philippino sunday

oh my! from all i've heard about sunday afternoon in central hong kong, i was not prepared for this!

hundreds of philippino, mostly woman, gather around statue square, to spend the only free afternoon they have. they, sing, dance, chat, do the hair, the nails and smile a lot! there are concerts and preachers. people sing and pray. lots and lots of people!! sitting everywhere. great atmosphere around there.

making time for my plane now. i'm too tired to walk around. my right foot is killing me.

see you soon

(06:03 PM, HK time)

and it's over!

allready checked out from the hotel.

went out for a great lunch - fresh made noodles with vegetables and fried pork buns (yhummy) - and now i must go get my bags (oh, soooo heavy!) and go look for the in-town check-in, so i won't have to carry them all afternoon.

after that i'll try to find statue square, where the philipino woman go on their only afternoon out, to chat, have their hair done, meet people, relax.

and then... back to portugal!

so... see you there, if you're there!

(03:15 PM, HK time)

wan chai market

i finally found the market, of straight, sober lines, and then went for a stroll around the convention center, an impressive building by the water.

this was a really nice morning! the wind was up a bit, the sun a bit shy, so it was cool enough to walk around without getting totally exhausted!

see you soon

(01:21 PM, HK time)

lost in wan chai

i continued my walk, lost in the small streets of wan chai, filled with butchers and fish sellers - which, i must say, are the most incredible! fish are kept in water tanks so they're still alive when you want to buy them!

(11:17 AM, HK time)

opening up new business

went out pretty early this morning, in search of wanchai market, which is supposed to be in bauhaus architecture style. on my way there, allready lost, i could hear drums... went towards the sound and was lucky enough to encounter a dragon dance for the opening of a new business in nullan lane. really beautiful ritual, with music and dragon dance, people all over, congratulating the owner. great! (promise some pictures and even a small film as soon as i get back to my laptop).

(10:36 AM, HK time)

nice hotel for a change

i returned to hong kong last afternoon, checked in to a nice hotel, for a change, went out for some chinese dumplin, walked a bit around wan chai, where all the gentlemen clubs seem to be, filled with philipino woman selling their bodies, and maybe even their soul, and all sorts of foreigners getting pissed in the pubs and discos of the area. got really tired and went to my room, just to relax a bit. well, you know me... sleeping is one of my favourite hobbies, so...

(09:11 AM, HK time)

land between tour

luk keng road - running in parallel with the coastline of Mainland China, just across - a bird sanctuary

(11:48 AM, HK time)

fanling walled village

looking at the ovaltine can at this small shrine at the entrance to the village i can't avoid feeling that the world really is getting smaller.

Fanling Wai (粉嶺圍) is a walled village in Fanling built by the Pang (彭) clan. It is recognisable with the distinctive pond and layout including features such as cannons and watchtowers. All these elements were crafted to form an integral part of the village setting. Fanling Wai is the centre of the Pang clan who arrived Hong Kong from Guangxi [surely Jiangxi] province late in the Song Dynasty.

(10:37 AM, HK time)

early bird...

... catches the best worm! not that I fancy worms... not even here, where people are supposed to eat them, deep fried! :\

it's 7 am and the alarm goes off! i've heard the heavy rain all night and wish it way. i must leave my tiny room, to which i've become acostumed, and hurry up to the pick up point for the land between tour i'm taking today.

i do my fairwells (not that anyone will notive i'me gone), put my backpack on my back and head for the MTR. it's still raining. shit!

see you soon

(07:02 AM, HK time)

star ferry

star ferry, Hong Kong 09:22 PM, 23.05.2005

lamma peak

view from LammaPeak

lamma peak

i'm writing to you from an amazing house on a peak in lamma island. it belongs to Jo, a friend of Mark, and she was kind enough to show me around. right behind the computer screen, there's a window overlooking a green luxurient valley, all the way down to the sea and some green hills on the other side of the water. a huge kyte just flew by, this is soooo beautiful!!

thank you Jo, for the great afternoon!

see you soon

(05:19 PM, HK time)

rickshaw sale

alguém precisa de um rickshaw? não fosse a trabalheira de os trazer e olha, comprava um para vir fazer companhia ao ernesto! :)

(01:44 PM, HK time)

what have i done to deserve this?

from all the gorgeus, nice, trendy asian guys walking around hong kong, why the hell should i be arrassed by a big, white-trousered, fake-crocodile-skin-shoed big black guy from barbados?? why, oh why?!

my first night out in hong kong ruined! oh well, i'll just go out again next weekend :)

see you soon

(11:16 PM, HK time)

take birdie for a stroll

yep, you read that right! just imagine, you have a bird, in a nice cage, in your house. well, just take it for a stroll. if you're in HK, just go to Yuen Po St Bird Garden and you can show it off and discuss bird stuff with other bird owners. as well as buy anything you can possibly imagine for the confort of your bird! :)

(a not that nice HK man is sitting behind me waiting for me to leave the computer, so i might as well go and get ready for my first night out - trying to find a Reggae bar i've heard of)

see you soon

(4:53 PM, HK time)

if you like the type

i don't know about you, but i have this thing for the asian look. if you do, then come to hong kong and feast your eyes! they are beautiful, charming, dress really well and are sooo nice! both man and woman. unfortunately it has really just been a feast to my eyes. no encounters so far ;)

(pictures will be uploaded as soon as i find a computer to take them out of my digital camera)

see you soon

(04:52 PM, HK time)

kung fu corner

sunday afternoon, the heat is killing me. i've allready bought all i wanted (a tiny creation zen micro mp3 player, for about half the price), so i head down to kowloon park to check out the kung fu corner thing. and what a great way to spend your afternoon it turned out to be! :)

all sorts of marcial arts are being shown in the park, either as a demonstration or some kind of competition. such grace, balance and strenght. beautiful. watching this wonderful lady perform some taichi brings tears to my eyes. so peaceful!

(02:24 PM, HK time)

sun is shining

unfortunately, the weather is not sweet! :( the humidity is just killing me!

as it was not raining, i left the room real early this morning to get the Star Ferry to central - nice ride, with amazing view of Hong Kong Island! This fusion of tropical vegetation and ultra-modern skyscrapers does not cease to amaze me!

on arrival at central i take the tour bus directelly to the peak tram, doing it all like a real tourist should. :) i take the tram and reach victoria peak - WOW!! the view is breathtaking! all the green, the birds flying around the high buildings, great!

it's too hot to walk down, so i take the tram once more and go into Hong Kong Park and its wonderful walk through aviary. lots of locals walking around the park, various weddings, all practising the national hobbie - taking pictures to each other, alone or in big groups, but allways with a nice pose.

after this I head to central proper, have lunch at LKF (Lan Kwai Fong - the place to go out clubbing - have to come back at night), walk around and collapse at an expresso bar to cool down, rest a bit and use the free internet provided for costumers.

see you soon

(05:35 PM, HK time)

man mo temple

man mo temple, 16:39 PM, Hong Kong time

besame mucho

Hong Kong, 9 da noite. O calor e a humidade sao insuportaveis. Tomo um duche merecido no pequeno hotel e vou para a rua. Depois de umas voltas, sento-me num restaurante com mesitas ca fora. Peco uns noodles e uma tsingtao beer. Comeca a chover torrencialmente e ouve-se besame mucho por sobre os sons da rua e das televisoes. Que belo jantar!

Ate breve

(10:58 PM, HK time)