My sister does the coolest things. This is what she’s been up to lately. Homepage here.

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And I’ve lost a wheel.

I’ve edited the 750+ pictures I took in China down to a more manageable 200 or so, and they are now online HERE. Please enjoy! Comments are welcome here.

ALSO, a note about photographs on What-What dot com: I’ve added the Lightbox application to my blogging platform, so you can now see photos embedded in blog posts in a nice pop-up form without going to a separate web page. Click on the above image for a sample.

May 22, 2008

Our last day in Hong Kong started late, as we got up slow and puttered about with breakfast (hard boiled eggs, toast, waffles with peanut butter and chocolate) and such. I think we’ve realized that Hong Kong is much better is you have money. A lot of money. Bags and bags of it. Trying to be budget and underground will get you nowhere here, or at least nowhere very exciting as a foreigner/tourist.

Though it was only cloudy where we got up, by the time we left it had started a light rain, so we went to a cafe at the Eaton Hotel where we could use computers with internet. We checked email and news for the last time, and I read the papers, including the Village Voice-esque HK Magazine.

Eventually the rain broke and we got on the metro to Hong Kong island (the Bridal Tea House is in Kowloon), then a bus to do a short hike along the “Dragon’s Backbone”, a ridge that runs along the east side of the island. Though we were hoping for views of the sea, it was fogged in; nevertheless we had a good walk. After the rains the flower and plant life seemed so alive, and as the path wove through some very dense forest, it felt like being in a rainforest. We saw many large and pretty moths and butterflies, as well as countless shimmering spiderwebs.

The walk took a couple of hours before heading down into the lazy surfer town (and obvious expat enclave) of Shek O. We got some chips and a weird lemon chew thingy and hung out on the beach for awhile just watching the locals and some kids (and a few mangy stray dogs).

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May 21, 2008

Clouds but no rain when we woke up (slowly) at around 8:30. We packed up our things and went down to look for breakfast around 10am. Not much available, of course. There’s a buffet at the hotel, but it costs way too much, and we feel like we’re overspending here anyway. We got some bananas and sweet breads the night before, plus a bit of yogurt, so that tided us over for the morning.

We walked over to Mong Kok station and took the metro to Hong Kong island, Central. From here we walked over to the peak tram and rode up, hoping to get some views before the forecasted rain began. It ended up still being pretty cloudy, so the furthest we could see was the Central/Admiralty area of Hong Kong island. The temperatures were a bit cooler here, but still quite humid, so we walked around a bit at the top. (The “Sky Pavilion” or whatever they call the viewing platform costs extra money - a scam and a half when you consider that the same views can be had for free. But a sucker is born every minute, as I noted when watching some German tourists buying a cheesy print of the peak view from a vendor at the top. I’m sure the postcards move quick as well…) Soon we got back on the tram and went down.

From there we headed to the excellent botanical gardens, surely a highlight of Hong Kong. It’s free - an obvious benefit - but (thankfully) doesn’t therefore skimp on quality. Gorgeous flora, from flower trees to all kinds of varied bamboo, ferns, palms and flowers lined clean, well-kept pathways leading by aviaries and mammal cages. The amazing birds ranged from gray-necked and red-crowned cranes to stunning Macaws and Golden Pheasants, which look Egyptian with their casque of bright yellow-orange feathers. I’d never seen any like it.

There were several species of monkey in the mammal area, including a trio of large orangutans munching on fruit, some hyperactive ring-tailed lemurs, some of whom had babies hanging on their backs, and other apes swinging around by their arms only, eagerly anticipating lunch. Great stuff! We also saw a 9-meter-long boat and some Chinese alligators, which I believe they (also) eat.

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May 20, 2008

Fourteen [expletive] hours later, after no sleep due to the [expletive] roads they called “expressways” in a tiny bunk with one pee break, we finally arrived in Shenzhen, four [expletive] hours behind schedule. There was a flat tire in the middle somewhere, but I thought they’d fixed it pretty fast. The AC was either off (sub-tropical) or on (arctic). Our breakfast was cashew nuts.

Shenzhen is very industrial, and thus very forgettable. We had to take city bus 7 from the bus depot to Luhuo terminus and then walk across the border to Hong Kong. The differences were immediate and striking. Cleanliness. No spitting. Many people speak English, and many signs are in English. A huge metropolis. Electricity in the air. We had walked from communism to capitalism and ate vegetarian rice balls for brunch.

We were happy to have reserved a room two nights before, over the internet at the hotel in Yangshuo, as after the bus ride and lugging our increasingly heavy bags, things were getting tiring. We got to the hotel (the Metropark Kowloon, by far the swankiest join we’ve stayed in yet, with a pool on the roof that we unfortunately didn’t use due to the rain) without any problems. The metro system here works just like in Japan, with a distance-based fare system and turnstiles, and it’s clean and fast. We were a little taken aback by the eager bellboys, clearly hoping for tips. That’s something I know nothing about.

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