Battle of the Bands and other mishaps

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So, Kowloon side heat 3 of battle of the bands held at Sticky Fingers bar in Tsimshatsui was a night of fantastic music to remember. Apart from the bar charging a $100 cover charge for some and telling others "I won't charge you, just buy a drink at the bar" (pfft yeah right... with those prices?) and me getting asked to leave for smuggling in a cheap beer, the night was a smooth success and we were in fantastic company, Kachun, Bigmad, Annsophie and partner, Rajyam an indian chap I met on the plane, Kenneth, Tsz Wo, myself and Mick. I didn't catch the first band, didn't matter because I really came to see Synthetic Insemination, who absolutely blew the entire crowd away with their mix of funk, 80's style electro and live drumkit breaks. They put on a fantastic show, played incredibly tightly and Will looked fabulous with red lipstick smeared all over his face in a trashy but very sexy rock n roll way. Next up a young schoolboy looking band (literally) who played a cantopop/rock set, followed by brit-aussie-canandian damn funky comedy sensation The Racket, always a good show! And finally death metal band Darkness Pool, who all wore matching DP logo t-shirts, which i found a bit cheesy. The judges ending up choosing three bands to pass into the final as opposed to the usual two which included Synthetic Insemination woohoo, cantopop schoolboy outfit and the first band. Bad news for The Racket. After we celebrated with dinner and some drinks..

I'm still heading to Japan on tuesday, and now I plan to catch a train from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet instead of checking out South Korea. I think...

I visited Chi Lin Nunnery yesterday to clear my head. It's an all women monastery with huge surrounding gardens and 4 lotus ponds. It was so tranquil and beautiful it took my breath away. It's amazing how such a peaceful place can be situated on a main road in the middle of the city. I can't wait to find more of these hidden gems on my travels..

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