Hong Kong Extended

I spend the lunar new year in Hong Kong. Which was great with a big parade, and massive fireworks. The way they celebrate this here is very different than back home, however. Where we all have a big countdown to the climax at 12 o'clock. Here the lunar new year takes 4 days. And actually, there is no cuntdown at all. The festivities are spread over these four days, and are mainly in the daytime (fairs) or evening (parades, fireworks). And no drinking afterwards :) Ofcourse, the foreigners do their own thing and gather in the pubs in the evening, but this is not the chinese way!

I also went to Macau, which was a Portugese colony (until 1999), like Hong Kong was a british colony. It is by (fast)boat only an hour away, so a good daytrip. Unlike Hong Kong, a lot of the historical buildings have been preserved. So walking around the old centre is a bit like walking around in spain or, more accurate perhaps, portugal. However, if you look up, the skyscrapers in the distance tell you you're still in Asia. The main attraction of Macau however is the sheer number of casino's you can find here. Because gamblind is legal here, a lot of chinese, korean and japanese people head to Macau on the holidays to place a bet. For me? Well, Hong Kong is expensive enough already, so I postponed my gambling till i'm back in Holland. Or maybe on the horse race track here.

Unfortunately, I cannot go to Beijing or Shanghai, since all the trains are full because of the new year. This means I am a little bit stuck in Hong Kong. But that is not too bad, since there is a lot to do here, and I take it easy! Watching a movie,reading a book, drinking a beer :) I have met some other travellers and local hong kong people here with whom I spend my time here, so that is very nice.

On the 1st of march I will go to Sydney.

Hope you're all doing OK!

Bas

p.s. I will try to put up some new pictures asap

Exploring Hong Kong

Hi to all!! Sorry it took some time,  but here it is!

Where did I leave you? Oh, yes, back in Chiang Mai. Well, I did the massage course and it was great! The massage course was specialised in nerve massage, so a lot of twitching of nerves and related muscles are a part of the massage. And ofcourse the typical thai way of bending and stretching your head, arms, legs and back. This means lifting somebody with your knee, pushing somebody over with your feet (while holding the hands) and bending somebody back while putting a knee in the bottom. Yes, it can be painful. And yes, it feels very good afterwards!

After some obligatory shopping in Chiang Mai, I went to Bangkok. Here I spent two more nights. I don't really like Bangkok (crowded, smelly, polluted, noisy, annoying), so I didn't feel like travelling around the city that much and stayed mostly in the neighborhood of my guesthouse. Doing some eating, drinking and reading. Then .. to Hong Kong!

As you approach Hong Kong for the first time from mid-air, it will take you back to the good old days of Sim City. The big white residential flats that you will see scattered throughout hong kong reminded me of a city I made in this game. After four months in southeast asia, it was almost surreal. But it was there: Hong Kong. Ofcourse everything is modern here. That starts with the elevators at the airport that talks to you and ends with the final automatic infra-red 'thermal' bodyscanning before you leave the airport. For health reasons, of which they are really afraid here after the SARS crisis a few years ago.

But HK is expensive. Well not that expensive, about the same as Holland. But compared to Thailand: yes. For US$6 I had a great single private room in Vietnam, with private bathroom, hot shower, tv, etc. In HK I share a room with 3 other people and we share a shower and toilet of which the combined size is a clothing closet back home. But that's okay .. because the city is amazing! I have been here for 4 full days now and yet everyday has been different. In one place you are in the middle of fake-rolex retailers, tailors, kebab restaurants among a wide audience of indian and african people (or illegals). There is where I sleep. Then cross victoria harbour with the ferry to enter Hong Kong Island and you are surrounded by skyscrapers, businessmen, asian hip youngsters and many many luxury shopping malls. In fact, there are so many shopping malls here, and all interconnected, that I think it is possible to walk for many miles in shopping malls without ever going outside. If you please. It's not my kind of thing, but fortunately there are a lot of cinema's too.. and so in the last days I have already visited 4 different cinema's :)

Traveling in Hong Kong is easy, you have a octopus cards which is a RFID card with which you can pay wireless. So just holding your wallet against a reader is enough to get you in the bus, tram, subway, train or at McDonalds. Very handy, and they will introduce this in holland soon. And although HK is very busy, it doesn't come across to me like Bangkok. Somehow it seems more natural and more flowing here, at least in a way that I don't mind the many people around me.

My plans are to stay in HK untill chinese newyear (18th of feb). I still have some sights to see, and I want to take it easy here. I have applied for a chinese visa, so I might go to either Beijing or Shanghai after that. Although it is very far away, it is only a 24 hour trainride to  both cities.

Everybody take care!!

ps: Jelle, I have not seen a karaoke bar yet (the ones where they keep their clothes on, that is) .. but I will keep searching!