We’re not in Kansas anymore, Rachelita
We have officially spent more than twenty-four hours in Hong Kong, and I think the consensus (by which I mean my personal opinion which I’m imposing on everyone), is that Vietnam is very sorely missed.
Don’t get me wrong—Hong Kong is beautiful and thrilling, but I think we’re just homesick. (Is it possible to be homesick for a country that isn’t your home? Yes. Yes it is.)
Hong Kong, as a whole, is just an architectural feat of wonder. The city is made of more glass than it is … any other construction material, and buildings just don’t exist if they’re less than twenty stories. (We saw the second tallest apartment building today: 130 stories tall). The streets, although considerably cleaner than any in Vietnam, are just as busy, and the roads just as narrow. We have finally come upon crosswalks and other traffic laws that motorists obey, but I even miss the near-death experiences that accompanied my every move in Vietnam.
This city is also very expensive. Luckily, breakfast at the YMCA (don’t worry—even the YMCA is made of glass and granite) is free, and a buffet. Rachel and I (this is Neal, if you can’t tell by the sassy run-on sentences) plan on stuffing ourselves with waffles and bacon, so we can hopefully last until dinner, most likely to be purchased at McDonalds.
All in all, I do like Hong Kong. Regardless of cigarettes being $7 (and that’s USD) a pack, the beaches are free! Rachel and I, after our morning excursion, plan on hitting up the beaches tomorrow and shell/sea-glass hunting all afternoon.
Hopefully some time away from the hustle and bustle (and believe me, there is a lot of bustle) will get me into the mood to fall just as in-love with Hong Kong as I was enamored with Vietnam. On Friday I get to see some of the Hong Kong girls that attended Augustana last Fall, so I’m really excited for that.
This has been a dud of an ending, but I’m about to order dinner.
Be well,
Neal
Clearly, Rachel and I can’t agree which city is the “Chicago” of Vietnam.
You’ll all just have to come here and figure out for yourselves.
