Hong Kong: the beginning

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Hey all,


So, it's a little overdue (we are in Shanghai now) but here are some pictures of our first couple of days in Hong Kong. The internet was down in Hong Kong because of the cables that were destroyed when that earthquake hit the coast of Taiwan a week or so back. But it seems to be okay here in Shanghai, which is good.

We're not gonna upload all the pictures, since we've taken so many... just the "best".

Basically, Hong Kong started off horribly... we got off the bus on the wrong stop and arrived late to our hostel; we then got moved to this dingy hostel in a back alley where the only window in the room looked out into sewage traps and pipes. But it wasn't long before things picked up - exploring Hong Kong on the 29th was amazing! We started in Causeway Bay - a bustling shopping and eating district where our hostel is located - and made our way to Kowloon - a district on the other side of Victoria Harbour. Some see it as a more shady, filthy area, though it probably has more character than Causeway Bay and Central (which are on Hong Kong Island).

We started at Tsim Sha Tsui, walked on the promenade and Avenue of Stars (I had not heard of even ONE of the Asian film stars and directors who were immortalised there) and then took the train up to a suburb called Prince Edward to start our walk all the way back down to Tsim Sha Tsui. We visited what can easily be called a bird prison (see the pics!), walked down a street famous for its flower markets, then walked through the night markets where we had countless bargaining sessions with stall merchants (one of them actually slapped me because I refused to buy something!) and we got to see the (in)famous Chungking Mansions. To those who aren't familiar with the Chungking Mansions, think about what a mansion means... and now picture the total opposite. Chungking Mansions is basically one huge block of flats, housing the most run-down, awful-smelling hostels imaginable, food stores where the only thing edible is a tic-tac, dodgy elevators, as well as dodgy Indians who are convinced you are in need of an imitation silk suit, etc... after seeing Chungking from the outside, I am so grateful we chose not to stay there. That night we caught the Star Ferry back to Hong Kong Island (the side of Hong Kong where our hostel is) and met up with Vanessa (a friend of mine from uni) for dinner in Soho - a trendy restaurant area in a district known as the Mid-levels (we had to catch this huge public travelator up there which was uber-cool!) Oh, and the next morning, Peter and I switched rooms into one which not only had a window that could open, but a view and a shower with a nozzle that worked!

So that was the end of day 1 in Hong Kong. I'll make sure to write more about the rest of Hong Kong, including NYE, and our dramas in getting to Beijing as soon as I can. Bye for now.

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