Back to the Future

Hong Kong Skyline
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so. sorry for the barrage of email updates but we just emerged from the technological black hole that is vietnam and cambodia. and so, there is lots to catch you up on starting with hong kong. we are both still rockin' it here in SE Asia and over halfway done with the megamoon. it's so hard to believe!

in short, hong kong is what we thought tokyo would be.  

it very well may be the most dramatic city in the world- the tall skinny skyscrapers form a steel and glass grand canyon around a beautiful bay packed with cargo ships, cruise liners and old chinese wooden junks with huge red sails which slip soundlessly though the chaos. this britishly flavoured place is complete with london style cabs, swanky bars and restaurants and the rampant capitalism of knightsbridge. the skyline here is infinite and illuminates the night sky with creativity, energy and an international pulse of it's own. now THIS is a rockin' place. we could both definitely live here.

How we role!!
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we arrived here after a grueling overnight bus/train/ferry/cab ride from china and collapse in CJ's guest room for a nap. CJ is a friend of angelo's cousin who has generously offered to let us stay with him for the week. He also happens to be a pilot for Cathay Pacific and i have to say, i'm a little mad at my uncle Mark Hall for not telling us that being a pilot was the greatest job in the world ever. CJ and all his pilot friends have chosen Hong Kong as their base- they fly 12 days a month and the rest of the time is theirs. they also take "temp bases" throughout the year, living in costa rica for three months to surf, then moving to whistler for the winter to ski. they spend the weekends golfing in rome or wine tasting in buenos aires and then come back to hong kong when they want some down time. what the heck? i think i missed my calling!

Cab anybody?
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anyway, we got spoiled during our time here. a welcome basket on arrival at his highrise flat, amazing food, great wine and a very accomodating tour guide. hong kong is an epicenter for banking and trading and this city is hugely impressive with its winding roads cluttered with new ferraries, rolls and mercedes. there are glass homes built on cliffs and CJ's friend Missy told us her brother-in-law used to live here in a town house on the ocean and paid $30,000. usd A MONTH for rent- good God! In this city of 7 million, there are 1 million expats so there are actually two whole districts of bars, restaurants and shops aiming to please every aussie, brit, german and frenchy. the expat community here is made up of a ton of bankers, brokers, pilots and teachers and there seems to be a ton to do and loads of interesting people to meet.

City Lights
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the buildings here are built on such huge hills that to get you back from the soho bars and restaurants you can take a series of 20 outdoor escalators which get you back up to the neighborhood called mid-levels. the architecture here is the most creative and futuristic bladerunner-type buildings i have ever seen. i kept expecting to see george, jane, judy and elroy speed by me in a hover craft! and in the shadow of these jetson towers are weepy willow trees and chinese markets with fruit and dried fish and ladies cooking noodles in the alleys! what a crazy magic juxtaposition of old and new folded nicely into one futuristic asian enchilada!

our entire 5 days here was a blur of suspended backpacker reality while we played with CJ and his friends racing around in a beamer converible, wake boarding on their ski boat and being served seabreezes and satay on a yaght for the day. yesssssssss dahhhling,absolutely brilliant! (i had to remind angelo that THIS was how i am meant to roll- hellooooo.)

It will be interesting to see how hong kong's re-absorbtion by china effects it in the future. it also makes you think about where China would be today if it had been capitalist instead of communist. i think we'de all be speaking some form of mandarin or cantonese. hong kong gets a two thumbs up from both of us- everybody wang chung tonight and we'll see you in Vietnam!

over and out. j&a