Last stop, Hong Kong
Trip Start
Jun 06, 2008
1
21
23
Trip End
Aug 06, 2008
Hong Kong,
China
Monday, August 4, 2008
Hong Kong was the palce I had the most information about going in thanks to Erin who I owe so much to for the info she gave me. Pricelss to say the least.
We got off the ferry on the Kowloon side (for anyone that has never been, Hong Kong is a peninsula with a bunch of islands
Central Pier with Star Ferry
. What everyone thinkg of when they hear Hong Kong, is the skyscrapers on the river on the island called Hong Kong island. Kowloon is the peninsula part that faces Hong Kong island and is cheaper, dirtier, and nowhere close to as cool. The good thing is that the ferry that takes you from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island costs 2.2 Hong Kong dollars-30 US cents or so and takes 6 minutes so public transportation definitely gets the job done here).Back to the story, we got off the ferry, caught a cab to our place since at this point our backpacks are filled wiot he brim with clothes and souvenirs so they are pretty damn heavy. We go to the place we booked and we are told that we can get a different room for cheaper (8 US dollars instead of 9) so we take it only to discover it was a shithole or better yeat a prison cell. Beds were tiny metal framed bunkbeds, matresses nonexistant, matress covers didn't exist, pillow cases never changed and smelly, no AC, no door as it was right next to the office so there was a constant flow of people coming in and out, internet overpriced, bathroom smalled than a closet, etc. Anyway, since we had paid for 2 nights we stayed theretwo nights and after that we went 6 floors down in this rundown building full of guesthouses and hostels, and for better beds, aircon, bigger bathrooms, etc all for an extra 50 US cents a night. Well worth it.
Back to our fist day, we were exhausted, so we walked around Kowloon which has nothing except for people grabbing you in the streets and getting in ur way trying to sell you suits, watches, and other crap you don't need
Disneyland Hong Kong
. We got back, took a short nap on the gross beds, went out for a truly discusting dinner, and then back to our place, met 2 norwegians who turned out to be hilarious and a really fun time, and a Brit quit his job, sold everything and is now in Hong Kong without a clear purpose, oh and he's only 25. Interesting character, that's for sure. After some chatting over a beer it was sleepy time.The next day, day 2 in Hong Kong it was Wednesday which means museums in HK are free. WE woke up at noon, caught up on the lack so lseep from the previous 2 nights, and went to the art museum which was disappointing as all there was were some scrolls with symbols/letters and how they changed through time, then a whole part of the museum was dedicated to horses with paintings of horses thath were average, then some ceramic vases and whatnot which again were okay but nothing to blow you socks away. After that we went tot he Science museum next door which instead was very cool but since it was free to get in, it basically looked like a Chinese playground with kids running around everywhere, touching any button they can find and making your life miserable. Oh, yeah, in case you are nto aware here in Chine queues are not mandatory so these kids learned from their parents that they can go anywhere adn do anything no matter who's waiting. As a side-note, so many times in Hong Kong Dom and I have been cut by people in line and after a sturdy "I'm going to call you if you don't go back to your place" look our spot is regained. McDonalds and Dinseyworld might be the worst for this non-chalant line cutting they do. Anyway, after the museum we walked up Nathan Road which cuts Kowloon vertically to the Jade market where pieces fo Jade are a dollar and nicer bigger jade thigns are 4 or 5 dollars. So cheap. And of course here it's bargain galore as literally you go through piles of jade objects
Hong Kong at night
. After the Jade market we went to the night market on Temple street which was very disappointing. People selling were overpriced and many times got pissed if we tried to bargain. One fo the palces which was a store on this street but still worked as a bargain place as it was full of junk, saw me come in, saw my interest, then all of a sudden goes "closed closed, open later" and mind you this was at around 8. Basically they kicked me out and lost teh sale for NO reason. Other sellers give youa rpice, you give them yorus and they literally hit you and tell you to go away. At this point we left with a sour taste in our mouth. Was this the Hong Kong people love? No manners, horrible and overpriced food, dirty, etc. Once we made it back to our place we started looking for places to move to the next day as our place was miserable. Probably at an all time low for Asia, also due to being tired after 2 months of traveling, Dom and I wanted to go out but had met not one person that would be fun. We hated the first 2 days in Hong Kong and wanted out. BUT, you know though they say that once you reach rock bottom the only way is up and that couldn't have been true. Starting at 9PM that evening as we were sitting on the computers miserable, tired, and upset, we saw the Norwegian guys who told us they'd be going out and to start drinking with them. This ended up being one of the top 3 nights in Asia for us and the next 3 days we absolutely loved Hong Kong and all it had to offer. The trick was to move away from Kowloon and go to Hong Kong Island where all the life is
Hong Kong from above
. That night we drank, we partied, we met people, we walked around, we went to bars in Wan Chi (Erin, we tried to go to Skits but people we met told us they had just beeen there and it was empty so we went to Typhoon which was a blast) and we made it home at around 3 (so I'm told). The next day we walked around all day to Ladies Market which was a much better market with actual good deals and nicer sellers (for the most part). Bought some Hong Kong goodies and souvenirs then we went to Mong Kok street next to Ladies Market which si where teh locals get theri electornics but there were no good deals at all. You are supposed to bargain even thought you are at a store but price in the US while on sale are exactly half of the starting prices in Hong Kong so even if I could bargain them to half the price for an mp3 player, it'd be the same as me buying it in the US. Not wortht eh hassle. That day we met Klaudia or Claudia, I am not sure, and at night we went to get dinner (again gross food for a price way to high for Asia) and then we stayed in as we were exhausted from the previous night and there were big plans for the following day.
Day 3 we woke up at 8 and went to do free Tai Chi on the Hong Kong Harbor for half an hour (we read about this in Frommers) and it was actually very interesting
Mickey
. Tai Chi is where you move slowly all togetehr looking like your are doing karate, to a chinese song with an instructor that tells you what to do. After that we went back to sleep for 2 hours and then we got up and took a ferry to Hong Kong island to see themain sights. We went up the peak which offered amazing views of the harbour and skyline, inside St. John's church which just like the other few churches in Asia it was very...blah. We went to some other streets markets which were full of junk, we got lost plenty of times, we went inside this high end clothing store which we knew served coffee and we felt liek royalty. After that we took a subway to another part of Hong Kong Island where we went to the Times Square mall, a huge 16 floor building full of stores, ate at McDonalds, then went home by 8:30 to see the skyline at night which is breathtaking. A fun day in Hong Kong for sure.That night we met up with Adriana and Tracy (grisl from Thailand, Laos) who we have been in touch with and all headed to Lang Kwai Fong for a really fun night at the bars. Not the clubs because you need to be VIP to get in and there is no other way to get in. Very stupid but whatever, we made our own fun at the bars which many times had good music too. We met some portuguese people, danced, etc. This area is awesome because it's closed to traffic so everyone's drinking in the streets, bars, everywhere, just having fun. On the way back we met this American who knew mandarin and needed taxi buddies as he was alone so we all went back to Kowloon to our respective places
Our beds in the dorm room
. Day 4 started was a lot of fun since we went to Disneyland Hong Kong! Back in BOrocay we had met this guy how had told us to call him when we were in Hong Kong so whe could get us into Disneyland for free and the previous evening (day 3) we called him and set up to meet in front of the gates at 10 (not later because he had to change since he's in the Lion King show). So we hopped on a subway with Klaudia and made it to Dinseyland slightly late but thanks to Klaudia's phone we were able to get in touch with him and he sent his friend (an american guy who's one of the leading roles in The Lion King, he's Scar) to get us and let us in. This guy was so nice, even though he was late he made sure we were in, made sure we got maps, and made sure we would go to the noon show as they were in it and we going to be looking for us. So once in we did a couple rides, went back to our youth day and enjoyed some Disney fantasy world. At noon we went to see The Lion King and got the first row so the whole show Scar, who walked us into the park and Nick, the guy we met in the Philippines who gave us the free entrance, who played just a random dancer kept pointing at us, smiling at us. It was hilarious. The show was amazing, very broadway liek with amazing costumes and astounding voices from the cast. After that some mroe rides, some pics with Mockey, then we went to see another show called the golden Mickeys with Nick who now had a break from work, and then off to see the Sitting Buddha
Our Norwegian friends
. Too bad it was 5PM already and by the time the subway made it to the the beginning of the funicular you have to take to see the Buddha, it was too late so we had to turn back and head home.When we got home we showered, packed as the next night I'd be leaving, and got ready to go out again in Lang Kwai Fong where we met some more cool people and partied a bunch more. By 4AM we were home.
Day 5 was supposed to be just shopping but due to us missing the Sitting Buddha which is the largest of its kind in the world, we woke up early and very exhausted after 4 hours of sleep and got on our way to see this Buddha which ended up being amazing. Definitely a must-see in Asia. Too bad it was excruciatingly hot that day and we lacked serious sleep. Either way it was awesome and after that we made it back for 2 hours of shopping at Ladies Market then home to burn DVDs of mine and Dom's pics form all of Asia (thousands of pictures) and then Dominique and Klaudia left (pretty sad to say bye to Dominique as we have gone through so much together and also that goodbye meant it was all over) to go party with Nick (from Disneyland) since Dom left the day after me. As for myself, on the other hand,I still had 3 hours before I had to leave for the airport so I went to the the light show by the harbor which won a Guinness World Records certificate for being the largest permanent show of its kind around the world
The Big Buddha
. After that McDonalds..what else? Then I did some shopping, bought some shoes and a shirt and hopped on a bus to the airport. Certainly a lot of stuff for one day but when lfie gives you lemon, make a damn lemonade so that's the amount of time I had in Hong Kong and i sure made it count. What's funny is that on the bus to the airport I met this older guy from Barcelona who works with Italy and China and we talked about Spain, Italy, US, and China for the whole 45 minute ride. About their economies, the people, the cultures, etc. Very interesting fella I will get in touch with once in Barcelona for sure. Once at the airport the line for check-in literally took me 1 hour as it was not moving at all and then on a plane with Qatar airliens which by teh way is clean, comfortable, and awesome. But more of that on my next entry.
Before I go and leave Hong kong, in case anyone is thinking of going to Hong Kong, Dom and I realized that the onlyw ay to ewat decently and not spend much money is to have Seven Eleven sandwiches for lunch and McDonalds for dinner so the last 3 days that's all I did. Sounds gross but compared to the undercooked chicken and beef we got the first 2 nights, this was very good.
