Hong Kong Hi!

Mabuhay friends! (Who invented the term Mabuhay? What's up with that? Long Live? Who says that?)

I am back from my Hong Kong holiday enriched by experiences but impoverished in dollars. I would like to officially announce that I am in mega-tipid mode now and I will not be seeing you all till 2009. Hahaha. Unlike my first HK trip which basically consisted of a lot of eating and a trip to the Space museum, this trip consisted of walking, walking and more walking! I swear, i can officially apply to be a Hong Kong tour guide. I've ridden almost every train and gone to every stop and probably walked even more than that.

Some interesting Stoned Cows-worthy anecdotes from my trip are:

1. I love the fact that everything works in Hong Kong. The trains are so easy to use, the streets are safe and walkable and the scenery is so cosmopolitan-Asian. It's like one big upscale Binondo without the spit and trash. Although it was quite strange for us to see a big mound of what looked like poop on the elevated walkway in Mongkok. There are no stray animals in HK (in fact, the owners walk really nice dogs like Siberian Huskies) so i was assuming it could only be human waste or a really funky looking piece of Mashed root crops like Taro.

2. The people in HK walk extremely fast and everything there is quick! In fact, the escalators in the MTRs are so fast that they have a constant reminder: "When using the escalator, please watch your step, hold the rail tightly and don't fall." Quite helpful really. My officemate almost fell. Good thing she grabbed hold of a hapless Hong Kongese that wasn't rude and didnt slap her silly.

Which leads me to my next point...

3. I think people there are just innately rude. They don't mean to be but they are. I think each one of us was screamed at or experienced being eye-rolled/irap at one point or the other. That's why its actually hilarious to go to Disney and see how the staff are EXTREMELY NICE no matter what you do. And my officemates really tested their patience. Like there's this fancy bus that takes visitors around the park. My officemate actually leaped into the car to have his pic taken. As in he was dangling like he was riding a jeepney! Instead of getting mad, the driver stopped, smiled and offered to take his picture. I honestly believe that if we weren't protected by the spirit of Walt Disney, my officemate would have been "dealt with" by the Chinese mafia.

4. Disneyland is like a realm of drugged people where everyone is just extremely happy. No matter how skeptical or jaded you are, you can't help but be affected by the constant happy music and the fact that you'll see policemen who play with kids, or you'll walk by Goofy and Pluto waving at you. It's just surreal when you see cinderella or Ariel speaking in Chinese. Really strange.

That's it friends! I hope i was able to impart some Hong Kong know-how to y'all. I really wish you were there. I'm sure i would have been laughing all the time. Maybe we can do it sometime soon. That would just be grrrreat!