are those that....well....speak for themselves. The shirt I am referring to was worn by a middle-aged woman who looked like your everyday person. In bold, capital letters, her shirt read, "WILL F*** FOR COKE" I about died laughing. Clearly this person had no idea what they were wearing. I attempted to chase her down and snag a photo without her knowing, but it was in the middle of the metro and I lost her in the throng of people. As astounding as the shirt was, I really feel the situation begs a couple questions. 1) Where the heck did she even find a shirt like that? 2) Who, in their right mind, designed it? 3) Did that designer really think they'd make any money off the shirt? 4) If so, did they?

Alright, this is quite enough for now. I'll write again from Beijing. Stay tuned.

Lantau Island:  Bikes, bikes, bikes