Where West meets East

Well after a bit of a long week sitting around praying for news on our visas Sini our new Finnish flatmate dragged us out to Mong Kok to try and sort out the wi-fi in the flat. So we took the "Mong Kok Bullet" from Sai Kung which turned out to be quite an experience. I was, (as I'm sure you'll understand) quite exited by the name.  On reflection I think it's maybe a bit of an ironic title, nevertheless it was a good laugh. It's a wee 16 seater minibus, but unlike all the other minbuses in Hong Kong the drivers on the Mong Kok Bullet all wear aviator sunglasses and leather driving gloves. And to keep the Top Gun theme running they drive like lunatics also. Until this I had never seen a minibus overtake a Porsche 911, or heard an engine with quite the same on the edge of exploding sound. For those of you that don't know Mong Kok is the most densely populated area in the world, with 130,000 people per square kilometre. And well having been there, I can believe it. It's crazy! Step out the MTR and you are immediately swept away by the swarm of people. Everyone is in a rush and seems to know exactly where they are going.

Every building and down every dark alleyway and on every street corner someone is selling something. What would you like?  The huge electronics stores, clothes shops of every variety, dodgy jewelers, and even more dodgy designer handbags, a fake rolex, a tailored suit, a kayak, some thermal socks, a cuban cigar, a fridge. Well this is your place. To be honest though all we wanted to do was get someone to come and fix our wi-fi, and after battling through the armies of raging shoppers the man in the shop told us to phone up the customer helpline. At that point all I wanted to do was press the eject button and get out of the claustrophobic sweatbox that is Mong Kok. But for over a million people this is home, and I can't imagine it. Half an hour was enough for me. 

Today, back to the city. But this time to Central. If you've seen a photo of Hong Kong it's probably of the skyline of central. The skyscrapers are amazing and well there's certainly no shortage of them. Hong Kong is the tallest city in the world, and it has 3 of the worlds 10 tallest buildings. 

Although not particularly tall The Bank of China Tower is the most striking of all the buildings with the chopsticks on the roof and the mirrored windows. Off to the right of this photo is the HSBC headquarters, unfortunately I couldn't get a photo of it but the centre of the building is one huge atrium that goes all the way up and criss crossing the atrium are hundreds of escalators. The building holds records for having the most escalators in one building and for having the longest unsupported escalator in the world. So in case you hadn't gathered Hong Kong holds a few records! They do seem to be a bit of a record hunting group of people. I was reading an article in the South China Morning Post (yes I did buy it) outraged that Hong Kong was only 5th in the world for quality of life, maybe they'll have that one sewn up by the time I leave.

Anyhoo, I ventured from Central up the now infamous Central/Mid-Levels escalator to Soho. I think it's a little different from the London Soho. It means South of Hollywood Road and it's one of the most affluent areas of the city. It's also a little odd. This is where my title came from. Walking through Soho is like a cross between upper class London and what the rest of us would think of as China. Rich English and Filipeno wives crowd designer boutiques and trendy coffee shops waiting for their chauffeurs to come take them to the next shop. On the street though the chinese  delivery boys and slightly lost tourists (aka me) dodge the constant stream of Mercs and Rolls Royces. Above the bamboo scaffolders are still climbing to scary heights, and there is still a constant stream of bin rakers pushing their rusty trollies around looking for aluminium cans they can sell for pennies at the scrap merchants. Soho really is the contradiction to top them all.  At times Hong Kong seems so Chinese but Soho seems for the rich to be the answer to this, they can hide away in their champagne bars and pretend they're in Monaco or.... wherever else rich people go.

 In Hong Kong there is obviously a huge divide between the rich and poor, probably more so than in most other countries in the world. But never have I seen rich and poor so close together, or so accepting of each other. The difference is, here the poor are employed by the rich: anyone who is anyone has at least a chauffeur, a maid, a gardener, a nanny and a Filipino wife, and well the poor respect the rich because they pay their wages. I suppose this is part of the new system, but hardly anyone in Hong Kong is unemployed. There is a job for everyone, and if there's not then one is created. A new skyscraper is built or a new tunnel dug and the city continues to expand. Hong Kong's development is in the opinions of many, spiralling out of control. Its only a matter of time before the star ferry will no longer be needed as the island will cease to be an island. Even now more land is being reclaimed for another huge building.

Central is obviously stunning to look at, and for a wannabe civil engineer about the best place in the world. However, Chinese or cultural it is not. And to top off my cultural tour of Central I went for a Macdonald's, yum. Actually not yum it's really discusting i'm never going to have one again. Oh and just in case you were worried about my health...

Good to see they've got it covered.

So to round up a rather long and rambling post, as I sit here listening to the Pulp Fiction Soundtrack and tucking into a fresh tube of Pringles. It's sometimes quite hard to believe im in China, moving just a mile or two through the city going from China to Monaco is quite strange, but I suppose thats Hong Kong... Strange.

So, we're still waiting for visas! How long can it take? And yes it's still hot.... Very Hot!

What have you got to look forward to soon. Well we need to go see the harbour light show, which may or may not produce some awsome photos. Also when we do eventually get our visas we have to leave the country and return to validate them (don't ask me...). So we're going to the Portugese colony Macau. There they have the biggest casino in the world and the biggest bungee jump in the world. It could be quite a trip!

See you soon.

Kenneth