Our last day in Macau was rather low key. We ran into some Nepali guys who were vacationing in China. They were quite friendly, and spoke fairly good English between them all. I exchanged e-mails with one of them, hoping a little insider help could benefit me in a few weeks.

I ducked my head in one of the Portuguese churches to ensure I was taking advantage of the cultural opportunities in the city. In the evening, Adam and I went for a walk around the pedestrian mall, and bumped into John who had been shopping for some new clothes. We wrapped up the night watching several soccer matches in our room. Adam was ecstatic about the availability of Premiership games abroad, as they apparently broadcast fewer in the UK.

The next day, we checked out around half past noon, said goodbye to John, and caught the ferry back to Hong Kong. We checked back into the 13^th floor hostel where we met, though this time they gave us a 2-bed room for the same price because they recognized us. The free wi-fi internet access across the hall was a great service for guests.

The next day we would head for mainland China.

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If Kuta in Bali felt like a culture shock at first, then Hong Kong felt like a culture A-bomb. After a day or two, I started to feel comfortable. If you’ve been to a few big cities (NYC, London, Paris, Rome, etc) then it’s not too hard to get the hang of finding your way around yet another one. Like Sydney, I could see myself trying to live in Hong Kong. At the least, I would love to return and spend more time getting to know Hong Kong Island.

Highlights -

• experiencing the hostel life at Mirador Mansion
• riding the train system
• first view of the skyline on Hong Kong Island (day and night)
• hanging out and getting to know Adam
• shopping for the Asus laptop in The Golden Computer Center
• video arcades (specifically Dance Mania and Guitar Freaks)
• Symphony of Light show
• navigating the Mid-level Escalators
• riding the tram up Victoria Peak
• walking around my first giant Buddha sculpture and monastery
• lots of delicious food

Discoveries -

• I can wield a pair of chopsticks better than I previously thought!
• My standards for bathroom size are remarkably low as long as there is hot water.

Eating -

Chicken curry, sushi, duck, goose, chicken, fried rice, snacks from 7-11, Tsing Tao beer.

# of Nights Couchsuring -

0

Average Daily Cost (combined w/Macau) -

$65

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I returned to the Indian consulate Friday morning to pay my Visa fee and drop off my passport. It was brought to my attention that I could only obtain a 3-month (versus 6-month) Visa abroad which went into effect immediately, thus limiting my time in India until May 29. I was offered the option of waiting to get it in Nepal, however I wouldn’t get a refund on the processing fee I already paid and didn’t know if I’d want to wait another 5-7 days in Kathmandu after having completed a 2-week trek. Out of frustration, I asked for the 3-month Visa, paid the cost, submitted my passport, and headed to a good internet cafe to pound out my frustrations in the form of internet usage.
After a good 3 hours on the internet, I was a bit beat. I realized since I was planning on a looser DIY trek in Nepal in early April, I could head over to India earlier than planned as well, and probably get a good deal of touring done before having to leave May 29. If nothing else, giving myself a deadline in India will keep me on track to enjoy Southeast Asia and beyond.

For our last dinner in Hong Kong, Adam and I headed to Sushi One, a popular restaurant with a queue in the evenings. We arrived early enough to avoid a long wait, and I enjoyed my first foray into plucking sushi dishes off of a conveyor belt.

After dinner, we had a few beers at a nearby bar, and got some sleep. We were destine for Macau in the morning, a 60-minute ferry ride southwest of Hong Kong. Macau has been labeled as the Las Vegas of The East, and while high stakes gambling was not in my future, a foray into such a gambling mecca sounded too good to pass up.

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Day 5 in Hong Kong was dedicated to taking the MTR to Lantau Island, home of Po Lin, a Buddhist monastery containing Tian Tan Buddha statue, the world’s largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha (apparently there is a bigger one indoors somewhere).

Adam and I took the MTR to Lantau Island, and then waited in a 2-hour Disneylandesque queue for the Ngong Ping 360 cable car linking the town of Tung Chung with the monastery in the hills/mountains above.  The ride offered stunning views of the Hong Kong Airport, though the haze I still had trouble accepting as pure pollution, obscured everything.  Seriously, even on days with what appears to be blue skies, it feels like there is a fog enveloping the city.

I opted for a cappuccino and banana walnut muffin at the requisite Starbucks we found inside the mock Chinese village outside the monastery.  Then we were off to climb the steps to be at one with the big Buddha (my first of this size mind you).  Incense was burning in large pots as we climbed up, reminding me of the ubiquitous offerings in Bali.

If there was a time I felt the sky was truly blue above Hong Kong, it was right above the Buddha.  We also checked out the monastery where I encountered the largest incense sticks I’ve ever seen near the entrance.

Inside one of the buildings were a collection of beautiful gold Buddhas.  We had to await the end of a ceremony before entering.  I know I’m going to see heaps of Buddhas during my time in Asia, so I hope I can enjoy them all equally.  Buddha burnout is within the realm of possibility.

By now, I was starting to feel pain in my left knee from whatever I did to it in New Zealand.  We took the bus back down the hill, the train back to Kowloon, and got some rest before getting dinner at a Cantonese barbecue restaurant and returning to the arcade for some cheap fun.

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After our shopping spree the previous day, Adam and I headed to Hong Kong Island for some touristy sightseeing. First on my list was the Mid-Levels Escalator, the world’s longest, transporting people 800 meters uphill past restaurants, bars and shops in the SoHo district.

After 20 minutes of riding the series of escalators, we were met by an anti-climactic end. Looking back, it would’ve been more fun to have spent the next few hours on a bar crawl back down the hill, stopping in bars for drinks and dinner along the way.

Instead, we had a hell of a time finding our way to the Peak Tram by way of the Zoological and Botanical Gardens. Streets seemed to bend and curve in confusing ways. Eventually, we made it to the tram, paid for our tickets, and rode the sucker up Victoria Peak. It was a rather steep ride, with fantastic views of the city below (despite the omnipresent haze of pollution).

Once atop the peak, we grabbed a Tsing Tsao beer from the scenic outlook inside Bubba Gump’s restaurant. I have no shame in admitting this stuff anymore!

We took a taxi back down to the IFC building, however the free scenic outlook from floor 55 had closed 30 minutes earlier. We boarded the ferry back across the Harbor with some time to kill before watching the Symphony of Light, the world’s largest permanent light show (projected from atop the buildings on Hong Kong Island).

We ducked into an arcade next to an internet cafe I had used previously. Once inside, Adam was in his element, though all of the games, and most of the instructions, were in Chinese. Still, I managed to find an affinity for Guitar Freaks, Dance Mania, and Dance Dance Revolution.

At 8pm, we ducked out to the harbor and watched the light show. It started with the buildings being introduced one by one, as lights and lasers flashed from atop each one. Then the music kicked in (from speakers around the observation deck we were under), and the symphony of lights began. It was surreal and fantastic. It is officially a “must see” in my book.

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Adam had offered to help me find and buy an Asus laptop, so we headed north on Nathan Road in a taxi to The Golden Computer Center, a giant collection of electronics shops.  The lower floor was dedicated to video games, while the upper contained computers and TV’s.

The Center was not the place to go if you are claustrophobic, as it had shop after shop, some seeming to appear out of thin air in just a few minutes time.  There were very few Westerners.  Adam loaded up on a variety of products he could have resold in the UK for (a hopeful) profit.  I was glad to be in such an environment with a video game aficionado, as I otherwise might not have appreciated the games, technology, products, and prices we were seeing.

Several computer shops were sold out of the Asus, though just as many had it in stock with the specifications I sought (same as previously described).  The price was the same amongst all the shops, though one offered to throw in a 2gb SD memory card to offset a $10 price differential with a store selling the same computer next to the Mirador Mansion.  In the end, I paid $385 USD for my new laptop.  It is unnecessary, though quite fun.  I will definitely save money at internet cafes over time, and you might see me start to write more since I’ll have time to draft posts.

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I pried myself out of bed early to drop off my Visa application at the Indian consulate on Hong Kong Island. The errand afforded me my first trip on the Mass Transit Rail (MTR). I bought an Octopus card which is a renewable debit card for Hong Kong’s public transit system, as well as a way to buy stuff at random places like McDonald’s and 7-11.

The MTR is awesome – I could hardly think of what more I’d want from a train system. It was fast, comfortable, impeccably clean, and had tons of clearly labeled maps. My favorites were the ones inside the cars, above each door, which lit up the next stop, along with a green arrow showing the heading, and a light to indicate which side of the train to exit from.

After some initial elevator confusion, I managed to drop my Visa application off, paying the $35 fee to have my records checked out back in the USA. I was instructed to come back at the end of the week (Friday AM) to pay the Visa cost, and then between 5-5:30pm Friday to collect my passport (they worked off a copy until Friday AM).

I triumphantly returned to Mirador after my successful navigation of the city, and bumped into Adam using a tiny laptop – the Asus Eee PC. I immediately barraged him with a list of questions about it as a desire to buy one myself built up. It has a 7” screen, weighs less than 1.1lbs (1kg), has 4gb of memory, wi-fi, a web cam, and runs on Linux. While he got his in England, he estimated they’d cost around $300 in Hong Kong. It is built for web browsing, email, and basic applications. I had considered the idea of getting a laptop in Singapore after meeting Gary back on Bali several weeks earlier. I was feeling self-conscious about the amount of money I was spending in internet cafes. The Asus laptop aptly addressed my concerns about size, weight, and cost.

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I awoke the next morning to the comings and goings of those in the hostel room.  The bathroom was very tiny – a square with a toilet, small sink, and hand-held shower head.    You wash yourself standing right next to the toilet.  The setup didn’t bother me to my surprise, maybe because I had gotten use to similar bathrooms in Indonesia and at Ian’s apartment in Singapore.   At least the hot water was truly hot!

After getting cleaned up, I moved to my proper 4-bed room where I set up camp in one of the top bunks.  Two Canadian guys were in the lower bunks, and Adam from England was on the other upper one.  There was a working TV in the room, though I didn’t bother with it during my stay.

To get my bearings in a new city, I tend to walk in concentric circles extending out from my accommodation.  My first concentric circle brought me to McDonald’s for a pancake breakfast.  Feeling completely out of my element, I had a newfound sense of comfort in seeing American fast food joints abroad.

One of my missions in Hong Kong would be to obtain my Visa for India, so I spent some time online getting the consulate’s address, and filling out the paperwork.  Since it’d take 3-4 days, I made it a priority to drop everything off Monday morning.

Back at the hostel, I ran into an Austrian man of Chinese descent who seemed to want some company.  He lead tours for Chinese government officials abroad, though was traveling on his own in Hong Kong (thus the cheap accommodation).  We walked down to the Avenue of Stars at the southern tip of Kowloon.  It’s akin to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (or whatever it is called).  From the walkway, you can see across Victoria Harbor to the impressive and immense skyline of Hong Kong Island.  The weather was cloudy and chilly, and a haze of pollution enveloped the buildings.

We walked a bit outside of the touristy area of Nathan Road (think Broadway in New York City), stopping for lunch at a Chinese barbecue joint where I ordered duck with rice.  We also got some noodle soup with prawn balls from a nearby restaurant.  Feeling tired, I opted out of continuing the walk and headed back to my room for some rest and recovery.

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