Hong Kong Heaven

We arrived in Hong Kong around 3:00 this afternoon. It was a long wait in the Bombay airport this morning waiting for our plane to depart. There is nothing in the airport except a few drinks stalls (we had to wake the workers up to buy a juice) and lots of mosquitos. But they do have comfortable reclining chairs. Our flight was uneventful.

We were totally excited to be in Hong Kong. The first thing I noticed was how clean the bathrooms are! And they have toilet paper! And soap to wash your hands! Clearing customs was no problem, and given the peak traffic hour, we decided to pay a bit extra and take the underground train from the airport to Kowloon where we'd be staying (cheapest). From the time we bought our tickets and got off of the train, it only took about 20 minutes. The public transport here is incredibly efficient, always on time, and immaculately clean. It was pure luxury to be in an air conditioned train, with no smelly people, no trash and no blaring Hindi music. We quickly found a clean place to stay (although it's the size of a small closet). Hong Kong is quite expensive, so we were happy to get a clean, air-conditioned room with an attached bathroom for only HK$180.

By this time it was nearly 6:00 p.m., and we spent the rest of the evening and night wandering around Kowloon and the Temple Street outdoor markets. Kowloon is just across the harbour from Hong Kong Island. It is heaven after being in India. Although we were horrified to see all of the Indian people out on Nathan Road (the main street in Kowloon) standing around trying to sell us cheap suits and watches. But, having just been in India, we were more than prepared to ignore.

Although not exactly representative of the mainland, Hong Kong is still part of China and we were excited to be back. And we'll never take 7-11, McDonald's or nice shopping malls for granted ever again!