Day 4 & Day 5: Farewell to Hong Kong and Hello to Beijing

My last day in Hong Kong I spent on Hong Kong island going up to Victoria Peak and saw some great views of Kowloon (another island that is part of Hong Kong) and Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong Island reminds me alot of Manhattan, it is very modern and western. Kowloon is also very modern, it reminds me more of Chinatown in San Fran. Then I headed back to Kowloon and went shopping on Ladies Street, another popular shopping area. Hong Kong is like any other major city, people are always in a hurry, they are always trying to get somewhere. In Hong Kong aside from seeing Chinese people, I did see quite a few Indians and European/Americans. Most of the people speak English or can at least understand some English, so getting around was quite easy.

I was happy to leave my tiny little hostel room and head to Beijing to see a friend from high school...

Beijing is quite different then Hong Kong. It is not as modern as Hong Kong. My first day in Beijing it was cold and gray and I spent the day going to the market with my friend. Her husband is part of the Foreign Service here in Beijing. We left the apartment complex in the morning and headed over to the market. As we were leaving the apartment complex, my friend mentioned to me that one of the guards had taken down their license plate and the time we were leaving, apparently they do that, when you come and go they take down your license plate and the time you come and go. Also her husband had mentioned to me that when they were visting the States a couple of months ago, someone (the police) had gone through their apartment. They weren't alarmed as this happens quite regularly. What a vast difference then the U.S.

The first market we went to was the veggie and fruit market and then to the fish market. In the veggie and fruit market I noticed not too many of the stall people were smiling, except one of the ladies my friend and we happily went over to her stall. When we were in the fish market I noticed a little bay boy with a split down the middle of his pants in the back. I though that was a bit unusual and then she explained to me that is for easy access to the bathroom and that it was quite common. Then we headed to the American market 'Jenny Lou's', we weren't able to find parking so my friend ended up parking on the sidewalk. I asked if she was worried about getting a ticket and she said 'no' that it is quite common to do that in China. Also there are alot of bikes that join the vast number of cars on the road.