Leaving Hong Kong

Like the British not too long before me, I am preparing to leave Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a lively, efficient,international city spewing with culture. I have been here one week and I don't even feel like I'm cracking the surface. I loved Hk and Max is determined to move here.

So, what are some of the "adventures" I've gotten myself into? We were able to find a much nicer hostel after the disaster of the first one. It turns out most buildings here if you just walk in and ask if they have a guest house, they probably do. Hot water, private bathroom, the ability to get into our room, compared to the first hotel this seems like the Ritz Carlton.

We went to an incense burning temple, so we did something cultural. We at lots of amazing food including a "hot pot" which is almost fondue but it's all you can eat smorgasbord board of meat, veggies, and free beer, for 15$. We were also able to find Max's friend from NY's uncle's dumpling shop in a small alley in Macau. Overall the food has been excellent.

We took a ferry to lamma island which does not allow cars. It was a nice peaceful sleepy island which I feel probably gives a little better idea of the typical Chinese expierence away from the bg cities. We also got foot massages that were awesome although a bit painful. Max had to tell his to go easy on him but in all fairness his was a much larger man while my reflexologist was a little Asian woman.

We also had New Years here. It was a giant celebration with hundreds of fireworks and they also lit up all the buildings. We watched the display from the waterfront, it was really impressive. After the display we wanted to go to the bar district. In an excellent example of Hong Kongian efficiency, they herded all the young people in a line of cattle for about an hour to avoid overcrowding and chaos.

Finally, we also made it to the proverbial "Mecca" also known as Macau, the gambling capital of the world. It was interesting in that it a didn't cater to English speakers very much so it was often tough to figure out what was going. We played a little baccarat which is the game over here (verdict is mixed) and even found a craps table. I'm happy to say I still have my plane tickets but my socks might be missing.

Overall, my taste of HK was not enough and I hope to come back again. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures up soon.