没事 (Mei Shi) No Problem

The VISA Journey Continued!!! What A Way to Go!

The Olympic year has been a tumultuous one for the Chinese, the Central Government  and foreigners as well. There have been frustrations of inflation, which has almost doubled the price of many foods, which has the locals limiting their diets. The Central Government has been working non-stop to put things together in Beijing, get rid of the unwanted types and clean up the city (more on that to come) and at the same time they have had to deal with protests (not only in Tibet) and tragedy, weather and of course they had do complete all of these things with the efficiency and attention to detail that the Chinese are so famous for...

So then you have the foreigners; the over-paid, over-privileged,  under-worked, and over-sexed group of people that have come all the way to China to get paid big bucks...but they also have problems. No one has been without some effect of the new VISA practices, either by losing a friend or by having to be the lost friend.

One of my friends from darts, got employed by a company who did the whole process and all the paperwork for this person to get a Z (working) VISA. This man went to Thailand to process it, and sit on the beach for two weeks, and was finally sent back to his home country - there'll be no VISA from here!

My VISA journey has been different than some others, as I am going from a work to a tourist VISA, For two or more months I have been calling the people in Hong Kong asking, "Can I still get a VISA?" and they have always replied...

"Where you from?"

"America!"

"OKAY, No Problem, when you come here?"

But all the times that I called I must have been on crack because I forgot to ask if I was going to be able to get a VISA and then actually be able to watch the FUCKING Olympics. HAHA

I have been here for nearly five years and I stayed this last year only for the Olympics and actually only for Jiao Jiao, so she could see the Olympics in her hometown. What kind of knit-wit would take his wife out of her town before the Olympics?

Well, I guess I should have done that anyway because the VISA that they are giving in Hong Kong requires that you leave the county every thirty days. HAHAHA. What a bunch of SHIT! I waited a whole year to watch the over-hyped Olympics and I have to leave for a couple days right in the middle. It is not like I am in Guang Zhou and I can take a bus to Hong Kong, I am in Beijing and there is nothing close.

When I got to the hotel and asked the woman about the VISA and she told me about that restriction, I nearly didn't get a VISA. I said, "If you would have told me that on the phone one of the five or six times I called you, I would not have come!" I stopped, sat down and thought hard about whether it was worth all the trouble of staying...but now I have some sweet tickets, so I want to see the action...and I have already purchased two plane tickets to our next destination after the Olympics. So fuck... I took the shit VISA!

Even though Hong Kong is said to be the place to get your VISA to China, I have never had any luck down there. In 2004 when I went the first time to get a VISA, they tried to give me one with the same bullshit restrictions. To combat that, I took a one month VISA and bought a new VISA when I got back to Beijing, but now there is a higher price on that route...So I will be going to Hong Kong in the middle of the Olympics...Oh Joy!

Bet'n On the Ponies

While in Hong Kong, I thought it would be fun to go and see the horse races. Unfortunately, we were unable to go to Happy Valley, the oldest racecourse in Hong Kong. We went to Sha Tin, which is a modern facility and a beautiful racetrack. On the day, we lost a couple hundred buck, HK, but it was a good time. Here is a video, which just happens to be our most successful race.

One Evening In Lan Kwai Fong

As far as I have heard, there are two main watering areas in Hong Kong; Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai. From the information I have been given, Wan Chai is a bit seedier than most places in the world and is rather open about the business that takes place there.

Lan Kwai Fong is a good place for business men and women to gather for a beer that is priced out of this world. Happy hour is reasonable at around 30 HKD, but regular price is something like 80 in the nicest of bars. We ended up getting stuck into one of those and spending more on a beer than we would need to one a dinner for 8 in Beijing. After that experience, we started taking trips down to the Seven-Eleven to get our drinks and then we would just walk around on the street. We circled the horse-shoe shaped road a few times, making small talk with people before heading back home. Since it was Christmas, there was a small Christmas show on the street. Actually, it was a French guy blowing up rubber gloves on his head. We saw him later at the ferry terminal in the TST performing during the daytime. Turns out he was staying in the same place as us as well. Small world!

Here is a picture of drunk Santa's at Lan Kwai Fong.

The Trip to Stanley

One of the places in Hong Kong which I had never been before is a place called Stanley. It is almost directly opposite o the city on the island and it takes a while to arrive. The Lonely Planet suggests taking the double decker trolley from central to it's termination point and then hopping on another bus from there to go the rest of the way to Stanley. My Lonely Planet is ancient, 3 years old, when dealing with the swift changes which sweep through China. When we finally arrived at Stanley, we found out that there were buses which go straight from Central to Stanley instead of our round-about route.

The trip to Stanley was the most interesting part of the trip as it was my first time to travel on a double-decker bus and it was my first time to travel all the way through Hong Kong city. The electric double-decker trolley is amazing and so well measured that it passes by oncoming trolleys with mere inches of separation. Here you can see the video of the bus ride.

Here are some more pictures of the scenery along the way.

The funniest thing that I have ever seen was on the bus right next to us. Luckily, we were stopped and I could get a picture. What a fabulous team we have found.

We finally arrived at the end of the road for our little trolley. We searched high and low for the proper place to get the next bus and people pointed us in every different direction. We ended up walking to the dock and deciding to try another route. Here are some pictures from the dock. I think those are the coolest fishing boats. I read somewhere that many people make their homes on those. Not sure of the truth of that. I bet this place would be the cheapest seafood in town.

By this time, my bladder was about to burst. I said, we are going to have to wait for our trip because I need to pee like NOW! So, we decided to go towards the big buildings, which might have been a hotel or a nice apartment complex...either way, it might have had public facilities.

When we got underneath, we found that this was where the bus we needed started. How is that for dumb luck? I guess it pays to follow your Johnson! There were no facilities however and I had to hold my water for another 30 minutes or more of winding mountain road before I could get relief. When we got to Stanley, I did my business and we had a nice afternoon of walking around the "boardwalk" and chewing on some nice western food. None of it was cheap, but it was all pretty good. The government had restricted swimming because of big Jelly Fish, but I think they did not want to staff the beach in the cooler weather. You can see pictures of Stanley by following this link.

First Christmas Together: Hong Kong

We got to Hong Kong in the early afternoon after a pleasant train trip. The weather was, of course, far different than it had been in Beijing. We had to put our jackets into our bags as we exited the train. We went into the train station and bought new SIM cards as we realized that our old ones were no longer in service. (The Hong Kong SIM card worked through Macau, Guang Zhou and all the way to Shanghai, it also called overseas.) We decided to walk from the  train station at Hong Hom to TST to find a room at Mirador Mansions. I knew the general way and we actually made it very easily. My first trip to Hong Kong I also walked, but I followed the bay at that time and it was a long and hot July walk in Hong Kong that time. This time was pleasantly warm and we ended up right at our destination.

On Christmas Eve, we went to watch the lights at the Harbor. We heard they were going to be fireworks, so we were slightly disappointed. The place was jam packed, even more so than usual. We watched the 20 minute show and then tried to leave the area and head back to Nathan Road, which had been blocked off for foot traffic. As we tried to leave, we realized that the police had changed the exit and so we had to follow a massive crowd the long way around. It was rather orderly and polite for a mob trying to find a way out, but that is Hong Kong. Here you can see the light show from the Harbor and a little clip of us trying to walk through the crowd.

When we finally got back to Nathan Road, we did what everyone else was doing. We aimlessly walked around, shopping and eating and drinking and seeing what we could see. I think we were the only ones drinking. HAHA. Here you can see some of the interesting sights we witnessed that evening.

For dinner, we decided to save money and time, so we ate the Hong Kong street food. They call it Ma La Tang in Beijing. I am not sure what they call it in Hong Kong, but it was tasty and not as spicy as the northern version. Here is a clip of our Christmas dinner.

At the end of the night, after almost everyone had gone. There was a still a group of local immigrants dancing and having a good time. Here you can see that.

I will post a bit more about Hong Kong before moving on the Macau. Happy New Year everyone.

The Train To Hong Kong

Not much to say about this trip. We took the T100 train from Beijing West Station (Xi Zhan) to Kowloon (Hong Hom) and it took a little over 24 hours. You could take the same train to Guang Zhou and sit in the cars toward the back, then when you arrive in Guang Zhou you get your cars detached and the rest of the train keeps going. The cost to Hong Kong is a bit under 400 rmb, sometimes discounted, and the train runs on alternating days, odd or even, and those days change monthly. You can find more information about the Beijing to Kowloon train here. The costs are different on that page, we got a discount.

Here are some pictures taken out the window of the trip.

Its been a warm winter up north and you can see that there is still green color just outside of Beijing. Convenient to be warm for those still unfinished construction projects. HAHA

Outside of Beijing, nearly every city is a power factory burning coal. This is the scene all the way down south. I did not get a photo snapped of the big smoke stacks on the way down, though we passed them numerous times.

That is good advice there in the bathroom. It is unwise to jump from the bathroom window.

This train is a little more civil than some other trains. It supplies you with toilet paper.

The next picture is of the neck of a teenage girl. She has a tatoo of the name of her boyfriend on her neck, done rather  poorly as well. The guy was on the train too,  only slept and played video games.  Hope that girl  knows what she is doing. Imagine the difficulty of trying to get  new boyfriend when you old boyfriends name is permanently engraved on your head. HAHA

Finally, I end with a video of German students of Chinese language doing exercises on the train. You cannot see they were German, but trust me...they were. HAHA

What to Do in Hong Kong

Before our recent trip to Hong Kong, Andy was kind enough to send us a great deal of good information about things a person can do in Hong Kong. I thought that the information was too good to leave simply in the comments. So I have put it inot a post so that it is easy to find and people traveling to Hong Kong can make use of his work.

Thanks Andy!!!

The must visit place is the Peak for anybody who has not been to HK. I'm assuming Jiao Jiao has not.  Visit there about 30 mins to 60 mins before sunset so you can see the city transition from day to night lights.  It's spectacular.

Here is some pics I took in 2004

http://www.ironchef.info/qqq/2004-HongKong/ThePeak/index.htm

Seeing that Jiao Jiao has a bad leg... taking the Peak Tram might be a long walk from the Hong KOng / Central / IFC MTR station.  It's a bit shorter walk if you can catch a minibus after getting off the MTR. It's a long walk to the Peak Tram terminus (uphill too) behind the Bank of China building.

If you want to see the nature side of HK, visit Lanma Island.  it is one of the most easily accessible not too inhabited islands.  Catch a ferry from Hong Kong MTR terminal.

http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/lamma_island_1.html

there are other more remote and islands less touched by civilization, but are a bit harder to get to due to limited ferry traffic and lack of sufficient guides.

I'd stop by Mong Kok.. ti's HK's night market..

http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/a_night_in_mong.html

while there also stop at the Langham Plaza on Portland St (just take hte Langham plaza or Portland street exit from the MTR).  it's a 13 story mall and pretty cool...  has a section called the spiral which is kind of cool but has crappy stores... 

http://www.ironchef.info/qqq/2004-HongKong/HongKong/PICT3141-LanghamPlaza.JPG

http://www.ironchef.info/qqq/2004-HongKong/HongKong/PICT3142-LanghamPlaza.JPG

another must visit place is the Big Buddha on Lantau.  They've built this 3 mile cable car called Ngong Ping 360.  It rotates or does something while scaling up the mountain to the big bhuddha... supposed to be spectacular... I didn't hav e time to go there while in HK this past Dec, but here are some pics of the Buddhas.  so take the Yellow Line to Tunch Chung and then get on the Cable Car (Ngong Ping 360).

http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/05/big_buddha_.html

another interesting place to visit is the Wetlands Park in Yuen Long. It's quite a hike up there (as it's close to the mainland border), you will need to take KCR West Rail to Yuen Long and then transfer to KCR light rail.  It just opened a few months to has been all rave with biologists and the locals.  My sister went there and showed me some spectacular pictures.. great architecture that blends modernism, minimalism and nature... and yes of course, the draw of the park is the nature which is you dont' see much in urban China.  Especially Hong Kong for that matter.  the interior exhibits are so futuristic.. they are star trek like.. I didn't see it but my sis showed me her pics.

http://www.dexigner.com/architecture/news-g9390.html

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=243482

and the official site.

http://www.wetlandpark.com/en/index.asp

Actually, if you have time in HK check out City Super. it's a super market but they sell all these really tasty international things... looking for fresh beignets and pastries? go to city super.. they bake them at the market.

Need prosciutto slicked off the shank? City super. You can let' say buy a can of coke in Hong Kong packaging, US packaging, Korean packaging, Japanese packing... they sell multiple version of there junk.. I love that place.. it's easier to buy gourmet stuff in HK than it is in Los Angeles... there's one at the Lane Crawford Plaza in Causeway Bay and also at the IFC in Central / Hong Kong Station

http://www.citysuper.com.hk/home.php

check out Honeymoon Desert while you're in HK.

stop by Honeymoon Desert while in HK.. they are very good. t hey are all over HK

Also, visit the Mid levels escalator area. Take the MTR to Central station and look for the Mid levels Escalators.. I think ti's exit J. the whole area is serviced by escalators.. ti's very steeep, but that area is full of bars and restaurants and other stuff... a lot of foreigners.. pretty cool.. there is even a krispy kreme there, though the price is ridiculous at 168 HKD for 2 dozen. That's That's like 23 bucks USD!

Go to SoHo and visit some art galleries.

This just opened a few months ago, the Nan Lian Garden in Diamond Hill (take Diamond Hill exit, Hollywood Plaza).

http://theabc.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/nan_lian_garden.html

go to Prince Edward and look for the Goldfish street / Ladie's Market / Fa Yen Street.  The goldfish market is amazing.

If you know someone with a HK Jockey club membership, go visit the racetrack and then walk around the stables.  very nice.

Hiking is awesome.. try hiking around Sai Kung if Jiao Jiao can handle (you will need to take a bus eastward past Kwun Tong) to Sai Kung.