Hong Kong Garden

Tired of fighting over every dime (or dong as the case may be), I decided to head for China. I think this is the first time that I have ever been relieved to leave a place. Not because I didn’t like it, but because you have to constantly fight to avoid being cheated in Hanoi (rounding up prices, mis-weighing laundry, playing with exchange rates, etc.) After a while, it clouds your view of the city and I wanted to leave before it made me actually dislike this place.

I had spent some extra time in SE Asia, so I didn’t have time to travel overland through China as originally planned, so I hopped a flight. I managed to swing a route that gave me a night in Hong Kong. I stayed in Kowloon, across the harbor, which gives you a great view of Hong Kong island. Of course, it was raining the day I visited.

And the night too…Yes, I know you can’t see anything in either photo. That’s the point. Neither could I. :)

In spite of the rain, Hong Kong seems like paradise. The streets are clean, no one is hassling you to buy something, public transit is reliable, and there are actually non-life threatening opportunities to cross the street. Wow. I forgot places like this existed!