Snapshots from Hong Kong
I just got back from Hong Kong, here are some snapshots:
A late Thai dinner, prepared by Akeeta at dinnertime and eaten by me at 2am. Delicious
Half-eaten Lamb Falafel from Ebeneezer's in Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong. $52 HKD and very tasty.
We hooked up a vintage Nintendo up to a modern LCD and played Super Mario 2. Awesome graphics.
Cassady and Romance of the Three Kingdoms on NES go way back, apparently. Great game.
Snacking on delicious treats with friends on a weeknight evening. Cheese, bread, pizza, wine, more
And how could I forget the sweet tunes, streamed wirelessly to an Airport Express & studio monitors
Cassady's record collection is quite impressive for Hong Kong. Huge variety, too. Resssspect
This was taken while I was playing records. Charlotte got a great natural snapshot here
Huge thanks to my generous host, Cassady. Check out his DJ stuff here, here and here (if Facebook is blocked for you because you're in China, read this).
Back from Hong Kong
Two days ago I returned from 8 days in Hong Kong, which was a nice break from the mainland. As usual I crashed with Cassady (DJ Enso), good friend, generous host, and all around champion. Since my last visit to Hong Kong, Cassady had moved to a new apartment on the 11th floor among towering office buildings and the droning noise of Lan Kwai Fong, Central District.
It was a week of living the high life in Hong Kong, eating fine falafels by day and ripping drum & bass records by night. Although the conditions in Hong Kong aren't generally conducive to being relaxed and comfortable, Cassady has carved out a very nice lifestyle and I was mostly treated to that for a brief period. The women that he had coming in and out of his place - incredible. Truly living the high life, he is (in Yoda voice).
The week that I was there Google announced that "Street View" is now enabled in Hong Kong. Cool! Check out Central, it's a truly awe-inspiring neighborhood. Fortunately the photos were taken in the daytime, before Lan Kwai Fong turns into the Asian Bourbon Street. Also known as the "Europetown" of Hong Kong.
To give you an idea: this photo was taken about five meters from the doorway that leads to Cassady's apartment where I was staying:
Macau Closing Notes
In a few minutes I'll board a bus arriving at Zhuhai International Airport which will then take me home to Chengdu. I've had a fantastic time here on the coast for the last few days and I look forward to when I'm able to come back. Fortunately now I have a few good friends in the area which I'll be able to be in touch with when I am able to return. I'll post the photos that I've captured here on this site in 3-4 days when I have some free time. Until then, check out Photo.net's Top-Rated Photos.
Macau, Continued
Shortly after leaving the internet bar yesterday afternoon I stepped into a taxi and explained that I was arriving at a local hotel but didn't have the address, only a phone number. We could barely understand eachother (in mandarin!) because his cantonese accent was so strong, but he handed me his phone to make the call. I called and was quickly connected to someone who spoke perfect english, maybe an american, saying that he could tell the driver where to take me. So we left and a few moments later I arrived on another unfamiliar street where I step out and peek around looking for a sign for the hotel named "Augusters".  Before I can find anything a middle-aged Phillipino woman asks me if I'm looking for the hotel before leading me through a small alley into a side-door, up three flights of stairs, and into the small lobby space where she explains that I spoke to her husband who told her I was on my way. 17 years ago she, a Phillipino, met and was wed to her Bangladeshi husband, where they now happily live and both speak cantonese. Now that lodgings were handled, I was free to not worry about much of anything for the next 24 hours.
I stepped outside onto the street again, this time knowing that I'd have a place to return to with only my camera, 28-135 IS lens, and tripod in my backpack. I walked the streets with camera in hand at 6:30pm as the shadows grew longer until they were no more. The best light of the day is arguably between 5:30-7:30pm, depending on time of year, and I took full advantage of it. I took a few hundred shots before seeking out the St Augustine building, walking up steep cobble-stoned streets lined with motorbikes when I saw two Chinese photographers walking just in front of me. I said hello and introduced myself, finding that both of these fellows speak english, and we walked the streets taking photos before eating dinner in a small cantonese restaurant. Our conversation jumped into and out of a number of topics, and I was happy to find locals that I could communicate with who share some of my interests. I took photos with them until midnight last night, capturing almost 400 of the best photos that I think I've taken in a year. It's really been too long.
It's 1:30pm now. It's just stopped raining, and the sun is brightly shining. Who knows what today will hold?
First Day in Macau
Last night at midnight I arrived in Zhuhai and crashed at Cheng Lei's house before crossing the border this morning at 10am. Before being able to take the step into the next country I stood in line for an hour with a heaping swarm of thousands of Chinese also waiting to cross. Relieved to finally make it to the other side, I basked for a few minutes in the bright sun listening to Portugese all around me. Welcome back to Macau.
The sky is clear and blue, the grass is green, and countless casino patrons are pumping coins into slot machines like zombies. It reminds me of Los Vegas in a beach setting, if there were one - like Atlantic City, but more Miami and less New Jersey. The flashing lights, unrelenting beeps, and artificial light inside the casinos seem to induce a coma which drowns out reality, replacing it with a dream-like fantasy of six-figure instant fortune. I snuck around and took photos of the surroundings and patrons in between noticing security guards eyeing me, until I was at last caught by one while taking a photo of a slot machine called "Double Dragon". He told me to delete the Double Dragon photo but I pretended to not speak English and managed to escape with my subtle photographic tribute to 80's arcade gaming. Hooray! One of the casinos that I came across happened to be the Sands - the same that Jason, Elaine, and I went to together in January of 2005. It appeared to have undergone some renovation but was nonetheless a recognizable interior that brought a warm feeling of familiarity. Upon entering I was thoroughly searched (do I look suspicious?), which included every pocket in my backpack, and the cargo pockets of my shorts. I told the guard in Chinese that I don't have anything in my pockets except for my wallet. His face lit up and he happily replied in Chinese: "Oh, welcome to the casino! Come in! Come in!" as if to apologize for suspecting me of whatever he suspected me of that resulted in the search. 
After perusing a number of gambling establishments, I hit the street and quickly found more to see and photograph. First was the Kun Lam Statue, designed by a Portugese sculptor and erected halfway through the last century. It stands tall and proud, and I took many a photograph at this site before going inside to browse around the museum dedicated to the structure. Just next door I found a small island called the Fisherman's Wharf, which holds such attractions as the man-made volcano (with a side-adventure called Dragon's Quest - another subtle 80's video-game reference), European-themed shopping district, and conveniently located helicopter landing pad with exciting helicopter action. I climbed to the top of the fake volcano which sadly didn't stage a fake eruption, but offered a great view of Macaus gaming district.
Opposite the Fisherman's Wharf I found the Macau Art Museum. Not thinking much of it, I walked inside expecting to leave minutes later, but didn't actually emerge until more than 90 minutes had passed. This was the real surprise of the day, and upon entering I find that the museum has, for 20 years, been almost entirely dedicated to modern art. Not a single piece of calligraphy or Tang-dynasty oil painting. No, just blood-red paint splattered onto brooding paper mache figures of chimeras and dragons. I don't get it, but I suppose that's the defining essence of the modern art movement. Bravo, modern art.
Not knowing what to do next, I hit the streets again and decided to tour some of the alleys, attempting to find out how the real citizens of Macau live. Finding a real alley in this place is difficult; everything is a casino, restaurant, or high-market retail outlet. After a few mintues of wandering I found what I was looking for and stopped at a restaurant filled with locals. I don't know any Macanese dishes so I ordered what I could read on the menu and quietly ate among the partially shirtless crowd while looking at my map of Macau. The next alley I found revealed a place to cool off under the A/C and write about what the day has offered, so here I am. In a few short moments I'll head onto the street again - still not sure if I'll spend the night in Macau or cross the border once again to return to Zhuhai for the evening. I'll return to the CITS (Chinese travel agency) office tomorrow at 5pm to pick up my American passport with new visa.
I must leave here soon, can't take this 160bpm Chinese dance music going into my ears much longer.
Return to Macau & Hong Kong
I booked a round-trip ticket today to Zhuhai, my favorite mainland China city, which is walking distance from Macau. The purpose of the trip is to acquire a new mainland China visa which will take a day or two of processing while I hang out in Macau, which is a former Portugese colony to the east of Hong Kong.
The last time I saw Macau was over 18 months ago, before I stepped foot on mainland China. I have fond memories of hanging out in Macau with old friends Jason and Elaine before stepping into the unknown, so I'm interested to find out if my perspective on it has changed at all since that time. Macau is famous for its casinos, but I don't plan on spending much time in them; I'd rather be photographing the Portugese architecture in and around the city, which brings me to a fun project that I've been waiting for - a new city to photograph. It seems that the only time I ever take photos anymore is if I travel to a new place, so this is an opportunity to blow the dust off my camera and see what kind of shots I can get. Unlike traveling to new cities to DJ, I don't have to bring anything with me on this trip, so I'm planning on only bringing some clothes and my camera equipment for a 3-day trip. The only necessity before I leave is a new tripod. Depending on available time, I'll take the ferry from Macau across the bay to Kowloon island in Hong Kong and spend a day there.
This trip is prompted not only by my need of a new Chinese business visa, but the expiration of my German passport which I've been using the last few years. It seems that when a passport expires, it's impossible to renew it and get a new visa without returning to your home country, but since I also have an American passport, I have another option. Leave China before the passport expires, enter Macau/Hong Kong with the US passport and simultaneously send the German passport back to Germany to get renewed. Buy a new visa for the US passport and re-enter the country using that passport. Voilà
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Just got back from Hong Kong Museum of Art which was unbelievable. Lots of calligraphy, pottery, ancient relics and artifacts from thousands of years ago. Candace was a fantastic guide, and was able to explain a lot of things for me, as well as provide translations. The most impressive art that I saw was on the first floor, and was contemporary Chinese art. Incredible colors, very abstract, beautiful. I got some postcards in the museum gift shop which were rather expensive but are stunning. I will write those and mail them off before I leave. I'm back in the park now, to check my e-mail quickly to see if my arrival time in Chengdu is okay with Matt, then I will book the necessary tickets so that I can be there by tomorrow evening. I couldn't get my 6-month visa on my German passport today because it wouldn't be ready until Tuesday, so I've made the decision to just go with my US passport and then return here to get one for a longer period if that's what I choose to do. Candace urged me to return for Chinese New Year on February 10th which is apparently incredible. Lots of fireworks!
Waiting to take flight
I've been checking out and editing photos from Macau for the last 30-40 minutes. I was lucky enough to get some absolutely beautiful shots of that place, most of which were taken right around sunset, before going to the casino. I'm looking forward to posting these, and I should be able to do that when I get to chengdu. But first, I'm starving, must get food. The flight departs in just under an hour. A second ago I heard a song playing right behind me, some Chinese song with lyrics, it played for about 25 seconds before the guy picked up his cell phone. It didn't sound anything like a cell phone - weird.
Made It, Finally
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Well, sort of. I'm in Guangzhou airport waiting at my gate (A22) for the flight to Chengdu. I should arrive there around 11:40 where Matt should be waiting.
I feel like I have gone through absolute hell to get here. Since I now have the time (just under 120 minutes), I'll share some of the details.
I woke up this morning and got two tickets, one bus ticket from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and one plane ticket from Guangzhou to Chengdu. Both together cost me about $850 HKD which is about $125 US. Actually a very good deal, considering R/T airfare from HK to CTU (Chengdu) is $3500 HKD, about $500 US. I was really not looking forward to going anywhere with my huge bag. I hate myself more with every step that I take with that thing. I walked 3 or 4 blocks with it through Tsim Sha Tsui to the bus station and then relieved, sat on the bus and listened to tunes for about 90 minutes.
Then the bus pulls into a customs/border station. This is pretty much my introduction to China proper. No one speaks a word of english. Oh, well, actually, two words: "NO ENGLISH" followed closely by an awkward smile. So when we pull up, I have no idea what the protocol is, but everyone else seems to know what to do. Everyone gets up, I follow them, and ask the driver if I'll be boarding the bus again, if I should leave my bags on the bus, etc. He doesn't understand me and can't answer, so nervously, I take my backpack and leave my camera bag. Once inside the building there's a long line which moves very quickly where officials are checking passports and visas. I actually met two travellers from Kuwait who spoke some english, so we were together in line. We get through this obstacle and get back on the bus. Then the bus goes another mile or two and stops again, this time to search our bags. Except nothing is really searched, we just walk past some guards. Again, no one speaks a word of English.
Get back on the bus, ride for another 3 hours. The landscape is really pretty varied. Some of it looks like residential Hong Kong, which is very dense and urban, and the outside of all of the buildings look all haggard and torn apart, and the only color is from clothes hanging outside the windows to dry. Other areas are more rural and spacious, with long fields and yards between decrepid office and residential apartment buildings. Cars drive on the left side of the road here, which is strange because the bus I'm on has a driver on the right side (this is normal for HK). I'm used to having a few thousand miles of water between places where people drive on the other side of the road, but here you just have to cross a bridge and go through customs. The cars are very different here also, lots of Volkswagens (all of the taxis are Volkswagens, they look like older body style Passats) and Toyotas. No Mercedes, no BMW's.
The ride goes pretty quickly and soon it's over. Upon arrival I find myself in front of the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, which is apparently a 5-star hotel. I look at the rates for the hotel which are posted outside, and a room costs about $80 US, pretty reasonable. I try to figure out where I can get on a shuttle that'll take me to the airport and when I finally find someone who can help me, they tell me to go to another hotel down the street. Supposedly it's called The International Hotel. Trying to gauge how far it is, I ask if I should take a taxi, but the attendant tells me it's close enough to walk. Then I ask if taxis will take my Hong Kong dollars, to which I get a quick "no". Well, fuck. Looks like I have no choice but to walk.
This is the really hellish part. I had to walk probably just over 1/4 mile with my bag. I can guess what you're thinking (even if you're me, if some time has passed), but walking 50 feet with this bag wears me out. I would walk a few hundred feet, and then have to put the bag down and take a break, figure out where I was, where I was going, and make sure that I was headed the right way. The time was about 5:30pm and I had to be at the airport (an hour away) by probably 8:30 at the latest, so I had plenty of time. I walk for a while and take a break in front of a large international bank which is closed. I try to find out if I'm going the right way, but no one speaks any English. While stopped and catching my breath I decide to sit for a minute and see if I see anyone walking by who looks like they speak any English at all. I wait 10 minutes, smoke a cigarette, and don't see anyone that fits the profile. Get back up, keep walking, get to the top of a bridge which crosses a big highway. Across the street I see a large building which I think is the hotel. Rest for another 10 minutes, then cross the bridge and walk down it, get pointed out by a group of locals, and then finally find a baggage attendant at the hotel who speaks some English. He says I'm in the right place, and points to the green umbrella which indicates the bus stop. I make my way over and a woman tells me that the bus arrives in 15 minutes, but the cost is $17 RMB (mainland China currency) and they don't accept HKD. There's a security guard standing near that overhears her tell me this and he is kind enough to exchange his $100 RMB for my $100 HKD (he made just over $5 in the exchange). I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for that guy. The bus arrives quickly and I board, relieved.
The bus to the airport goes through heavy traffic and is stagnant on an artery road for 3 or 4 minutes. I'm listening to Chris Fortiers Atmospheric Breaks, one of my favorite mixes to relax to. The bus arrives at the airport sooner than I had expected, and the view of it is beautiful. I actually didn't expect it to be this nice. I wish it had a wi-fi signal available, though. No complaints here, though.
I get directed to the proper ticketing counter and give the woman my ticket, and tell her that I'm checking one bag. I hulk my bag onto the conveyer belt and she says that it's overweight. I'm pretty surprised by this, since this is the third flight that I've checked it on, with the same contents, and the first time that I've heard this. She wants me to pay an additional $196 RMB (about $25), to which I say that I'll try to take some of the heavier items out. I take out a small bag with my electronic adapters and plugs, which is heavy, and put it in my backpack. I don't think it made much of a difference, but she quickly forgets that my bag is overweight and lets it go.
On my way to the terminal there's a small restaurant where I was looking to get something to drink. There's a fridge on the counter top filled with drinks that I've never seen, and none of them are adorned by any English words that I can see. I can tell that one of them is Coke, but it's all in Chinese. This is weird to me because even in Hong Kong and Japan Coke said Coke on it. I buy one, and a couple next to me speak to me in a friendly tone in Mandarin, but I tell them that I only speak English. Strangely enough though, for the first time, I can actually understand some broken bits of the airport announcements here. Cantonese was impossible.
I think that when I'm done with my trip I might be able to publish all of this into some kind of small personal book. I've had my physical journal with me as well, but I find that the only time that I write in it is when I'm in transit, either on a plane or on a bus, or waiting somewhere where I can't open my laptop. Writing on the laptop and writing in the journal are two entirely different experiences; while I like the physical aspect of hand writing, when I'm on the computer my thoughts can pour out effortlessly. 25 minutes have passed since I started writing here, I think I'll close this and find some food to eat. I still have probably 90 minutes until I board.
Golden Computer Arcade
Wow, I just got back from the Golden Computer Arcade. That place is UNBELIEVABLE. I was told to go there to check out some computer components and gaming accessories, but I was in no way prepared for what I saw there. I had the address to the place and I was just outside of it looking around, didn't see anything really that unusual. Went inside this mall, take some steps downstairs, and suddenly there's a dizzying array of people and computer hardware, software, and accessories. I walk through a bunch of narrow hallways lined with merchandise, the place is absolutely rammed with hundreds of Chinese people, and I see virtually every computer and gaming product that one can imagine on tables, on the floor, on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, etc. Sensory overload - I can't walk through the place without bumping into 10 people, 2 chairs, a table with DVD-R's, and advertisements hanging from the ceiling. People are speaking Chinese all around me and I'm the only foreigner in the place. Each booth is either selling games, DVDs/VCDs, computers, or computer or video game accessories. Absolutely anything anyone could want is there, and is pretty reasonably priced. The size of the place was incredible, 2 levels, each of them a labrynth. I got lost more than once, and then found myself in the same place where I was, without even realizing it. I got a voltage converter for my DS, but it fits the mainland China plug and not the HK plug, so I can't test it here.
After leaving the Golden Arcade I went to an actual video arcade where I played some Sega game called Ghost Scout, I think. You aim and shoot at bad guys with an enormous gun which you hold with both hands, with the butt of the gun on your shoulder. Awesome game, but it only lasted maybe 5-6 minutes ($5HKD each play). Before that I actually played a racing game with another guy. When we were selecting levels he wanted to select the super advanced course with hairpin turns. I opted not and selected intermediate instead, and he follwed suit. He pretty much effortlessly dropped me, and at the end of the race he turned around backwards and rammed me. This was probably the most realistic racing game that I've played here (and I would say the most realistic I've ever played, if not for F355), so it was difficult.
I've been listening to Jasons promotional mix, it's pretty good. It sounds like late-90's techstep, but I'm sure it's all newer material. It's got that rough-but-funky sound to it which is refreshing after enduring a few years of Technical Itch and the like.
I want to check out Wan Chai now but I'm very sleepy and need to wake up at 9am. What to do? I'll probably stay in.