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Published: January 21st 2008
We Made It!
After a grueling 19 hours on planes, Darren and I safely made it to Hong Kong yesterday at 6:05 a.m. We were both able to get some sleep on the flight over from Minneapolis (via L.A.), so I didn't think we would be in that bad of shape for the day. I blew that thought out of the water after 20 minutes on the bus ride into the city with the brilliant observation that everyone was driving on the "wrong side of the road".
We finally made it to the hostel, ate breakfast, and got cleaned up. We spent most of the day trying to avoid the overwhelming need to get some sleep by wandering around the streets on Hong Kong. We ended up stumbling upon a temple dedicated to the Goddess of Seafarers. We stood outside for a few minutes being sheepish, until two 5 year old little girls ran up to us giving us each 2 french fries from McDonald's. It was so cute that we both turned piles of goo on the sidewalk. We said we only wanted one, but they insisted! They proceeded to ask where we were from, told us how old
Hong Kong Streets
Poster boards in front are from a Falung Gong human rights activist.they were, etc. We finally entered after they shattered all our reservations and humbled our cautiousness.
Anyway, we woke up early this morning (primarily due to jet lag) and were able to walk across the street to catch the NFL games. We had to do quite a bit of research the evening before to try and find a live feed, but in the end, a little resourcefulness went a long ways. (We walked into the Sheraton pretending to be staying there and asked the concierge to help us out.) The only live feed we could find ended up being right next door at an Irish bar. The place was surprisingly busy at 5:30 a.m. when we made it over. There were about 75 people for the Pats vs. Chargers and 65 for the Packers vs. the Giants. While I can't pretend to be happy about the outcome of the latter game (the Packers lost in over time 23-20), I did feel a tinge of
schuedenfreude (spelling?) as I knew my family and friends at the game sat through the -4 F weather while I had 70 F sunny weather waiting for me!
Darren and I spent the rest
of the day meandering around town exploring Kowloon park, looking at Hong Kong Island's sky line, and doing some more meandering around the city. We have been trying to relax as much as possible and just enjoy the scenery, while also getting over the jet lag. We haven't done any of the touristy things yet as our Uncle Lorne and Cousin Brian get in tomorrow. We'll be hanging around the city with them until our flight out on Saturday morning when we go to Kuala Lumpur.
Overall, despite the previously mentioned driving on the left hand side of the road and the fact that it has been two days, the city hardly feels foreign. It's extremely multicultural, everything is written in multiple languages, most people speak English; it's kind of like Seattle's Chinatown or the McNamara terminal in Detroit's airport. There have only been a few feelings thus far of complete bewilderment, or a few more than I feel in any normal day. That's all I have for now!
Side Note
This is my first blog, so please, bear with me. Since my friend Jon went to around the world and blogged using this site I have been
perusing it from time to time. Needless to say, I am not nearly as eloquent as some of the other writers and I am no where near as good at taking photographs. So please, bear with me. And if anyone has issue with my spelling or grammar, bug off; I'm on vacation!
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Rick
non-member comment
Germanized English--Great Grammar Boost
Awesome blog and cool stories to date. Simply for the love of anything German: "Schadenfreude" (Schaden means damage and Freude means joy. Germans are great at constructing sensible words. Their gender usage may at times make no sense, but the word often should.) Have a great start to the trip. Later Days, Rick (I'm a friend of Darren's from Carlson)