Made It Back To Hong Kong!

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Wow. After nine months here I am back to where it all began. And this time I'm not all messed up and jet lagged either! I came in by short ferry hop from Macau and was looking forward to making the most of my time back in HK. Low and behold I ended up staying again at the Chunking mansion, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Or was that Mos Eisley's spaceport? In any case it was seedy as ever, people packed in from every corner of the world and touts trying their best to annoy me with promises of tailor made suits, Rolex watches, Chinese women, you name it. The Islamic center near Chunking was packed as Ramadan was in gear. Never realized how many devout Muslims lived in Kowloon. This of course was all on Nathan Road, the main street of Kowloon area. I walked yet again through here narrow and crowded streets, trying to compare the differences from when I was here last. The only difference was me and the experiences I'd been through.

To be honest I took it quite easy for the most part. Did some shopping for cheap knick-knacks and stuff. Checked out the symphony of lights again on Victoria Harbour and this time I did NOT fall asleep! Yes! Also gave the Space Center a visit, and although a good effort on their part it was quite out of date. It still classified Pluto as a planet and may mentions like "The probe is set to arrive in 2007..." Great.

I visited my second cousin, named Ran, had been living in Hong Kong for the past six years. Since I didn't see him at the beginning, I took the advantage of catching up this time. Took the Star Ferry over from Kowloon to Central and he treated me to lunch and we shot the shit for about an hour. From there I took off to visit Stanley, taking a bus through central and past Repulse Bay to the southeast of the island where it is situated. Over there I walked through the market and park and got to look at a sea not packed with high rises. It was a muggy day and I felt the pollution. I headed back to Kowloon and walked the streets until the late night just reflecting on everything that had happened for the past many months.

My alarm rang at around six thirty. I left my cramped room and made my way to the airport. The trip was now at an end, and although it would be nice to come back home I was still a little saddened about leaving behind an incredible world I had discovered. I took Continental Flight #98 back to Newark and then connected in Montreal.

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