Shenzhen Hilton

... weary of the constant repeated battering of the senses, from an aesthetic point of view the event itself looked like no other. Entire 400 strong phalanxes of soldiers marching not only perfectly in time and movement as if controlled by a universal mind; but they also seemed to be of uniform height to within millimetres. The vehicle columns likewise advanced with robotic accuracy. Tanks and missile launcher HGV's ...

... outside, but fatty and juicy. Both were pretty well-seasoned. Some friends also picked up some bubble tea, and while that's actually a Taiwanese specialty, no one's complaining when you get a large, generous serving. Expect to pay HK$5 for the cheapest grub - you might be put off a little by the hygiene standards but don't worry, eat where the locals do and you'll be fine - and HK$15 for something more upmarket and sanitised.

There are several market ...

... Curious.

For our first evening in Hong Kong we went to Victoria Harbour on Kowloon's southern coast, to watch the infamous light show over on Hong Kong Island. It is called The Symphony of Lights and is credited as the world’s largest light and sound show. It occurs every night at 8pm and is free, for a change! Sitting on the harbour front of Kowloon, you overlook Hong Kong’s famous sky line which is all lit up. Each of the buildings has different ...

... form, possibly a typhoon, making the ride to the airport nice and grey and of course reminding me of why I love being inside on wet HK days.
The next destination for the travelling trio is Bangkok for one day and one night. More updates in a few hours.
xo.L

... that we didn't get to see much!


27.03.09: We went back to HK island to see the Golden Bouhinia Square, which is were they England officially said bye bye to HK and packed their bags home. We took another ferry to Lantau island. It is like another world, it is very green and jungly and much more rural. A nice break from the hectic city. We went up to see the Big Buddha statue, largest outside bronze sitting Buddha in the world. There are just ...

... by a bus, or dragged along a dirt road, or like we had rolled out of bed and hit our head on the nightstand. Needless to reiterate, we were exhausted. Sammy took us up the escalator toward the promise of food when we fell upon it: Wildfire. Again. I almost wanted to cry; and not a cry of relief or happiness or joy, but a cry of disappointment and disbelief. He ordered for us like at "brunch", which scared me and the rest of the group, but he ...

... or if, more guides would be popping up in the region. When pressed on where the inspectors came from, Naret said that 10 of the Hong Kong-based inspectors were European, and two were Chinese - "to help us understand the cuisine." The journalists peppered Naret with questions on how foreigners could possibly understand Hong Kong food. He responded that it would take "years" to build up a team of local inspectors who were both food experts but not well known in the ...

Nĭ hăo ma??? Een nieuw berichtje van Sjonnie uit Chinezenland! Om te voorkomen dat ik er nooit aan toekom om jullie op de hoogte te houden en vervolgens als ik tijd heb een hele middag er aan moet besteden omdat ik dan zoooo veel vertellen heb, nu een wat korter berichtje over de afgelopen week. Mijn ouders kwamen donderdagavond met de trein aan vanuit Guangzhou na hun reis van twee weken door Zuidoost China. Ze hadden prachtige verhalen en hebben een hele bijzondere reis ...

... Southern China. With Hong Kong's wealth coming online, and the threat of an alliance the Beijing Party risked both missing out on a cut of the economic cake, and also losing financial control of the economy to the non-Beijing Cantonese. The response was probably something that could only be countenanced in a country the size of China: develop a new city. So it was that Shenzhen was born. It was built with Beijing money to be ...

... theirs. If not, their education is going to be wasted because all it's teaching them to do is not to think and to wait to be told what to do. Still, when I walk across the playground in the evening or at the weekend and watch the lads happily playing endless games of 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 on the basketball courts, I can't help but envy the simplicity of their lives. They actually have an opportunity to be young and get outside in a way that is being lost in many societies today.