Shout Out

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your business. The Macau leg of your journey is now complete. Please, sit back and relax as we begin the Hong Kong portion of your trip.

After learning more details of the side trip my boss and coworkers are taking to Beijing, I know I made the right decision to NOT go with them. Not that Beijing wouldn't be an amazing place to visit - on the contrary. But their plane tickets from HK to Beijing were over $570 plus they have to pay about $100/day for an English-speaking driver because there is absolutely zero English being spoken or written there. Just think about that for a second....no signs in English...no one to ask for assistance...no communication really whatsoever. Gulp. On the flip side, they're going to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City among other sights.

And here's where I wish JP didn't know about/read my blog...I'm sitting here in his flat feeling like a total shit for not getting a hotel room here in Hong Kong. Yeah yeah, he says he'd be offended if I did that, but really...he lied about me sleeping on the couch. He's making me sleep in his room and he's taking the couch because he gets up so early. He won't listen to reason! Can I just mention briefly the over and above host-type things he's done already:

  1. Picked me up at the ferry.
  2. Paid for the cab ride here (and this doesn't count the cab ride to and from Fernando's and the entire lunch for Mark, Sue, JP and myself that he paid for entirely on Sunday in Macau)
  3. Given me a set of keys to his flat.
  4. Given me free reign of his flat.
  5. Provided fresh bedding (for this, I am eternally grateful).
  6. Given me use of his only private space in a flat about the size of my living room.
  7. Given me an Octopus card to use for any public transportation in HK with $100 on it.
  8. Warned me of the multitude of things that will kill me if not avoided.

I've given him:

1. A bottle of Tanqueray.

So I guess my only recourse is to not throw up on his fresh, clean sheets and try to be a good temporary flat mate. The throwing up part is what has me most worried at this point, although a good dose of self-doubt will make the other part a challenge as well.

On the incredible upside, I'M IN HONG KONG PEOPLE. Did I mention how freaking cool that is? So far, I can't begin to describe the extreme difference this place is from home. I just got here though - that part will come to me as I experience the city. Right now, I'm just chillin at the flat using up bandwidth.

So to all my peeps back home - I miss everyone and I promise to take more pictures than you'd ever want to look at.

Peace out.

Comments

Life said…
tell JP i love him for taking care of my dear friend. i can't believe you are in hong kong- let me know if you soak in the feng shui and feel all groovy.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
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