playing tourist

13 Sep

i guess i’m not really playing tourist because there’s no question — i’m a tourist. i stick out like a sore thumb. i haven’t felt this different since africa. not that it bothers me, just a funny feeling. 🙂

so what have i learned so far?

hong kong has amazing public transporatation. it reminds me a lot of DC’s metro but a lot cleaner. and that says a lot.
no matter how hard you try, you can’t beat jet lag in a day. i thought i managed this but at 8 pm last night i crashed. only to wake up at 4 am. i’ve decided that i am done with this jet lag business and i’m going to go out tonight if it kills me. i’ve skipped dinner the past two nights and that’s just not acceptable. too much to do, too many places to see.
i don’t trust guide books. we used my travel companions book on what was supposed to be a “heritage trail.” i got the heritage part less the trail. we wandered around a lot. and we met a few french women who decided that we knew where we were going and followed us. we got them to a few walled cities and then were too hungry to continue the trek. but i’m glad we got way out of the city to see some of the historical places.
it amazes me that people wear face masks but have raw chicken for sale on the street corner. i guess the flu > salmonella?
i love japanese, cantonese, thai. anything with noodles is still awesome. i was surprised that a lot of the japanese/thai/ramen dishes we have in the states are pretty authentic.
the markets here are amazing. i haven’t found souveniers just yet — and from what the locals tell me hong kong isn’t known for one specific thing so i’m going to have to be creative.
i scored free tickets to hong kong disneyland. that makes it okay to go, right?
these people LOVE sweets. there’s a bakery one every corner. i’m in sweets heaven. lots of different types of sweets from donuts to custards to macaroons. little alex – this is your kind of place!
i took a ton of pictures sunday and instead of uploading them one at a time i’m adding a gallery. i tried to take a signage picture with each of the historical places and the large market is called Tai Po Market.