Hong Kong Part II: Macao and Monasteries

Sept 13th-18th

Hong Kong and Macau are considered Special Administrative Regions or SARs due to their colonization by Britain and Portugal respectively. They have their own governments, currency, a European tongue as an official language (English for Hong Kong and Portuguese in Macau), and compete in the Olympics independently of China.

Macau was already established as a Portuguese colony in 1557. It was only handed back to China in 1999, two years after Britain handed back Hong Kong.

Macau offers a unique mixture of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, culture and culinary specialties. Unlike Hong Kong, gambling is legal in Macau, and this fact has pushed expansion and development to turn Macau into the Las Vegas of Asia. It is for this reason that we decided to check it out.

We took a high-speed ferry from Hong Kong that got us to Macau in an hour. Mike had reserved us a room at the Banyan Tree Hotel, being the only hotel I have ever heard of that has a pool in every room!

Yeah, that baller.

We walked around the adjacent Galaxy Casino and then went across the street to the Venetian Macau, touted as the second largest building in the world.

Before grabbing a bite to eat, we had a nice soak in our room's pool while enjoying a bottle of scotch. By the time we headed out for food, most restaurants were closed and we had to eat at a food court.

Not so baller.

By this point, we had already started playing fives, where the loser of each round has to either chug their entire drink or do an embarrassing or disgusting task.

While we were in the pool, Josh had thrown a complimentary pear into the water while we all still in it and just before heading out to the casino, as fate would have it, Josh lost at fives and had to take a bite out of the pear that had been stewing in the warm water that we had been soaking in, not once but twice!

We then put the half-eaten pear in a glass of vodka to act as the prize for the loser of fives upon our return to our room.

The only similarity between Macau and Vegas is the gambling. Other than the Galaxy Casino, the other casinos were not built to impress, but just to accommodate the largest amount of people possible. They don't even give complimentary drinks while gambling other than bottled water and tea. Lame I know.

The atmosphere is definitely less lively: these Asians mean business. That didn't stop Mike and Josh from hitting the tables and trying their luck. Rob and I acted as spectators to their gambling endeavors.

After watching their highs and lows and splitting 15L of kegged beer, we headed back to our room for cigars and room service, which for some reason Rob volunteered to answer the door completely naked. As for the vodka-soaked, half-eaten, bath-water pear, Josh had lost again and had to eat it!

It was better than winning at the casino!

It was 7:30am and we were still awake. I had been preaching the fact that Macau had been under Portuguese control for 400 years and I couldn't leave without seeing it's heritage buildings.

So after pulling an all-nighter and still quite tipsy, I hailed a cab to Senado Square. From there I walked to Macau's most famous structure, the church of Sao Paulo, where only the facade remains.

From there I visited the Monte fortress, providing incredible views of Macau, before heading back to the hotel to catch a few hours of sleep. I was pretty impressed to see how the pictures turned out in spite of my sleep-deprived, slightly intoxicated state.

Mike and Rob were catching an early morning flight to Bangkok, Thailand to continue raging. Mike had graciously offered Josh and I to stay at his place while they were gone and we used the opportunity to recover and watch episodes of Suits, Modern Family, Dexter and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

After a few days of this, I started to get a little stir-crazy and decided to go do something.

I caught a ferry to Mui Wo on Lantau island and then took a bus to Ngong Ping plateau, home of the Po Lin monastery and the Giant Tian Tan Buddha.

The Buddha, measuring over 100ft tall, weighing 243 tons and forged in bronze is said to be the biggest of its kind in the world, even if it was completed in 1993.

After spending a few hours visiting the temples and the Buddha from close and afar, I headed back to Mid-Levels after having visited Man Mo temple, the oldest temple on the island of Hong Kong.

The following day, Mike an Rob had returned from Bangkok completely spent after their party marathon.

Our last night in Hong Kong was a quiet one, enjoying some barbecue brisket and other western fare, which we will probably not have again for quite some time.

Mike had been a phenomenal host: selfless, accommodating, generous and incredibly laid-back. Hong Kong and Macau would not have been as fun without him. My liver, however, is not as appreciative, hahahah!

The following day we were headed to Beijing on a 24-hour train ride. Our last taste of western civilization was fleeting, and I couldn't be more excited!

Hong Kong Part I: MTL in HK

Sept 8th-12th

Our 30-minute Qatar Airlines flight to Doha, Qatar, arrived without a hitch, save for watching young, spoiled Emerati brats annoy the helpful staff. We then narrowly made our connecting flight to Hong Kong, our gateway to the Far East.

 

After the eight-and-a-half hour flight we were greeted by the most peculiar sight: rain!

Rain is non-existent in the Middle East, even rarer in the summer months. After seeing dry desert for so long, rain accompanied by lush, tropical vegetation was utterly refreshing, both metaphorically and literally speaking.

Prior to our arrival, I had been corresponding with Mike, a good friend of a friend of mine, a pilot and fellow West Islander, who had agreed to host us for a few nights.

Mike had come to meet us at Hong Kong station as we exited the train arriving from the airport. We then took a cab back to his place in Mid-Levels, a residential area halfway up the slope of Victoria Peak.

Mid-Levels is just above SoHo, or South of Hollywood road, another district known for bars and restaurants and apparently the early-evening hangout of all of Hong Kong's expat community. We hadn't seen this many white people since being back in Canada.

After dinner and a drink in SoHo, we went back to Mike's place for some rooftop beers and cigars before Josh and I called it a night.

Like in Lebanon, our first order of business was securing a Visa for our next destination, mainland China. Although rumored to be notoriously difficult to obtain, we merely handed in out passports, took a picture and gave the agent the required fees. She said it would be ready in 3 business days. That was easy, a little too easy...

Josh and I then made our way to the peak tram, operational since 1888, bringing passengers up to the top of Victoria Peak.

The tram was quite packed and surprisingly steep, but somehow still managed to get us up to the top of Hong Kong's tallest mountain, at a height of 392m (1286ft).

From the peak, we went to the Sky Terrace and enjoyed the view of one of the most stunning skylines in the world. The innumerable skyscrapers, rolling green hills and the beautiful waters of Victoria harbour make this a view like no other.

We then did the circle walk, circling Victoria Peak, offering incredible vistas of various districts and islands around Hong kong.

That night Mike took us to Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), a district with more Asians than SoHo, but still a lot of expats for some shisha to rekindle memories of the Middle East. From there we went to Amazonias in Wan Chai: a seedy bar in a seedy area with an awesome Philippine cover-band and a bar full of Philippine prostitutes.

After a while of listening to the band and fighting off propositions from the prosties, we headed back to Mike's place.

Early that morning, Mike's friend Rob arrived to Hong Kong to stay and travel with Mike for 2 weeks. Coincidentally enough, I had actually met Rob in November of 2011 at the party of Jess, the friend who had put me in contact with Mike in the first place. Small world indeed!

To give more space to Rob; Josh and I moved to Chung King Mansions, across the harbour on the Kowloon peninsula, in the Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) district. Chung King Mansions has the distinction of being China's best representation of globalization, housing and employing people from over 100 countries. The complex also contains over 30 different budget accommodations. We chose the Taiwan Hotel for its cleanliness and positive reviews. As a bonus, Josh barely fit in the beds!

That evening we watched Symphony of Lights, a nightly laser-light show using all of Hong Kong's skyscrapers in an impressive and beautiful spectacle. We then met up with Mike and Rob for an amazing steak dinner and some partying in Wan Chai and LKF.

 The benefit to staying in Kowloon is that you get to take the Star Ferry all the time to reach Hong Kong island. The ferry is a ridiculously cheap ride, providing amazing views of both sides of the harbour.

Our next day started out with some delicious Dim Sum before heading to Mongkok to visit the ladies market where fake wallets, belts, t-shirts and Beats by Dr Dre headphones among other things are sold.

After a hearty dinner of a Big Mac Trio (only 3$ in HK), Mike and Rob met us at Kowloon station. From there we met up with Dan, another Montrealer living in Hong Kong, and went to the rooftop of the Ritz-Carleton, located at the 118th floor of the ICC, the fifth tallest building in the world. Take that Dubai!

After a drink or two, Dan had to split and the rest of us went to LKF to a club called Magnum. Despite the steep 300HK$ entrance (almost 40$ CAD), the music was great and eventually the place was packed.

After far too many drinks, my ability to make conscious, rational decisions was gone and I ignored Josh for no apparent reason when he was heading back to our hotel . I then looked for Mike and Rob who were also nowhere to be found.

I then left and stumbled my way towards the harbour. By this point it was already 5am and the ferries would be starting up again in less than an hour. I stupidly decided to lie down on an elevated sidewalk and set my alarm for when the ferries were set to start. Unfortunately I overslept my alarm and woke up on that same sidewalk during peak rush hour on a Wednesday morning.

Talk about embarrassing!

I do realize that my mother reads this and I know it's incredibly stupid and careless and I am not proud, but it happened so I am including it.

To quell my shame, the four of us had decided to go to a man-spa complete with 2 saunas, both a hot and cold jacuzzi and a 45-minute massage to nurse our hangovers.

After the rejuvenating powers of the man-spa, Mike took us to Hong Kong's favourite pass-time: horse racing. Introduced to Hong Kong by the British 165 years ago, it is Hong Kong's only legal form of gambling and the weekly goto spot for every Caucasian in the Special Administrative Region.

From there we headed to Wan Chai for some post-horse racing partying. I think I figured it out: Mike was trying to kill us!

Paupers in a Prince's World

Sept 4-7

We caught a late-night flight from Beirut to Dubai. My lovely friend Amina had arranged for us to stay with a high-school friend of hers who has been living in Dubai for the past 7 years. Without ever having met us, Lauren graciously agreed to have us in her home during our stay in this desert metropolis.

It was now 3am and we hailed a cab to the Dubai marina, the beautiful area where Lauren lives. Leaving the airport, we were expecting the dry desert weather we had experienced in Egypt and Jordan, but instead were hit with a humidity I have only felt in a sauna. Yeah, that bad.

Upon arriving to Lauren's flat, we were instantly welcomed and told to make ourselves at home. Her cats, however, had other plans.

Most likely a territorial thing or perhaps they could just smell my distaste for animals in the room, but the entire night they ran around; made bizarre, loud noises; and nibbled and jumped on Josh and myself.

After a feline-induced, sporadic slumber, Josh and I headed out to see what Dubai had to offer.

As soon as we stepped out the door, my sunglasses instantly fogged up. Upon trying to take photos with my SLR, it was nearly impossible because even the internal glass of my lens had condensation on it. By the time we had reached the metro, a mere 15-minute walk, I had probably lost a few liters of sweat.

Our first stop was the Dubai mall: an immense building containing every high-end fashion-house imaginable; many innovative, unique stores; a full ice rink, and even a Tim Hortens!

We spent a few hours window shopping before deciding to brave the unworldly humidity outside.

Right outside the mall is the world's highest building, the Burj Khalifa. Completed in 2010, the Burj Khalifa stands at an incredible 829.84m (2722.57ft), and is home to the Armani Hotel and other ridiculous residences and stores. To be honest, we thought it would look taller, hahahah!

Due to the fogging up of my camera, I had to rely on the puny camera of my IPhone 4. Better than nothing.

Also, unfortunately, they do not let hobos in their hotel, so Josh and I couldn't check out the interior.

We returned to Lauren's and waited in her building's pool until she got home from work.

Not only did she work all day, but she had bought groceries and made us a delicious fajita dinner. Talk about hostess with the mostess!

Due to out 4am arrival and Lauren's incredibly generous 4am wake-up call, we all went to bed early. Even her cats left us alone that night. All was good!

The following day we didn't feel like window shopping or indoor skiing, so instead we made our way to Wild Wadi, an outdoor waterpark. Nothing beats cool water when dealing with 50 degree heat and 100% humidity!

Wild Wadi also happens to be located next to the Burj Al Arab (the building shaped like a sail), the world's only 7-star luxury hotel. Once again we had to take a picture from outside its gates because they don't let people in unless they have reservations (aka $$$$).

That evening, Lauren had invited us to her coworker's birthday dinner at Loca, a Mexican Bistro in the Dubai Marina Beach Resort.

Josh and I went to join a table with lauren's colleagues from Tarapin. Apparently Tarapin only employs beautiful female expats from the UK for their Dubai office. Needless to say they were eager to meet the two random Canadian strangers staying at Lauren's place.

Lauren's colleague and also the birthday girl, Prima, treated us better than we deserved and wouldn't let us pay for anything. The night culminated in drinking games, which evidently I lost because the next thing I knew I woke up on my mattress in Lauren's apartment.

The following day Josh and I rented a ferociously powerful Chevrolet Spark, the name of which implies its likely source of propulsion, and drove to the capital of the Emirates: Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi is the second largest city in the UAE, but the richest Emirate in the country. You would never know it by looking at it, but it is currently supporting Dubai financially despite the latter's brash opulence and ridiculous structures.

Upon our arrival to the city, we met up with Josh's friend Kat, who had volunteered to be our guide for the day.

First she took us to a cafe overlooking Abu Dhabi's envious skyline and the we visited the Emirates Palace: Abu Dhabi's answer to Dubai's excessively luxurious hotels. Before entering, we were inspected at the guard station to ensure we were wearing pants (an extremely rare occurrence on our trip through the Middle East) and walked around, imagining how a night in this palace would likely cost as much as the budget for my entire year-long voyage.

From there we went to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, easily the highlight of our brief tour of the Emirates. Taking 11 years to complete, and using more precious stones and materials than anyone could imagine, this Emirati Taj Mahal (they look very similar) was absolutely stunning. After, we joined Kat for one drink on Yas Island before heading back to Dubai to saunter along the marina with Lauren.

I had a little taste of home on my last day in Dubai: a Java U coffee in the morning and Tim Hortens for lunch.

For dinner, my last meal in the Middle East, I met up with my elementary school friend, Nadia, at the Dubai Marina.

Nadia has been visiting Dubai since we were kids and now calls it home after moving there from Amman, Jordan. She was instrumental in my planning for the Middle East, offering suggestions and advice while I was still in Montreal.

My final meal in the Middle East was a fitting one: eating ful, tabouleh, hummus and smoking shisha while being served by Egyptian waiters.

Alpha becomes Omega.

The United Arab Emirates is a weird place: from its unimaginable wealth and larger than life structures; to its white-clad, Bedouin-looking Emirati and South-Asian working class; there is no other place on earth that is more contrasted and ambitious at the same time.

The one definitive conclusion I can make about this country, is that our hosts and guides were beyond generous and to them I offer my sincerest thanks. You made our short stay truly memorable and we won't forget your kindness.

Shukran.