hong kong

[rone]

I just dropped HK$40 for an hour of wireless access, however much that is in real money... ah, Internet access.

At touchdown, 05:35 local time, it was 24°C and clearly very humid, as the airplane windows fogged up as soon as we slowed down.  I got a brutal tension headache as a result of an improvised neck pillow (just because the universe is a safer place if you bring a towel doesn't mean that it'll be helpful in any application).

There are many very tall, very thin skyscrapers just outside the airport.  Behind them, there are many hills that remind me of the mountains surrounding Quito.

I'm waiting for the goddamned Starbucks to open at 07:00 (in about 15 minutes).  No, wait, it looks like it's open, i see a woman with Starbucks.  Caffeine, here i come!

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OK, now that i'm properly caffeinated (and got shafted by Starbucks for about 1 HK$ for paying with US$, grr), i must point out that there are posters all over the place that feature Damon Jones. Of all the big names in the NBA, why Damon Jones, i wonder?

OK, time to board for Singapore. Later.

Comments

[motis.livejournal.com]

Next time you're in the Kong, you can get free 'net time if you go to certain cafes and buy food, especially in Kowloon. Also, avoid net cafes that are upstairs... they tend to be more than just net cafes, by which I mean that while they will allow you to surf, it will be in a private room with a box of Kleenex and the, um, surfing assistant of your choice, which is rather an expensive if relatively novel and exciting way to read THE ORDER OF THE STICK.

Watch out for well-dressed Indian or Pakistani gentlemen in HK, as they all wish fervently to be your tailor. I had one follow me for three blocks once, and that was after I told him flat out that I wasn't interested in buying a suit, that I lived on the mainland and had a tailor there who could make me a suit for a tenth of what I would pay in Hong Kong, and that I wasn't really the type of guy who goes around wearing a suit anyway.

If you are walking down the sidewalk and see a strip club up ahead, give it a nice wide berth. They often post someone at the door (usually a woman) who will grab your sleeve and simply refuse to let go short of either violent effort on your part or capitulation, which leads to you being mysteriously responsible for a round of incredibly expensive drinks for a bunch of nekkid women who will subsequently remain mysteriously sober.

If you need a hotel and aren't on too much of a budget, the Metropark on Causeway Bay is pretty nice, and they have a swimming pool on the roof that will make you feel like a god. When I was there, nobody used the pool at all except me, and the view is absolutely stunning. I had the staff bringing me beer while I floated around enjoying myself, and they forgot to charge me for the beer.

If you are on a tight budget, you can find some pretty cheap rooms, but you won't like them much. Frankly the best advice I have for anyone on a tight budget is to stay the hell out of Hong Kong entirely unless you're just there for the day to get a visa for the Mainland, where everything is immensely cheaper and a thousand times dirtier.