Jakey Jake

Wednesday 21st April
After 4 and a half hours on the plane i touched down in Hong Kong. A bit scary coming in as you get lower and lower and closer to the water with no land in sight then suddenly there is a runway. I was so happy no more paneer pakora, murgh chicken or alloo. No more beggars, homeless peoiple, poverty, open sewers, or squats. At least for a little while. I caught the bus to Kowloon, on the opposite side to hong kong island. I was hoping to get a place at the ymca on the river but you have to book ages in advance. so i went to a place called Chungking Mansions, described by the lonely planet as “a huge run down high rise with approximately 80 guesthouses, the budget accomodation ghetto of Hong Kong. you may be put off by the undercurrent of sleaze and the peculiar odours – a potent mixture of cooking fat, incense and shit – but dont seek sanctuary in the lifts, theyre like steel coffins on cables. the stairwells support a large amount of wildlife including a rare species of aggressive flying cockroach. Be thankful for the stray cats as they keep the rats in check.” and it was even more true in real life than in those words. More simply put it was a dump. But a cheap dump nonetheless. I walked around for an hour or so after checking into the travellers hostel. Hong Kong is nice and clean, with all your modern conveniences but it seems like one gigantic shopping centre. They sell just about everything here and its fairly cheap. I went out for dinner with Dave and his girlfriend ely. They had been together for about 2 years and were travelling around the world for a year together. Made me think about camii and how she was going. I really felt like a third wheel, and in some ways it made me think i had made the right decision not to travel with camii, but at the same time it made me really miss her company. We watched the light show thats put on nightly by the buildings on hong kong island, it was quite spectacular. Then we caught a star ferry to central station and the train to causeway bay for some dinner. Then it was back by train to Tsim Sha Tsui, for some very expensive beer. Their public transport system is so clean and efficient, makes life very easy. But im wondering what im going to do here for 4 days… mmmmm think i might go to one of the beaches and check out the peak, not to mention the worlds longest undercover escelator OH YAY