HK

I love Hong Kong. It was instant. The moment I stepped out into the city, Sunday afternoon, I felt my heart racing and a big smile on my face -and that continued during my two days here. It's a shame I'm not staying longer.
The weather hasn't been great. It's warm enough, but rather misty as well. I went up The Peak and the view wasn't clear enough. But I didn't care.
That was my only truly sightseeing activity. The rest of the time was spent just walking around aimlessly and getting relatively lost, eating and going out for drinks. I think I enjoy the exotism of the Far East on the easier environment given by the still clear British legacy -the island side was Vitoria City, wasn't it? I'm still unsure whether I want to visit mainland China -other than Shanghai, which is on a list for an "awe and horror of contemporary urbanism and architecture" tour, alongside Astana, Baku and Dubai.
I went to Kowloon for a few hours. It feels very different, it reminded me of some provincial Japanese city like Kagoshima. And it's all about shopping. Fortunately, an American (rotary wing) aircraft carrier was docked at the port and its sailors, dotted here and there, beautified the streets with their off-duty martial casualness and youth.
I haven't taken many pictures (not even of the servicemen), mainly because I was too busy soaking the atmosphere of the place.
On my previous post I wrote I could live in Manila. In Hong Kong, I want to live. It has gone straight up to my top 5 on my list of dream assignments -and of course I want to come back. I'm somewhat scouting for possible assignments.
I am not blind to the fact that most people in this city and around have very head lives and that most of its glitter and charm is based on the exploitation of the many.
However, I can only talk about what I experience, and imagine the live I would have here.
Flying overnight to Melbourne. My 6 weeks in Australia are about to start -I can't express how excited I am.