Kung Hei Fat Choi

I should have bet money on who would be sick first, because I would have made good money, since yes, it's me. I'm currently recovering from some sort of flu. The kind of flu where your body feels like it weighs 5,000 tons and your head is about to explode. No but really, it was bad.

I don't want to give the impression that things are terrible because they actually are great. Hong Kong is absolutely fascinating. Having never stepped a foot in an Asian country, I had no idea really what to expect, aside from movies that is. (how sad.) So it really is huge billboards, millions of people on the street, food stalls everywhere, it's amazing. I would say it's crazier than New York.

The good/bad part about being here now is that it is Chinese New Year (hence the Kung Hei Fat Choi). Chinese New Year = a fantastic ambiance in the city with everyone buzzing about and decorations of oranges, red envelopes, all the essentials. But Chinese New Year also = everything closed, and lots and lots (and lots) of people. Due to this holiday, we had to extend our stay here for two days, which is actually good because there is so much more to see.

We've so far wandered the city, visited the Chinese and Vietnamese consulates to get our visas (yes, quite exciting), went to the botanical gardens, went up to the peak for amazing views of the huge skyline, took a trip to Macau, and just soaked up all the sights.

An insight - things are CHEAP! I think we were mislead when we were told that this is one of the most expensive cities. Yes, I am sure one could spend quite a bit of cash here, but we've had cheap meals, as in less than $5, and I bought a pair of Puma's for $15. I think that is unheard of. No? So we've been saving more money that we expected.

I better get some rest so I don't get sick again (no pity please :)) but I will be posting soon. Also, I'm uploading images to a website which I'll put a link to at the end of each leg of the trip. I'm really excited to show you all the photos.

Miss you all! xxx