A Delayed Account of My Hong Kong Experience

After a long flight, a train ride, driving in a taxi, checking into my hostel(which I didnt book until I landed on the ground in Hong Kong) and a short sleep, I woke up in a totally unfamiliar place ready to explore. I went to bed that night with a really wierd feeling - not having any idea where I was in relation to anything else. I knew I was in Hong Kong, but other than that - I was lost. So the first thing I did was get a map! From there I took my backpack and started walking.

I started in Kowloon (Cosmopolatin Hong Kong has two main areas - central Hong Kong which is where all the western businesses are and is the more "international area" and Kowloon, which is accross the bay from Hong Kong and is the more distinctly chinese area). After walking for about 45 minutes I made my way to the water. I found a ferry accross the bay for $2.2 HKD ( about 30 cents) and explored the international side first. I saw the tallest building in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong version of time square, modern malls, sophisticated technology, old run down buildings and almost everything in between. After my adventures there, I crossed the bay one more time by my trusty ferry and went to Kowloon. There I found the art museum, science museum and the most interesting part of Hong Kong, the chinese culture. Along the main routes you would find modern buildings with some western familiarity. But, when you went off the main tourist path you would find the real Hong Kong. The Hong Kong that, unfortunately, most tourists probably dont bother to see. THe streets were alive with street vendors, the sky was busy with signs jutting out from every possible place on the old buildings. The shops usually sold one or two things. I remember a stretch of road where one shop sold doors, the next door nobs and just two shops down you could find any kind of door bell you wanted. The poeple were friendly, but used to a white face - it is Hong Kong after all. But, the highlight of Hong Kong was that on the MTR ( mass transit railway - their underground subway) the poeple of Hong Kong dedicated a subway terminal after me. Now, you can go to Hong Kong and find Jordan Station! I took a couple of pictures! My last stop in Hong Kong was a light show. Like most things in Hong Kong, they held nothing back. The light show was to a chinese symphony and the buildings in Hong Kong Central were all ecquiped with different lights. The symphony would play and the buildings would literally flash to the music. So there you have it, dancing buildings - that was pretty neat!!

In summation, Hong Kong was really exciting. It was an intersting fusion between old and new, western and eastern. I would definatley recomend anyone to go there and explore. They say in the Lonely Planet that is is possible to stay there for $250HKD a day if you are incredibly frugal - well I am proud to say that yours truly was there for two nights and almost two full days and I spent a total of $200HK....just shows that staying in hostels and exploring everything by foot will keep you richer in your pocket book and, perhaps, give you a richer cultural experience!