Hong Kong 2007

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Day 9 - August 6, 2007

Mostly everyone had to participate in workshops but I had the day off - whoo hoo! :-)

I did some interesting things though. First, I made sure I got a good sleep. Even though everything has been very comfortable, I've found that I havent been sleeping all the way through the night each night. That and with the intense heat, my energy has been draining quickly. So I slept in a bit today to gear up for the day.

I decided that I would visit a tailor and have something made. Now, let me explain, you cannot take more than 10 steps on the street without someone coming up and asking you if need a tailor or want to buy a copy of a Rolex. So I picked one and just went in. What an experience! It was quite fun to pick out all the details of a suit and to plan to have something made just for you. He told me to come back in a few hours for the first fitting...what? A few hours? I was pretty skeptical, but I came back in a few hours and there was a basic suit ready for me to try on! Unbelievable.

This evening we have all been invited to dinner at a friend's house. This is really a small world. The couple who invited us are, Ram and Arman from Mumbai. Ram is the brother of a math teacher we knew from MSSD (Mohan) and Arman is the cousin of one of our affiliate artists (and good friend) Astad Deboo - by the way, Happy Belated Birthday Astad!!

Everyone got all dressed up and just before we left the hotel, it started pouring rain. We've been expecting rain since we got here but this was the first. There was a downpour for like 5 minutes, then it would stop. Hopefully, the rain will help cool things off. The rain seriously impacted our travel to Ram and Arman's place though. We took a bus that seemed to just creep through town. We were about an hour late. Their home is absolutely beautiful. It is on the 16th floor and has a stunning view. It would rain off and on during the evening, and the skyline would literally disappear from view as if someone had turned off the light switch. Then a few minutes later, it would reappear. The rain didnt put a damper on our good time. We were treated to delicious Indian food and drink and everyone throughly enjoyed themselves.

It was after midnight as we made our way back to the hotel (in a taxi this time).

View from Ram and Arman's house

Day 10 - August 7, 2007

Today I decided to indulge my inner computer geek and explore the electronics in Hong Kong. I got on the MTR (the subway - which is quite a good system here actually) and went to Mong Kok in search of the Mong Kok Computer Center or a place called Sim City. [A quick side note about the subways: You can buy fare cards or a card like a smart card at home where you can just keep adding money to it. The fares are based on distance but the average fare is like .50 cents. Another cool thing about the cards (they are called Octopus cards) is that you can use them to buy stuff from shops in the stations and from places like 7-11 anywhere in the city.]

I have to say that finding Sim City was quite a task. I knew I was close and I must have circled the block a dozen times looking for it. I kept coming to this street (Nathan Road) which you cant easily cross except at certain places, so you have to walk like 10 blocks to get to a crossing point and then walk 10 back. Daunting in the middle of the day in the heat. I kept asking people who seemed to be sending me in circles. I was just about to give up when I asked one vendor in a pharmacy. He laughed and pointed across the side street. Right there in front of me. Ok, this place was incredible. Anything you can possibly want related to computers, accessories, peripherals, software, you name it. Over her, one popular item is blank DVDs with things printed on them like Hello Kitty or cartoon characters. I found DVDs with cows printed on them!! (I love cow stuff) So I was able to leave Sim City with a reasonable purchase (not like a whole computer or anything).

I then made my way to the Kowloon Walled City Park. This park is one of the most picturesque parks in Hong Kong but started its life as a fort. It was levelled during World War II and this ghetto developed in its place. It was a magnet for pornograhers, drug addicts, and rats the size of small dogs...I couldn't miss seeing a place like that! You would have no idea of that now by the looks of it.

A pavilion at Kowloon Walled City Park	Monument at the East Gate entrance the park
Zodiac garden	The pig!
Menu choice....ack!	That seafood is REALLY fresh when they bring it to the table
We chose a few basic items...beef, chicken, corn, noodles	Paul the Hot Pot chef

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