Hong Kong
Writing of any sort on this trip has occurred thus far due not to time, convenience, or the right cup of coffee but as a matter of fate. It seems as though some days I need a little down time and I am actually geared up to transfer thoughts onto paper, this blog, or email and those are always the days that hotmail will not load, a computer is not in sight, or my water bottle leaks in my day pack soaking all of it's contents, including my journal. Luckily this has only happened once. The few days of full forced motivated writing are squeezed between the days filled with things such as beaches, beer, bikinis, that sort of thing....Wait a minute we have not been to a beach yet....Well the beer part is true. Anyway I am just going to jot down a few places that we have been in the last week, and it will be short because most of the time was spent on a bumpy bus.
I last posted in Hong Kong, that haven of coffee shops, overpriced beer, slum hotels, and the beauty of the modern world. We had quite a nice time experiencing the city by day and night. We got out and tried to live the day life by just walking and taking subways around Hong Kong Island; we ate street food, visited an art museum, looked up at lots of big buildings and of course, drank lots of coffee. We took one day and saw a different part of HK Island, Stanley. There is a large market there where you can get a Rolex for $3.50 or a classy Polo shirt for $1.50. Across the way there is a beach, oh I guess we did visit a beach (but it was for a short time and it was so packed we didn't even walk on the sand). The vistas from Stanley are stunning, it looks out to the ocean with the hilly, lush forests side lining the bay. It was sort of like leaving New York City for Martha's Vineyard (I realize I have never been to either of those places but feel as though the analogy works). The rest of the town was laden with expensive restaurants and high rise apartment buildings with the normal 600 square foot flat with an ocean view going for 4000USD a month. Back in HK for the night we joined some friends we met in Beijing, they both teach in HK. We had dinner with them and then went big on the night life. Quite the scene, but very fun. I guess the highlight was the Russian bar complete with Vodka, a walk in cooler, and fur coats (sadly no Russian women). They say it really resembles Moscow in the winter time. Do they drink Martinis there?
From Hong Kong we took the ferry to Macau, another SAR but on the mainland. This area was occupied by the Portuguese until the late 90's. The European influence on the city made for a beautiful blend in culture, food, and architecture. It was nice to walk in a place that is very Chinese but is a unique city.
We then embarked on a bus journey for Yangshou, a legendary little hangout in southwest China. It is actually very ridiculous, because of the tourism, but it is in a beautiful setting on the Li river and surrounded by limestone peaks that just jump up out of the ground. There is some great food (Chinese and western); I think we have eaten Kong Pao Chicken about 16 times since we have been here. Yesterday we rode bikes around the area for a few k's and saw small villages, rice patties, and the back drop of these peaks. One of the more beautiful landscapes we have scene in China
Tomorrow we are getting on a 22 hour train for Kunming in the Yunnan Province. Noodle buckets here we come. I guess that's all for now.
I last posted in Hong Kong, that haven of coffee shops, overpriced beer, slum hotels, and the beauty of the modern world. We had quite a nice time experiencing the city by day and night. We got out and tried to live the day life by just walking and taking subways around Hong Kong Island; we ate street food, visited an art museum, looked up at lots of big buildings and of course, drank lots of coffee. We took one day and saw a different part of HK Island, Stanley. There is a large market there where you can get a Rolex for $3.50 or a classy Polo shirt for $1.50. Across the way there is a beach, oh I guess we did visit a beach (but it was for a short time and it was so packed we didn't even walk on the sand). The vistas from Stanley are stunning, it looks out to the ocean with the hilly, lush forests side lining the bay. It was sort of like leaving New York City for Martha's Vineyard (I realize I have never been to either of those places but feel as though the analogy works). The rest of the town was laden with expensive restaurants and high rise apartment buildings with the normal 600 square foot flat with an ocean view going for 4000USD a month. Back in HK for the night we joined some friends we met in Beijing, they both teach in HK. We had dinner with them and then went big on the night life. Quite the scene, but very fun. I guess the highlight was the Russian bar complete with Vodka, a walk in cooler, and fur coats (sadly no Russian women). They say it really resembles Moscow in the winter time. Do they drink Martinis there?
From Hong Kong we took the ferry to Macau, another SAR but on the mainland. This area was occupied by the Portuguese until the late 90's. The European influence on the city made for a beautiful blend in culture, food, and architecture. It was nice to walk in a place that is very Chinese but is a unique city.
We then embarked on a bus journey for Yangshou, a legendary little hangout in southwest China. It is actually very ridiculous, because of the tourism, but it is in a beautiful setting on the Li river and surrounded by limestone peaks that just jump up out of the ground. There is some great food (Chinese and western); I think we have eaten Kong Pao Chicken about 16 times since we have been here. Yesterday we rode bikes around the area for a few k's and saw small villages, rice patties, and the back drop of these peaks. One of the more beautiful landscapes we have scene in China
Tomorrow we are getting on a 22 hour train for Kunming in the Yunnan Province. Noodle buckets here we come. I guess that's all for now.
posted by Tucker at
3:59 AM
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