hong kong part two
I stayed in HK for a further week before going back into China. I figured it would be good to take an overland approach to Vietnam rather than a direct flight to Hanoi. After all, I had a multi-entry visa so may as well use it. Catherine and Raymond, once agin, were the perfect hosts. Patient and kind.
The remaining time in Hong Kong was spent being lazy. Going out, having good meals and of course, getting through a few beers. One night was spent playing a dice game where the loser having to drink the most. Not difficult to guess which result I favoured. Raymond and I also staged a series of sporting contests; snooker, crazy gold, football and trout fishing. The last two being playstation events. I lost overall but the trout fishing was inconclusive as neither of us could catch a fish over regulation weight.
Amelia treated us all to an evening concert with a one-time popular HK singer. The music wasn't really my thing. Too much staring wistfully into the middle distance and that's not to mention the songs themselves. Plus this lady was a bit of a loon. In between songs, large screens broadcast interview clips of her. She was complaining that the media are always writing of her as being mad. One particular outburst had me agreeing with them. Strange stuff plus the HK audience seemed to like it in their passive way. They were happy with waving little coloured lights over the heads. But not in time with the music.
It was during this concert that my ear really went into high frequency overdrive. It was worrying enough that I concluded my 'wait and see' tactic had failed. So professional help was necessary. After the first doctor I was referred to a specialist who probed my ear with micro-instruments and blasted air at my eardrum which was uncomfortable. It turned out I had a little hair glued to my eardrum by a little spot of hardened wax. Tasty. It was causing additional vibrations, hence the frequency noise. So 200 euro's later, I could hear again.
Raymond, being a throughly good bloke, gave me a MP3 player to replace the stolen ipod. I quickly brandished him a copyright infringer by downloading 512k of music on his computer!! Then he gave me a choice of three mobiles to pick from. Amazing. In fact, my HK friends are all great people and everytime I'm there, this notion is further reinforced. I suppose that is the reason I like this vibrant, energetic city so much; it's the people and my friends there.
The remaining time in Hong Kong was spent being lazy. Going out, having good meals and of course, getting through a few beers. One night was spent playing a dice game where the loser having to drink the most. Not difficult to guess which result I favoured. Raymond and I also staged a series of sporting contests; snooker, crazy gold, football and trout fishing. The last two being playstation events. I lost overall but the trout fishing was inconclusive as neither of us could catch a fish over regulation weight.
Amelia treated us all to an evening concert with a one-time popular HK singer. The music wasn't really my thing. Too much staring wistfully into the middle distance and that's not to mention the songs themselves. Plus this lady was a bit of a loon. In between songs, large screens broadcast interview clips of her. She was complaining that the media are always writing of her as being mad. One particular outburst had me agreeing with them. Strange stuff plus the HK audience seemed to like it in their passive way. They were happy with waving little coloured lights over the heads. But not in time with the music.
It was during this concert that my ear really went into high frequency overdrive. It was worrying enough that I concluded my 'wait and see' tactic had failed. So professional help was necessary. After the first doctor I was referred to a specialist who probed my ear with micro-instruments and blasted air at my eardrum which was uncomfortable. It turned out I had a little hair glued to my eardrum by a little spot of hardened wax. Tasty. It was causing additional vibrations, hence the frequency noise. So 200 euro's later, I could hear again.
Raymond, being a throughly good bloke, gave me a MP3 player to replace the stolen ipod. I quickly brandished him a copyright infringer by downloading 512k of music on his computer!! Then he gave me a choice of three mobiles to pick from. Amazing. In fact, my HK friends are all great people and everytime I'm there, this notion is further reinforced. I suppose that is the reason I like this vibrant, energetic city so much; it's the people and my friends there.
posted by Ciarán at 8:40 a.m.
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