Hong Kong

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Ciao!!!
How is everybody?? Any way, enough about you and more about me :)

After that long 13 hour flight in cramped economy Quantas (which makes
food on par with mam's by the way), and 3 films later (Babel, the
departed and the guardian) I landed in what can only be called the
most efficient airport I have ever seen! They certainly don't mess
about in Hong Kong, this place is just amazing! It feels like being in
a sci fi movie...The trains are always on time, the buildings are high
as hell (more on the island than where I am staying) and they have ALL
the latest stuff! most of which wont even come out in the UK. Some of
the buildings have big massive holes in them so even the apartments in
the middle have windows surrounding them. The place is just amazing,
nothing at all of what I thought it would be like. I mean, once you
get past the smog filled atmosphere you start enjoying yourself a lot.
The view across the harbour to the island is just amazing, I have
loads of pics but I need to find a place that will let me upload them
onto their PC. Tomorrow we fly to Shanghai as the trains have filled
leaving no spare seats, I guess we should have done more forward
planning.

The first day I arrived here it was like "what the hell is going on",
there are loads of different tastes and smell on the streets that
initially is quite difficult to get accustomed to. We met and went out
with 2 people from our dorms, "Edo" from Holland and "Dean" from the
UK, or London to be more precise. It was cool, we just all totally
clicked. They both began travelling on their own and have racked up an
impressive amount of stories and passport stamps along the way. Dean
is doing my kind of trip, doing China, Thailand & SE Asia and then he
is moving to work in Australia for a year, totally living the dream...

The first night we all stayed up drinking on the roof of our building
with an impressive Hong Kong skyline as our backdrop, then we went
clubbing just last night. I must say I have never received so much
attention! The club itself was pretty dingy, what can you expect from
a place called 'cyber', but the atmosphere was what counted.

The crazier you dance the more people just stop and stare! The DJ had
an annoying habit of changing from R&B to happy hardcore over and over
again. In England I am sure the he would have been shot on sight. I
think there is another quiet session on the roof tonight as everyone
we have met so far is leaving tomorrow or the day after which is
pretty cool, as I don't think I can afford clubbing in HK, its more
expensive than Newcastle believe it or not. I have been told that
anything you can buy in HK can be bought on the mainland for 20 times
cheaper! I mean everything here is a little bit cheaper than the UK,
as in food and that, but everything else is pretty much on par. Its
just amazing how different our cultures are. I can tell this trip is
going to be just amazing. The most impressive thing about it is how
new modern culture is integrated into the old. Old buildings look like
they are about ready to be torn down and they even use bamboo
scaffolding which i thought was just a joke. It turns out is safer,
more effective and much cheaper than the metal ones the use in the UK.
They even use it to build new skyscrapers which is pretty damn
impressive. We have been through the most expensive buildings and
looked through the windows of some pretty expensive designer shops and
restaurants, but I must say we have found ourselves most at home
amongst the slums and outside small markets which are home to millions
of Hong Kong citizens.

I find it amazing how one second you could be surrounded by people in
tailor made suits next to massive skyscrapers and marble floors, and
next you could be immersed in poorly kept busy streets full of poor
people haggling over a couple of HK dollars worth of food with the
stench of raw sewage filling the air. I guess what struck me the most
was how so many of the people who live in poverty live totally
oblivious to highlife just over the water.

I guess we have barely touched the surface of the city but it was
impressive none the less. At the risk of sounding cheesy this place
will definitely be hard to forget.

Let me hear how life is going on without me :)

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