Hong Kong Phooey

Ok folks, I didn't get a chance to wrap things up in Singapore, so here it goes. So much to tell...

From KL I headed down to Melacca with a group of CouchSurfers for the weekend. There is no doubt we tore that sleepy tourist city up, and I did notice one commonality that links all Asians, Eastern or the brand living in the West, together... photos. The first time we took 15 photos from 15 different cameras of the same thing... well, I brushed it off. "Harty har har," I said to myself. After taking 15 shots from 15 different cameras of 100 different things over the course of a weekend... well, you might say it became a bit tired. Oh well. Other than that the weekend was amazing. I can't tell you how friendly the Malaysians have been to me. My last night there I also got the chance to stay with a gentle tea-expert of a Chinese man named 'Mr. Yee'. We stayed up the last night drinking late night tea (aka: Tiger beer), as he described the philosophical reasons behind drinking tea. It was somewhere between him describing the 8 (yes 8... or maybe 9, I can't remember) senses humans have, and me getting eaten alive by mosquitoes that Mr. Yee lost me in the conversation. Super guy none the less.

The next day, in the midst of a rainstorm, I hopped on an afternoon bus to Singapore... and after 2.5 days in the country, I'll try to summarize as best I can. If you take a futuristic utopia of a society (great public transit, extremely clean, polite... umm... sterile) and throw in a healthy dose of Chinese culture, you have Singapore. It's probably one of the top 3 cleanest places I've ever been, with the only competition being from Switzerland or maybe Germany. (I haven't been to Japan) My host was extremely nice, as I stayed with her, her mother, and her 2 brothers. They cooked for me the night I arrived and her mom was worried that I wouldn't be able to use chopsticks. HA! Little did they know I've been known to catch flies with chopsticks! (in my spare time between waxing my master's car) I really did have a great time in the city/country, and met some amazing locals. I'm just not sure if I could live there long term... especially when there are other options out there.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings me to my final destination: HONG KONG. One of the undisputed heavyweights of Asia, Hong Kong is more of an attitude than a city. Anything goes, but not in the Bangkok 'anything goes' kind of way. It's a lot like New York, but it's very different at the same time. On any given MTR (subway) you'll have a mix of hipster teenagers/twenty-somethings wearing their skinniest ties and brand new Chuck Taylors, sharp dressed business men/women on their way to make a million (Hong Kong Dollars), backpackers trying to figure out which stop to get off at... and then me. I suppose I fall in the last category, but who's counting. There's amazing food at every corner, and several friends of mine here in the city took great pride in showing me some of the finest eateries. (once again, as is my reoccurring theme in this blog... I *heart* food) Granted I did have some great hosts/tourguides while here, but I'm really taken by Hong Kong. It's not perfect (Singapore), but it has a certain personality you can't seem to put your finger on. It's real... well... very real. And to be honest, I have a feeling this won't be the last this city will see of me.

Quick note on Macau: I've heard varying things about how it's either bigger, better, worse, etc etc... than Vegas, but here's my take. It's not there yet. Yes they have a Wynn, MGM and the like, but it lacks that certain Vegas personality I'm so accustomed to. Maybe I'm bias since I've been to LV a dozen times, but Macau just didn't do it for me. (granted I was only there for one afternoon, perhaps I'll give it another shot) However, the potential is huge. Las Vegas does bring in more money for the time being, but with 300 million people within a 5 hour flight compared to Macau's 2.9 BILLION... things might change in the near future. Also, Asians love to gamble. (yes stereotype, but oftentimes true) Just don't bet on the number 4.

I honestly can't believe I'll be back in the US tomorrow. It seems almost foreign to me as I'm used to living out of a backpack and moving every 3 days, but I'll be glad to see familia Miller y mi amigos again. For those of you following this blog over the last 4 months, I thank you greatly. (and apologize for typos, mis-information, racial slurs, etc.) I'm going to close this short travel book for the time being, but I have a feeling my passport will once again need some exercise in the near future. I'll keep you all updated.

Much love to everyone.

-d