Hello Immigration!

Monday, August 8, 2005

Our next few days consisted of going through a ridiculous amount of immigration, as we passed in and out of customs skipping our way through those two former European outposts of Hong Kong and Macau. By the end of the week Michael and I will have passed through customs a grand total of eight times! Phew! My passport's getting a workout here!

Our "luxury" sleeper bus from Yangshuo to Hong Kong turned out to be our least comfortable ride yet. We left Yangshuo around 9:30pm at night and boarded a large coach full of not seats, but three rows of bunk beds. Thinking these beds were going to be "luxurious" claimed to be a wish made on false promises. The beds were TINY ,and with me being quite tall there was no way I could fit in the bed no matter which way I turned or crunched up. And the weird thing is that the beds are not flat - they're curved in some sort of aerodynamic/sado-masochist way that only allows you to lie down and not sit up no matter how hard you try. Basically, you're forced to be on your back the entire time. Take that and add the fact that the roads were extremely bumpy and windy, our driver careened all over the place like he was high on a death wish, and streetlights pierced the darkness every nine seconds making it really, really hard to fall asleep. Needless to say the three of us (Ryan was with us too) didn't get much sleep at all on this ride.

My cramped-up legs were *so happy* when we reached the border at Shenzen, China and we soon sailed through customs and were admitted into Hong Kong. I was thrilled to be back in this city. I have a special bond with Hong Kong, and returning to this city is like seeing a good friend again after a long time apart. I spent five days hanging out here almost a year ago and was captivated by what is easily one of the coolest cities on the planet. Hong Kong is what every city in Asia wishes it could be. It's a unique hybrid of the East and the West, offering the visitor the best of both worlds. You've got chaotic markets and gleaming shopping malls, quaint temples and soaring skyscrapers, man-powered rickshaws and speedy subway trains. Being in Hong Kong is like playing your favourite Asian video game, but getting all the cheat codes, too. You've got all the exoticness of the Far East, but with efficient transit, foreign foods and products, and the fact that everybody speaks English. It's great!

We only spent three days in Hong Kong and took it pretty easy while there. There's not a lot of exciting sights, per se, to see in Hong Kong. The thrill is just *being there*, feeling the energy and the pulse of a major world city and surrounded by a hundred different languages. The most spectacular sight is, without a doubt, the Hong Kong skyline at night. Whether viewed from the lookout perched atop The Peak of Hong Kong Island, or from across the narrow harbour at Kowloon, the view never, ever disappoints. Soaring buildings that truly pierce the sky all lit up aglow by lights of every colour of the rainbow. Buildings whose entire facades glitter and sparkle with an electric glow. A kaleidoscope of neon that soar fifty sixty seventy eighty stories into the sky, and then change completely right before your eyes. Picture Las Vegas, but fed with nothing but steroids and dim sum, and that's the Hong Kong skyline.

I was able to revisit a lot of the places that I had checked out last year, and enjoyed them equally as much the second time around. Victoria Peak, the beach at Stanley, and the Hong Kong Infrastructure Hall were all included this trip around. And this time I didn't have to stay at those nasty guesthouses in the infamous Chungking Mansions! Michael and I stayed at the Wang Fat Hostel in Causeway Bay right on Hong Kong Island and it was a helluva lot nicer - and actually cheaper!

At this point in the trip some major changes to Project Wanderlust had been announced. Not only will I be in Thailand by the end of the week, but after the weekend I'll be travelling solo. I've decided to change my itinerary, but will still be visiting all the same places,(just in a different order.) I'm going to be in Bangkok as of the weekend, and then will be travelling through Northern Thailand, then on to Laos, and then on to Vietnam and Cambodia. Vietnam was supposed to be next on the list but I've decided to switch things up a bit. It allows me to visit my friend Kristian who'll be in Bangkok the same time, I'll get to arrive in Vietnam *after* the rainy season has finished, and I'll actually save money on airfare.

The bigger change is that Michael and I won't be travelling together anymore...at least not until October. I've realized that I'm better off travelling on my own, and Michael's realized that stability really is important in his life. So......after a last weekend together in Bangkok I'll be going up north on my own, and he's actually going to go down to Yogjakarta in Indonesia to study Indonesian language and cooking. We'll continue our travels together again come mid-October or so when I roll through Indonesia. I guess the lesson here is 'expect the unexpected' when it comes to Project Wanderlust!

On Thursday morning we checked out of our hostel and caught a high-speed catamaran ferry to Macau. Now at this point I imagine many of you saying "Now what the hell is Macau, boy?" Well let me fill you in! Macau is Hong Kong's Portugeuse cousin - a former European colony that, like HK, was recently returned back to China (1997 for HK, and 1999 for Macau.) The two cities are only an hour apart by ferry, and both may have European roots, but are not at all alike. Besides having different histories (China was forced to give Hong Kong to the British after a series of Unequal Treaties left the empire in an awkward position with England, whereas Macau was given to Portugal as a reward for helping China get rid of pirates in those waters,) the two cities look nothing alike.

Macau consists of a small peninsula and two islands, and unlike sea-of-skyscrapers Hong Kong, it has retained most of its colonial architecture. In fact, wandering through the main piazza in central Macau, and gazing at the bubbling fountain, stately colonial buildings painted with bright pastel colours, and marble cobblestone public square and alleyways, you would *swear* that you were in Portugal, not in China. It's unbelievable! It was a hot hot HOT day and we spent the afternoon walking all over the city. We visited the ruins of St. Paul's Church, where only the facade remains, climbed up to hilltop Monte Fort for a view of the city below, and spent some time wandering through the Old Protestant Cemetery. A cemetery may seem like an odd tourist site, but the tombs and graves in this one are filled with interesting descriptions of early settlers' and sailors' lives. Walking amongst all the graves and reading about the people buried below your feet really gives you a feel for what Macau must have been like back in its trading post heyday.

We also got to enjoy two delicious Mecanese meals! Our dinner was especially scrumptious, as we enjoyed baked stuffed crab and a famous local dish called Afrikan Chicken. It was incredible! After dinner we were both pretty tired from our all-day walk so we decided to check out a movie (Fantastic Four) before heading to the airport.

AirAsia is a ridiculously cheap discount airline here in this part of the world, and we had booked ourselves two seats on its 2:45am flight out of Macau. Not the most ideal departure time, but the only one available. We left Macau and flew on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where we had to unfortunately go through customs - again - to get our tickets for the second leg of our trip to Bangkok. By the time we arrived in Bangkok at 10:30am we were both really exhausted. We had had such a busy day traipsing all around Macau, only to get virtually no sleep on our red-eye flights to Bangkok, and were pretty tired of going through Immigration over and over. Out of Hong Kong, into Macau. Out of Macau, into Malaysia. Out of Malaysia, into Thailand. Stamps, stamps, and more stamps!

Thank god we had decided to splurge and treat ourselves to a 'real hotel' in Bangkok - one with big comfortable beds, a high-rise view, and a pool! Look out Bangkok - ready or not, here we come! :-)