Hong Kong

I know its been a while since the last post, but the hostels here in Hong Kong are really crappy. No internet or commong rooms, just small box rooms that Mark's wingspan can easily cover. We have already moved to a new one due to price and cleanliness. But now that I am off of the mainland, I can view the blog and your comments so thanks for the feedback. I hope all is well back home. We arrived here in Hong Kong Wednesday night after flying to Zhuhai, a small city on the tip of southern China. From there we took an hour long ferry to Hong Kong. Mark and I are staying on Kowloon, right across from Hong Kong Island. Our hostel is in a place called Mirador Mansion which is probably the worst building here. However, its location is perfect and almost all the other hostels are actually in this building too. We stayed at a place called London Hostel, yet it was run by a bunch of Indian guys. Ganesh adorns the walls looking over the place, keeping everyone safe. Aside from the smell of curry the room had 2 beds, A/C, a tv with no channels, and a toilet/sink/shower; everything we needed. While it was tight, you could actually get ready all in one place. The "bathroom" allowed us to perform the "3 S's" all at the same time. But enough about the room. Thursday we set out for our first day in Hong Kong. Mark and I walked around and saw the zoological park. It was surprisingly free and had many different animals such as monkeys, lemurs, and even a jaguar. After our stroll, we took the cable car to the top of Victoria Peak to get a look down on the craziness that is Hong Kong. The view allowed us to see over all the skyscrapers and showed us how little room there really is to build here. After lunch, we headed back to the hostel and called a friend of a friend who lives here. A very close family friend named Brandon has a friend that lives here in Hong Kong and he wanted to set us up. Thursday night we met his friend named Chuck and he took us to a free party sponsored by Chivas Scotch Wiskey. We met his friends and hung out for a bit. B/C he had work the next day, Chuck showed us a row of bars and then we parted ways. This was only the beginning for us those. We went to a club called Valore and danced til about 3:30. Mark and I met some British girls and they wanted to go to another bar where they had friends. We joined them and headed out. We soon realized after 2 guys bought us beers that the place these Brits brought us was a full blown gay bar! We avoided feeling uncomfortable by talking to whatever girls were around. We didnt stay too long and were home by 5am. The next day we slept in and took in the Chinese Space Museum, which not surprisingly showcased mostly American accomplishments. Today, Mark and I took a day-trip to Lantua Island, which is very close to Hong Kong Island. We went to visit the "largest outdoor sitting bronze Buddha in the world". While Im sure there are bigger out there, this one was made of bronze, was sitting, and was outdoors so I was stoked! The bus ride up and down the winding rodes was uncomfortable and the seats were definitely not made for anyone over 5'8". But at least we weren't as unlucky as the other tall American on the bus who had some Chinese lady throw up next to him b/c of the ride. Tonight we are most likely going to meet up with Chuck again to hang out. Tomorrow he is taking us to a beach that is supposed to be very pretty. He said we wont feel like we are in Hong Kong. I'll keep you posted.