Hong Kong

When I booked my ticket to Hong Kong for the beginning of September, the idea was that I would be starting an internship there. For various reasons, the internship did not work out. I was disappointed, but not overly upset about it. While in Hong Kong, I even sent off some applications for other work, and even had an interview for some finance roles. Evidently, however, seeking financial jobs in one of the financial capitals of the world during a global financial crises is not an easy undertaking. That's why at some point, I decided I had two options - I could head back home, disappointed about the way the work situation played out; Or I could lift my head up and keep travelling. Afterall, there was still so much I wanted to see, and once I got back home, it would cost thousands to fly to these places from Canada, rather than hundreds (more often less than a hundred actually). I still had money in the bank, and was in a good position to keep the travelling going.

So I enjoyed Hong Kong once I was able to accept the second option. Hong Kong is an amazing city that has that exotic feeling you get while being in a foreign country, but also has a distinctly western feel to it at the same time which makes it comfortable. When I arrived in Hong Kong, I took the ultra efficient high speed train to Hong Kong Island, wher I met up with my buddy Matt, who I'd met in Vietnam a few weeks earlier. He had recently started going to university there, and had just moved into his temporary apartment. He let me stay at his place for the first night while I got my bearings sorted out. We ended going out for a night on the town, even though it was a Wednesday night. We met up with a few other university kids and it was a solid night. The next day I was looking at apartments, and managed to find one for rent on a weekly basis. It was a small bachelor suite but it was perfectly located close to all the action. And it had a big screen TV with ice cold AC, so I was sold. I moved in that very day! Easy to do when everything you own is in a backpack. It was good to hang up all my clothes and get some kind of stability, even if it was only for a week. At this point, I even had 2 tailor made suits with me that I had bought in Bangkok just before coming to Hong Kong. These suits were mint!

Anyways, I did a lot of big city stuff that one would normally do while in a place like Hong Kong - shopping, late nights on the town in LKF (awesome area downtown where there are loads of pubs and bars full of expats), and trying the local Chinese food (which I didn't like - a little bland and too much seafood fishy type stuff). So I won't write about these too much.

After the week at my temporary apartment was up, I moved North up to the New Territories to stay with Clare, a fellow Couchsurfer. She had a beautiful little apartment with nice views of the surrounding mountains. I couldn't believe how nice and green everything was once you get out of the concrete jungle of the city centre. Clare also showed me around to some amazing restaurants that somewhat redeemed my opinion of the local food. Also, while Clare was away at work, she let me use her bike to explore the area. There was a beautiful trail that went all along the ocean (well, it was a river feeding into the ocean) that I rode, which took most of the day. It was great - cruising along the trail, listening to the entirety of David Cross's hilarious "Why I Drink" on my MP3 player, where he gives his observations on the ridiculousness of the behaviour of people and groups/cults/countries. That night, I even convinced Clare to play me in badminton since her complex had a court on site. Even though it was dark and even rainy at times, we still managed to get some pretty solid rallies in - she was damn good! It turns out she played regularly with friends, and had even taken lessons. I still managed to hold my own though. The last day spent with Clare involved a trip to Lamma Island, which is just a short ferry ride from Hong Kong Island. We grabbed some ice cream, lunch, and then did a treck in the sweltering heat of the day. Good thing I had a litre of water with me because I'm sure I sweat that much out. Clare however seemed completely unaffected by the heat. She referred to my skin as being like a fur which had been created through many winters of disgustingly cold winters in Winnipeg. It's probably true, and it's why I don't think I could ever live in a place that was consistently that hot.

Hong Kong is an awesome city, and I can't wait to go back. The time I go it will be in late November, and I'll be with my Dad and his wife Benna!