An American in Southeast Asia: Part One--Hong Kong

It began with nearly 24 hours of travel, but here we are.

The first place has been Hong Kong. (Kowloon, to be specific.) Despite the sprawling metropolis's generally high prices, we managed to secure a few rooms right on Nathan Road for $17 a person. Unfortunately, it has literally rained nonstop since we woke up the morning after arriving. Fighting jet-lag, I got up much earlier than Eitan and Tim, and wandered around for awhile alone, getting some breakfast at a local restaurant (it's weird eating wantons and noodles for breakfast, but delicious). When I returned they got up too, and we threw on our raincoats--it poured on us the entire day--and caught a ferry over to Hong Kong Central. We visited the city's oldest temple, the world's longest escalator, and, today, the Chinese equivalent of Hollywood's Walk of Fame, which they call the Avenue of Stars. All these touristy attractions, however, pale in comparison to the simple experiences: the neon-lit streets, the food, the faint smell of incense drifting from open doorways, the city skyline across the bay, the closet-sized hotel room and it's bathroom that has a showerhead but no shower, the cleanliness of the streets, the friendliness of the people, and their good-natured astonishment when you manage to correctly speak a simple phrase in Cantonese.

Much to my chagrin, Eitan and Tim didn't feel up for trying out the nightlife; luckily, though, we'll be back here for two nights at the very end of the trip. Maybe my powers of persuasion will have matured by then.

In any case, we're off to the airport again in a few hours to fly to Bangkok, and the more exciting--to my mind at least--part of our trip will begin. I think we plan on staying there for a few days, and then maybe, if things feel right, getting some motorcycles to do a bit of Thailand adventuring. If not, by bus it shall be, with much dramamine and--in order to save money and time--night travel.

Some links:

Nathan Road: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Road

Kowloon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon

Oldest Temple in Hong Kong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Mo_Temple

World's Longest Escalator: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central-Mid-Levels_escalators

Avenue of Stars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_of_Stars,_Hong_Kong