Blog Post Number Two from Hong Long

This my rather luxurious swimming pool at the hotel- I had my own personal life guard to watch and make sure I didn't drown. He even had to sit way up high! In the distance is Victoria Harbour- wonderful view for the night-time swim.

This one’s being written in the lobby of the Plaza Metropolis as I gather my breath- it is 8am in the morning Kowloon time and of course none of the rooms are ready and I am tired and want a lie down and feel sort of dizzy like. It was great having free wireless at the airport as I had written the post on the plane already and I only had to be on line for a minute to actually post it. At the hotel you pay quizzillion Hong Kong dollars to be on line so unless I can find a Starbucks with free access you might have to wait til I get yo Amy’s for this installment to go live.

So what do I do know? I think I might go exploring but really need to open my bag and change into more comfortable socks for walking in. The concierge said I could go for a swim to fill in some time but I really want a nap.

First impressions of Hong Kong- it is nothing like the teaching unit we did in school a few years back on Hong Kong- the thought that comes to mind is, “What happens to the soul of someone who doesn’t get to see green?” The place is very smoggy- I have never been anywhere smoggy before so it is a new experience. You couldn’t see to the horizon where the boats were out in the harbour and the apartments are generally the same colour as the smog. On the bus to the hotel we passed a school just about to start with the kids all nicely lined up in rows on the concrete while a teacher at the front was doing something on a wireless microphone. The kids looked all nicely turned out in their uniforms but three little boys were practising their karate moves when the teacher was talking- typical. LOL.

OK _ time to get organised now I have had a bit of a sit down and go out exploring and take some more photos. The hotel runs a free shuttle into the heart of town so I availed myself of that. The driver fairly hurtles and one stage opened the door to better hurl abuse at someone who wouldn’t let him in to the flow. I then spent a goodly part of the day wandering in out of the malls which were disappointing actually. A lot like shopping in central Christchurch- a lot of shops but nothing that I wanted to spend my money on. There was surprisingly little crap for sale though which was nice.

Once I staggered back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap I went for a spa/swim in the heated outdoor swimming that overlooks Victoria Harbour with all the city skyscraper lights starting to come on- it was lovely and just what I needed. I then smartened up and went down the hotel restaurant for tea- Tom Yum Kar hot shrimp soup followed by braised beef with an orange sauce- not bad.

Today’s thoughts from Hong Kong- where is everyone and in particular where are the old people? For a city with a population of 7 million people you wouldn’t know they were there apart from the sea of children waiting for buses on school trips at the Culture and Heritage Museum. I have only seen about a dozen old people the whole time I have been here. Everyone is very polite and helpful and I am impressed by the level of spoken English- everyone I have met seems to know enough English to help me get by. Another thing I have been wanting to fit in the conversation- someone here must have been to Toyota and bought shit loads of Toyota Comfort cars and painted them up as taxis. They look an awful lot like Ford Cortinas but they are all the same and all painted a 1970s James Bond sort of red. There is only company of taxis but they are all very open and the drivers know where they are going and are quite cheap so all OK there.

By the way people- if you click on where it says comments you can type in a sentence or two to let me know you are reading my blog- this means you Mac and Alan and Danny and Sherryn and Yvette and Pam and anyone else that chances by!