Monday, October 09, 2006
I'll be home tomorrow...
I'll probably still have things to say about China and my trip, so stay tuned...
Mid Autumn Festival
Friday was Mid Autumn Festival (by the Chinese Lunar calandar). That didn't make much difference to me but it happens to be the day I'm going to write about. I was expecting to say that I had had a tough day, going to Shenzhen for a massage. And shopping. Oh, and eating... But our little outing wasn't quite what we expected.
We were going to go for the afternoon and come back in the evening since it isn't really that far away. We went over the border, spent some time looking at shops then met up with one of Phil's friends and his girlfriend and had dinner. After dinner suddenly the talk was of going to the beach. What? OK, we let them convince us. We ended up taking a taxi out of the main city area to where the beach is. There we had to buy cheap shorts to swim in, pay to enter the beach area and pay for a locker. On the beach there were lots of people, with a few in the water, and a giant TV screen showing a movie (which you had to turn your back on the water to see). All a bit strange. Especially since it was around midnight. Phil thought swimming in Shenzhen was much more scary than swimming in HK so I only went in a bit past my knees. I'm not really sure the point of the place. For someone who lives in Sydney I can accept that the beach is a nice place to go, any time of day or night. But to pay? To sit on the sand and watch a movie? To sit at a table and play cards? China...
Were we still going for a massage? Yep :) We took a taxi back to town and had our massage. At about 3am. Quite pleasent :) Face and back and legs. And I got to practice my Mandarin too. But we also got a good deal. The massage took place in a small room with a single bed (so we were all in different rooms and afterwards they give you a doona and let you sleep there. For no extra cost. So we ended up staying the night and coming back to HK the next day. Which was good because the massage finished at 4am. (Yeah, I was sleepy all weekend.)
We were going to go for the afternoon and come back in the evening since it isn't really that far away. We went over the border, spent some time looking at shops then met up with one of Phil's friends and his girlfriend and had dinner. After dinner suddenly the talk was of going to the beach. What? OK, we let them convince us. We ended up taking a taxi out of the main city area to where the beach is. There we had to buy cheap shorts to swim in, pay to enter the beach area and pay for a locker. On the beach there were lots of people, with a few in the water, and a giant TV screen showing a movie (which you had to turn your back on the water to see). All a bit strange. Especially since it was around midnight. Phil thought swimming in Shenzhen was much more scary than swimming in HK so I only went in a bit past my knees. I'm not really sure the point of the place. For someone who lives in Sydney I can accept that the beach is a nice place to go, any time of day or night. But to pay? To sit on the sand and watch a movie? To sit at a table and play cards? China...
Were we still going for a massage? Yep :) We took a taxi back to town and had our massage. At about 3am. Quite pleasent :) Face and back and legs. And I got to practice my Mandarin too. But we also got a good deal. The massage took place in a small room with a single bed (so we were all in different rooms and afterwards they give you a doona and let you sleep there. For no extra cost. So we ended up staying the night and coming back to HK the next day. Which was good because the massage finished at 4am. (Yeah, I was sleepy all weekend.)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Tim in HK
As you should know I am now in HK. The point of this trip was to hang out with Phil so I'm not feeling guilty about having had a lazy time so far. Well, it's not like I've done nothing... I've been shopping :) (Are you excited? I bought a suit.)
Actually today we made an effort. Last night we went out to Lantau Island and stayed the night in a drug centre so we could make an early start this morning. Yes, proper early. We started walking at 7.30 with the aim of climbing the four highest peaks on the island (2nd - 5th in HK). Hot and humid but with good views from the top. (Since there hasn't been any topless pictures on this site for over a month I'll be posting pictures of the hike a bit later.) But on the way down from our 3rd peak I managed to roll my ankle and do some tendon or ligament damage (I heard something go 'pop'). We then had to (slowly) walk a few more km and descend 500m in altitude to the road. Yeah, I'm ok but I won't be doing too much walking tonight.
Actually today we made an effort. Last night we went out to Lantau Island and stayed the night in a drug centre so we could make an early start this morning. Yes, proper early. We started walking at 7.30 with the aim of climbing the four highest peaks on the island (2nd - 5th in HK). Hot and humid but with good views from the top. (Since there hasn't been any topless pictures on this site for over a month I'll be posting pictures of the hike a bit later.) But on the way down from our 3rd peak I managed to roll my ankle and do some tendon or ligament damage (I heard something go 'pop'). We then had to (slowly) walk a few more km and descend 500m in altitude to the road. Yeah, I'm ok but I won't be doing too much walking tonight.
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