And then there was Hong Kong...

I apologize in advance for this incredibly long post. Today was a big day!


01-08-06

I promised the good, the bad, and the ugly, so here goes:

Hong Kong:

Great: This place is beautiful with skyscrapers competing for the skyline with densely treed mountain ranges. Think New York with trees in more places than Central Park.

Good: The people are incredibly nice. I doubt Asians receive the same warm welcome upon arrival in the States. Everyone that I met today, minus my stupid cab driver who lives under the ugly category, treated me incredibly nicely and genuinely tried to help me. Several people asked if I am Australian. I don’t speak with an Australian accent, so I’ll have to assume that they think all Australian girls have red hair. These incidents did teach me a lesson though – they can’t tell where I’m from any more than I can tell where they’re from. Good. Now I don’t feel bad for not knowing the difference.

Bad: I currently live in a very nice hotel. My walls are ceramic tile and I have a view of the Tolo Harbour from my bedroom. Minus the wicker couch, I would probably have picked similar furniture for the place. I also would have bought a freaking HEATER! It’s cold in here!!! I thought of brining my footies but decided that as an adult, I shouldn’t travel with footies. I also attempted to limit my luggage to things that I could not live without. I’m still not sure how my useless hairdryer made the cut. I suppose I thought it would magically work and that all of the books I read would be wrong. I bought a new one today and now have to carry mine back on the rest of my travels. Damn it.

Ugly: Just like a love relationship, everything is not roses all of the time. My baggage arrived on time and in one piece thankfully. I managed to get some money (after ten minutes of pure fear when my PIN code didn’t work). The cabs anxiously awaited my arrival, although I think they may have intended to meet others there as well. J Being the exceptionally prepared girl that I am (not in real life, just on this trip), I showed the cab director the name of my hotel in Chinese Characters. She then told the cab driver where to take me. Right. He tried to drop me off at a restaurant! I know customs are different between countries, but women traveling alone with three months of luggage typically aren’t looking for a nice restaurant at midnight on a Saturday night. Check in was seamless, so by the time I made it to my room, all was well again.

Other notes from my first day in Hong Kong:

I, Amber, do solemnly swear to eat one thing per day that I would not normally eat. These foods will then be ranked from 1 – 4.
0 = I failed to finish the serving or contemplated spitting it out
1 = I would eat it at a friends house, but I would suggest we meet out next time
2 = I liked it fine, but wouldn’t order it again
3 = I like it and would order it again
4 = I absolutely must eat this again on this trip

Exception: The first time I get food poisoning all bets are off and I will eat at McDonalds for the rest of the trip.

Today’s Food: Baked Goose Liver on French Toast (2)

What is up with serving hot water to accompany my meal? I actually like hot water, but I didn’t think anyone else liked it. Maybe I missed something, but the water was not in a tea glass and I couldn’t find any tea anyway.

I pretty much covered the hotel above, but I also wanted to mention the grocery store downstairs. They sell crap coffee, but at least it is coffee. The hotel also shuttles residents to the closest mall, which is the largest I’ve ever personally witnessed. The store names are primarily in Chinese but, thankfully, I read windows pretty well. I squared away my cell phone and charger situation.

Cultural take away: I read that you should hand your business card to someone with both hands. As it turns out, you use two hands to give anything to someone else. Credit cards are rather small, so I find the ritual very forced right now. I’m a big believer in the “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” rule, so I hope to perfect this exchange by the end of the day tomorrow.

Meg and Kevin will be here in 8 hours!