香港 (Hong Kong)

I finally made it to Hong Kong!  Jess, Angie, and I got our official work permits on Wednesday, so on Saturday, along with Amanda, we made the trip to Hong Kong.

We caught a bus to the ferry terminal and got the 8:45 ferry.  You might remember that it takes about an hour to travel between Hong Kong and Macau, and this time, the trip was much more enjoyable - I was more awake than last time (even without my morning cup of coffee), and I could see out the windows.  There certainly is a lot of water traffic between Macau and HK, and there are also many islands.  The one pictured below looked like it must have been privately owned as a resort.

Upon arrival at the Hong Kong terminal, we had to go through customs, which didn't take long at all.  It made me think, though, about getting some more pages in my passport.  Now that I can, I'll often want to hop over to Hong Kong or go up to Zhuhai, and each time I cross the border, I'll receive a series of stamps from both sides.  I think I have five clean pages left, so I better get a move on!

Hong Kong itself put me in mind of being back in Beijing as far as the hustle and bustle of the city and the crowds of people.  That's where the similarities stopped, though.  It was immediately obvious that Hong Kong has a much more international population.  I didn't receive any stares, all people working in retail spoke English, and more than one person said "Excuse me" as they passed.  It shouldn't have been surprising that Hong Kong is also more international in its business; but when I saw a Bank of America skyscraper, I immediately had the sensation that I was in America, and for the one-hundredth time asked myself if I was in China anymore.

Hong Kong, like the other business capital of China, Shanghai, has absolutely no bicycles.  Additionally, there were lots and lots of double-decker buses.  The city itself and the surrounding suburbs are built on somewhat rolling, somewhat steep hills, so those who don't have a car (the majority of the population) take the public transportation (i.e. the subway or buses).  There were a few times when we had to climb some stairs or a steep sidewalk and I could definitely feel the burn.

My shopping excursions took me to H&M (for clothes that look like an adult would wear them and fit over my hips), IKEA (for cheap home furnishings), and to a series of malls.  The last mall-stop included going to a movie theater and watching Contagion.  Parts of the movie were filmed in Hong Kong and Macau, so when I left, I felt that I was still in the movie!

At the end of the day, it was refreshing to be back in a major metropolis, but when my feet were hurting and I was overwhelmed from people-watching, it was even more refreshing to realize I could go back home to cozy little Macau.

Interestingly, on my ferry-ride home, as I was reading my travel book, I realized more than ever that Macau is an under-appreciated place.  About 3/4 of my travel book was devoted to Hong Kong and what it is like to live there, while the part about Macau was just about sight-seeing and casino-hopping.  It made me a little sad that Macau is overlooked.  There really is a lot more to Macau than casinos!

We ended up getting back to the Macau ferry terminal in time to catch the last bus home (just before midnight).  My friend, the panda, was waiting to welcome me home. :)