The first time in Hong Kong

It's time for a little change on this blog. That's right, I am now writing in English, or, trying to at least. I think I speak English well, however writing (and spelling) is something completely different for me... I wish I could get this computer to spellcheck... 
I am a very honest person, sometimes a bit too honest. I'm also a very emotional person, wich is not always a good combination. 
This blog was censured in China, so I'll just post it all now, piece by piece...

So, I just came back "home" (I am not sure what to call this place, it's where I live and grew up, but I don't really feel at home here...). Leaving Australia, and especially Melbourne, who I grew very fond of, was heart breaking, and brought me to tears many times. Despite my mood I managed to enjoy my few days in Hong Kong.

The first night in Hong Kong I was surprised by how difficult it was to find my hostel, but with a lot of luck I managed to find it. I went to a night market and was overwhelmed by how many people who live in this city. I stayed at the Chungking Mansions, wich contains a lot of different hostels, markets, businesses and god knows how many people. My hostel was on the 13th floor, and it took forever to get there, since the queue to the elevator was very long. One thing I learned the hard way, was that hostels do not give you any toilet paper...

The day after, I met a dad and a son who were travelling together, from New Zealand. They were very nice, and let me hang with them for the whole day. We took the star ferry to Hong Kong Island and after a cool bus ride and a lot of walking we ended up by the Botanical Gardens. It was very pretty, and in the middle of it all they had monekys and other animals.

Later that night we went to the night market, and then took the train back to Hong Kong Island. There they celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, with loads of lights and lanterns, and it just looked amazing!

Me at the Mid-Autumn Festival

A few blocks away we found the Tai Hang Fire Dragon in full action! This was a dragon made out of incense burning and smoking, while the people making it move was running (!) around with it very close to the crowd. Everyone was happy and cheering for the dragon. It all created a very cool atmosphere.
This experience was all thanks to a very nice lady, who saw us looking a bit lost, and just told us that if we wanted to see the dragon, she knew a shortcut, but we would have to be quick. So we more or less ran after her and got a good spot.

Tai Hang Fire Dragon

The day after I decided to visit the Big Buddha statue. After a few rides on the metro I arrived to one of the longest queues I've seen in my life. The cable car was out of service, so the queue was leading to buses that went up the mountains on a serpent road. In the queue I met a nice girl who showed me her big plans for the day. I took notes, since I didn't know much about what to do in Hong Kong. The Big Buddha was amazing, and the view magical. It was very hot and a lot of steps up, so I was sweating like crazy! My white t-shirt was now pink wherever it touched my bra...

Before going up all those steps...

Later, at lunch time, I tried a new thing, Rice Pizza. It was just like a normal pizza, but instead of a crust it was sticky rice. I had chicken and mango on mine. Delicious!

Rice Pizza!

I went to a place called 10,000 Buddhas. Apparently there are more than 10,000 Buddhas there, but I wasn't counting. For a girl who really enjoy Buddha statues (you should see my room) this was really remarkable. They were all in gold, at least the ones I could see. I was a little late, and since they closed the tempel I could "only" see a few thousands... At one time a monkey, with a baby hanging on, jumped out of the bushes and scared the living crap out of me. It looked vicious so I ran away scared.

Do you see how evil it looks?! Picture taken from a safe distance...

10,000 Buddhas, both male and female...

After this, I took the metro to see the Nan Lian Gardens. A truly beautiful place, especially in dawn.

Nan Lian Gardens

Before it was getting too dark I went to the fish market. Not the most interresting thing I've seen. I didn't like it, not because it was boring, but because of the way they were treating animals. Too small cages, fish sold in plastic bags too small and without any air coming in. The fish at the market makes the fish in our aquarium seem like spoiled brats...

Fish Market

Just in time, I went to the Avenue of Stars, just by the coast of Kowloon. I saw the light show that people had been talking about. The avenue was pretty, but it must have been the worlds most boring light show.

The Light Show...

At this point I was a bit stressed out, it had been a long hot day, and I got a lot done. But the typhoon warning was not good news. My flight was almost cancelled, and that night I had no idea of if I would go to the airport or not in the morning. But luck strikes again, and the difference of one hour would be a big deal. All flights from 12 were cancelled, and my flight was at 11! Lucky me!



To be continued...