Hong Kong

Hong kong in a nutshell: (James)

Hong Kong has been a very interesting experience for both Will and I. We have experienced both it's highs and most definitely experienced its lows. First off you should know that Hong Kong is about as similar to Tokyo as melted chocolate is to the aftermath of Cindy's cooking.... The city and people may look the same to a sadly mistaken fellow but man is there a huge difference. For one, Tokyo was probably the cleanest place I have ever stayed. I mean we maybe saw a handful of garbage littering the streets the whole time we were there but when it came to Hong Kong that shit was everywhere. The streets, the alleys, the building hallways, the water, it makes me wonder if any of it actually makes it into the garbage cans at all. Anyways you get the picture it's basically a giant city wide frat house over here and it isn't only the garbage that correlates with the frat, this place never gets quiet. I mean that's what you would expected from a big city like Hong Kong right? but back in Tokyo you could take a walk out on the streets at about any time of the day and it would be dead silent minus a few people on bicycles and the occasional old person shuffling around aimlessly. 

Now don't get me wrong not everything in Hong Kong has been bad, in fact it's an amazing city and we have really enjoyed a lot of what Hong Kong has had to offer us over the last few days. Just like Tokyo there is a lot of history that surrounds this city and it's cool to see that they have so much pride in it all and how they strive to protect their ancient treasures and their meanings. Here are a couple of the cooler spots we visited (they happen to be the cleaner parts of the city) 

The Peak "We couldn't see shittttttt" so here is a picture of what we could have seen if weather hadn't been a little bitch to us the whole time.

The Lina Nin garden "I love goooooooolllllllllldddddd"

Giant Bronze Buddha 

Another really amazing part of this city is the food. It's cheap and if you visit the right places, amazing. One of the first restaurants we hunted down in Hong Kong was a dim sum restaurant that Anthony Bourdain raved about in his HK episode of the Layover. It's always a good sign when you show up to a restaurant and there are a bunch of locals willing to wait in line to have a chance to get in the door, this was one of those places. When we put our name down the lady told us to come back in two hours?! At the time we were thinking what the hell could be so good that people would wait two hours to squish into a restaurant about the size of a shipping container. Well the answer was everything and what made it even better was the fact that it cost us about $18 put together for an amount of food that could have fed a small army. Needless to say "we ate the whole plate" (besides the vegebals that is) and then proceeded to dip out to go take a short coma of a nap. 

The other huge thing that Hong Kong has going for it is their transportation system, it's absolutely amazing. Will and I think that they do a much better job than Tokyo or any other major city for that matter. Hong Kong has basically unified all forms of transportation and major shopping under one card system called the octopus card. There are no fees and you treat it just like a rechargeable debit card where you add cash to it at ATM like machines all around the city. (All this is done through an NFC (tap & go) which is cool) The only down side to this card system though is the fact that you can't use it in the flee markets that sell knock off items like the watch that Dornes bought and broke after 4 days or so… 

Ok now on to the part you all actually care about, our"interesting" experiences here. On one of the first days in Hong Kong, Dornes and I were wandering the streets at around 9pm and we came across this kid performing martial arts on the street for money. Things seemed normal at first, he was doing high arial kicks and all the acrobatic shit that my asian side obviously can't comprehend. After his little showoff session things proceeded to get a little weirder, the kid decided to break a chopstick by pushing it point in against his throat... Wtf? Who does that? But he wasn't done, nope not at all. He then held up a piece of rebar.... I instantly pulled my camera out because I wanted to document this crazy shit. So the karate kid then went into the crowd and grabbed a volunteer to help hold the rebar and keep it stable so he could bend it with his throat. 

The kid did some warm up breathes then ran at the guy holding the bar in place trying his best to bend the rebar. My first thought was that this kid was about to die but the guy holding the rebar wasn't able to hold it steady enough and fell backwards. This is where things truly get interesting, well at least for me. Now we all know im not of a small stature so I guess I shouldn't have been all that surprised but after that failed first attempt he immediately pointed at me to hold the bar..... The first thought to go through my head was " Oh great, I get to be the one to skewer this kid now..." But I went out there anyways and held the bar for his impending death. He did the whole three breathes thing again and then ran at me! Amazingly I was able to hold the rebar and even more amazingly the kid bent the damn bar with his throat! I couldn't believe it but here is the photo proof!

(Will) After showcasing his amazing feat of strength, James and I continued walking down the street when a local excitedly pointed at the Kobe jersey I was wearing and asked if I played basketball. He told us his name was Eric and he asked if I would play basketball with him on Saturday at 4 and I said I would so he gave us his number and told me where to meet him on Saturday. James and I both thought that we would be on our way but no. He was wearing fatigued jeans and a yellowed wife-beater to go along with his warm toothless smile. Eric was jubilant with a certain energy about him. The whole time James and I couldn't figure him out, was he friendly, curious, crazy, or a combination all these traits? Eric spoke decent English and we proceeded to have one of the most A.D.D. of conversations I have ever had let alone with a complete stranger. In the middle of the crowded square our topics ranged from Steven Hawking and string theory to heroin and cocaine to Las Vegas. After talking for about 30 minutes, Eric asked if we wanted to get something to eat. James and I were both famished from a long day of walking and sightseeing so we eagerly accepted. What we weren't sure of was did he want a free meal or just wanted to talk or what. He showed us into a restaurant and recommended something to eat while not eating himself. We continued to talk about anything you could think of for nearly an hour and a half before the restaurant closed and we were kicked out. After leaving the restaurant we bid farewell to Eric and I with the intent to play basketball with some locals later in the week. I don't think any individual could have painted a better picture of the essence of Hong Kong better than Eric. Unique, grimy, gregarious, random, crazy, warm, with somehow a little glamour thrown in all describe Eric and his hometown. It was a great experience to gain insight from a local on so many different topics. James who was taking pictures of a sideshow at the time got our very first interaction with this character on camera.



Every Wednesday and Saturday night there are horse races in the epic arena known as Happy Valley Racecourse. This racecourse is set just outside the heart of downtown Hong Kong and opposite the grandstands is the skyline of the city. We arrived 2 hours early to make sure we could get a good spot and figure how to bet on our favorite horses. We were able to find a teller who easily explained the whole process and without him James and I were lost. I had never been to a horse race so this was all new to me but it felt just like out of the movies. Massive grandstands where the elite of society sat behind air conditioned glass suites looking down upon the commoners and the lush green track. In the beer garden the only AC we had was a refreshing breeze where James and I posted up we looked across the brightly lit track to the neon city of Hong Kong. It was a little surreal. Once the races got started, we started betting low thinking we'd lose every race and wanted to make our money last. I was lucky enough to win my first race by guessing my horse would place in top 3 out of 12, unfortunately James wasn't so lucky. I won a meager $4.30, but it was still exciting. The next race we went in together and bet $4 on two horses in a Quinella Place bet (our 2 horses would get in top 3 outta 12). Our two fine stallions were Brilliant Chariot and Ray's Favourite. As the horses rounded the corner and came flying by us, the first two horses in neck and neck battle were ours. They ended crossing the finish line in a photo finish and had us jumping up and down in pure joy. On our $4 bet we made about $35. We calculated that if we bet $50 we would've made nearly $450 but that's what they all say right. This was our final race that we bet on and spent the rest of the night meeting people and enjoying our luck. It was a great night and my favorite I think.