THE DREAM IN ACTION

Today I’m traveling around solo in Hong Kong, the first of my 3 city month in China. We’ve been here for 2.5 days and we leave on Saturday evening. First impressions: amazing city.

When we first arrived we hunted around for a place to stay on the Island of Hong Kong. The places were expensive and I didn’t want to pay top $ for a place that I knew I wouldn’t be spending much time in. I finally convinced the group to head across the harbor to Kowloon. It’s obviously the more “seedy” of the two areas but for cheap accommodation’s that’s the place to be. We were walking down Nathan St. in Kowloon as we were approached by an Indian guy first trying to sell us a suit, next a watch (Rolex & Breitling, which Dave and Tony later purchased, only to have then break about 20 mins after), then he proceeded to sell us a room. We checked out the room and it was…well, you get what you pay for. We’re paying $300 Hong Kong dollars which is about $19 US dollars per person, per night. It’s all about the experience right.

We decided that this first night would be one we would rage. We took it all in going to Lan Kwai Fong and meeting as many people as possible. In a club called Beirut, we met the CFO of Pepsi Asia. He was awesome, and a huge proponent of Hong Kong. He was also very encouraging about our roles with GE. Then we met a bunch of Indonesian girls who it seems just party and have been in HK for 13+ years. Sounds fun, but no thanks. I met a sweet bro, Patrick, from Dublin who works for a ritzy hotel chain. He worked for their corporate office in Ireland or the UK (didn’t catch it) and now here in HK. He’s been here for 5 mths and he also loved it. Pretty much everyone we met loved living here in HK. We stayed out extremely late, took in as much of the cities nightlife as is safely possible, and were successful in avoiding the ladies that go out for business, if you catch my drift. That apparently runs rampant in HK.

Kowloon, where we are staying isn’t as far as it seems on the map. We staying in a guest house (same as a hostel) that is owned & operated by some Indian guys. It seems way sketch when you first get there but I’ve been encouraging the guys to not compare it to anything they’ve experienced in the US. Things are different and just because it may seem unsafe or dirty to US standards it’s actually not to bad. They’re not really buying it. HAHA!  As far as the ferry to get over to Hong Kong Island it costs a total of 1.70 Honk Kong dollars which is 1.70/7.5 = uber cheap. It takes only about 10 minutes to get across and the views of the harbor and downtown are beautiful.

The next day we walked around the city just to take as much in as possible. We had 3 main requirements on the first full day. 1) Ride on the tram system, which is terrifyingly amazing and efficient. 2) Go to the Victoria Peak for the day, dusk, and night views (pics to come). The city is brilliant as the lights really bring things to life. 3) Eat authentic meals. Aside from Kevin’s Subway sandwich as about 2pm, we ate very authentically. I had porks, beefs, and lots and lots of steamed rice. Yum. We called it quits relatively early that night so we could maximize the next day.

Today started around 7:15am. I left the main part of downtown and came East, past Wan Chai to North Point by the Victoria Park. Here I found the Hong Kong public library so I’m stealing some free internet. The library is nicer that any I’ve every been in and was happy to get into such a calm environment. I feel a little bad about sitting in the library writing this post when there is much to be consumed just outside but a little reflection and rest can’t be a bad thing right now. It’s 12:50p and its about 74 degrees and quite humid outside. For me, it’s paradise. I’m thoroughly enjoying the change from Milwaukee’s 20 degrees.

I’ve really enjoyed Hong Kong so far for one main reason. It’s diversity. My first impressions of Shanghai were not as good because it’s ALL Chinese. Hong Kong has whites (British, American, and Aussie), blacks, Chinese, Mexicans….everything. I love that. But these are just first impressions. I’d say 1/3 of the people can at least understand and help a little in English.

The place I had lunch about 2 hours ago was brutal, no pictures on the menu to point to, only Cantonese characters on the menu and no English speakers at all. I finally lucked out when one of the workers began eating. He had a plate of pork with steamed, white rice. That’s exactly what I wanted so I just got up, walked to his meal, and pointed to it. It worked and they loved it. I got my pork and steamed rice and had an amazing lunch. I also got laughed at for ordering the equivalent of a 40 ounce Tsing Tao beer at 11am. Oh well. I met a Hong Konanese taxi driver at later that lunch named Kai, great guy. We spoke about Obama and the US economy. He told me about the Chinese financial crisis in the 90′s and how it cost him his job. He started driving taxi’s and 11 years later still does. He’s the one who gave me the tip about the library. I figured I might be able to get free web so here I am.

The guys are all meeting back up tonight around 7p or 19:00 as they’d say here. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to write again until I get to Shanghai on Sat or Sun. Hope all is well in you’re part of the world. I would love any tips, comments, or feedback! From Hong Kong. Cheers.