hong kong part one
Thankfully the weather is getting warmer now with my arrival at Hong Kong's crisp and clean airport. Two friends of mine picked me up from the airport and drove me to their apartment. Raymond, ever thoughtful, had created a survival guide for me, furnished me with some HK dollars to get started, bought me a SIM card and gave me a mobile. So nice. I had forgotten all about such things.
I arrived some four days ahead of schedule as I thought it would be nice to surprise a friend of mine on the occasion of her birthday. I set the trap just before leaving Toyko by enquiring as to when her birthday is by email. Catherine was my co-conspirator. I thought I had hatched a clever plan but Amelia's first reaction to by unexpected appearance was 'What are you doing here?'. Excellent.
Hong Kong is a city I have been to before and one I will return to again and again. It is a lively, exciting place. The beer is far too expensive though! My hosts were kind enough ( or was that foolish enough) to agree to allow me to stay at their very conveniently located apartment for the best part of a month. The intention was kick back a little and use it as a base for exploration into China.
Another great thing was that my arrival coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is quite a celebration with many fastinating customs. Like married people handing out little red envelopes containing money to single people. I did well! The city is bedecked with red posters, flashing lights, all manner of symbolic flowers and plants. The flower market was packed, even at 4am when we dropped by. Along the harbour front, the skyscrapers compete with each other for the honour of having most dazzling lightshow. HSBC won, I think. The fireworks display in the harbour was particularly well done also but then given the Chinese invented it, it was bound to be impressive.
My ear continues to bother me. Muffled hearing and all. Catherine suggested 'ear candling', where a candle is stuffed into the earhole and draws the wax out. It didn't work. Moreover, it got worse. I now had a low frequency ringing in my ear. I researched this condition online and fretted that it could be 'tinnitus'. An incurable condition. Not painful but highly irritating. I played for time hoping it would resolve itself.
Although the beer is quite expensive, by Asian standards, it did not prohibit my consumption. Of course, Irish bars were primarily selected. Met a load of weird and interesting folk but one that comes to mind was a girl from Lewisham. A graduate of the University of Stringfellows! She was funding herself around the world by 'dancing'. At the start of our chat I had to request that we switch seats so I could hear her properly. The funniest thing is I lost her number but she still called me two days later. Fancy that!
I arrived some four days ahead of schedule as I thought it would be nice to surprise a friend of mine on the occasion of her birthday. I set the trap just before leaving Toyko by enquiring as to when her birthday is by email. Catherine was my co-conspirator. I thought I had hatched a clever plan but Amelia's first reaction to by unexpected appearance was 'What are you doing here?'. Excellent.
Hong Kong is a city I have been to before and one I will return to again and again. It is a lively, exciting place. The beer is far too expensive though! My hosts were kind enough ( or was that foolish enough) to agree to allow me to stay at their very conveniently located apartment for the best part of a month. The intention was kick back a little and use it as a base for exploration into China.
Another great thing was that my arrival coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year. It is quite a celebration with many fastinating customs. Like married people handing out little red envelopes containing money to single people. I did well! The city is bedecked with red posters, flashing lights, all manner of symbolic flowers and plants. The flower market was packed, even at 4am when we dropped by. Along the harbour front, the skyscrapers compete with each other for the honour of having most dazzling lightshow. HSBC won, I think. The fireworks display in the harbour was particularly well done also but then given the Chinese invented it, it was bound to be impressive.
My ear continues to bother me. Muffled hearing and all. Catherine suggested 'ear candling', where a candle is stuffed into the earhole and draws the wax out. It didn't work. Moreover, it got worse. I now had a low frequency ringing in my ear. I researched this condition online and fretted that it could be 'tinnitus'. An incurable condition. Not painful but highly irritating. I played for time hoping it would resolve itself.
Although the beer is quite expensive, by Asian standards, it did not prohibit my consumption. Of course, Irish bars were primarily selected. Met a load of weird and interesting folk but one that comes to mind was a girl from Lewisham. A graduate of the University of Stringfellows! She was funding herself around the world by 'dancing'. At the start of our chat I had to request that we switch seats so I could hear her properly. The funniest thing is I lost her number but she still called me two days later. Fancy that!
posted by Ciarán at 8:40 a.m.
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