HongKongPartIII

Wai Chi Ferry( 0ne of my favorite parts of the trip)

that Hong Kong money sure is pretty...

double decker bus( didn't ride one, unfortunately)

Cool, old ass Chinese boat( seen a good many of these, one almost rammed a ferry I was in!)

At night, Hong Kong is simply spectacular, like a city on another planet

busy Hong Kong night

the most beautiful city that i have ever visited..

{ as usual, click on these pictures for bigger, clearer, ect. These are not my pictures, so they are very good; you should click them! I did not have my camera yet when i was in Hong Kong, which was a shame, but thank god for the interweb, huh}

Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south. It has a population of 7 million people but only 1,108 km2 of land, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Beginning as a trading port, Hong Kong became a dependent territory of the United Kingdom in 1842, and remained so until transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997. Along with Macau, Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions under the One Country, Two Systems policy.] As a result, Hong Kong is largely self-governing, it has its own currency, legal and political systems, a high degree of autonomy in all of its affairs, with the exception of foreign affairs and defence and is generally not considered a part of mainland China. Renowned for its expansive skyline and natural setting, Hong Kong is one of the world's leading financial capitals, a major business and cultural hub, and maintains a highly developed capitalist economy. Its identity as a cosmopolitan centre where east meets west is reflected in its cuisine, cinema, music and traditions, and although the population is predominantly Chinese, residents and expatriates of other ethnicities form a small but significant segment of society. ---Wiki, wiki wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

So, if you read the last entry, you know I was dead tired and crashed in a hotel in Hong Kong. I woke up and realised that i was in one of the most famous, beautiful, and diverse cities in the world! I also woke up and realised that I needed to get my ass moving, as the plan was to get my visa and get back to China! I would have a few hours in Hong Kong, which seemed like enough considering that this was a surprise vacation. So I got my paperwork together, took a quick shower and headed out to get something to eat and to also exchange money. Although Frank had said that most places accepted Chinese RMB, the fact was that most places did not. So I hustled out of the hotel and onto the street. I ran into a booth right away that exchanged money; I knew i was taking a chance, but i needed to get going, so I exchanged most of my RMB for Hong Kong Dollars, which are quite flashy and pretty to look at. Luckily, I exchanged money several times in places like this, but did not run into any problems with counterfeiting, which is a concern in China. Anyhoo, I ran back to the hotel, got my bags together, and checked out. This hotel, the Metro, was pretty swanky, but kind of gilded; it looked fancy, but was sort of a dressed up version of a regular hotel: it really was not anything special and not worth the price. I got a discount for now using Hong Kong currency ( which wasn't much- the yuan and the HKDare fairly close in worth- but appreciated since the hotel was fairly expensive). I got out and got a cab, which was the plan as i did not know where i was going. Luckily, all of the cab drivers speak English, so he took me straight to the Consulate. Cabs, like everything in Hong Kong, are expensive, everything is about two to three times as much as they are in Dalian ( the cab ride would have been 8 in Dalian, it was about 22 in hong kong, coke is about 3 in Dalian, its about 9 in Hk). I get to the consulate, and I am not allowed to take luggage, you have to leave it outside unattended, which sucked because i had a bag. I left it there, went in ( no line this time), went through security, went upstairs, filled out some paperwork, and was quickly served. I also was quickly told that I could not get my Visa until Monday( this was Friday). Well, this was not really part of the plan, but what could i do? i left my visa there( i had to get a copy, as you need to show your visa to get a hotel and other things), and made a plan to go to the peninsula, as ed said he had found some cheaper hotels there and some internet cafes. I was a little worried about spending so much time in Hong Kong, but also excited, as i could really get to see and experience this city that I was quickly falling in love with. So i went up and luckily hit the Wa chi fairy station. After getting a token out of a machine, i rode the ferry across the Harbor. The harbor is pretty busy and has a ton of these old looking, but really fun ferry's. I even saw a Ocean party liner docked in the harbor as well as a ton of cool old school Chinese boats( see pictures for these and a picture of the Wai Chi Ferry). The view from the harbor is amazing, as you can see all of the skyscrapers and such. If you ever go to Hong Kong, you must ride the ferry, especially at night. I rode the thing probably about a total of ten times, and enjoyed it each time. You can sit down inside and just enjoy the ride and the view. It was kind of like a cool as amusement park ride, and relatively cheap( about 2 and a half HKD). Since Hong Kong has a few part, the two main ones being the peninsula( which juts down from the border) and the Island, where most of the cool things are and where I spent most of my time, going across the harbor is almost unavoidable. you can take a ferry, bus, or subway across, but the best way is the ferry, no doubt.

So anyway, I get off of the ferry and now in the Peninsula. Since my phone is out, i needed to contact my people in china somehow, so I look for a Internet cafe or a place to buy a phone card. I am immediately harassed by several Indian( Hindu ) tailor shop people. These guys are pretty aggressive, but I just politely told them to fuck off. I see another exchange place, this is a very busy area, and decide since i am staying until Monday, that I should exchange the rest of my money. while I am waiting, i see three American old ladies haggle with the Chinese woman over a suitcase. foreigners are very common in hong kong, I don't think I went more then 10 minutes at any time without seeing someone who was not chinese. I saw mostly British( they are almost a plague in Hk, for logical reasons; Hk is full of the loud honking accents of arrogant British businessmen; not as much honking from cars like in Dalian however) and many, many other types of people. Hong Kong is very multicultural compared to Dalian( which is more multi cultural then many, but not all, Chinese cities). So I exchange my money and also bought a phone card to call china( which i never did get to work). I ask the lady about Internet cafes, and she tells me there is one right upstairs! So i go through an arcade( which was much more bad ass then the ones in Dalian) and into a Internet cafe. I Imed ed, who immediately starts working on hotels( as the one I had stayed at was too expensive for three more nights). We talk for awhile and i get my plans straight, I will check into a hotel for three nights, enjoy Hong Kong, get my visa on Monday, cross the border, and then Call Frank, who will book my flight. I was supposed to teach on Monday, but its hard to teach when you are that far away! Ed talks to Frank, who says he will send more money if i need it for expenses ( which i did need due to HK being so fucking expensive; I really was very frugal there, but Its just a expensive city, compared to other Chinese cities). So I go back to the ferry station, tell the Indians to fuck off again, get on the ferry and go back to the Island. We had found a hotel that was less expensive online, so I tried to find it. The main part of the island is really not that big, but very easy to get lost in ( i am not sure, but I blame the British; they drive on the "wrong" side of the road, and I think that really fucked up my sense of direction--In mainland china, they drive on the "right" side of the road). I spent most of Friday and Saturday lost! But I did get to see the city, so i did not mind that much. it did suck when i was looking for the hotel, because I had my large bag with me. Finally, i just got into a cab and told them the name of the hotel, the south pacific. I got there, checked in for three days( they needed a huge deposit, which i guess is the norm, and checked into my room, on the 23rd floor. The view was crazy and kind of scary( i no likey heights sometimes), but cool. the room was nice enough and air conditioned. I forgot to mention that it was very cold in Dalian( just like at home), but it was in the 80's in Hong Kong. I had to redress when i got to Hong kong and when i got back to Dalain. I crashed awhile in the hotel room as i was very tired. Then i woke, found a map, and went out to see the city. I found a Internet Cafe very close to my hotel room, which was key. You could use the computer if you bought food, and the food was good! They had really good Hot Dogs and club sandwiches( neither of which I have found here; there are Chinese hot dog things, but they suck; and dairy queen hot dogs, which are passable, but taste pretty much like flavored plastic with synthetic ketchup and mustard spread on them) so i ate there often and used the Internet. I then left, to see the city and got very, very lost. I had a map, but i kept going the wrong way. I ended up walking around for most of the day and evening! But I got to see the city. At one point, no matter what i tried, i kept coming back to the same street.

Hong kong is very beautiful. It very busy, but not so crowded like i have heard about cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Its clean and pretty pedestrian friendly ( with many foot bridges and tunnels to cross the busy streets). It has very good public transportation, with a ton of buses, a very clean, safe and thorough subway system( Chinese cities are very safe compared to most other world, including US, cities; Hong Kong, although unusual, seemed to be the same in this regard), ferries out the ass, and an army of taxi's( a hallmark of Chinese cities, it seems). One noticeable difference is that it had many street lights and people seemed to obey traffic laws and cross the streets when they are supposed to( not really what they do in Dalian!). Hong Kong has amazing looking buildings, many cool shops, tons of many different types of restaurants and bars( Western, Chinese, Indian, Irish, blah, blah, blah). I really enjoyed just walking around, even if i was lost! It also has tons of free public park. Its pretty green for a city, and you can go to a zoological park or one of the many sports parks with basketball courts, tracks, and tennis courts. It really is a hybrid of China and the west. I fell in love with it and told Yipin that we would someday live there( she said yes!, but also seems to be in love with the Seoul airport because they gave her lots of free stuff( my tofu loves free things more than anything, I think!). Hong Kong is also the Entertainment capital of China, being the home of Jackie Chen and Bruce lee( although he was born in California, he got his movie start in hong kong). Most chinese movies are made there, as well as it is the center of the Chinese recording industry. Most people in Hong kong can speak English, but since it is in the south, the Chinese is Cantonese, a dialect of Chinese, but north people, who speak what we call mandarin, can't understand it, which means they have subtitles for many movies ( as well as the Japanese, Korean , and American movies, which are all very popular in China). I think i might have seen someone who was famous, I was walking around and seen this little young woman who was surrounded by cameras and very excited teenage chinese; but since i know no Chinese stars, I have no clue who they were. Anyway, I spent most of the day walking around the city(lost) and enjoyed myself. When i got to the hotel room, I was pretty fucking tired, so i read a little and passed out.

Saturday was pretty much the same. I ate at burger king, which i have not done since i was in America and i don't even like but ate there just because there are none in Dalian. they also have about a million seven elevens in Hk, and some even have slushies( which i adore). I got lost again for most of saturday, but seen much of the city. Hk has tons of attractions, from Disney hong kong to a ton of different types of museums( i think the Chinese space museum is right by the ferry dock on the penn.) There are tours to islands, temples and all kind of cultural things. I didn't do any of that, i just kind of walked around, which was cool enough for me. On saturday night, I mapped out a touristy plan for Sunday. it was late, but i walked over to hong kong park, which was free and had some cool attractions. then I went back "home". I walked around there for while, no longer getting lost( finally!). I walked past a bar district, which was full of open air british bars and chinese hooker bars, which seemed to be pretty dicey. Here i saw what i think was my first chinese transvestite; at first I thought she was a witch! I just kept walking past the drunken british bussiness men, the aggressive hookers, and the scary witch tranny as i find all three of these type of people to be annoying. When i went to the cafe for one final check of my email, I was on facebook and recived a message from my friend Sarah Catlain(i hope i spelled it right) from college( oswego). She is teaching English in the city across from Hong kong, and wanted to come over and see me. I said sure, so we sort of made plans on facebook( which is not easy, becuase its not in real time, but it worked out.) So i went back to the hotel, watched some tv in english( dirty jobs, i think), and then passed the fuck out...

I will wrap up the hong kong saga tommorrow or the next day and catch up with being back in

dalian and the first few weeks of teaching....

oh, and one more thing. it is illegal to spit in the street in Hong Kong. That sounds a little crazy, but in China, people are constantly( and i really mean it) making loud hocking noises and spitting. Its an epidemic! So that was nice..