pics!!!

Pictures!!! I think I've finally gotten back into the city mode after having spent the summer in one of the more beautiful places I've ever been. When I first got here, the smell especially got to me but also the heat and the congestion. People are everywhere here! I think that if you took everyone in New York city in July and moved them all to Manhattan, then mixed in equal parts Chinatown, wall street and times square and placed it in a setting like San Francisco, you would have hong kong. Tomorow I head to Lantau Island to stay at a little place on the beach. I need a break from all the craziness!!!!!!

pictures....

the computer i'm on is TERRIBLE and refuses to show any pictures. you all will have to wait a bit more :(

waiting on the card....

So, I arrived here halfway around the world WITHOUT a debit card. I needed to get a new one before I left and it failed to arrive before my flight. I'm still waiting for it to get here. But in the meantime, I've been slumming it out here in Hong Kong waiting for my ticket to the mainland. The last few days have been spent wandering around trying to keep cool. I feel like a cow in India wandering the streets while people accommodate my aimlessness and sweat. and i probably look like one compared to the generally smaller and shorter populace. But whatever, this is a pretty cool place. My hotel in Kowloon is in the working class neighborhood of the city. Central, which is across the bay, is the "downtown" of the city. There you can find any kind of food and people. Yesterday I ate Mexican food served by someone who may not be from Mexico. the nachos were worthy though of my ten dollars and it was next to an escalator IN THE STREET! the hills are so steep that they have escalators and thank god for that!
other things I have seen in the last few days:
A schoolgirl that couldn't be more than 11 was carrying around a PHYSICS book in ENGLISH! I'm sure she could write out a better paragraph than me.
An older lady looking through the selection of meat hanging in front of her with her bare hands.
A gutted hog laid beside her.
no cats or dogs anywhere
hand sanitizer EVERYWHERE along with signs that state that this rail or that door knob is sanitized 4 times a day
a crowd on a crowded street outside of a cluttered electronics shop all watching a TV. Micheal Jackson was playing and everybody stopped to watch. everybody.

Hong Kong

From San Francisco to Hong Kong by air is 15 hours of movies, boredom, naps, and anxiety. I arrived at 6:30 AM to a gigantic and sleek airport built upon a man made island 20 minutes outside of central Hong Kong. The bus ride to the hotel took us across several massive bridges and through a very long tunnel that opens up to a skyline that would give New York a serious run for it's money. Skyscrapers are everywhere and there is a notable lack of any houses even outside of the city. People live vertical here and my place is no different. My hotel is in the Kowloon area of the city and is run by the YMCA. I got to my room around 9 in the morning and decided to take a nap before heading out to explore. My nap lasted for 12 hours.
So here I am! I will follow with pictures as soon as I can find a cheap internet cafe.