Friday, August 06, 2004
Dancing with prostitutes
That's an interesting title eh! More later...
More impressions of Hong Kong
I thought that there were big billboards in China but they are dwarfed by the ones in Hong Kong. There are also lots of neon light signs (like in Japan) which look very effective when looking down the narrow streets.
The MRT (underground) is spotless. Steven's theory is that if you keep something really clean then the people will respect it more. The english Oyster card was modelled off the HK Octopus card. We got a tourist one for 3 days travel and an Airport express trip. There is air con in the trains and mobile phone coverage.
Aberdeen Bay, China Bank view and Victoria Peak
On Thursday we first went to Aberdeen Bay for a San Pan ride. This was relaxing and we could get a good view of the fishing boats and flash yachts. The Bank of China building is very flash and tall so we took the lift to the 43rd floor (about half way up) to check out the view. There is also a good view from Victoria Peak. We took the tram (which was quite steep) up for a look. As well as the lookout platform there are shops, restaurants and attractions, including Madame Tussauds, at the top. We enjoyed the view (mostly of skyscrapers and apartment buildings) and then settled down for an English lunch. After lunching and chatting for some time we went into a Jade store to learn more about how to look for good quality. Jade is lucky for the Chinese and is considered a gem stone like diamonds etc. You can tell if the jade is good by the quality of the colour and if it is translucent. The prices can vary greatly. Too expensive for Rae and I. Like a lot of the things over here and in China, they look good in the Asian context but I'm not sure if it's really my personal style. Maybe one day I'll buy a nice piece. I do feel that this trip has made me feel more Chinese. Or should I say, I identify more with my Chinese heritage. That night we went to dinner with the parents of two boys who stayed with Aunty Pauline in Dunedin. Alden had some interesting and funny anecdotes about his experience's as a foreign student in NZ.
Drinking in Hong Kong
After dinner we went down the road for a drink. The first bar we went to had a lot of ex pats in it. And, to Rae's great fright, huge cockroaches! The whole street was lined with stripper bars. We found, what we thought to be a normal bar with a covers band. The band were very good and played all the latest hits. The bar was full of white men and Thai prostitutes. I guess we could tell their purpose from their revealing clothing and the fact that they weren't with friends. They just stood around waiting for men to buy them drinks. At first Rae and I didn't want to go for a boogy on the dance floor as we didn't want to be mistaken for working girls but after a while the dance floor filled up so we thought it would be ok. We had a great time doing funny dance moves and chatting with some of the girls. It was a bit yucky thinking about the men and knowing that many of them would have wives and families in their home countries. Steven said that many of the working girls find themselves in situations where being in the sex trade is the most advantageous. They may have had philandering husbands who had left them with children to look after but no skills for decent work. It seems unfair to judge them when you don't know the full back story of how they came to do what they do. They seemed very nice and enjoyed seeing Rae and I's silly dance moves. Rae and I were thinking of a song to request and decided on 'Shut up' by Black Eyed Peas. But we didn't have to request it because as soon as we had decided the bank started playing it! Crazy.
Monsoon weather, flower and bird markets
On Friday we got to experience monsoon like weather. The rain was heavy and lasted for a long time. We went to the Kowloon side of HK and started shopping but in the end ducked into a restaurant for lunch. After that we split up. Steven, Brian and I went to the flower and bird markets. On the way we tried some exotic looking fruits. I was hesitant at first after trying Durian in Malaysia but needn't have worried. Both tasted sweet and yummy. One had white flesh with tiny black spots, which was mildly sweet, and had the texture of a kiwifruit. The flesh of the other looked like bits of garlic but tasted very sweet, The flower markets were full of beautiful flowers, some of which I'd never seen before. The bird market had many pretty birds and bags full of locusts and crickets (food for the birds). Steven said that birds where popular pets in HK as they do not require a lot of space. I guess the same would be true for fish as well. That night we went to the area with all the flash bars for ex pats. It was chocka!
Shopping, Aqua spectacular and Star ferry
Times Square is a big flash shopping mall. We wandered around and Rae bought a cell phone for Steve and another pair of shoes. We had Sushi for lunch in the food hall and then took the tram for a different perspective on the area. In the evening we went to the famous Temple St Markets. It was interesting walking around but there wasn't much quality stuff for you to buy, in fact there was some very dodgy stuff as the markets are close to the red light district. There were also a lot of fortune tellers, strangely enough they were all men. Rae bought some souveneirs. We headed down to the water front to see the free Aqua Spectacular. This was a fountain, pyrotechnics, laser and fireworks show with images of HK for the Shopping Festival. We oohed and ahhed along with everyone. Then went to enjoy the view of the HK skyline on the Star Ferry.
More impressions of Hong Kong
I thought that there were big billboards in China but they are dwarfed by the ones in Hong Kong. There are also lots of neon light signs (like in Japan) which look very effective when looking down the narrow streets.
The MRT (underground) is spotless. Steven's theory is that if you keep something really clean then the people will respect it more. The english Oyster card was modelled off the HK Octopus card. We got a tourist one for 3 days travel and an Airport express trip. There is air con in the trains and mobile phone coverage.
Aberdeen Bay, China Bank view and Victoria Peak
On Thursday we first went to Aberdeen Bay for a San Pan ride. This was relaxing and we could get a good view of the fishing boats and flash yachts. The Bank of China building is very flash and tall so we took the lift to the 43rd floor (about half way up) to check out the view. There is also a good view from Victoria Peak. We took the tram (which was quite steep) up for a look. As well as the lookout platform there are shops, restaurants and attractions, including Madame Tussauds, at the top. We enjoyed the view (mostly of skyscrapers and apartment buildings) and then settled down for an English lunch. After lunching and chatting for some time we went into a Jade store to learn more about how to look for good quality. Jade is lucky for the Chinese and is considered a gem stone like diamonds etc. You can tell if the jade is good by the quality of the colour and if it is translucent. The prices can vary greatly. Too expensive for Rae and I. Like a lot of the things over here and in China, they look good in the Asian context but I'm not sure if it's really my personal style. Maybe one day I'll buy a nice piece. I do feel that this trip has made me feel more Chinese. Or should I say, I identify more with my Chinese heritage. That night we went to dinner with the parents of two boys who stayed with Aunty Pauline in Dunedin. Alden had some interesting and funny anecdotes about his experience's as a foreign student in NZ.
Drinking in Hong Kong
After dinner we went down the road for a drink. The first bar we went to had a lot of ex pats in it. And, to Rae's great fright, huge cockroaches! The whole street was lined with stripper bars. We found, what we thought to be a normal bar with a covers band. The band were very good and played all the latest hits. The bar was full of white men and Thai prostitutes. I guess we could tell their purpose from their revealing clothing and the fact that they weren't with friends. They just stood around waiting for men to buy them drinks. At first Rae and I didn't want to go for a boogy on the dance floor as we didn't want to be mistaken for working girls but after a while the dance floor filled up so we thought it would be ok. We had a great time doing funny dance moves and chatting with some of the girls. It was a bit yucky thinking about the men and knowing that many of them would have wives and families in their home countries. Steven said that many of the working girls find themselves in situations where being in the sex trade is the most advantageous. They may have had philandering husbands who had left them with children to look after but no skills for decent work. It seems unfair to judge them when you don't know the full back story of how they came to do what they do. They seemed very nice and enjoyed seeing Rae and I's silly dance moves. Rae and I were thinking of a song to request and decided on 'Shut up' by Black Eyed Peas. But we didn't have to request it because as soon as we had decided the bank started playing it! Crazy.
Monsoon weather, flower and bird markets
On Friday we got to experience monsoon like weather. The rain was heavy and lasted for a long time. We went to the Kowloon side of HK and started shopping but in the end ducked into a restaurant for lunch. After that we split up. Steven, Brian and I went to the flower and bird markets. On the way we tried some exotic looking fruits. I was hesitant at first after trying Durian in Malaysia but needn't have worried. Both tasted sweet and yummy. One had white flesh with tiny black spots, which was mildly sweet, and had the texture of a kiwifruit. The flesh of the other looked like bits of garlic but tasted very sweet, The flower markets were full of beautiful flowers, some of which I'd never seen before. The bird market had many pretty birds and bags full of locusts and crickets (food for the birds). Steven said that birds where popular pets in HK as they do not require a lot of space. I guess the same would be true for fish as well. That night we went to the area with all the flash bars for ex pats. It was chocka!
Shopping, Aqua spectacular and Star ferry
Times Square is a big flash shopping mall. We wandered around and Rae bought a cell phone for Steve and another pair of shoes. We had Sushi for lunch in the food hall and then took the tram for a different perspective on the area. In the evening we went to the famous Temple St Markets. It was interesting walking around but there wasn't much quality stuff for you to buy, in fact there was some very dodgy stuff as the markets are close to the red light district. There were also a lot of fortune tellers, strangely enough they were all men. Rae bought some souveneirs. We headed down to the water front to see the free Aqua Spectacular. This was a fountain, pyrotechnics, laser and fireworks show with images of HK for the Shopping Festival. We oohed and ahhed along with everyone. Then went to enjoy the view of the HK skyline on the Star Ferry.
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