Hong Kong today (not yesterday though)

Double decker trams!

Yesterday I arrived in Hong Kong after taking two over-the-counter sleeping tablets that worked so well on the way to London, only to realise that they do not work in the other direction. So I was drowsy, stupid, sleep deprived and had a massive headache. I spent my time walking within about a 2km radius from the hostel fighting off the urge to sleep. With the help of my lovely 20 something solo world traveller, women of the world roommates, I managed to stay awake til about 10pm.

Today was Hong Kong tourism with a vengeance. I even did what real Hong Kong people do and had Japanese food at a chain store in a mall. I went up to the very top of Hong Kong on the Peak Tram, what a ride! This puts that mini Portugese finicular to shame. Then over to Kowloon in the ferry. What a view looking back at Hong Kong Island! Then back and all the way across the island to Port Stanley on a bus. What a view and what a ride! The whole island is an architectual impossibility, but quite breathtaking. The apartment buildings stretch up further than I can tilt my neck. The smallest apartment block I have seen was about ten stories and that was way out of town. There are public outdoor escalators that go up hundreds of metres because the hills are just too steep. Almost everything seems new.

They say that Hong Kong does not care for history, particularly when it comes to the buildings. The old women dressed in black pyjama type suits with big bamboo hats that I remember from my last stop here have long gone. There are no street stalls, no noodle slurp shops where you look out at the passing throng of humanity, just malls, miles and miles of malls. I have seen more plastic crap for sale that you can imagine the whole poplulation of the world will ever want. There are no motorbikes, no push bikes and no certainly no makeshift stalls. Everywhere except around Victoria Park it is forbidden to sit down in public. There are no public seats anyway and just you watch out if you sit on a ledge or window sill to look at your map. They don't tell you to go away, the literally sweep you away. Apart from the look of the people, the only sign that you are in asia is the bamboo scaffolding and even that is not the norm. (That is the only sign, because even the street signs are in English.) The city is all around the harbour and yet very little of it looks out at the harbour. What a waste. I have found only one ocean side promanade type walk where you can get a drink and watch the sun set and that was way out on the tip of Port Stanley and only about 100 metres in length. Still there is something exciting about being in such a big crowd all the time, just participating in it all, even if it is going to the supermarket or the ferry terminal is a thing worth doing (if you are not jetlagged).

For those old enough to remember the days when Australians came to Hong Kong to go shopping: forget it. There are big brand name shops everywhere, so if you are in the market for some Yves St, or Fendi or Burberry, then maybe. Apart from that, everything costs the same or more here than it would in Australia. Everything, that is except for public transport, so I am patting myself on the back for braving three types of transport in one day. Tomorrow I will ride on one of the wooden double decker trams, because this is the last place in the world to have them.