I <3 HK

As I write this, I'm sitting in the Hong Kong awaiting my return flight to Shanghai....."I don't want to go!!! Mom! Please don't make me go!" The airport sits right on the water and I can see the green-blue ocean and an island in the distant through the ceiling to floor windows. I have fallen in love with Hong Kong. I can't decide if it's the tropical climate; the ocean air; the New York City-vibe, or if it's the impressive English skills of the Hong Kongnese. HK seems to offer a little bit of everything, from downtown skyscrapers to golden beaches, from dapper dressed business men to fashionistas, all with fine international cuisine and cosmopolitan flair. I don't know if a return trip to China is in the stars for me, but I could definitely imagine to live and work a short while in Hong Kong! Guess that means it's time to throw out the Mandarin and learn the Cantonese!

I arrived in HK on Sunday with my Mexican friend Pamela along with two of her friends: Yeime and Hector. We arrived late and when we finally made it to our hostel we had a bit of a shock. First of all, our hostel was one of many in an area called ChungKing Mansions. It's not mansion like at all like the name suggests, but rather a labyrinth of shops, different hostels and God knows what else! When you enter the building you are greeted with Indians and other foreigners trying to sell you fake watches or bags. However, a simple shake of the head and they leave you alone. When we checked into our hostel we discovered our triple room was about 9 square meters! We had to laugh at how comically small it was. But it was newly renovated and clean. That's what counts. Since we are hard-core sightseeing enthusiasts, we ended only sleeping in our hostel and spending the rest of the time out and about.

On Monday, we first had to check about our return visa for China. I only received a one-entry visa to China. So by leaving to Hong Kong, I invalidated my visa. It's a pretty easy process to apply for a travel visa for China for 30 days so that's what I did. However, it's quite expensive. The rate varies from country to country. The Mexicans paid 400HK$ while I had to pay 770HK$ for being Polish. Tough luck I guess! After we sorted out the visa, we took a ferry taxi back to Kowloon and checked out the clock tower and avenue of stars. The avenue of stars is like the Hollywood stars except with HK stars. I didn't really recognize any name except for my man Jackie Chan! (Naturally I posed for a pic) That evening we headed up to the peak to admire the view from above. Unfortunately it had gotten cooler and we took for granted the good weather so we didn't have any jackets. Needless to say, our photo session was kept short.

On Tuesday, we went to see the giant Buddha. It's located on Lantau island and the best way to get there is cable car. It's amazing how high it goes! Turns out the giant Buddha is really giant. You could already see it from the cable car. It sits 268 steps high and took 12 years to built (completed in 1993). On the island, we could also take a bus to a small fishing village. Once we got there we were able to take a small boat tour. We were really hoping to see some Chinese white dolphins but we must have gone while they were sleeping because they were no where to be seen! :(

In the evening we returned to Hong Kong island to check out the famous Lan Kai Fong and SoHo area. Both areas sit tucked away on hilly curvy streets and offer numerous bars and restaurants. In SoHO they actually have built a covered escalator which takes patrons all the way to the top. We fell upon a Mexican restaurant to which the Mexicans were delighted (I of course was too!). I'd like to point out here that we ate outside in attempts to make my friends in cold Europe jealous. Did it work? Did I mention I just had a light jacket on and wasn't the least bit cold? Oh and I had a margarita on the rocks.

On Wednesday, we checked out some of Hong Kong's beaches located on the other side of the island. The sand was golden and the water was glittering with sunlight. However, there was a bunch of Chinese tourists walking around like winter clothed zombies taking pictures so the whole "I'm on a secluded tropical beach" theme was kinda destroyed. However I imagine that it was pretty empty compared to summer time. At Repulse Bay, there is is also a Chinese pagoda with Chinese statutes and Buddhas...it was really colorful and I think the favorite I've seen so far. We also visited Stanley Beach and went through the market. There's no bargaining like in Shanghai so we didn't buy anything. However on our last night we went to the Temple Street Market. Again, the deals aren't as good as in Shanghai but we managed to work our best and left with some good souvenirs. We also enjoyed a late night snack and some beer at the outdoor restaurants. I really enjoy sitting on those little plastic tables and eating yummy Chinese food while drinking beer...that's something which may not seem so glamorous (because it isn't) but something that I'll miss back in Europe.

Well it's almost boarding time and I've written a short novel again it seems. Hey you! Wake up! It's the end of this post.

12 more days to Christmas!