[Hong Kong] Day of rest

Well I am having a well deserved and needed day of rest today - all I need to do is go and pick up my VISA. Fingers crossed that it is all sorted and OK.

I have been doing lots of crazy things and wandering around the city like a madman. The streets are never quiet and the ferries are so cheap that I have had time to go across to Lantau island for a hike up the 2nd highest Peak in Hong Kong and to visit the Buddhist monastery where there is a giant 200ton Bronze buddha on the top of a mountain.

I have been eating lots of different types of food - you seem to be able to get anything here, from Cantonese 'Dim Sum' (a special breakfast made up of lots of different dishes which vary in size and ingredients) to Mongolian buffet, Nepalese curries and simple noodle dishes for about 5pounds a meal (with tea!)

I don't have enough time now to tell you all the things I've been getting up to but I certainly haven't been idle.

I have spent 2 hours in a random tea shop drinking tea with the English speaking owner and discussing the best way to make it etc etc. I have been to the HK history museum where they have exhibits if Chinese tradional festivals and show you the history of HK from as far back as 400000000 years ago!

I have been riding ferries to and from Kowloon, visiting the Walled garden with its pagodas and fountains and getting lost in the seemingly endless metropolis of street markets and shopping malls.

I have seconds left on the internet so bye bye for now....!!!

[Mt Davis, Hong Kong] Phew!

Well I have arrived well and safe. Thanks to Oasis Hong Kong for a completely uneventful flight with 'interesting' in-flight meals. The fish curry was good, the noodles with asparagus(?) not so good. Anyhow - I'm in Hong Kong and to some it up in one word I'd have to go for 'nuts'. Crazy, manic, doolally and other such terms would also fit!

There are a lot of people here. There are a lots of cars here. There are a lot of skyscrapers here. And it's all on top of each other and the walkways / road / trams / ferry terminals and MTR (tube) lines all intertwine with each other making it very hard to get to where you want to be. Although I am getting used to it now. I have spent some time wandering around the Central district with its cluttered shops, noodle bars and international restaurants. Prada shops pop out of malls in the bottom of skyscapers and I also rode the longest escalator in the world - 800metres. It took me too far up though so I have to walk down a bit after that.

Yesterday when I arrived I made an extra effort and caught the 'Star Ferry' across the bay from Kowloon to HK Island. It was a magnificent trip as the full moon rose above the infamous skyline. The skyscrapers light up with displays and adverts after dark and with the heat haze / smog HK Island has it's own glow of energy.

I'm feeling a little jet-lagged and went to the zoo to perk myself up. Saw some cool animals such as Orangutans, Gibbons and even a Jaguar. They were all in cages and all pretty sedate. Zoos ennit.

Hong Kong Park was fascinating as I saw loads of different people there from the local communtiy. A bride and groom were having their wedding photos taken there and recent graduates posed around the artificial lake for photos and so on. It seems that the people of Hong Kong value greenery and 'parkland', despite the fact that there is no greenery and parkland around the city at all as far as I can tell. The Park and the Zoo have been the only places with trees so far!

I have applied and paid for my Chinese VISA. All being well I will be able to pick it up next Tuesday. I have also booked myself a hard sleeper bunk on the train to Shanghai next Friday. This is going to be an awesome train journey as half of China rolls past me en route - and it's a long trip too. I think around 23 hours!

Over and out for now... I must sleep!

[Kettering, UK] Uh Oh

So today I went to pick up some Yuan from the post office in Northampton. I get to the post office, and I'm enjoying my Oliver Adams cup of tea and Oliver Adams apple dough-nut whilst waiting for the foreign exchange clerk.

She arrives.

I ask her for the Yuan I have ordered.

She doesn't have any Yuan.

I am adamant that I stood in the very same spot and ordered £400 worth of Yuan.

She doesn't have any.

I panic...

...then I remember that actually, I'm not in the wrong spot, talking to the wrong person, or even on the wrong day...

...I'm asking for the wrong currency. HK$ were from the Post Office and I must pick up the Yuan from Thomas Cook in Kettering.

So I ask myself: How will I even begin to cope in China when I can't even cope in England?

[Kettering, UK] The deep breath before the plunge...

So my last weekend in the UK comes to a slow but inevitable end. A super-massive huge gigantic special thank you to everyone who made it to my farewell shindig on Saturday. Having all my best friends together for fun and frolics (despite disappointing sports results) is always the greatest thing. I love you all, and I will miss you all.

Today I have started a new pile of things to go in my bag. Now there are two piles and one empty bag. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow I will have a good idea of how much I'll be able to take and what I might have to leave behind. I seem to have a steadily increasing supply of medication building up - mostly down to the fact that the NHS doctors advise you to take anything you might need because Chinese pharmacies might only offer Chinese medicinal remedies. Maybe if I just drink plenty of tea I'll be fine.

Talking of tea...

[Kettering, UK] One week to go!

Time is ticking along!...

My room is piled high with unorganized mess and a slowly growing collection of stuff to take. Packing for all seasons is going to be a challenge... it is 28 degrees in Hong Kong at the moment but could fall as low as 1 degree in Shanghai towards the end of November.

I currently have no idea where I will be after I finish the TEFL course (Nov 30th). If I am in the North then it will be freezing (-15 degrees), if I'm in the South (Yunnan etc), it could be as warm as 24 degrees all winter! It's just one of the countless examples of how China is a country of huge contrasts! Basically I am supposed to be finding a school to teach in after the TEFL course. However, I think that because of the Winter Holiday which includes Chinese New Year and spans from January through to mid February I will be better off starting a teaching job after the break. I am more likely to get a 'proper' job rather than just a random teaching / foreigner-stuck-in-a-school-somewhere job.

China internationally:
For an insight in to the current turbulent politic climate in China see here.

The Americans have awarded the The Dalai Lama, (exiled Tibetan leader) the highest civilian honour Congress can give, stirring up outrage amongst the Chinese Communist Party. Tibet poses a massive challenge to me because of the reluctance the Chinese have of Westerners traveling there independently. No doubt things will get harder as time goes on as well!