Thank you all for reading my blog. There were over 500 viewers from 15+ countries over the two months that I wrote, which amazes me.
I am leaving Hong Kong this morning. My girlfriend is bringing me to the airport. I stayed up all night so I can sleep easily on the plane and not have jetlag on the way back (12-hour time difference.)
I'm already behind schedule for leaving so I don't have a lot of time to wrap up and give a heartfelt goodbye, but it's been a hell of a ride. Hong Kong is great and I'm looking forward to the next trip. This blog will rise again.
Andrew
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Day 70
Today is Monday, but my work is finished.
As of yesterday, I am back in Hong Kong. The differences between it and the mainland are immediately obvious. As soon as people start saying "haiya" and giving you dirty looks, you know where you are.
Yunnan was great; the weather was wonderful (it's like Atlanta in September), the food was good, and the people were nice. People in the mainland, actually, are almost always nice; I've heard different things about different regions (Especially cities like Shanghai, where the people are apparently not nice). Being in the mainland for those four days, though, and being exposed to a completely different social demographic of China, brought something to my attention: People in Hong Kong generally aren't nice to strangers. Of course, there are exceptions: all of my co-workers, friends I've made, foreigners, and the rare person who defies generalization. Lots of people in HK, though, are not cool with people they don't know. This could involve being foreign, or black, or American, or asking too many questions or talking too much; I am/do all of these things and maybe that's what puts many people off. But for whatever reason, there's an anti-foreign sentiment in Hong Kong. Perhaps this makes it more like New York (which it's often compared to*, because of the geography, economy, and urban culture), although I've never faced discrimination as a minority in New York. Actually, the attitude here reminds me of the Michael Jackson song 'Beat It':
That is a little dramatic.
The main point is that Hong Kong beneath the surface isn't that welcoming of a place for foreigners or even Mainland Chinese, in spite of all the foreigners who live there. They're tired of them and their international shenanigans, and some would rather they leave. Of course, the thousands of foreigners here aren't going anywhere, and their diversity has helped to make a more hospitable community within HK. Hong Kong is like an exclusive club that 0.5% of China has succeeded in joining.
Chinese weddings, also, are fantastic. Better than Western weddings, I think, because of how much ritual and cultural tradition is involved. The ceremony took the entire day, which was more fun than it was tiring, and the reception went into the night. Like I said before, I had a great time, met a lot of people, and was entertained thoroughly; it was well worth the total of around 63 hours I spent on trains to get there and back. Seriously.
I have two days left in Hong Kong to buy some stuff and prepare to leave. It's been a great summer.
Lastly, I want to link to a blog that I didn't write, but is very similar to mine, except about Taiwan. I've heard nothing but good things about Taiwan, and it's someplace I want to go in the future, so I hope to learn, and to let my readers learn, from reading a blog like this.
*This is a really excellent article, I recommend having a look.
As of yesterday, I am back in Hong Kong. The differences between it and the mainland are immediately obvious. As soon as people start saying "haiya" and giving you dirty looks, you know where you are.
Yunnan was great; the weather was wonderful (it's like Atlanta in September), the food was good, and the people were nice. People in the mainland, actually, are almost always nice; I've heard different things about different regions (Especially cities like Shanghai, where the people are apparently not nice). Being in the mainland for those four days, though, and being exposed to a completely different social demographic of China, brought something to my attention: People in Hong Kong generally aren't nice to strangers. Of course, there are exceptions: all of my co-workers, friends I've made, foreigners, and the rare person who defies generalization. Lots of people in HK, though, are not cool with people they don't know. This could involve being foreign, or black, or American, or asking too many questions or talking too much; I am/do all of these things and maybe that's what puts many people off. But for whatever reason, there's an anti-foreign sentiment in Hong Kong. Perhaps this makes it more like New York (which it's often compared to*, because of the geography, economy, and urban culture), although I've never faced discrimination as a minority in New York. Actually, the attitude here reminds me of the Michael Jackson song 'Beat It':
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear / The fire's in their eyes, and their words are really clear, so beat it, just beat it.
That is a little dramatic.
The main point is that Hong Kong beneath the surface isn't that welcoming of a place for foreigners or even Mainland Chinese, in spite of all the foreigners who live there. They're tired of them and their international shenanigans, and some would rather they leave. Of course, the thousands of foreigners here aren't going anywhere, and their diversity has helped to make a more hospitable community within HK. Hong Kong is like an exclusive club that 0.5% of China has succeeded in joining.
Chinese weddings, also, are fantastic. Better than Western weddings, I think, because of how much ritual and cultural tradition is involved. The ceremony took the entire day, which was more fun than it was tiring, and the reception went into the night. Like I said before, I had a great time, met a lot of people, and was entertained thoroughly; it was well worth the total of around 63 hours I spent on trains to get there and back. Seriously.
I have two days left in Hong Kong to buy some stuff and prepare to leave. It's been a great summer.
Lastly, I want to link to a blog that I didn't write, but is very similar to mine, except about Taiwan. I've heard nothing but good things about Taiwan, and it's someplace I want to go in the future, so I hope to learn, and to let my readers learn, from reading a blog like this.
*This is a really excellent article, I recommend having a look.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Days 65-67
You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away.
-Cobb, "Inception"
I am in Qujing. I've come to attend the wedding of my friends Jessie (an American filmmaker working in Beijing) and Maggie (a Chinese teacher from Yunnan Province). Since I last had the opportunity to write in my blog, I finished my internship. My last day of work was this Tuesday the 2nd. To reflect on the numerous benefits and knowledge I garnered from my work there, I feel as though I now have a multiplied understanding of the international trading economy and the processes used by corporations to source production in China. From this experience and learning, I have the potential to go into business in the field (like I've mentioned that I am) and certainly a better understanding (for my personal benefit) of this economy.
On Wednesday morning, I took the train from Tsim Sha Tsui to Lo Wu, Shenzhen. From there, I took the provincial train to Guangzhou, and from there, I took another train to Kunming. The train to Kunming took 26 hours and was a hard sleeper. Here's a visual of my journey. I actually sufferd less on that trip than on the plane to Hong Kong, because at least in a hard sleeper you can walk around a bit, talk to people, eat, play cards, and sleep comfortably. In a plane, no such thing. On the way back, however, the only available spaces on the train were hard seats. On the train to Kunming, I met someone (case in point of Mainlanders being more friendly than HK people) who told me she might be able to help me change my seat; she gave me the contact information of a friend of hers who works in 'the industry.' Her business is clothes, and she travels twice a month from Kunming to East China. For perspective, that's two days of the week spent on a train. It's a lot of time to travel. The reason for the train travel, of course, is because of how cheap it is; the sleeper ticket cost 341 RMB. Do you know how expensive train travel is in the US? It costs more than a plane! (Ticket. Plane not included with purchase.)
Now I'm attending the wedding. It's very good to see my friends; besides them, though, I don't know anyone here, but I've met a lot of people. Many of their friends are expats [the preferred term for first-world immigrants] that live in Beijing, Shanghai, or other large cities in the mainland. Going out to 'the provinces,' as they say, is fun for travel, but not good for living. It's their opinion, though, not mine. Actually, this is my first time getting out of the cities and going into the rural areas, the roads less travelled. So far, it's been a great time.
I'm leaving Qujing tomorrow at 4 for Kunming, and getting on the 6pm train back to Guangzhou (then transfer to HK). Should get there by Sunday night. I have a little downtime on Monday and Tuesday before I have to go, so I can hang out and enjoy the city a little more.
For now, I have to go; I was supposed to be somewhere 5 minutes ago.
One more thing -- The hotel I'm staying in, in Qujing, cost $20 a night, the same price I pay for a ~100sqft room in TST with a bed, table, and washroom. here's a picture.
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