Hello, here I am again.
Ever wondered where Hong Kong is? Well, geographically and, since more than 10 years, politically, it belongs to China. Almost. Still, if you cross the ‹border› from China to Hong Kong, you leave China and to re-enter you need a valid visa again. Strange. So is Hong Kong now part of China or not? The same actually applies to Macau.
But then I’d say: Hong Kong is not part of China, as it is completely different. Some exceptions of course exist as well. Food for example is very Chinese. Or business. At every corner there are stands, every empty space is used to sell something, and the people are as keen as everywhere to sell you what they have, not at all interested, if you need it or not. Just buy! Buy!!! «Hello, Rolex!», «Hello, room!» and «Hello, massage!»
But still, Hong Kong is very different. The city is much more organized. It is built! There is also a lot of construction going on, but it is not as omnipresent like in the other cities. They are ‹winning land› from the sea. These are the biggest building areas. Some new skyscrapers are in construction, but as there are already so many it’s not so obvious. The metro works perfect (as does everywhere) but still is easier to use as it is very modern and every station is displayed in English as well, and the direction you’re train is going is displayed electronically in every wagon. In Beijing I had twice to change the train, as I went into the wrong direction first. Even a Chinese guy, who explained it wrongly to me, had to switch once. Everyone seems to speak English in Hong Kong. And it is much more multinational as any city I’ve visited before. Many Indian people, running ‹guest houses› or selling jewelery. Ten thousands of Phillipinas, working as servants, live there as well. And then I’ve seen more western faces in the first hour than in the last 4 weeks.
While in China I always found a (usually) cheap and clean room or dorm bed in Hong Kong this is not the case. The first night I spent in a tiny and clean room in a ‹guest house›, which actually occupied 2 floors of a small house, squeezed in between two large blocks. But it was like 6 times more expensive than the places I stayed in China. And it was only available for 2 nights, but fully booked thereafter, as Christmas was very close. So I shopped around for another place. Many so called ‹guest houses› occupy some rooms in huge mansions. These old, big and loud complexes usually have stores in the ground floor on their entire area but from the second or third floor they have a court and you can walk a circle and end up in front of your place again. Such a ‹guest house› is for example located at the south-east corner of the 7th floor. Or north-east of the 14th floor. They have names like ‹Happy Guest house› or ‹Garden Guest house›. On floor 7 there was, among 2 others, ‹Tom’s Guest house›. So two famous mansions at Nathan street were listed in my guidebook. One was really dark and ugly. A dozends of Indian guys, grabbing my arm, wanted me to see ‹their place›. I really hated that. The second mansion was much better already. I found a dorm bed in a clean, but very basic ‹guest house›. Everything was basic in this place. They have a kind of reception, but no common place, where one can meet other people staying there. Bathrooms were basic as well. Friendliness of staff: very basic.
As I had to wait for my Vietnamese visa until the 24th of December I had no other choice, than to stay some days. And of course Hong Kong offers a lot to see!
The day I arrived, I just walked around on Kowloon. This is the part of Hong Kong, which still is on the Chinese mainland. From the ferry pier I enjoyed the skyline of Hong Kong island. In the evening I went there again, to see the lights of the streets and the decoration of the skyscrapers. Neon-City! And at this time of year you may add a huge amount of additional Christmas decorations on the buildings fronts. Hong Kong and Kowloon, both are incredibly busy 24 hours a day. The roads are crowded all the time.
The second day I crossed over with the ferry to the ‹Central› ferry pier on Hong Kong island. Together with Kim and Preston, which I met in Shanghai, I explored this part of Hong Kong a bit. We also took the cable car up to ‹the peak›. Luckily we had very nice weather this day, so the view was quite good. Together we also went to the Vietnamese embassy to apply for the visas.
The third day I took the metro which brought me to Lantau island. Another stretch in a bus brought me to the ‹Tian-Tan-Buddha›. This is the biggest bronze Buddha found on earth. Very majestically he overlooks the island and the Po Lin monastery from top of a hill. Then I boarded a ferry back to Central pier. There I strolled around some more time. I ‹climbed› the ‹mid-level-elevators›. This is a series of elevators, like those in department stores, which bring you up 800 meters without sweating a bit. Very lazy people must live there. And it’s free. In this part of the city the famous Ma-Mo temple is located, squeezed in between of skyscrapers. Back to my ‹guest house›, which actually is in Kowloon, I took another ferry. This is only a ten minute ride.
The next day it rained. So I didn’t do much but wander around in Kowloon. I also searched the ferry terminal of the ferry that should bring me to Macao, my next destination. This terminal is located in the east of Kowloon, and hidden in a shopping complex. It took me some
time to figure out how all this works. But finally I found a very convenient way how to get there from my ‹guest house›. There is an overpass from Kowloon park directly to the ferry terminal. Only it ends in the Pacific hotel and therefore the entrance is not easy to find. But this is exactly how everything in Hong Kong (and Kowloon) works. Everything goes ‹hand-in-hand›. Everything is combined with something else. Shops, travel agencies, bus and ferry terminals, hotels. Everything is connected somehow.
Christmas eve. The day I got the visa. I went to Hong Kong island once more, visited ‹Victoria park› and some temples in the west of the city. After getting my visa I took once more a ferry to Lamma island. This island, in the south of Hong Kong island, offers a walk from one town to another, where another ferry brings you back to Central pier. As the weather was dry but foggy, this walk was not to exciting. Still it was a very good change after all these days in this very busy city.
The 25th I left Hong Kong. After the immigration formalities I boarded a high speed ferry, that brought me to Macau min 75 minutes.
Macau again is a completely different city. I’d say, it’s a small city. Less than half a million population. Much more relaxed than Hong Kong. Surprisingly I found a room quite easy. Very thin walls, not reaching the sealing, but clean. Only the talking of the neighbors sounded, as they were in the same room. But still a safe place. And cheap, compared to Hong Kong.
Macau can be divided in two types of town. Colonial buildings and casinos. Of course a lot of typical Chinese apartment blocks are there as well. Now the fanciest buildings I’ve ever seen, are the casinos of Macau. Most of them are on the Macau peninsula, some are on Taipa, an island in the south, connected with 3 bridges. Las Vegas! All these casinos. Neon lights again. Huge hotels. Inside there are huge halls filled with all kind of slot machines and tables for all kind of gambling. Thousands. And they work 24 hours a day. Busloads of Chinese tourists enter the casinos and leave them again, only to visit the next one.
The other Macau is narrow streets, some parks and temples, two fortresses, left from the Portuguese and egg tarts. I had a long day with extensive hikes in great warm and sunny weather. I liked this part of Macau very much. Better than Hong Kong and better than casinos. But to explore these is an experience anyway. In the evening a bus brought me to the ‹Venetian›, the newest and biggest casino. What a waste. A huge hotel towering over a huge casino. Luxury inside. Everything huge. Crazy!
After only two nights I left Macau, went back to China. A shuttle bus brought me to the border and another bus to Guangzhou, where I bought a night train ticket to Guilin. And from there I reached Yangshuo. But this you already know from my last report.
So, that’s it for this year.
Have a nice slide into 2008!