hong kong - better when wet
so, today was my second day of full-on sight seeing. my feet are hurting, my legs are sore and my shoulders ache from carrying my day bag. in all, things are as they should be.
over the past two days i've learned a few things about hong kong - it can be pretty soulless and blah. big skyscrapers are nice and all,but buildings are only buildings and they lack the charm of lived-in,history oozing small buildings that look like they are about to fall at the seam (like inpenang's chinatown, per say). hong kong has pretty much gotten rid of anything colonial or historic, and so most of everything built lacks charm. not to say that the architecture isn't wonderful at points - because it is, but you get what i mean.
i also learned that people in hong kong don't like being taken in pictures. they also don't seem to understand the concept of my asking permission before taking a shot. perhaps my lack of language skill makes my them miss the point, but i keep getting yelled at. on the other hand, some are more than happy to pose. too bad they are quite the minority.
the most inportant thing i discovered about hong kong is that i like it wet. not as in "it's raining" wet, but as in "wet market". a wet market is just that - places where the floor will get wet and nasty and where you've got to roll-up your pants before walking through it. and what's at a wet market, you may ask? butchers, veggies and fruit stands, flowers and best of all - fish and seafood. here, they like their fish as alive as possible. even when cut to pieces or cut in half, the fish will be bloody and the heart well exposed and still beating. fish heads still have the gills and lungs on, and are still moving. it's quite the sight.
talking about sights, i've already moved on to my second memory card. this has to be
record-breaking picture-taking stream for me. i had expected 1 card to last me between 5 to 7 days. i guessi'll need to start burning cds soon!
other than that, things are going well. it's great to be staying with my friend victor. i'm not suffering from jet lag. it hasn't been rainning. but it could be better - it could be warmer, and it could be sunny! pictures are just not as good with so much clouds and it's preventing me from going to the "peak" to get a nice view of the city.
tomorrow is sunday - and i'm heading in the early am to macau with victor. it will be nice to get more of the colonial feel in both the architecture and the food. i'll take a picture of me drinking vino verde (the official drink of macau - a portuguese white wine) in china! [edit - did not go to macau yet, but will do that very same thing when i do end up going]
ps. victor has lent me a cellphone for while i am in hong kong. my first cell phone ever! i don't like them by principle but here it will be quite practical to have one. i feel very behind the ages while trying to use it -i'm quite incompetent. and to make things even better, i've got quite the inauspicious phone number! i've got two 4 and no 8. ah well!
over the past two days i've learned a few things about hong kong - it can be pretty soulless and blah. big skyscrapers are nice and all,but buildings are only buildings and they lack the charm of lived-in,history oozing small buildings that look like they are about to fall at the seam (like inpenang's chinatown, per say). hong kong has pretty much gotten rid of anything colonial or historic, and so most of everything built lacks charm. not to say that the architecture isn't wonderful at points - because it is, but you get what i mean.
i also learned that people in hong kong don't like being taken in pictures. they also don't seem to understand the concept of my asking permission before taking a shot. perhaps my lack of language skill makes my them miss the point, but i keep getting yelled at. on the other hand, some are more than happy to pose. too bad they are quite the minority.
the most inportant thing i discovered about hong kong is that i like it wet. not as in "it's raining" wet, but as in "wet market". a wet market is just that - places where the floor will get wet and nasty and where you've got to roll-up your pants before walking through it. and what's at a wet market, you may ask? butchers, veggies and fruit stands, flowers and best of all - fish and seafood. here, they like their fish as alive as possible. even when cut to pieces or cut in half, the fish will be bloody and the heart well exposed and still beating. fish heads still have the gills and lungs on, and are still moving. it's quite the sight.
talking about sights, i've already moved on to my second memory card. this has to be
record-breaking picture-taking stream for me. i had expected 1 card to last me between 5 to 7 days. i guessi'll need to start burning cds soon!
other than that, things are going well. it's great to be staying with my friend victor. i'm not suffering from jet lag. it hasn't been rainning. but it could be better - it could be warmer, and it could be sunny! pictures are just not as good with so much clouds and it's preventing me from going to the "peak" to get a nice view of the city.
tomorrow is sunday - and i'm heading in the early am to macau with victor. it will be nice to get more of the colonial feel in both the architecture and the food. i'll take a picture of me drinking vino verde (the official drink of macau - a portuguese white wine) in china! [edit - did not go to macau yet, but will do that very same thing when i do end up going]
ps. victor has lent me a cellphone for while i am in hong kong. my first cell phone ever! i don't like them by principle but here it will be quite practical to have one. i feel very behind the ages while trying to use it -i'm quite incompetent. and to make things even better, i've got quite the inauspicious phone number! i've got two 4 and no 8. ah well!
posted by Magalie at 1:52 a.m.
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