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Published: March 8th 2008
Last night in Goa was crazy. After a hard day of me, rob and joe scaling the ultimate sea rock and suffering many wounds in the process, we decided we had to go out on a good one! So it was to be a crawl from one end of the beach to the other picking up recruits along the way! We made it to 7 with a couple of recruits hanging along, including this wicked guy called chris who was playing a death cab DJ set in Goa. At this point robs head was glued to the table so he called it a night. I was close to doing the same but we found a new lease of life and carried on and hung out with a bunch of english people we met whilst playing human buckaroo with joe's head. Come 5.30am I decided sleep was impossible and I might as well see my first Goan dawn which turned out to be pretty spectacular! I went back to the hut and only made it as far as the plastic chair on the little balcony where I was until rob shook me out of my daze and told me we had to
leave for Goa airport in 30. The taxi drive back was so calm compared to the other one it was great. We hopped on our spice jet flight to Mumbai and said goodbye to Goa! We arrived in Mumbai around 4.30pm and our flight to Hong Kong wasnt until 3.40am the next day... After deciding the taxi ride down to Colaba to hang out in town for a bit would probably be a 4 hour (and expensive) round trip we decided to bite the bullet and just head for the international airport where we would wait it out - surely there'd be chairs and a mcdonalds or something. We thought we'd rickshaw it so Rob could experience the crazy and it didnt disappoint. The driver took us to the wrong terminal and then when we protested he said he'd be really kind and drive us to his mates taxi who'd be able to take us the rest of the way for a mere 900R. What a nice guy... After kicking up a fuss and being persistent he finally took us there. We tried to enter the airport only to be stopped by the army dude on the door who told
us that people were only allowed in around 3 hours before our flight and to come back at midnight. Score. So we had a nice 7 hours to fill having run out of every ruppee with no possible access to the bureau inside... We settled for a comfy looking spot of kerb which was our home for what felt like eternity. We passed the time by playing the amazing game 'which street light will turn on last' which we were quite good at, and meeting crazy men who gave us rings with hearts encrusted into it... FINALLY after being swarmed by ants and not having slept since the 2nd to last night in Goa it was midnight and we got into the airport. Found a comfy spot of floor and waited for check in to open for our Sri Lankan Airways flight to Hong Kong via Columbo and Bangkok....
We got into the departure lounge which had the most amazing seats in the world. Literally in a sleep deprived state this was the best thing that had happened to us all day after floors and kerbs and arsehole rickshaws. Sadly we could only enjoy them for half an hour
as it was boarding time on the plane to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The journey was only 2 and a half hours so I failed to get much sleep but when I did I was having a dream where I was having a convo with Rob and Katie and turned to the Indian dude next to me and shouted jibberish at him. Colombo airport was easy to navigate but I couldnt quite figure out how I was moving my legs. Rob and Katie were floating along in much the same fashion. Not a word was spoken. The sun was rising when we got on the next Sri Lankan plane to Hong Kong landing in Bangkok on the way. Made the worst decision of my life when I went for Fish Curry for breakfast, my thinking was that I hadnt been to bed so maybe it would work out line dinner? Wrong. Rob and Katie went for the same but there was a friggin spanish omlette on the cards. What were we thinking... When we landed in Bangkok most people piled off and then all these little thai ladies bustled on and cleaned frantically before the next load of passengers arrived. Me
and Rob decided sleep was impossible so played tetris until Hong Kong. The airport was the easiest, nicest, calmest experience ever. We were through immigration, baggage and customs in 20 minutes. Everything was spotless and India seemed like a different planet! We'd been there for so long it was the biggest contrast! We made a bee-line for burger king and got the ultimate beef fix - sorry india - before flippin thru the book and figuring out where to stay and how to get there! Nathan Road in Kowloon seemed to be the backpackers spot and we decided on Garden Hostel. There was a bus or a train, the train was 3 times the price so the choice was easy! We grabbed top of the double decker and at the front for ultimate tourism. First thing I noticed was all the road signs and markings were exactly the same as at home which was pretty weird and the bus journey was probably the most civilised drive I've had in a long time. He took it so easy as we passed lush green mountains with apartment blocks sticking out in clusters - Lantau Island. When we got down into Kowloon the
neon hit us, people and flashing lights everywhere! Crazy! Everything was an advert - it seemed like the craziest consumerist place in the world! We scoured the map and figured out when we were near the hostel and hopped off. An Indian man approached me trying to sell me a 'copy watch' - theyve followed us here! We found the hostel, its in this huge gritty high rise filled with buisnesses and guesthouses etc on every filthy floor! The ground floor is a shopping arcade with souvenier tshirts and dildos side by side. We queued for the right lift and got up to the right floor following the signs. The hostel was brightly lit and clean in comparison to the rest of the building and ungoing in the main hall was a kung fu class with all sorts of crazy weaponry. Me and rob instantly high fived. The price for a dorm bed was $60 a night which is 4 pounds exactly so pretty reasonable! The dorm was long and thin with 4 double bunks packed in. Cheap and Cheerful. We dumped our things and headed out to explore. Sleep could wait. The whole journey - Palolem beach hut to
Hong Kong hostel had taken about 35 Hours and 2 sleepless nights but we'd made it! We prowled the streets for a little while with wide eyes, theres an electronics shop about every 2 meters. We passed the swankiest hotel I have ever seen - The peninsula, outside was ferraris, bentleys, all that stuff and a prada and louis vuitton. Literally 2 minutes away was our grime hole - brilliant. We dragged katie away from the windows and found the viewing spot accross the harbour to hong kong island. What a skyline! It was all lit up and crazy colourful - reflecting in the harbour water. I could not have felt further from the beach! I think it beats New York dad! Anyway we went out in search of a bar, cos we're just that crazy, and ended up in an Irish bar as we didnt fancy 'pussy cats'. The beer prices hurt me. $54 for a pint of kronenbourg. 10 times the prices on the beach 😞 We settled for one as the tiredness was kicking in but mainly the prices and headed back to the hostel where we collapsed.
Woke around 1pm in the afternoon (8 hours
ahead now) thinking it was around 9am! Ate some bread we bought from 7/11 on the ''terrace'' for breky and headed for the star ferry terminal to cross the harbour to Hong Kong Island for a bit of sight seeing. The fare was ridiculously cheap and the views awesome. On the other side there was so much land reclamation going on. I figured if u had a harbourside location and then people started creating new land infront of it I'd be pretty pissed. Everything was so uber modern and shiny but it felt almost like home. All the british brands were everywhere, even a Pizza Express which was pretty crazy. We noticed how everyone in Hong Kong looks straight out a fashion mag! All the young people are going for the indie rocker/scene look, never seen so many coverses in my life! We wandered around for a bit and figured before sunset we should head up to check out the peak - the highest point on the island with stunning views. We figured out the best way to get to the tram would be to use the central escalator which was pretty cool. Basically as so many apartment blocks are
up on the steep hillside with tiny little roads so commutes became crazy. Their answer was to build an escalator all the way over the streets and up the hillside with stops on the way. Brilliant. We got to the tram and it was closed which was a bit of a downer but we got the bus. At the top was this crazy shopping complex/mall thing with a huge viewing platform on the roof. The sun was just setting and there were great views back to the non-urbanised side of the harbour. We headed up to the viewing platform to take in the views which were breathtaking. I know we'd seen them in other peoples pictures loads but you cant appreciate it properly until u go yourself! Lush green hillside with huge skyscrapers towering out and the harbour below. It really is a city where there shouldnt be one. We stayed until the dark settled and the lights came on which was proving a struggle for poor rob as there was no toilet on top and you would have to pay to get back in. India had got him just as he left! At night with the lights on the
view couldnt be more different, it was crazy, we were whipping out the cheesy peace sign photos. Gaz, yes we took a pic of the beanies but katie forgot hers! So we headed back down to find some food and have a quiet night. Back over in Kowloon we went for Happy Garden Noodles which was awesome, I went for Shrimp won ton noodle soup or something I dont know! All I know is that Dad, you've taught me well and I'm getting my chopstick skills on! It was pretty cheap too at around 3-4 quid a head with drinks. It was nice to go somewhere the local people were eating (the menu was completely chinese) when we saw the tourists opting for hard rock cafe just down the road!
We headed back through the crazy assault of neon to the hostel and I settled on a chair on the terrace with my diary and started chatting to 2 english blokes working out in China who we'd met the previous night. It was Steves last night and he tried persuading us to go out but I wasnt feeling it. Then he got a beer out the fridge and mixed
some coke with some crazy lighter fluid style spirit and pushed it on me... Katie joined us as did a Canadian girl and a french guy. I started to be persuaded and ignored the tiredness thinking 'pfft its my gap year!' and Rob and Katie were up for it too. We went to 7/11 and got a few Tsing Tao (sp?) beers in and felt extremely british walking along the streets of Hong Kong, friday night, beer in hand. Crazy. We had a pretty good gang with 2 other sound english guys who joined us. We grabbed 2 taxis to cross the harbour to go to the party district, cant remember the name. Through a swish tunnel under the water and we were there, costing us nothing each really. Tipping is offensive apparently and the driver pushed the measly $1 change we werent too fussed with back at us! The bar strip was sleaze central, like a combination between amsterdam and camberley. We followed the guys who lead us down into a lively looking place. We all got ID'd so it was lucky I had some on me! Inside within a few seconds there was a chinese girl clutching my
arm wanting to meet my friends and to know how old I was... I made a quick retreat and we hit the dancefloor. Me, Rob and Katie couldnt stop laughing as we looked around at the fat, horrible shirted westerners dancing with the smokin chinese chicks. We started grinding on them with tears of laughter in our eyes! It kind of disgusted me at the same time! Sleaziest place I'd been in my life. This tribute band came on playing all sorts of crazy tunes. We appreciated them so much standing at the front and admiring. Some of them loved us, others clearly hated us! Next thing I knew it was 5am and people had filtered off. Me, Rob and the canadian girl all grabbed a taxi back and hit the dorm. after a measly 3-4 hours sleep we rose and headed out in search of somewhere which wasnt hostel. Ended up just sitting on the harbourside topping up on the fluids before coming into this crazy internet cafe! It's so fast its amazing, theres all these really stereotypical asian guys around me getting well into their video games. This is your heaven alex. There's even a guy playing world
of warcraft. Bet you laughed.
Anyway miss everyone! I'll throw a couple of pics and another blog up soon, tonight me and rob are going to an Irish bar at 11pm to watch Newcastle v Liverpool and get rowdy. I cant wait/dread it. Speak soon!
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Nathan
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Best road name ever??