Leaving Hong Kong
Oct. 7th, 2007 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthSitting in a Pacific Coffee Company (I get internet in PCC and Starbucks, so have been spending time in both; Starbucks has better deserts - much better than back home - but PCC has better tea, and since I'm running entirely on tea since I got here, I favor PCC. ;) ) trying not to stress out about flying tomorrow, I thought I'd tie up my trip here.
Located in Central - sort of - is a nice large park, which contains a Museum of Teaware, a Conservatory, an Aviary, and a zoo. Given the proximity of all of these things, I figured I'd do them all together, which went happily as planned. Hong Kong continues to impress me with how nice their public facilities, museums, etc. are, and amaze me that every single attraction I just listed is free. The teaware museum had a very interest exhibit of recent Hong Kong pottery, much of which was lovely, along with the antiques, and after some debate I got myself a small porcelain tea set with koi (coi??) painted on it. The Aviary was beautiful too, a huge, open net with tons of birds in it. Sadly, few of the really amazing ones posed for me - though I got flashes of bright red and green as birds flew around, most of the ones that made themselves easily photographed were relatively dull. However, the birds in the zoo made up for it by posing very nicely, and I got some good shots there. The zoo was mostly an aviary, though it had a large primate exhibit too - the monkeys, sadly, were not as cooperative as the birds. There was also a STUNNING orchid conservatory...I love orchids!! (while reading about Singapore today, I discovered they have not one but two orchid gardens, I'm excited.) All in all, it made a nice day, though it didn't take as long as I expected, so I did something else I wanted to do: grabbed the tram - the easy way - back up Victoria Peak. There were a lot of paths there that I didn't get to explore, so I climbed to the highest point on the mountain (thank god the wind had died down since last time!!) and took some photos, but they're lackluster because it was pretty hazy. I haven't mentioned it, but it's pretty much permanently hazy here (except for yesterday, which is a story I'll tell in a moment) and 90+ degrees. Every day I walk even a little I end up feeling like I've bathed in sweat, the moreso because I'm toting my computer in it's backpack everywhere - no way I'm leaving it in my room. ;) Anyway, Victoria Peak redux was quite nice. I found a path I doubt any one has been on in ages, and it was really beautiful, but unfortunately I ended up running most of it, because dusk was falling and I didn't know where the path went and it was unlit - I was worried it would dead end, and I'd have to go all the way back - up hill, since I'd gone down the first time - in the dark by myself. This seemed like a bad idea. ;) Fortunately, the path actually let out exactly where I needed it to - if I'd known that to begin with, I would have taken a more leisurely pace.
After that, I caught the tram back down, spotted a pair of shoes that were way to expensive but that I really wanted, decided I would try them on if the place was still open when I got out of dinner, and ate my Cantonese meal. The place was closed...I went home. ;)
I planned a very ambitious day for Saturday. The book mentioned beautiful views on a trail called the McLehose trail which skirts Hong Kong's main reservoir, hits the coast, and then proceeds across the head land - about 80 km in all, a two day hike. At about the third point, it hit Lion Rock, which apparently has stunning views of HK. I decided, after some debate, to tackle the start point to Lion Rock - about 15 miles, as far as I could tell (it turns out it's MUCH more ;) ).
The sun was blazing, the day was frighteningly clear, there was almost no shade, and it was blisteringly hot. I sweat so much in the first hour that it soaked a good four inches of my pants, and even the knees were wet from when they hit my leg each time I stepped. I did the first 8+ miles of the walk in two hours - signs conflict, one said it was 10km, but others said it was 19km, and I'm inclined to believe the second - which took me halfway around the reservoir. My water was out with no new source in sight, and I felt...not right. After a few minutes, I was able to defeat my stubbornness - never a good sign, if I can beat myself it's usually because I genuinely am worried. ;) I grabbed a cab back - about the only thing where I was was a stand where cabs come to pick up hikers. By the time I got back to the starting point, I knew something was wrong. I figured I was dehydrated, so I got a lot of water and little food and sat in the shade and enjoyed it. I had other things I wanted to do that day, but when the food and water didn't help, I fought a silent battle with myself which ended in the decision to ditch those plans and come back into the city. I spent the rest of the day wandering rather aimlessly, feeling like someone had beaten my head several times with a stick. That's not right. I can't really describe how it felt, except not good. I bopped in to my room, too, and got a look at myself in the mirror - you'd think with how much time I spend outside walking I wouldn't be able to get a sunburn, but I got a really bad one yesterday, definitely part of the problem. I decided to repeat another of my favorite activities - I went back to the Peninsula for tea (where the lady in front of me in line gasped in shock at the sunburn on my arm...) which was VERY pleasant and included the biggest, and one of the best, slices of cheesecake I've ever had. ;)
I felt awful, though, so after that I just meandered through some shopping areas and hung out and found quiet places to read until dinner, when I wanted to get Korean, only to discover the place I wanted to go was out of business. I got Australian instead (I ate kangaroo meat, among others!) which was very tasty. I headed home, discovered my air conditioner had broken, decided I probably was heat sick, and decided I'd probably take it easy on Sunday.
Though there were still things I wanted to do, I decided to see how I felt in the morning. I didn't set an alarm - which meant that I got a solid 10+ hours of sleep despite the 86 degree temperature in my room (my alarm clock has a thermometer). Didn't feel like doin' anything when I got up, so I showered, finished "The Great Hunt" - earlier in the week I'd realized I was reading my RJ much to fast, and was forced to buy ANOTHER copy of Dragon Reborn because the copy I'd picked up in Japan...was in Japan, because I didn't think I'd read that much while I was away - I'm already 50 pages in to it, and will probably have to buy yet another copy of Shadow Rising, too, damn it all. I don't mind that as much as DR, though, because SR is my favorite book, whereas DR is my least favorite. ;)
After that, I headed out to Starbucks, got one of their utterly delicious green tea slushy things, and putzed around on the net. I wrote 1500 words (to make up for not having written yesterday due to the feeling-like-I'd-been-hit-by-a-car.) It was an effort of will not to do more - by the next time I post in LJ, my novel will be over 100k words, I stopped at just over 99k this morning.
I fought an internal battle. Since I arrived in Japan, I've been on the hunt for an awesome pair of boots: black, big and clunky enough to wear with goth punk clothes, but nice enough in a formal sense that I could use them for other stuff too. I've looked EVERYWHERE in Tokyo, except for the one place they might actually be - I haven't checked Harajuku, because I want to wear them to Harajuku, I want to goth up and go to the gothest place in Tokyo on a Sunday, THE day to be there. ;) So I haven't looked there, because I don't want to go until that time. Silly, I know. Anyway, I'd found pretty much nothing. I continued my quest here, and found two candidates. Both were more than I wanted to spend, but whatever. One was actually Timberland, and the other were from a designer boutique (guess which ones were more expensive). On Saturday, I tried on the Timberlands, and found they didn't really make the grade. I had told myself not even to do that much, but I realized that if I never tried them on, I'd always wonder. I usually don't like the ways shoes actually look, though, so the chances were high that if I DID try them, I wouldn't want them - which happened. The other pair, though, they were the question. They were VERY expensive, and I was afraid to try them. What if I really liked them? But the same answers came: if I didn't try them, I'd always wonder. So finally, I headed over to Central via the ferry and went and I tried them on.
They are the most awesome pair of boots ever. They're Italian leather, and they look like British military officer boots - they've got those button cover things and everything. I tried them on, and found them slightly tight in places, and slightly loose in places, but nothing that breaking in wouldn't fix. And they fit what I wanted to a tee - they'll look AWESOMELY goth if I dress right, and perfectly formal if I dress right - especially if I take the covers off. I fought another internal battle, and then decided to buy them. I was horrified to be dishing out over $3000 for ANYTHING, even if it was HK dollars (in US $ they were just over 400 bucks, still a terrifyingly large amount) but...well...they're PERFECT. I LOVE them. And they look hot on me. They are everything I want in a boot - hip looking, stylish, comfortable enough to walk in, enough of a heel to make me look taller, clunky, but not too clunk, and I can walk almost full speed in them - a rare thing in boots. So...I can afford it. I mean, it'll make this month tight...more than tight...but I've almost finished my Xmas shopping already, and my ticket to the states for December is already paid for, which means that I should be well in the green for money in the next couple of months, which means I can make up for over spending now easily, assuming nothing bad happens. And they're really, really great boots. ;) I'll post photos once I take some. For now, I haven't taken them off since I bought them. ;)
Anyway, after that foray into big budget shopping, I wandered around some of the more glitzy malls, bought nothing, and then went to the Peninsula for tea...again. I love their scones with jam, I just couldn't resist, it's not like I had anything else to do. Beyond that, today I did...nothing. It's been nice. I've read a ton about Singapore (so I won't have to do it tomorrow on the plane ;) ) had a long talk with the Brit's behind me in line for tea, ate more northern Chinese food, and generally had a relatively relaxing day. I think I needed it. ;)
Tomorrow I head from HK to Singapore. It looks like I can find an incredibly cheap (> US $10) dorm there, or spend about US $30 for a room, and I haven't decided which yet. Either way, multiple places appear to have internet, even in that price range, so I'm hoping to have more reliable access - at the moment, it's perfectly reliable, except that I have to go and get tea, and can only use my computer as long as the battery holds out. ;) Oh, and it turns out that Singapore's big attraction...is also shopping. And where China has embroidery, they have batiks and Indian cloth. Damn it, but that's tempting. ;) Ah well...good thing I have SOME money left, even after the boots. :)
Located in Central - sort of - is a nice large park, which contains a Museum of Teaware, a Conservatory, an Aviary, and a zoo. Given the proximity of all of these things, I figured I'd do them all together, which went happily as planned. Hong Kong continues to impress me with how nice their public facilities, museums, etc. are, and amaze me that every single attraction I just listed is free. The teaware museum had a very interest exhibit of recent Hong Kong pottery, much of which was lovely, along with the antiques, and after some debate I got myself a small porcelain tea set with koi (coi??) painted on it. The Aviary was beautiful too, a huge, open net with tons of birds in it. Sadly, few of the really amazing ones posed for me - though I got flashes of bright red and green as birds flew around, most of the ones that made themselves easily photographed were relatively dull. However, the birds in the zoo made up for it by posing very nicely, and I got some good shots there. The zoo was mostly an aviary, though it had a large primate exhibit too - the monkeys, sadly, were not as cooperative as the birds. There was also a STUNNING orchid conservatory...I love orchids!! (while reading about Singapore today, I discovered they have not one but two orchid gardens, I'm excited.) All in all, it made a nice day, though it didn't take as long as I expected, so I did something else I wanted to do: grabbed the tram - the easy way - back up Victoria Peak. There were a lot of paths there that I didn't get to explore, so I climbed to the highest point on the mountain (thank god the wind had died down since last time!!) and took some photos, but they're lackluster because it was pretty hazy. I haven't mentioned it, but it's pretty much permanently hazy here (except for yesterday, which is a story I'll tell in a moment) and 90+ degrees. Every day I walk even a little I end up feeling like I've bathed in sweat, the moreso because I'm toting my computer in it's backpack everywhere - no way I'm leaving it in my room. ;) Anyway, Victoria Peak redux was quite nice. I found a path I doubt any one has been on in ages, and it was really beautiful, but unfortunately I ended up running most of it, because dusk was falling and I didn't know where the path went and it was unlit - I was worried it would dead end, and I'd have to go all the way back - up hill, since I'd gone down the first time - in the dark by myself. This seemed like a bad idea. ;) Fortunately, the path actually let out exactly where I needed it to - if I'd known that to begin with, I would have taken a more leisurely pace.
After that, I caught the tram back down, spotted a pair of shoes that were way to expensive but that I really wanted, decided I would try them on if the place was still open when I got out of dinner, and ate my Cantonese meal. The place was closed...I went home. ;)
I planned a very ambitious day for Saturday. The book mentioned beautiful views on a trail called the McLehose trail which skirts Hong Kong's main reservoir, hits the coast, and then proceeds across the head land - about 80 km in all, a two day hike. At about the third point, it hit Lion Rock, which apparently has stunning views of HK. I decided, after some debate, to tackle the start point to Lion Rock - about 15 miles, as far as I could tell (it turns out it's MUCH more ;) ).
The sun was blazing, the day was frighteningly clear, there was almost no shade, and it was blisteringly hot. I sweat so much in the first hour that it soaked a good four inches of my pants, and even the knees were wet from when they hit my leg each time I stepped. I did the first 8+ miles of the walk in two hours - signs conflict, one said it was 10km, but others said it was 19km, and I'm inclined to believe the second - which took me halfway around the reservoir. My water was out with no new source in sight, and I felt...not right. After a few minutes, I was able to defeat my stubbornness - never a good sign, if I can beat myself it's usually because I genuinely am worried. ;) I grabbed a cab back - about the only thing where I was was a stand where cabs come to pick up hikers. By the time I got back to the starting point, I knew something was wrong. I figured I was dehydrated, so I got a lot of water and little food and sat in the shade and enjoyed it. I had other things I wanted to do that day, but when the food and water didn't help, I fought a silent battle with myself which ended in the decision to ditch those plans and come back into the city. I spent the rest of the day wandering rather aimlessly, feeling like someone had beaten my head several times with a stick. That's not right. I can't really describe how it felt, except not good. I bopped in to my room, too, and got a look at myself in the mirror - you'd think with how much time I spend outside walking I wouldn't be able to get a sunburn, but I got a really bad one yesterday, definitely part of the problem. I decided to repeat another of my favorite activities - I went back to the Peninsula for tea (where the lady in front of me in line gasped in shock at the sunburn on my arm...) which was VERY pleasant and included the biggest, and one of the best, slices of cheesecake I've ever had. ;)
I felt awful, though, so after that I just meandered through some shopping areas and hung out and found quiet places to read until dinner, when I wanted to get Korean, only to discover the place I wanted to go was out of business. I got Australian instead (I ate kangaroo meat, among others!) which was very tasty. I headed home, discovered my air conditioner had broken, decided I probably was heat sick, and decided I'd probably take it easy on Sunday.
Though there were still things I wanted to do, I decided to see how I felt in the morning. I didn't set an alarm - which meant that I got a solid 10+ hours of sleep despite the 86 degree temperature in my room (my alarm clock has a thermometer). Didn't feel like doin' anything when I got up, so I showered, finished "The Great Hunt" - earlier in the week I'd realized I was reading my RJ much to fast, and was forced to buy ANOTHER copy of Dragon Reborn because the copy I'd picked up in Japan...was in Japan, because I didn't think I'd read that much while I was away - I'm already 50 pages in to it, and will probably have to buy yet another copy of Shadow Rising, too, damn it all. I don't mind that as much as DR, though, because SR is my favorite book, whereas DR is my least favorite. ;)
After that, I headed out to Starbucks, got one of their utterly delicious green tea slushy things, and putzed around on the net. I wrote 1500 words (to make up for not having written yesterday due to the feeling-like-I'd-been-hit-by-a-car.) It was an effort of will not to do more - by the next time I post in LJ, my novel will be over 100k words, I stopped at just over 99k this morning.
I fought an internal battle. Since I arrived in Japan, I've been on the hunt for an awesome pair of boots: black, big and clunky enough to wear with goth punk clothes, but nice enough in a formal sense that I could use them for other stuff too. I've looked EVERYWHERE in Tokyo, except for the one place they might actually be - I haven't checked Harajuku, because I want to wear them to Harajuku, I want to goth up and go to the gothest place in Tokyo on a Sunday, THE day to be there. ;) So I haven't looked there, because I don't want to go until that time. Silly, I know. Anyway, I'd found pretty much nothing. I continued my quest here, and found two candidates. Both were more than I wanted to spend, but whatever. One was actually Timberland, and the other were from a designer boutique (guess which ones were more expensive). On Saturday, I tried on the Timberlands, and found they didn't really make the grade. I had told myself not even to do that much, but I realized that if I never tried them on, I'd always wonder. I usually don't like the ways shoes actually look, though, so the chances were high that if I DID try them, I wouldn't want them - which happened. The other pair, though, they were the question. They were VERY expensive, and I was afraid to try them. What if I really liked them? But the same answers came: if I didn't try them, I'd always wonder. So finally, I headed over to Central via the ferry and went and I tried them on.
They are the most awesome pair of boots ever. They're Italian leather, and they look like British military officer boots - they've got those button cover things and everything. I tried them on, and found them slightly tight in places, and slightly loose in places, but nothing that breaking in wouldn't fix. And they fit what I wanted to a tee - they'll look AWESOMELY goth if I dress right, and perfectly formal if I dress right - especially if I take the covers off. I fought another internal battle, and then decided to buy them. I was horrified to be dishing out over $3000 for ANYTHING, even if it was HK dollars (in US $ they were just over 400 bucks, still a terrifyingly large amount) but...well...they're PERFECT. I LOVE them. And they look hot on me. They are everything I want in a boot - hip looking, stylish, comfortable enough to walk in, enough of a heel to make me look taller, clunky, but not too clunk, and I can walk almost full speed in them - a rare thing in boots. So...I can afford it. I mean, it'll make this month tight...more than tight...but I've almost finished my Xmas shopping already, and my ticket to the states for December is already paid for, which means that I should be well in the green for money in the next couple of months, which means I can make up for over spending now easily, assuming nothing bad happens. And they're really, really great boots. ;) I'll post photos once I take some. For now, I haven't taken them off since I bought them. ;)
Anyway, after that foray into big budget shopping, I wandered around some of the more glitzy malls, bought nothing, and then went to the Peninsula for tea...again. I love their scones with jam, I just couldn't resist, it's not like I had anything else to do. Beyond that, today I did...nothing. It's been nice. I've read a ton about Singapore (so I won't have to do it tomorrow on the plane ;) ) had a long talk with the Brit's behind me in line for tea, ate more northern Chinese food, and generally had a relatively relaxing day. I think I needed it. ;)
Tomorrow I head from HK to Singapore. It looks like I can find an incredibly cheap (> US $10) dorm there, or spend about US $30 for a room, and I haven't decided which yet. Either way, multiple places appear to have internet, even in that price range, so I'm hoping to have more reliable access - at the moment, it's perfectly reliable, except that I have to go and get tea, and can only use my computer as long as the battery holds out. ;) Oh, and it turns out that Singapore's big attraction...is also shopping. And where China has embroidery, they have batiks and Indian cloth. Damn it, but that's tempting. ;) Ah well...good thing I have SOME money left, even after the boots. :)
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Date: 2007-10-10 04:08 am (UTC)