Hong Kong!

Wish I had a cool photo of my first trek into Hong Kong, but alas my blackberry was too low on juice. So instead I will insert a photo of the breakfast of champions for The Hulk ... a Green Tea latte. It may not come across in the photo, but this was a nice, vibrant green. The taste was not to my liking, but I'm trying out everything I can that has green tea in it. Dunkin' Donuts even has a nice green tea cruller.

Will likely only be in Hong Kong for a day as I renew my visa. However, assuming I am able to obtain a multi-entry F visa good for six months, I am hopeful that I'll be returning a few times. Initial impression of Hong Kong is that it is like Times Square on growth enhancing hormones. Took the metro to my hotel at about 10:30 PM and streets were crowded, lights were flashing. I was fading, but the city was definitely very alive. Will be back over during holiday week (Oct 1-7) with Meredith and Max and that should be outstanding. They will have fireworks over Victoria Bay when they arrive and we should be able to view them from the exec. lounge at the Marriott where we are staying. Crossing the border from Shenzhen to Hong Kong ... it seem like you are entering another country, which you are to a certain extent, as China has a one country, two systems approach for Hong Kong. More English is spoken, the cars drive on the British side of the road, it's a little cleaner and the service at the restaurants is impressive. Shenzhen is also quite nice, but Hong Kong steps it up to the next level.

Where Shenzhen is better and more modern than Hong Kong is in two areas: the subway and electric current. Because Shenzhen is a city that has been developed over the past 30 years and is still heavily under construction with new high rises being built, I haven't yet found a need for a converter. All of the outlets are built to handle both types of plugs. Not the case in Hong Kong, although converter kits are ubiquitous. The second area is the subway ... because Shenzhen just opened up three of the five lines in June (the other ones had opened a few years before) everything is clean and smooth running. A new subway car does not have a new car smell, but it does have a new "subway car" smell, which is vastly superior to the subway smells I've encountered in New York or Chicago. The subway cars in Hong Kong seem to be clean, but they are a little older and more rickety than the ones I've experienced just over the border.

My visa documents are with the courier, so should know by early evening what, if any, visa I'm able to secure. Hopefully the adventure will continue! If so, plans for the next two weeks are to go to Shanghai, Xiamen, Indonesia and Taipei.