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Hey hey people. Hope all is well in the land of doom and gloom. It feels so good being completely out of date with current affairs!!!
Hey everyone...3months in hey, going a little too fast now. Anyway, we are currently in China, but more on that in our next post. Hong Kong and Macau....Bling Bling.
We arrived at Hong Kong airport after a little issue at Bangkok airport and got straight onto the boat
a bit posher than a boat, it was a super speady catamaran to Macau. We were quite excited about Macau as it has been pegged as the Las Vegas of the East with the likes of the Wynn, MGM and the Venetian all setting up super casinos here. We weren't dissapointed.
For me a casino virgin, these things were huge...forget Bluewater and Westfield...man these kicked their asses and back again! The place has the Razzle Dazzle, although in a super sterile environment. By this I mean, everything has its place, everything is watched with close eyes and NOBODY seems to have ANY fun!!! I was expecting people all drunk crowded around Craps tables screaming and money flying all over the place, but instead
we were treated to people uniformly sitting at tables quietly gambling. I mean what the hell is that about.
I had this built up image of it being all glitz, half-naked women, slot machines and lots of music etc etc...it was lifeless! And in Vegas, you gamble, you get free drinks....in Macau, you gamble, you get nothing.
Nothing...we put money in those machines i expect a Long Island Ice Tea in return! Yup thats right...nought. And there isnt even a decent place to have a drink unless your willing to pay over the odds for a drink!!!
We could not even locate a bar...we had like 2 hours to kill and as there was no bar we ended up sitting infront of a fountain (great fun!) We checked into the 5 star Riviera....yes people we told you we were flashpackers!!!
We are seriously not flashpackers, trust me when i say we have stayed in some shacks...but this hotel was a welome relief. We had a shower that was not over the toilet, so if i wanted to use the toilet after the shower i would not be getting my butt and clothes wet...trust me it is a welcomed comfort! Its was well deserved after South East Asia. We hit the casinos one by one, but time after time were sorely dissapointed.
Again we gambled (small money) and no Long Island Ice Tea! The casinos themselves were immaculate copies of their American counterparts. All the bling bling shopping one could one, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada
Bvlgari you name they had it....but the atmosphere was to put it bluntley...Shite! This was our first glipse into how people live their lives out here.
By the book! After a day of sightseeing, which at this point is getting a little tedious at times. Let me explain that....3 months of pure sighseeing and one gets a little overwhelmed with all that one has seen, and needs a holiday from the holiday. Imagine seeing the most amazing thing you have seen, and then seeing something even better the next day, then a day break, then the following day your mind is blown again. It gets a little much, so Macau was our place of rest. We lounged in the 5 star luxury inbetween hitting the casinos (and no people we didnt win much as we didnt gamble much....it just seems pointless us wasting our
money on a place with no feeling).
and no drinks! Macau was at best an experience. Maybe in 5-10 years when everyone loosens up a little, this place might be worth a look, but unless your a hardcore gambler, Macau doesnt really offer much.
From a person who has not visited Vegas yet...not worth it, save the pennies! So it was off to Hong Kong. We have been excited about this place since we booked and was by far at the top of our list of places to visit and boy did it deliver.
Upon arrival i kept screaming 'Kay is in Hong Kong!' I just could not believe i was here and it was everything i imagined and more. It has everything. The Razzle Dazzle, and I mean real Bling, true Jit style. More Louis Vuitton shops then one can count, every designer under the sun has at least 5 shops here!
See i am not the shopaolic in this relationship...Sangs its all Jit's got a problem not me! The food
(this is my department), the lights, the tranquilty of Lantau Island, and above all it reminded us so much of home. Within 5 mintues
of being here we felt comfi and knew what we were doing. Cities dont really differ to much from each other and Hong Kong is no different. There were different colours here, Chinese people, Indian people, African people,
we were truly shocked at the whole population of India being in Hong Kong! English people...it really did feel like good ol' London.
Home!!! The only different is that everything is high-rise. I mean not one building is less that 10 stories and they go upwards about 100 stories. Impressive stuff.
We hit all the major tourist attractions. Victoria peak was stunning, as we got up there, did a 5km walk arond the peak and just at the sun was setting we went up to the 360 viewing deck and saw the awe-inspiring Hong Kong skyline light up. Truly amazing. One of the best skylines I have ever seen.
London has a few things to learn about skylines...i mean the Gherkin really does not cut here. I mean here they even build mini versions of the big buildings...crazy! On another night we watched the skyline light up from the Avenue of Stars and watch the Symphony of lights where
all the buildings part-take in a massive laser/light show. It was pretty impressive. Having a large night out here is expensive business, but still we managed to have a semi-decent night out.
Talk about London prices, and i am not talking Mo's, i am talking Leicester Square going on Mayfair. A few glasses of wine
I had Pinot...woo hoo!!! and some CIDER for me....yay! Met a great bar manager...Giorgio who spoke to us for ages about real-estate and gave us pointers on how to move out here.
Do not worry folks, we are thinking but it ticks all the boxes for sure. We hit Lantau Island to see the worlds largest seated
you forgot Bronze Buddha which was pretty impressive and it was a nice day away from the busy city. Lantau is really chilled out and very very green compared to the urban concrete jungle of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
Seriously Hong Kong has it all: food, people, shopping, nightlife, scenery and even beaches! Imagine Margate in London...no thanks! The rest of our time was spent doing what Jit and Kay do best, shop! We hit all the markets and shopping centres and blew big
chunks of our savings on a new wardrobe....well I didn't, but Kay certainly has a good bloody stab at it!!!
He is such a liar! Mum and Dad i am not a shopaholic and i did not buy that much! Jit made me and that is the truth! Sangs seriously sort him out! Hong Kong for us was amazing. Vietnam was still our favourite place to visit, but Hong Kong was shaping up to be our number 1 place to emigrate to should we decide to do it.
Again folks do not panic! Oh I must mention the food.
See i am not the only one that talks about food Hong Kong's only real main dish is Dim Sum, which we had plenty of. Its little steamed dough things filled with different meats. Some are sweet, some are savoury but all are yummy.
What you talking about they are both sweet and savoury...bit weird but filling and cheap. The rest of the time is was Micky D's, Subway, Pizza Hut and this great Sushi place we found. Not really a great introduction into Chinese culture and food but hey, we've been travelling for 3 months and miss the
junk alright...jeez!
Anyway folks, its off to Mainland China. Wish us luck....No English and forks and knives
I got mine, i don't know about you...should be interesting!!! Until next time....stay sexy!
And love to all! xxx
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MitzP
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Hong Kong Phooey
Hey bro! been a few days! glad you kids are having a fantastic time as now that you have hit some city streets once again. Love the Cannon man, did you get that from Wanko's? I also noticed how the casino floor all around you was kinda empty? did you break inn? or was it you and kayn'a MASH UP the place after a couple of Fatburgers? But hey man - everything is well back at home, Likka yout Neha has been a Princess growing too fast gexme! All is well! Speak to you soon as. Big Love Mitz to the P