Yes, I'm back from a really long journey. I went to a faraway place known as...Hong Kong. Due to pressure from the higher ups, I must now talk about my trip. So I will. I'm going to break it down in several posts.
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| Pet your key card...NOW! |
Hong Kong--an interesting place due to its circumstances. While mainly Chinese, it does have the remains of Western influences from when it was under British control. And because of that, it's very...tourist friendly. All the signs are translated into English and they primarily use the typical numbers (1-9) instead of the Chinese numbers. But the people do still speak mostly Cantonese, so it does feel awkward to speak English in the city. And, of course, the television programs are mostly Chinese as well, so it does help to know the language.
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| Asian people. Lots of them. |
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I felt that culture shock the moment I arrived. It's kind of scary to see such a different world than I'm used to. Where I come from (US of A), all Chinese people look alike. But when I went to Hong Kong, I felt the opposite. Suddenly, all white people began to look alike. I guess it's just a minority/majority thing. When you see the diversity of one race, another race becomes...very samey.
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| The sky is always white... :( |
The weather was...odd. I've been told that it's warm in Hong Kong. During the whole week I was there...IT WAS COLD. At night, in the hotel I was staying, it was freezing! I couldn't even feel my feet. Even with layers I could still feel the cold. It must have been about 40 degrees (Fahrenheit). They don't have heaters because it's normally warm, and the blankets are thin too. While I was in Hong Kong, I never saw the sun. In fact, I've been told there is a mountain near Hong Kong island. But from where I was (Kowloon island), it was practically non-existent. There was so much fog...you couldn't see anything. I don't know what to believe anymore.
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| If it's a wide open space...no one will flock to it. |
And the last thing to talk about before I wrap up this post. Hong Kong is a very...confined...and crowded place. I suppose it's only natural for a city to be...less than spacious. But it only served to make everything so complicated. I guess, to complain about something like that is kind of silly, but I might as well. Hotel rooms are basically just for sleeping. Shopping centers...are a battle zone. Ever see a horde of bugs scramble on top of each other? Just imagine that, but with hundreds of humans in a small tight corridor.
