It's my last full day in Hong Kong (sad but true) and if you got me right you'd know I love it here. Here's a quick rundown of what I did. Oops sorry, quick sidebar. At this internet cafe I've witnessed a strange phenomenon. I kept hearing an aggravating, high pitched, tragic sound and I couldn't figure out what it was. Finally I realized it's the girl sitting next to me staring at her computer and singing into the headset. I figure, whatever, but almost every time I come here it's happening but always a different girl. I've tried to spy over the partition but just can't figure it out. Are they recording the next big You Tube hit or singing love songs to their internet "boyfriends" for $1/miniute? Who knows? Anyway, after my last post I got on the subway (excellent and clean) heading to Soho. When I got to Queen's Road I hitched a ride on the mid-level escalators. It's the longest outdoor escalator system in the world. Hong Kong has steep San Francisco style hills and this is an excellent way to navigate them. There are periodic breaks and you just hop off near where you're going, love it. The escalator carries commuters downhill from 6:00-10:00 am and then switches direction and goes uphill till Midnight. I hopped off in Soho to have a look around and go to an organic vegetarian restaurant I read about. I found the restaurant and was reading the sidewalk menu when out of the corner of my eye I see, could it be...a Mexican restaurant! Wouldn't hurt to just take a peak at the menu, right? Just a quick glance? Screw the organic restaurant, the next thing you know I was tucked in with a couple Baja pescado tacos and a reposado margarita, excellent! I was in heaven. I haven't had Mexican food since December, that's almost inhumane. While I was sitting there wallowing in the glory of what I must say were decent fish tacos a guy sat next to me and said he just had to see what Mexican food was like in Hong Kong. He was Diego from LA and was in Hong Kong for a quick vacation to use up his remaining time off before it expired. We started talking and he ended up inviting me to Lang Kwai Fong (his treat, gotta love that) to celebrate his last night in Hong Kong. LKF is a small street with hundreds of bars and restaurants where everyone goes to party; we had a great time. The next day I went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see the Chinese Gold and Wu Guanzhong exhibits and to listen to the free Sunday concert (it was classical, not my thing, I don't really like music without words). New flash...I'm a 3D addict. I went to see Avatar at the IMAX. The ticket was $21 US dollars! Can you believe that?! And I paid it. Like I said, an addict. Monday I was back on the subway and headed to Lantau Island to spend the day at the Po Lin Monastery and to see the Tian Tan Buddha; the world's largest outdoor, seated, bronze Buddha (WLOSBB). Now if you take one of those words away (outdoor, seated or bronze) I have no idea where it stands in the ranking but it was spectacular. After a hike up the 260 stairs to see to the Buddha (What is it with Buddhists and stairs?) and a walk around the monastery I had lunch at the monastery's vegetarian restaurant and then headed back to Kowloon. Tuesday brought more Buddhist reflection at the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery in the Diamond Hill neighborhood of Kowloon. This has to be the most peaceful place in Kowloon. The gardens are meticulously maintained and stunning. The nunnery is so serene with beautiful architecture and an amazing collection of Buddhist statues (sorry, no photography). I had lunch at the vegetarian restaurant in the gardens hidden behind a waterfall that I read about in Time Out Hong Kong. After that I headed to the Hung Hom train station to buy my Friday onward ticket. That night I decided to go back and see the Symphony of Lights since it's right at the end of my street. When I was leaving I managed to get all caught up in a red carpet situation at the Hong Kong International Film Festival where I'm sure I saw some exciting stars, unfortunately I just don't know who they are. Since I run around all day, most nights I just grab a quick bite and go home and relax. I'm not ashamed to say a couple of those meals included an American classic, the Filet-O-Fish, always a cheap and delicious option, thanks Ronald. Wednesday brought rain on what was supposed to be my beach day, oh well, buy an umbrella, leave the bathing suit at the hotel and go anyway. I hopped on the bus to Stanley and Repulse Bay on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. The bus climbed up and down the steep hills in the pouring rain with little room to spare, it was mildly frightening. The Stanley Market was no more than a bunch of tourist junk but the beaches and nature on that part of the island were beautiful, even on a rainy day. It's raining again today so here I am at the computer trying to make the best of it. I've been to the bank to exchange some Hong Kong Dollars for Renminbi; the mainland currency that hopefully the US won't talk them in to revaluing before I leave. I have a train ticket tomorrow going to Guangzhou where I'll stay for a couple days while I plan my next destination. Apparently it's much cheaper to get onward tickets throughout mainland China once you're actually in mainland China; so I'll arrive tomorrow and figure it out from there. Here's hoping I don't encounter any internet censorship problems on the other side. Until next time. Peace out...Jan
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