Anywhooo, my continuing adventures on Hong Kong island.
Starting with the good points:
Hong Kong is cleeaaaan, there is no spitting, there is no smoking (in fact any behaviour deemed to be even mildly anti-social is punished with an instant 5000 $HK fine); they seem to have found a way to aircondition large outdoor areas and its probably the most pedestrian friendly place I've ever been. You can walk from one side of the island to another without having to cross a street by way of subways and overpasses (all airconditioned). The harbour is serviced by cheap (if slow) ferries, and apparently the bus and metro system is just peachy.
The bad point:
The entire place is basically one gigantic shopping mall. And whilst 'anything' can be purchased, sometimes its best to remain ignorant as to exactly what 'anything' means.
To wile away the days waiting for various visas to process (I was later sternly admonished by the owner of my hostel for not using her overnight service), my temporary travel buddy Will and I did Various Touristy Things™ including ascending the Viewing Tower On a Hill Thing™ (housing a branch of Madame Tussaude's, and designed so that as you ascend each floor, you have to walk through a slew of Touristy Crap Shops™).
The view from the top:
The view from the top again, slightly obscured by a sweaty guy:
The port, showing that unique Chinese flair for 'organisation'
Other Touristy Must-do's™ are the Hong Kong walk of fame, paying homage to various Taiwanese and Hong Kong movie stars that China likes to claim. I don't know exactly who this guy is, but I have a definite contender for the name of my firstborn:
In conclusion, Hong Kong loves pandas:
Does not love theoretical physicists with Lou Gehrig's disease:
And is nice to look at in a City Scapey Sort of Way™.
If anyone is actually still reading this, I'll have a post up about Buddhisty Tourist Traps™ tomorrow. Promise.
(And I'll let the Dumb TradeMark Gag™ die. )
4 comments:
Dude! Run Run Shaw produced some of the greatest martial arts films to emerge out of Asia in the 60s and 70s. He also helped produce BLADE RUNNER. He's the owner of TVB Hong Kong as well.
Name your first born after him, for sure. Be sure to name the second-born after his brother, Runme Shaw (no joke).
I call dibs on Sir Run Run Shaw! Best Name Ever
Jenna - future mother of Sir Run Run Shaw
oddly enough I watched Blade Runner last night. I'm not sure if Runme got a star.
Run Run Shaw's Shaw Bros. studios netted him a huge and healthy profit and his charitable endeavors are probably what got him an MBE back in the colonial days.
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