I awoke with the worst cold I have ever had. I can't remember the last time I was knocked so hard by a cold, but I was miserable. And adding to the misery was the fact that I hadn't been sick once in the last six months -- since I arrived in Taiwan -- and I was leaving for Hong Kong with Rooney and Ting in just a few short days. So naturally, I would become miserably ill.
Saturday Morning - Taiwan
Still feeling really crappy but unwilling to forgo my trip I went to the pharmacy to buy something, anything, to help. I enlisted Ting and she got me some medicine that I'm certain was blessed by most, if not all deities. It was a concoction of about seven pills I was directed to take three times a day. I still have no idea what it was but I don't ask questions like that when something works like that did.
So armed with enthusiasm and Buddha's bounty, we headed to the airport in a downpour, all cheery to be leaving the rain behind. As our luck would have it, we had the opportunity to fly on the Hello Kitty plane...hilarious. Everything, and I do mean everything, from the boarding passes to the seats, the stewardess's uniforms to the meal, were all Hello Kitty. I was dying, in a good way.
We arrived to Hong Kong a little after nine, checked into our hotel and decided to set out in search of some grub.
Let me give you some background on Hong Kong - for those of you who are like me and had little to no idea about it. Hong Kong is made up of two islands - Hong Kong and Kowloon. Hong Kong is the financial and commercial side, mostly. And the side that is more separate from China. Kowloon is the "China side". There is no real difference between the two besides the alarming degree of difficulty in finding a cab to take you to the other one. Also, Hong Kong was ruled by the Brits - part of the 'sun empire'. And because of this there is so much Western influence. For one, English is everywhere. It was easier for Rooney and I to ask directions than it was for Ting. Imagine that, huh? They also drive on the wrong side of the road and have double decker buses. And very unlike Taiwan they have bits of home like: Vitamin Water, H&M, The Gap, soccer on TV, doners, every sort of food you can imagine and even one of the best Czech beers. If you can't find it in Hong Kong it doesn't exist - or it's Diet Coke. My point is that Hong Kong is an amazing example of East meets West, both sides bringing the best parts. Its an awesome city!
Saturday Night - Hong Kong
So back to Saturday night. We walked around in awe of everything and trying not to stare at all the while people. I seriously had a bit of culture shock going on. We ate kebabs, wandered, had a drink or two at a cool little bar and then headed home with plans for Macau in the morning.
Sunday Morning - Hong Kong Ferry Terminal/Macau
We trekked over to the ferry building turning every sort of 'sign' into a lucky omen that Rooney would win big at the Wynn. We bought ferry tickets, started down the gangway and then Rooney asks, "Wait, do we need our passports?"
Doh.
I can't believe that out of three experienced world travelers, not one of us had thought that we'd need our passports. I mean, Macau is a different country. I just figure now, we need two tries to do anything (refer back to the lanterns at Pingxi).
After finally boarding the ferry, passports in hand, I panicked - knowing for certain that I was going to egress all my food because we weren't allowed to go outside. My fears never came to fruition. The customs line was the slowest in my life's history - a sentiment which was confirmed by the couple in line behind us. But we eventually made it through and boarded the shuttle to the Venetian.
Now for the a (very limited) history of Macau. This country/place was colonized/inhabited/ruled by the Portuguese starting in the 1600s. So walking around the old area of town was very surreal. Portuguese everywhere, cobble-stoned streets, churches, etc. I felt like I was in Europe. And I'm not sure how or when, but Macau has become known as the Vegas of Asia. It has all the but casinos like the MGM, the Wynn, the Venetian, and many others. It was interesting because during the day, it was drab and a little depressing at the casinos - like the worst parts of Vegas. But at night when everything was lit up and more crowded it was actually pretty cool!
But back to the Venetian - an almost carbon copy of the Vegas one. We had Fatburger for lunch. We couldn't believe it was there. We also found a Dairy Queen later while wandering around the old area, right next to the ruins of St. Paul's. After wandering, we headed to the Wynn to satiate Roon's gambling hankering. I won about 15 USD on slots and Roon lost all the money he brought playing black jack. Defeated, we left but not without a pen as a souvenir. Expensive pen. We caught the light and water show on the way out, too, which was pretty awesome!
Next stop was the MGM and against all my protestations, Rooney played black jack again. This time he won it all back, plus a bunch. Oh, the allure of gambling. Needless to say, we headed back to Hong Kong in high spirits. But we were wiped. Ting went to bed and Roon and I grabbed a delicious bite to eat, where I found the Czech beer.
Monday - Hong Kong
We headed to the Victoria Peak Tram which is a funicular that takes you up to a great view of the city. Well, we'll have to take everyone's word that it's a great view because we may as well have had our eyes closed. It was wall of white haze/fog. So we headed down and went shopping. Hong Kong is known for the shopping and for good reason. We all got more than our fill. We also watched the nightly light show that both islands participate in. The skylines are lit with dancing lights, lasers and searchlights, all to music. It's pretty cool. After that we had some drinks at a restaurant. On our way out we got sucked into another bar and met a group of people who live right by us in Taiwan. It was crazy.
At the end of the night, I discovered my wallet missing/stolen. End of fun.
The way Taiwan works is, if you're American, you can enter Taiwan one of three ways: with a Visa, with a departing flight within the next 60 days, or with an ARC. Well my ARC was in someone else's pocket and so I was stuck. Literally.
Ting and Rooney departed that morning and I entered a panic attack that lasted a full 24 hours. With no money, no access to money and only my Skype credit, my wonderful parents booked me a hotel so I wasn't sleeping on the streets, and talked me down from the ledge. But I was freaking out. I'll spare all the details of acquiring a Visa in Hong Kong for Taiwan, but it is a hassle. Best advice, don't get stolen from.
After getting my Visa deal squared away, I was able to start enjoying Hong Kong again. I saw the light show again, walked all over the island, sat down by the harbor, found Times Square and more. If I had to be suck somewhere, I'm glad it was Hong Kong because there is so much to do and see. It isn't how I would have chosen to spend three days (the extra days), but I've had worse days. And I'm very fortunate to have friends and family who made sure I wasn't alone even though I was very alone.
I flew home on the Hello Kitty air, again and Kay picked me up from the airport. She's great!
 |
| HK at night |
 |
| Star Ferry ride |
 |
| Roon and Ting - looking back at HK island |
 |
| Looking at Kowloon island |
 |
| Macau! |
 |
| Fatburger |
 |
| Old town area |
 |
| Ruins of St Paul's |
 |
| Roon and the Wynn |
 |
| From the Victoria Peak Tram |
 |
| Convention center and the Batman building |
 |
| Kowloon light show |
 |
| HK light show |
 |
| Kowloon |
 |
| Times Square |
 |
| Art installation in Times Square |
No comments:
Post a Comment