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Published: October 8th 2009
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Didn't sleep very well because of the "real man show" in my room last night. I walked to Victoria after breakfast and visited a free exhibition in Urbis. The exhibition was about drinking culture in Manchester and mentioned about the history of a famous pub/club in the past. Then I went back to my hostel to take my luggage. Man I really like this hostel a lot. Not only is it cheap, but also it provides with super clean and neat rooms and fantastic shower in the bathroom. Super recommend it as a hostel.
It's so upset to come to the last stop in Manchester: Canal Street. The district is famous for its gay culture with many gay/les pubs open in it. Colour flags, meaning "peace" originally and interpreted as "homosexual" nowadays, were everywhere in Canal Street, and it's quite beautiful and delighting to see them. A bar called "Queer" even advertise their evening programmes on the street. There were also some gay business around, and I remember there was a poster of a bare top hot guy, wow~~gorgeous!! Comparing with flagrant advertising in Manchester, it's obvious that gay culture in Hong Kong develops very slowly. Is this because of
difference between Chinese and Western culture? Or simply because Hong Kong people are close minded?
I hanged around Canal Street for a while, went back to the bus station at Chorlton Street and said goodbye to Manchester City formerly. It took six hours from Manchester to London by bus, which was the longest bus journey I've ever had. So glad to see a rainbow in on the way though, adding some colour to this boring journey. I was so excited to return to London~~
I followed the map and found my hostel in Zone 2. Its ground floor is a pub and the registration for rooms only took place on one of the tables. Staff were nice though. They even carried luggage for customers to their rooms. Guest rooms were distributed on 1st and 2nd floor, while staff rooms were on 3rd floor. My room was for four people and it was so small that there were not much space after I put down my luggage. I settled down my things hurried to meet Helen, another friend I met in the States, in Piccadilly Circuit. Having western food for days plus it's Mid-Autumn festival tonight, I decided to
change my flavour to a Chinese dinner. We ended up in a restaurant in China Town, and ordered half Peking Duck. um....yummy duck, cucumber, spring onions and tasty sauce all in a hot wrap, yea~~superb!!
Later I walked along the two banks of River Thames alone. Evening in London was still as charming as seven years ago. Landmarks including Big-ben, parliament and London Eye distribute a romantic air while Millennium Bridge also contributed to the fascination of Thames River banks. Swiss Re Building, which was completed a few years ago, was an exception though. Located in Aldgate East, the building was teased as "The Erotic Gherkin" by the locals because it looked like a dick. What is unbelievable is that, its design was handled by a team led by Norman Foster, a famous English architecture whose works include the head office of HSBC and Terminal I of Hong Kong International Airport. Now given that The Erotic Gherkin seems to become his stain, is he regretted on taking the job? I wonder.
At eleven or so, I returned to my hostel and found the door locked!! A staff only came after I knocked for few minutes. As per the
staff, I can only access the hostel through the back door after eleven, but they forgot to give me the key card when I did the registration. Wtf!
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