Photos

Here are the photos from my trip.

This is also my last post here. Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it as much as I liked sharing.

Back

Back in the ATL. The flight home was great. For the long hauls, work upgrades us to business class, and it makes all the difference. The jet lag, combined with lack of sleep and being in a pressurized environment for that long really takes its toll. Yes, it's plush and the food is better, but it really helps us get back on out feet easier after the long trip. Thanks Office.

On another subject, here are some travel tips while in Asia.

1. Learn to use chopsticks properly.
Besides learning Chinese, nothing will get you more street cred than being able to use chopsticks well. This means holding them correctly, and there is a correct way to hold them. I do not hold them correctly, but the food still makes it to my mouth. I wish it was different and with more practice, it will be.

2. BYON (Bring Your Own Napkins)
Free napkins seem to be a western custom. Unless you always eat at McDonald's or your hotel restaurant, you're going to run in to a place that doesn't give them away. Every Chinese person seems to have napkins / tissues that they bring, so be sure to BYON. A small pack of ten should do you.

3. Make sure the hotel is "western style".
No, not yee-haw western, western as in up to American and European standards. C pointed this out to me: star-ratings mean nothing in China. What matters is if the hotel is western or eastern style. This will effect things such as beds, bathrooms, and food options. Trust me on this one, opt for western style.

3.5 Do they have laundry service?
This is a theory I'm putting out there, but to dip your toe in to a place before you stay there, find out if they have in-room laundry service. My idea is that if they do, they cater to a more discriminate clientele (business travelers) who need this and other ammenities such as reliable internet access, no mold on walls, and air conditioners that work.

4. Bring cash.
In Asia, local currency is king. Credit cards are not accepted at all places, and if you have an Amex, you may have a harder time, so bring a visa too. I never had a problem at hotels, but food places were hit or miss.

This isn't my last post. I'll link to a full set of pics on Flickr in the next day or so.

Outa here

Today is the day I head back home. HK --> Tokyo -> ATL.

Rain delay

Today it’s raining. Was planning on heading out to Lan Tao, an island with a huge Buddha statue. Gotta make sure it’s open before I make the trek out there.

Yesterday made it to Cheung Chau. Seriously nice little beach village on a tiny island. Worth it just to experience the “aaahhhhhh” of Hong Kong. Life here is tough. Tougher than most places I’ve been. Just getting around takes a lot of energy, and even after speaking to the locals and ex-pats who live here, they say it doesn’t get any better. That’s why a lot of people head out of the city when they can, just to get some breathing room. And it’s cheap! The ferry for the hour ride is $11HKD, which is about $1.50USD. If you want the fast ferry, which does the trip in 30 minutes, it’s $3. Pretty good deal for this...

Happy Harroreen

Of all the nights to leave my camera at the hotel. It has been in my back pocket the entire trip, until I said, "nah, I don't need it tonight."

I had no idea that Halloween was a big deal here. I saw everything from the usual dude with normal clothes and makeup on his face, to little Asian kids dressed like spiderman, to a full-on pack of trans-geisha-vites. Of all the nights to leave my damn camera!

This is a pic I snapped a couple of days ago while in a 7-11. Scary.



Today it's off to a new hotel in the Western District, check in, then heading to Cheung Chau. It's a small island with a secluded beach. Wish me luck.

Daily Regimine

While traveling in China, with the extra pollutants in the air and just the general stress of traveling, I do a couple extra things each day. This includes:

Lots of stretching
Neti Pot (to clean the sinuses)
Emergen-C each morning (to help my immune system)

Seems to work. I feel good except just tired a lot.

Starting tomorrow, I'm on holiday through Monday. Planning on doing some sight seeing, heading to the beach, doing some hiking. Should be fun.

My big, fat knee.

Amazing view, right?

C and I are standing there, leaning up against a cast-iron metal railing, and I snap this picture. As he's describing the skyline and how there are a lot fewer ships in the harbor than he remembers, I slip my knee through the railing. Innocent, right? Not really. My knee gets stuck and I can't get it out. It slipped in so easily and now it will not come out no matter that I do.

Mind you, we we walked 10-15 minutes to get here and saw only two other people while walking. We're secluded, it's dark, we don't have a cell phone. I tried everything. Relaxing, flexing, pulling - nothing worked. This was a serious railing too. Heavy-duty steel, it wouldn't bend, even a millimeter, to let me extract my big fat American knee.

I was freaking out a bit. I was envisioning Clive walking 15 minutes to get the Hong Kong fuzz, them having to pry me loose with the jaws of life, and of course, being the joke of the police station for years to come.

Luckily, after much agony, I was able to wiggle my knee loose. Thank you, Jesus. Today there is a little bruising, but I'll take that without complaining.

Eat On The Street

Ate pot stickers at a street-side food stand last night. One stick was bite size sausage, wrapped in bacon, and fried. I guess you could call it a Pig in a Pig, and definitely delicious. The second was some kind of squid with lots of bread. I ate a bite and promptly tossed the rest. Lastly, I wolfed down an egg custard mini-tart from a small bakery.

Dinner grand total: $2.50USD. I do love Hong Kong.

Today's picture is a public service message I spotted at the train station: Don't push. Don't Rush.

Two posts in a day!

David sent this video to me. It really illustrates what Clive and I have been seeing and discussing on our trip.

I deal with people in China and Europe on a daily basis, and even I've taken all the talk about he New China this and the New China that with a grain of salt. However, after this trip, I dare say some of it is spot on. America, and the world, is giving it's resources away to the lowest bidder. The sad part is, we just see it as buying something at a good price. We're no longer bringing enough newness in to the world. Most of the ships that come to the USA from Asia full of goods, leave the country empty.

The answer? Vote Obama. Kidding. I really don't know yet.

Arrived in Hong Kong.

Up at 5am today.

We arrived in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon and it is a welcome break. Disturbingly, it took us 7 hours to go 80 miles to get here. We should have taken the boat as all the time sitting at the airport, immigration, the train from the airport to Kowloon, it all ads up. Oh well, something to know for next time.

The hotel is way nicer. This is the view from my hotel room:



Glad I brought my suit. Big room, great service, all the stuff you'd expect for a big-money per night, right? No. This place costs the same as the Guangzhou dump.

Clive asked me yesterday, "Have you been paying attention to the news?" I realized I had no idea what was going on. I responded, "It could all be gone for all we know", and it's the truth. We both haven't a clue. I'm spending sometime this morning reading online and hitting a few podcasts. Dow down 300+ points, eigh. Sounds like when I left.

Weather today in Hong Kong: high: 86 F, low: 77 F, scattered clouds.

A misunderstanding.

Here is a peak inside my head: When I saw the store pictured above from a distance, I swore it said "Toilet". I could easily see it was a clothing store and thought surely something was lost in translation. Blame it on the jet lag.

Another huge change I've noticed here is a new class of dog owner. People here may eat dogs, but they don't eat Bichon Friezes.

Tomorrow we're off to Hong Kong to what I hope is a hotel room with internet access.

I'm here.

Hey everybody,

This is my blog of my travels in China. I'm coining a new word: micro-blog. That's what this is. A short, single purpose, blog that is used for something small, say a trip or maybe even your pregnancy. After that, you move on, and quit posting.

I'll try my best to post each day along with a pic, but no promises. I'm here to work, not blog.

It's 7:45pm Guangzhou time. That's in Southern China, a short hop north of Hong Kong. I'm here for the trade shows. The one I went to today is the largest trade show on Earth. You can get anything you want here, from french ticklers to fork lifts. It's seriously massive. The last time I was here I wore a pedometer and walked 13 miles in one day. Like I said: big.

Oh, think the smog in your city is bad? See the pic below. Taken today.

What are you eating, you may be asking. Not much. Appetite has been next to nill. I think it's the jet lag. I've eaten McDonalds once (yes, I flew 13,000 miles for special sauce lettuce cheese) and even here, it's gross. Today at lunch I had some chinese food, but people here have never heard of "boneless" meat. They just cut the meat up (duck, chicken, pig) bones and all. Add to the fact that I'm using chopsticks, and well, it's hard. At least spitting is cool here.

I'm at a coffee shop right now. None of this was here two years ago. Tonight I passed 4 coffee shops on the way to this one. The olympics definitley changed China. Lots of new places to spend newly made money. Today we paid more for coffee at Starbucks at the trade show than we did for lunch 100 yards away. Same price as the USA. Scary.

That's it for today. Just a heads up, it's 8:00pm Saturday as I post this. Hope you are all enjoying your morning.