Driving from Hong Kong Airport to Causeway Bay the cabby became annoyed at the other drivers in the wrong lanes, he made a gun movement with his fingers and started making the sounds of shooting people as he drove.  Is it just me or are all cabbys from around the world
completely mental?  Perhaps I just attract mental people and judging by one or two of you I reckon I'm right....

"How much Fanny?" (haven't said that in while...) I asked the little old lady who owned the rooms for rent in this crummy high rise.  I managed to find a room in a high rise building in the centre of Causeway Bay HK.  The room houses no more space than for a 3/4 bed which
isn't long enough for me to stretch out, a tiny sink and a non exploding lav.  I negotiated the price with Fanny and it was still extortion.  Fanny is very tight I can tell you.

I slept a very peaceful few hours on the rock hard bed and woke briefly at 4am and sighed with relief at the relative quiet outside.  A quiet that was in place of 40 million roaring mopeds screeming through the high streets of nam.  I bumped into Fanny at the hot water dispenser which was also the kitchen, lounge, hallway, communal area, living area and storage area for the flat and all who reside.  'Good morning Fanny' I said in a 'chipper' kinda way.  She looked at me, nodded and smiled, then Fanny straightend her hair, which to me looked rather in need of a good trim.....

In one of Fanny's rooms she has a TV, I happend to be flicking through to find the one English channel I could (which has Prison Break - Wentworth Miller is a fox! - on it) and found a channel totally dedicated to people watching.  It was a CCTV camera set up inside the lift of the high rise and she, along with all the rest of the tennants, spy on us unsuspecting tourists.  So watch out next time you're 'checking youself out in the mirror', Fanny's watching.....

HK or 'Fragrent Harbour' as it's called, is a contrast of two worlds.  One the one hand, like Singapore, it has it's high rises, expensive malls, all the desinger labels you could shake your tic-tacs at but on the other hand, crippled people beg in the street, there are rows and rows of shops selling dogs and cats (still alive, not fried or anything) and food stalls selling....well dried things.  Most of the written word is in Chinese or is it Cantonese or Manderin?, anyway, a language of which I'm not quite yet fluent.  So funnily enough so here I am, back to not knowing my arse from my elbow.  That said i'm enjoying the civility of having a gym (even though it's completley Chinese and once again, yes I'm the object of some 'wierd' attention) and yes, you guessed it, a Starbucks just to ease me back into 'normal' life that is imminent.  There will shortly be no more tight Fanny's (ahem), shrunken beds, tar like coffee's, laundry that takes 3 days to do (I think they're unstitching my stuff and stitching it back up in that time!)

HK the home of Tea (yes it's all about the tea), Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Skinny mini's (girls), Feng Shui, lucky numbers & colours, the world of 'gaming' (there are even rehab clinics for gamers - the kids are addicted), fashion (anything from the prettiest, most immaculate and beautiful clothing to the customary and sadly universal towlette pink trackies with the word 'Juicey' written across the butt - dear god alive......

On the subject of fashion, I was walking today deep in thought about my sad looking finances when I happened to glance up to see a woman.  Burbury has thrown up on her.  She had a Burbury dress, shoes, bag and hat.  I was speechless (I know, unusual).  Still at that very moment, I said to myself 'things could always be worse Ame...)

There is also an obvious and a distinct desire amongst locals to be white.  They have whitening creams by the bucket load here, there are street ad's and commercials detailing the various treatments available to make your skin 'whiter than white'.  Something else I've noticed is that when the locals talk on their 'hand phones' they cover their mouths.  I can conclude it's the stop the conspiritors of the country listening in or lip reading the details of where they're going to meet their buddies tonight?  Suddenly I'm in Bourne Identity or an episode of Spooks except sadly with a distinct absence of Matt Damon and Matthew Macfayden. yyuummmmyyyyy.

A fairly hostile group of people in general (I refuse to believe it's only just me), they pretty much ignore us tourists. 

I have 2 days left until my independent trip is done and dusted.  For my final two weeks I have a tour of Northern India and the delightful and delicious Naomi will be here to see me.  Naomi finds comedy in everything and we're double trouble when we get together so no doubt there will some outragous stories to report once our time in India is done.  oh and thanks to ma and pa for the bucks to get Na and I curry and drinks (yum).

Over the past 6 months I have learned a great deal and part way through my trip I decided to make a note of all that wisdom so as to share it with you.  Actually the truth is I wrote it down as I'm becoming more and more aware of my early onset dementure and was afraid I'd forget it all....

Bring on the Indian Experience......

"Get back to work you cheeky rascals yaar'....
x

Ps - I'll post the final update last week in Oct providing there is a PC handy.