So this is Hong Kong

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We are writing these after we came back from vacation****

We are all packed and ready to go to Hong Kong for the evening then fly to Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, October 1st.

We first had to go to Chinese class which was hard to sit through for 90 minutes when we knew we were going to HK for the first time and then 7 days in South Korea.

We got out of class and took off for the subway. We recruited a few of our fellow teachers, Chris and Kelly, to crash with us in Hong Kong. Reservations for a four person suite at a Hostel had already been made. Crossing from Futian was fairly easy. We wanted to make sure that there were no delays or problems on the day of our flight so that is why we decided it was best to stay the night before.

We purchased an octopus card (the mass transit card used in Hong Kong) for $150 HKD, $50 of which was the deposit for the card. The money is refundable at any time, so we believe. We caught the next train headed to Kowloon. After 50 minutes and three transfers later we had emerged from the subway system.

Walking out of the station we were flanked by huge buildings and bright lights on every corner. Signs for places hung seven or more stories high. It gave the effect of a lighted canopy through out the city. It would be visual overload for anyone that had just come from the country side. You could tell that there were a lot of things going on in this one little corner. "Suit, Suit, Custom Suit" shouted the Indian men. Even more Indian men along with an assortment of Africans from all corners of the continent waived us down to stay at their hostel. If was apparent that they merely worked on a commission basis and were actually very cut throat when it came to each other; especially when four Westerners with luggage come walking by. Way to pushy for our blood, but besides we already had reservations at the Guang Dong Guest House.

We decided that it was best to exchange our money first. Traveling down the street Kris had been here previously and knew a good spot with a good exchange rate. Walking through the street we veered into a large opening into a building that had a casino like vibe but was a mall on the bottom floor. There was a multitude of stores that we payed little attention too. As we weaved through the hordes of shopkeepers, bystanders, pimps, and swindlers we approached a small 50 sq ft room, large enough at most for two customers.

Behind the bullet proof glass sat two aged Cantonese men. Stepping up to the counter we handed over our Chinese RMB. A total of 5,900 between Elyse and I. For several minutes the two men counted and stacked our money. They reconfirmed with an electronic counting machine. We received 10 stacks of (100) one hundred 1,000 won bills and one shorter stack of the remaining 1.000 won bills. Each stack was rubber banded together and thrown into two little black plastic bags. Quickly adding these up a smile came to my face as I proclaimed I was a millionaire. If felt like we had just robbed a bank or made some seedy drug transaction. The money was stuffed deep into our backpacks as we headed out to the street.

Our hostel was a mere one or two block stroll away from the currency exchange. Kris and Kelly stayed at this hostel the first time they stayed and said that it was the less crapy of the bunch. Walking into a building that virtually had the same appearance as the mall in which we exchanged our money,The Guang Dong Guest House could be reached via the second elevator. Apparently there were some 20 plus hostels in a one block radius to this one. Arriving at the elevator I thought of the movie Total Recall. The scene where Arnold Schwartzniger arrives on Mars and every sort of strange being is walking around going about their own business. For those of you not familiar with Total Recall maybe you can remember to Star Wars Bar scene where Han Solo and Chewy are hanging drinking beers and listening to a band.

The collection of characters that we had encountered in just a short period of time is like something I could have never imagined. Hong Kong seemed like a global city and not owned by any one nation. Men and women both were custom dress from their native lands. The beauty of this city is that the inhabitants were bound by more than just their location, it appeared as though everyone here spoke some form of broken English. I guess if you want to do business in the global city you better speak the international business language.

There were two elevators, one that went for even floors and one for odd floors. Standing in the que (British for line) we gazed at the monitor that hung above the elevator. It displayed the passengers ascending to their proper floors, debarking, and new passengers entering. We needed to go to the fifth floor and it seemed to far a walk with all of our luggage. We had to wait. Minutes later we ventured on to the elevator, one Persian man tried to squeeze in yet a bell rang indicating the load was too much. I thought to myself whom is watching me head up in the elevator. Are they thinking to them selves look at all those strange Westerners; I wonder what they are doing.

Exiting the elevator we headed down the small corridor that had enigmatic doors with metal bars that had God knows what behind them. The opposite side of the hall way a Turkish restaurant stood, adjacent to that another Hostel. I believe there were four or possibly five separate hostels on this floor alone. Pulling up to the door that displayed the sign Guang Dong Guest House I read a small note tapped to the door; "Simon is a Chinese Man. If an Indian asks for money DO NOT PAY HIM!" Okay I thought, lets go on in.

Simon was a slender Asian man that spoke English with some fluency. He had this aloof personality that I guessed for someone that was tired of dealing with people all day. His office was a small table that obstructed the hall way. There was no grand entry or even a full on desk. It was just a little table that was placed in front of his own personal living quarters.

507 he announced and handed us the key. I handed him my passport and a wad of cash for the nights stay. It came out to a little less than $16.75 USD per person. It was clearly a little higher than the going rate because I booked it online a few days earlier. I thought that even if a fraction of the 1.3 billion Chinese people decided to vacation in Hong Kong then we would be screwed. I paid for the assurance that we had a room. Clearly I had been over worried and there were hundreds of rooms available just in this building alone.

The room was small and barely could fit one of the beds since it butted up against the bathroom wall. It had two full beds and was marketed as a four person room. The bathroom was small. The sink stuck out from the wall and made it so that you had to enter almost sliding past it. The shower was the standard Asian style but was hung directly over the path of the toilet. It wasn't like our apartment at home, I felt luck that we didn't end up with something like this in Long Gang.

Kris and Kelly took the bed closest to the door since Kris wouldn't be able to fit on the other bed on account that he is 6'4". It was time to head out to experience the city for what it was worth. Upon attempting to lock the door we had realized that Simon had issued us the wrong keys. Kris for what ever reason decided to try out the key in the door down the hall from ours. It worked on the first try. We were concerned that if someone rented this room and it didn't open they may try other doors and get ours. We had too much money to take along with us and didn't want to carry our bags along. Simon was no where to be found. Kelly and I decided to go look for him. It was rumored that he also oversaw the Hostel next to the Turkish joint. Not there, damn it.

We rang the door bell to the restaurant; because naturally a restaurant on the fifth floor was meant to have a door bell. The man inside appeared grumpy that we disturbed him. I don't know how he normally answered the door but it was strange. He made the call to Simon and spoke in Cantonese. 10 minutes later Simon arrived and switched our keys.

We were all in good spirits as we ventured back down to the lobby and into the streets of Hong Kong. We were very hungry by this point and wanted some food that we couldn't get on Mainland(China). We wandered around and found a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant. We found food that looked AWESOME on the menu and ordered away.

After dinner we walked to see the famous Victoria Harbor and view the beautiful skyline. Then we found a cute Irish Pub on our way back so we had to get a beer before we went to bed. We toasted to a great vacation-Kris and Kelly went to the Philippines and we went to South Korea the next day.

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Photos

MONEY!!!!!
We felt rich with all this money. Hong Kong Dollars and Korean Won.

Our Hostel Room
good thing there was storage below the bed cause it was tiny with the 4 of us in there. I have been told this is typical for Hong Kong (shoebox)

Pete and Kris
Good thing Pete is shorter than Kris so we took the bed shoved into the end of the room.

Ahh heaven
Meat with no bones or cartilage in it. For those who have been to China will understand

Even better Garlic Bread
Can't get this in Longgang

Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong is split into many districts this is Hong Kong Island also known as Victoria Harbour

Comments

[Mom]

Hong Kong
I am not sure I could have curled up enough to sleep in those beds!!!!!but for $16.75....it fit the bill!!!!!

[paulette]

great shot
Love the picture of you and Pete with the harbor/skyline behind you. Your smiles indicate you are loving it and have let go of the stress!!!!