Day 9

I had congee and noodles for breakfast, a greasy but filling meal.

We went to a Japanese candy store, something like Bulk Barn, but with a more interesting product line. I bought an entire pound of candy, and then went souvenir shopping.

We had high tea at the Peninsula. It's one of the priciest hotels in Hong Kong, with a regular room going for over $600 US. The tea was $100 dollars CAD for a few scones, sandwiches and a milkshake. It was pricey likely due to it's famed "atmosphere". In reality, it was woefully underwhelming. There was a lone jazz pianist, and lots of rich looking patrons. The staff were attentive, but not spectacular.

It was just scones....

Sandwiches...

and cakes.

It wasn't that much food, but it sure was pricey. Oh well. At least I can say I did it.

Dinner was actually at the Boy Scout's Comissioner's club, a traditional chinese resturant. We dined on pigeon, but I didn't want any. The last time I ate pigeon, I had a horrible stomachache, and I didn't want to repeat that particular episodes, especially the day before my flight.

I'm flying out tommorow. If you've been following me, thank you. I hoped you enjoyed this series. I certainly did.

I'll have a sequence of follow-up, and more insights into Hong Kong in the coming days. But first, I need to go home

Happy New Year's to all my readers. You'd better make a good resolution.

Mine? - To be nicer to everyone, and lose the take-no-prisoners mentality. More on that later.

Take care.

Day 8

I went to see a doctor for my throat today, but I was understandbly apprehensive of her credibility. She ended up perscribing me 5 different medicines, just for my sore throat. I only ended up taking 3 of them, and for a shorter regimen than she provided for. Still, in spite of the excessive amounts, I felt noticably better within hours.

We had dim sum for breakfast, almost like every other morning. Enough said.

We took the Star Ferry across the harbour. The views are beautiful, and cent for cent, it's probably the best tourist attraction anywhere in the world, for the money. It totals out at less than 40 cents CAD.

Even in First Class (which doesn't reall mean much), the boat is incredibly rocky. But the ride is so short (5-7 minutes), that it doesn't really matter.

We took the tram ot Victoria peak, where we took pictures, and walked around, touring the shopping attractions. The view from the top was stunning, but I was dismayed that I had to pay a fee (however nominal), to take advantage of a naturally occurring sight. Oh, how we've over commercialized the world.

Being hungry, I bought an overpriced chocolate frappe. It wasn't that great.

We went home, got changed, and went to Cafe Kool, a ritzy buffet. The name is ridiculous, but it's inside of  very pricey Hong Kong hotel. The spread is incredible, with all you can eat sashimi, sushi, dim sum, smoked salmon, and a seemingly endless variety of other foods.

It comes at a price though. It's one of the best buffets in town, and the bill for each person was in excess of $70 CAD. For a resturant, that's not abnormal, but for a buffet, it's near obscene.

I didn't eat $70 worth of food, but it was good nevertheless.

The chef who prepared my ice cream gave me much too many gummi bears on top. But since I like them, it's not that much of a loss.

I'll probably get around to expanding this post eventually, if only for my own benefit. I need to get back to sleep.

Stay tuned.

Day 7

Today was a perfect antidote to yesterday's hectic activity. We started off with a late Sunday service (we weren't late, :P the service was). St. Andrew's is a relatively large church, so there are 3 services on Sunday, including the evening one. We chose the 11 AM service, as it allowed us to rest from yesterday's activities.

I was expecting a mainly Chinese crowd, but it was a mixed bag. There were the Chinese, Ex-pats, as well as a variety of tourists from around the world. The church gets a lot of visitors, so they have a number of services and protocols in place to welcome them.

Oddly, the two pastors we saw were both from Australia. Somehow, they ended up in Hong Kong. Considering their nationality, I expected some Hillsong, but to no avail. The songs were all unfamiliar to me, with only one exception.

John Menear, the vicar, was very knowledgable, and an excellent teacher. It's too bad I'll probably never attend this church again.

We stopped at another conveyer-belt sushi place for lunch. For the first time, I had shark sashimi (below). If you're wondering about the taste, well, you'll have to try it yourself.

We had sea urchin sashimi, and a variety of other interesting raw seafood, including raw scallops. We really should have more of these places in Toronto.

We headed to Mong Kok market again, to do some more shopping. I purchased a few knock-offs, and these awesome "bun" wrist cushions. They're for computer use, to prevent carpal tunnel (I think), but they look and feel just like Chinese buns. Opening the package, they smell like them too!

I also got a copy of Mao's famed Red Book, something I've wanted for a while. I'm busy reading the latest Grisham, so it'll be a while until I get to it, but it's interesting to read the book that defined an era.

For the third time, we had dinner at Sweet Dynasty. We're slowly becoming regulars there.

I would expand further, but my throat hurts a lot.

I need some sleep.

Stay tuned.

Day 6- In Macau

Today was jammed with activity. Hong Kong is notorious for its go-go mentality, and today was a prime example of the packed schedules of its people. We started the day having a traditionaly "chinese" breakfast. I ordered noodles, with toast, eggs and ham. It was pretty filling, considering the price.

We boarded a high-speed ferry, and set off for Macau. The ride was unbearably bumpy, but I slept through nearly the entire thing, so it didn't really matter.

Right after our arrival, my throat was sore, so we stopped by Haagen-Dazs for some sorbet. It was ridiculously overpriced, but oh so good. It was some of the most authentic tasting Mango sorbets I've ever had. Iwas more than $5 CAD for a tiny scoop, but it was well worth it.

We went to see the ruins of St. Paul, which supposedly, is a must-see. Call me unappreciative of history, but I thought it was nothing special. It was just a dated looking facade of a destroyed cathedral. It's not particularly photogenic, nor does it have a history worth noting.

We bought some Portugese egg tarts (dan-taht :P), as they're pretty famous here. I personally can't tell the difference from regular ones, but they still tasted good.

We took a taxi to The Venetian Macau, the world's largest resort/casino. The chain has locations across the globe, but this one is by far the largest. Although it's the largest in the world, it seemed underwhelming, consdering its size. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful hotel, with some of the best atmosphere I've ever experienced, but it came off as slightly tacky. How many gondolas and canals does one really need?

Even so, its grandeur still impressed. Everywhere in the hotel, the impression of luxury was very defined. This wasn't a hotel for the frugal.

Surprisingly, the air in the casino was pretty clear. All the casinos I've ever visited smell extremely smoky, but the air handling system at The Venetian is pretty new, so the gaming floor is nearly odour-free.

After taking an even rougher ferry ride back, we went out for dinner at Sweet Dynasty. It's actually the second time we visited here on this trip, and I specially requested we go. I'm slightly feverish, and came down with the chills, so I wanted something hot. It did the trick.

Feeling sweaty, I orderd a strawberry Sago Soup for dessert. The strawberries were pretty small, but it tasted decent. Of course, I could have made the same thing myself, at half the cost, but things always taste better at resturants :P.

Our last stop of the day was at Wellcome (that's right, with two "l"s), to look for things to bring back home.

This brand of chips isn't sold in Canada, and there were some really interesting flavours, so we decided to purchase a whole bunch. The one pictured above is "sushi" flavoured. It comes with a packed of "wasabi" powder. Mix the two together, and you've got authentic tasting salmon sushi in a bag!

Day 5

Today was pretty bland (of course, compared to the snow in T.O, it's wonderful :P). Catch yesterday's post if you missed it.

We had breakfasat at Chou Inn- a swanky dim sum place at One Peking, wih great views, and just decent dim sum. It was designed to be evoke images of traditional chinese resturants (or so I hear, I wasn't there myself :P), We ordered all the typical stuff, and it was a filling breakfast.

From there, we headed to Ladies Market, in Mong Kok. It's one o the largest , and most famous markets in Hong Kong, and it as interesting to see the variety of goods on sale. I had been there twice before, on a previous trip, but perhaps because of my age, it seemed rather smaller this time.

Again, we asked to see the "showroom" of fake handbags. Interestingly, we had to request to see them, but when the Caucasians came, (we call them gui lo (more on that later)), they quite literally let there seats, and chased after them. "Copy purse!" was the constant refrain from the shop owners, and it got tiring after only a short while.

The showroom for the handbags was inside a dingy building, up 5 narrow and dirty flights of stairs, and in a room that felt as if something disturbing had happened recently. It was not an environment conducive to purchasing. Still shocked from yesterday (read the post already!), I was suspicious of the hawkers, afraid they might chase after us. Fortunately, people are much more relaxed here in Hong Kong, and no such thing happened.

We stopped for lunch at this Japanese place. I had an attractive looking set meal (a bento box), but was unable to finish it. It was about this time where I started to feel sick. I had ignored the fatigue, and stomach pangs for a few days, attributing them to my jet lag, and they finally caught up to me.

We rushed home (well, as rushed as one can be using the MTR), and I quickly fell asleep. I took some Tylenol, researched my symptoms on WebMD, and rested.

Feeling better, we headed out to Spring Deer. It comes highly recommended in Frommers, so I was disapppinted at the mediocrity of the cuisine. We initially were intending to dine on Peking Duck, but because off my lack of appetite, we decided not to.

I'm exhausted, and feeling sick, so its time to go.

Stay tuned.

Day 4- An odd Christmas

Yep, today was pretty crazy. I've never been so warm on Christmas Day, but it was pleasant nevertheless. I officially now hate Blogger (it formats my pictures all weird), so please bear with me. The way the HTML is formed automatically when you import pictures is absolutely horrid. Just do your best to find the corresponding pictures. I considered a labelling system to help you, but it seemed too scientific.      



I had breakfast at McCafe, a higher-end subsdisary of McDonalds. Supposedly, it provides food that's more "health-concious", although it was still pretty junky looking to me. My stomach was upset from yesterday's "wiggling shrimp", so  I kept it simple with a smoked salmon sandwich.



We actually spent today in Shenzhen- the closest major urban centre to Hong Kong. The visas were overpriced- so I was expecting something spectacular, or at the very least, some cheap goods. To say the least, I was disappointed.       

I had heard much about the infamous crime in Shenzhen, so I was pretty tense the entire time. Pickpockets, and scam artists (supposedly, violent ones) were said to frequent the mall we visited. i didn't encounter anything blaringly frightening, but needless to say, something felt very disconcerting the entire time.           

As expected, there were a variety of fake goods on sale. Everywhere you went, shopkeepers practically jumped out of their crowded stalls. "Rolex, Omega, Cartier!", they whispered in hushed tones. Every so often we got a "Copy handbag!", or "Good DVD's".

We initially visited a slightly shifty  looking owner selling copied purses. Officially, he sold "Kipling" brand bags, but when we arrived, he pulled catalogues out of one of them. My mom selected the ones she wanted, and he sent a harried teenager away with orders. About 15 minutes later, the youth returned with some suspect black bags. From them, he produced the requested items. Haggling started, but in the end, we decided not to buy them, and walked away.

I was shocked at his response. I sincerely now believe that perhaps he had some underlying psychological issues, perhaps a manic tendancy, or a bipolar disorder. When we walked away, he chased us, his voice growing more and more frantic, until he started to grab one of the friends that accompanied us. He began to yell, and threatened physical violence, unless we purchased his wares. Eventually, and to our collective relief, he was pulled away by a fellow shopkeeper. Still, I was jumpy for the rest of our visit.

For lunch, we visited a Chinese resturant with branches all over the world. There's actually one in Richmond Hill, if you care to try it, but it's pretty standard grub.

Using Shenzhen's metro system (new, but not nearly as advanced as Hong Kong's), we made our way "downtown". Shenzhen is a ridiculously ugly city, with an absolute lack of any character. It's like every other mid-sized city in the world, and lacks a distinguishing feature. The architecture is bland, and the people are boring.

Oddly, there are police on seemingly every corner. It doesn't make me feel safer, however. It's just a stark reminder to the dangers of overpopulation, and a restrictive government. Enjoy the one picture of the fake handbag catalogue, it was hard to take. I had to be discreet, hoping the shopkeepers wouldn't get wise. Oh, the lengths I go for this blog :).

We took a taxi around, and it was quite honestly the craziest ride I've ever experienced. These drivers weren't trained in safe driving. They're apathetic about their jobs, uncaring about your welfare, and seemingly eager to die. They drive at ridiculous speeds, and weave in and out of traffic incessantly.

Anyways, Merry Christmas.

Stay tuned.

Day 3

Enjoy today's post. It's likely going to be the crowning glory of the trip's series. We did a lot today, and took a lot of pictures. Hong Kong is truly the most happening place on the planet.


We started off the day with a nice meal of congee- supposedly, the resturant was quite famous for it. It was a bit disconcerting walking into a hole-in-the-wall like this one, but the congee made for a filling meal. I'm shocked at the prices of a meal in Hong Kong. It's very possible to get a filling, and nutritious meal for less than $5 CAD.

Locals here in Hong Kong eat out a lot- and the selection is simply astounding. I'll cover that in my post-trip posts, but it's intriguing to see the huge difference in dining culture.

We met some friends of my mom's for lunch, in the swanky Landmark. I started with an iced tea- the first time I actually had to add the sugared syrup to my lemon tea. I was so accustomed to drinking the pre-made Nestea stuff, that I was surprised that they would make us do the work.

I had a simple salad as an appetizer, and inspired by the Pixar movie of the same name, had ratatouille as my main. It didn't quite look the same as in the movie, but nevertheless, it was interesting to try.

We went to my mom's friend's office afterwards, to talk, and I was impressed. She's a lawyer- and her office was filled with interesting reading material. (If you're reading this, Hi!) I'd always had the intention of reading some Grisham, but never had time. The book I recieved finally helped me take the plunge :).

If you remember, I had my name seal made on the first day here. Today, we went to get it. The vendor who was making them was 90, and had quite a story to tell. He was born an orphan, and didn't marry until 52. He had actually made the stamps for some of my family members more than 20 years ago- and he's still at it. Personally, I couldn't tell the difference, but my relatives say my stamp is well made.

I find it rather hard to believe that such a easil duplicated object could be legally binding on some documents, but I hear that in some circumstances, it's the only acceptable form of affixing your name.

In reality- I'll never use it, but it's nice to have.

We walked around Tsim Tsa Tsui, and visited this $10 store. It's almost like Canada's dollar stores, but with less practical ware, and more kitchsy stuff.

For dinner, we headed to a hot-pot place. The pot itself was rather intriguing. Instead of the conventional butane heater, the pot used conduction technology to heat up. It's pretty complicated, but essentially, the element doesn't heat up. Through a magnetic process, the element heats the pot directly, without creating a dangerous area of the table.

The shrimp, to my surprise were still wiggling when they arrived on the table. It was slightly disconcerting to eat something that was alive mere minutes ago.

After dinner was probably one of the highlights of my trip, so far. It's Christmas Eve here, and Hong Kong is in a state of wonderful, wonderful chaos.The streets are crammed with people, so many that it's hard to describe. Words cannot do justice to the air of excitement around Hong Kong. Most major roads have been closed, and blocked by police, leaving the entire neighbourhood to pedestrians.

Walking in the middle of the road, surrounded by people, and with the smell, sights, and sounds of festivity is something I'll never forget.

If you're in Hong Kong, you shouldn't be reading this- you should be out.

If you aren't here- you should be :).

And yes, I took that picture myself :P.

Day 2

Sorry for the order of the pictures. Just try to find the ones that correspond with what you're reading- I didn't have time to organize them neatly, and the HTML is pretty messy. I didn't have time to neaten it up, so what you'll find here is organized chaos :P. If that sounded lame, sorry. I'm tired :)

Today was a pretty uneventful day. My Aunt, who typically acts as our guide to the city, was working, so we were on our own for the day.

Using the excellent MTR system (a whole post coming on that later), we navigated our way to Festival Walk, another large mall, and home to one of only two skating rinks in the city. I had some pretty mediocre thai food- Lime soda, Hainan Chicken, and a mango salad.

We had some dinner afterwards, in a prett yinteresting food court. All the resturants were centrally owned by "Food Republic", and the selection was amazing. I ate a pretty decent Pad Thai, that came with a salad and soup for less then $7 CAD.

If you recall, I took some pictures of some pretty pricey strawberries yesterday. Well, compared to today, that was nothing. This Japanese Watermelon, shaped in a triangle was $2888.88 HK, or $454.90 CAD. That's the price of an iPod touch, and then some. The supermarket we saw it in was pretty standard fare, but its selection of baked goods was astounding. Pictures were prohibited (a not-so-nice lady told me), so I could only sneak a few.

Today was also the first time I tried "Watson's Water". It's pretty famous in Hong Kong, being the product on one of the largest pharmacy chains in the city. Walk anywhere, and you'll see multitudes of locals holding it. I've been told that it tastes "softer than the regular stuff, bu it tastes like water to me.

I'm still jet-lagged, so I'm going to sleep early. Again. :P

Stay tuned.

Day 1

Hong Kong is a city that never stops. I took nearly 130 photos today, and each and every one of them tells a distinct story.

I expected Hong Kong to be crowded, considering its population boom, but I wasn't expecting this. On the streets, throngs of people severely limit free motion. For people with disabilities, it's an absolute nightmare.

We started the day off with a traditional chinese Dim Sum brunch :P. We had these gross porcupine taro things, but everything else was typical dim sum fare

In Hong Kong, (and elsewhere in Asia), it's common to use a name "chock", or seal in place of a signature. Living in North America, I don't need one, but I decided to get one made anyways. I'm picking it up tommorow

We continued to the 70th annual HKBE, some random trade fair thingy. It was super-crowded, to the point of not being ble to move, so we left soon after (of course, not before sampling some freshly made "magic yogurt :P). I was surprised at the number of down jackets for sale, considering the year-round heat, but my Aunt says they're meant for travellers.

We visited Sogo, a 14 floor Japanese department store (notice how the Japanese always do stuff better :P). There was a pretty impressive selection of stuff to buy, ranging from an $80,000 TV, to weird orange drinks. In typical Japanese fashion, it was a very clean and organized store, and there seemed to be a salesperson every five feet. It probably explains Hong Kong's low unemployment rate

The price of strawberries (imported from Japanwas truly a testament to the times. Obviously, theprices here are in $HK, but it's still a pretty penny (nearly

$50) for a few berries. They'd better be sweet!

A tradition I could get used to, was the afternoon tea/snack. We went to a sushi bar, with a conveyor belt of sushi floating by. The prices were based on the colour of the plate, and to tabulate your bill, the server simply glanced at the section of the bar in front of you.

It's taking a while for me to get used to the extremely high denominations of money. I need to realize that a bowl of soup can cost in excess of $75 HK. Sigh. If only I travelled more :).

We walked around Central a bit, and gawked at the ridicously tall buildings. The juxtaposistion of modernist skyscrapers, and little shacks selling magazines is shocking. There's the homeless lying in front of Gucci and Prada stores, and the rich, driving right past them. I'll talk more on that when I get home.

Tired, we took the ferry back to Kowloon (more pictures coming...), then had a simple soup noodle dinner. I'm half asleep right now, which may be affecting my writing, but I'm too tired to notice :P. Anyways, I have to hit the sack soon.

Stay tuned.

Arrival

I'm here.

After a gruelling fifteen hour flight, we touched down in Hong Kong yesterday. I was intending to blog last night, but I wasn't very coherent, considering my fatigue.

It's about 20 and sunny here, and I'm not missing the snow. Admittedly though, I always feel kind of hoomesick while travelling. It's always difficult to leave behind your own bed, for someone else's.

In any case, I'm going out now for some Dim Sum :).

Stay tuned.

Up, up and away...

Forgiveness please, I'm behind. I was hit with a sudden, pre-holiday deluge of homework this weekend.

I kid you not, I did nearly 20 hours of homework. Bear in mind, that there's only 48 hours in the weekend, and I slept for 20 of them.

Anyways, hopefully, I'll be getting back to some quality blogging over the break.

I'm off to Hong Kong, so my posting may be sporadic, but rest assured, it's coming. I look forward to providing you with some (hopefully) insightful views on travel.

Hong Kong is one of the most exciting metropolises on our planet, and I can hardly wait. If you've been reading me since the summer, you'll remember my penchant for Chinese culture and Hong Kong is absolutely chock-full of chineseness.

In all likelihood, I'll probably get to blog again before Christmas, but just in case I don't, Happy Holidays!

I wish everyone a safe and restful break. Here's to a new year!

A grim milestone

Today, the bodies of 3 soldiers return home.

We've now reached 100 dead. That's one hundred young lives taken by the grim reality of war. It's one hundred bright flames of life, extinguished. It's one hundred lives too many.

I happen to believe in this war (more on that forthcoming), but I don't necessarily believe in Canada's participation. Harper says that he'll have our men and women home by 2011, but with this current economic turmoil, I don't believe it.

We need to get our troops out. This war, unfortunately, won't end anytime soon.

A Tribute- Ted Rogers

Ted Rogers died Tuesday.

Doubtless, you've heard of, or more likely, even subscribed to one of the Rogers services.

Quite simply, Rogers epitomized entrepreneurial spirit. He was an ideal example of the rewards of honest, hard work.

The Rogers media empire spanned across Canada, and it effectively dismanteled 'Ma Bell's monopoly.

Ted Rogers, even in spite of his age, continued to work until a month ago. His death is one of the greatest losses the Canadian business community has ever sustained.

He is survived by his wife, Loretta, and their four children Lisa, Edward, Melinda and Martha.

Coalition Government

This is in all honesty, the stupidest political decision I've heard recently.

I'm pretty in tune with politics (this is, after all, a mainly political blog:P), but even I haven't been really understanding all that's going on recently.

Upon hearing this news, the typical response from most Canadians was a resounding "Huh?".

Coalition governments, are governments comprised of 2 or more parties, working together to form a majority. They're particularly popular in war time. Our last coalition was under Pearson, and truth be told, it was for most parts, a success.

But the timing on this is horrible. All over the world, banks collapse, debts default, and corporations flounder.
We need a united nation, not one divided by the dark forces of political meddling.

Even though I appreciate that the NDP now have a more prominent role, this will doubtless slow down the political process.

It's exactly what we don't need, at the time where it's needed the least (that sounded kind of funny :P).

It's a horrible decision, and the Tories are fighting it hard, but in all likelihood, the non-confidence motion will pass.

Still, it's the Governer-General's ultimate decision, and I strongly encourage her to take us back tot he polls. We need to end these political shenanigans once and for all.