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.

Roaming Loaf?

I've been forced into this by my friends Christie and Leah and I'm sure my Mom will appreciate this as well. We'll see how it goes. I don't intend on this blog being anything more than simple observations and photos that accumulate while I'm on the road. As for the road, I'm heading out in a week or so. My trip is starting off in Hong Kong where I'll (hopefully) get my Visa for mainland China. I'm kind of thinking about spending the next month in south central China before heading south to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand where it looks like I'll be there at least through new years. In addition to all that, a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway through Russia is also starting to materialize for February and a side trip to Dubai as well! Of course all of this wandering around is bound to change since something ALWAYS happens to switch it all up. That's cool though. I don't mind ;)