Video!

I finally figured out how to get my videos on here. Here's numero uno. It's Hong Kong's skyline at night--every night they do a 20-minute light show with music. It's pretty cool. This is the skyline of Central Hong Kong, as seen from Kowloon.

Here I am again

Last year, when I visited China, I loved it so much that I vowed to return. But I didn't really know when I'd make it back to this corner of the world. Well, here I am again. Not exactly the same place--but at least the same corner! And here I am traveling again. It reminds me of so many good times!!! I do miss this lifestyle of discovery--finding myself in new, exciting and sometimes intimidating cities, meeting people from near and far. But I also remember that it can be a lonely lifestyle, so for the moment I am happy with this briefer form of adventure.

These past two days in Hong Kong have been wonderful. The weather was perfect. Yesterday I went to Lantau, the biggest island in Hong Kong. Here I visited the largest outdoor Buddha--very impressive, sitting high on a mountaintop (which naturally has steps leading up to it that you can't help but climb). It was awfully touristy, but a very nice break from the big-city life.

I had a dream last night that, for various reasons, my flight would be delayed until the 28th of March. Hmmm ... But sadly today I go home (so, M, you can tell everyone I'll be back Sunday afternoon :P). It's funny, although my flight is something like 14 hours, I arrive in San Fran BEFORE I leave from Hong Kong. Ha. Darn 16-hour time difference!

Anyway, I wish I could post more pics now, but the connection here is slow. I also took some cool videos I'll do my best to post on YouTube. I'll let you know when they're up.

Neato

Before I left, one of my co-workers joked that I should try to find an alt weekly to bring back for inspiration. Well, I actually found one! The HK Magazine. And it's quite good! Lots of attitude. It's obviously run by expats and even has things like Free Will Astrology and Savage Love. Ha. Maybe I'll visit their office tomorrow ....

High above Hong Kong

High above Hong Kong
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

What can I say about Hong Kong except that it's high? It seems that every building in this city is a high rise. And by far one of the ugliest is the Bank of America building. D'oh!

As compared with mainland China, Hong Kong is extremely wealthy--there's an Armani or some other designer store on seemingly every corner. It's very Western for an Eastern city. I can't say most people speak English, but most signs at least are in English, so it's easy enough to get around. And there are a lot of foriegn businesspeople, especially in Central Hong Kong--one of the nicer districts.

Hong Kong is a difficult city to pin down. It's extremely fast-paced--it's virtually impossible to find a lazy streetside cafe good for people-watching. But at the same time it's got random lush, green parks that make for a wonderful break from that fast-pacedness.

I'll hold off complete judgment until I've had more time to digest it all, but all in all, Hong Kong is a lovely city. But it's no Shanghai.