Whenever I leave down the alley behind my apartment, I always come upon these young pups playing on the sidewalk. They're the cutest dogs I've ever seen, and if I weren't afraid they or their owner had rabies and might make me crazy if they bit me, I would pet them.
We stopped in for a breakfast at McDonald's, met Alyssa (who's staying at the Chunking Mansion tonight) before buying our expensive tickets for the expensive city of HK. (things are nearly the price of the West)
Despite HK being perhaps the most advanced city in China, there were still plenty of English Follies. This sea vest manual was very comforting.
Apparently you might pee out your baby.
We took a ferry just over an hour away to the island of HK, amid mist and fog that enshrouded the cabin in a twilight, similar to the Matrix when they fall into Purgatory. We sped over what I thought were small waves, but with our speed the bumps became more pronounced, causing an extreme sensation of turbulence.
I caught a photo of this young lady as she was exiting the ramp. This seems to be the newest fashion trend in China: large glasses with no lens.
A few words games and a nap later, we docked.
Exited out onto the street and found many cool little shops. There were literally hundreds of Middle Eastern men offering to handmake entire suits for cheap, every few feet. Also, the entire time here, I encountered only one beggar, a grumpy old woman incessantly pulling on sleeves and getting nowhere.
There were a couple of these hourly hotels, but this one caught my eye. Armenia, anyone?
PS, EVERYwhere in Canada has them, too.
We walked a great distance today. With the rain, we sometimes had to run for cover inside, and therefor couldn't get a good view of the ocean, or much of the scenery. This ingenius man turned briefly into a superhero to escape the rain.
There are a few islands nearby, and this busy roadway led to an under ocean tunnel connecting one of them.
Can you imagine working on this? It's put together with bamboo, and tied with string at each corner. That's nearly ten stories high, and I didn't even trust to walk underneath.
We were getting hungry, and after saying goodbye to Alyssa, we made our way to the subway.
These are always fun to ride. My first experience was in Beijing; that was an efficient sub, and a good time.
Briefly today, however, there was terror in the streets of Hong Kong. Boarding a state of the art subway at Tseu si Tan station, Kristen entered. The door beeped.
Heather entered. The door shut.
I stood, there just as the door closed, and I missed it. The girls got off at the next station to wait for me, but I somehow missed them and went on to our original destination (not as scary as Final Destination... 1, 2, or 3-D).
I tried using my phone, but being in 'a different country' I was unable to get a dial tone. Similar with the pay phone. Being lost in Hong Kong, being lost on the other side of the world, with nothing whatsoever familiar, is a curious sensation. Anger, which passed, and the feeling of being adrift in the Pacific Ocean; screwed, but you somehow feel fine because you have no choice but to go with the flow.
A nice Citiphone clerk allowed me to use his phone to get a hold of Heather, whose phone luckily worked, and we reunited, tearfully.
Among the many advertisements were these seemingly mundane posters. I passed them numerous times before I realised what the message was implying.
And this poster I just didn't understand.
In one of the mall areas of the underground was this ridiculously ghetto Christmas tree.
Beer and Christmas, only fond memories?
In some places there were many restaurants, Greek, Italian, and of course, Chinese.
This place had a unique system of playing a video of what the cook was making, live. Didn't seem appetizing, however. We stopped in a generic diner. I had an omelette, rice, and meat.
Out on the street, it poured occasionally.
Luckily, 'this book, can be, a hat'.
I'm not usually one for shopping, but even for me there were some cool items. I've started souveneir shopping, and in some of the markets I found some unique stuff.
I took a picture of this because I thought it was funny the picture was wet, and outside it was wet.
I saw a girl wearing a white shirt, with a black Mickey Mouse 'hugging' the girl from behind. The shirt said, "Mickey is always by you." (creepy? religious?)
This speaks for itself.
The only little person I have seen in China (excluding beggars who are missing their legs)
This graffiti was interesting; I think there was a comment on women's place in society, and how that affects them.
Leah?
It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to the ferry. The last ferry left at 530pm. HK is not 'China' for economic reasons, so we had to go through customs. This sign aided the hilarity. I shudder to think that it's relevant here in China.
In Saskatoon I was used to buildings 15 stories high. Moving to Zhuhai, 35 stories high. Hong Kong?
A concert video of this dude played for the tired crowd heading home to Zhuhai. The music was actually quite good, despite the .. peacockish outfit. He might have been Richard Lam (from the 'wet' poster mentioned before), or I might just not be able to tell the difference.
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Here it gets better. Having arrived home, I went and had one full hour of full body massage, followed by one full hour of foot massage. Yes, at times it was awkward. But I've grown accustomed to accepting that it's different in China. Taking the bus home from the ferry port I actually felt a reminiscient twinge of bittersweet that I had missed Zhuhai, having only been gone for one day. And, as my time here gets closer and closer to leaving for back home, I think I will miss the experience I had, the differences. People here seem genuinely happier than in the West, despite having less. I've learned a lot coming here.
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oh and Happy Birthday Colby!
Your. Life. Is. Amazing!!
ReplyDeleteand so is your blog!
new favourite form of procrastination from exams ;)