Gale winds, nut flushes, and lasagna.

I'm going to have to say that Hong Kong was a wonderful experience. With a loose schedule, on-the-spot itinerary, and great weather, I could not have been more relaxed. I ate some great food, met some entertaining characters, and sight saw my touristy little ass off. I explored the city so much that I knew more about Oscar's neighbourhood than he did. I even won money at an 'underground' poker house in the midst of a level 9 typhoon warning last night. What a way to cap it!

Oscar was the consummate host. He treated me to dinners, took me to the hot night spot, and met me at the airport! His brother also made sure that all the finer details of my stay were taken care of. As well, his parents were very pleasant and his father gave me advice on where to buy my plane ticket.

In the obvious ways, Hong Kong differed greatly from Tokyo. Things were less tidy here, building signs jutted out instead of shot up, public garbage cans were plentiful, and English was abundant. Cab drivers were rude, clueless, and dangerous, but that's the Chinese way! Food was cheap but so was generally everything else like public transport and discount furniture. And unlike Tokyo, trains were full of cell phone chatter (though, as too were the museum theatres. Man I wanted to smack that kid.).

I don't want to overgeneralize but my jaw rarely dropped from after seeing an attractive Hong Kong girl. They just don't do style here like they do in Japan. Hong Kong is not a place for creative fashion among the populace. I don't know how to describe it but they do 'rural' pretty well here. Only at night in Lai Kwai Fong (the bar district) do the models (mostly white) come out and strut their stuff. Unfortunately, the sheer number of Western male expats (sporting their untucked dress shirts with collars so wide they could go hang-gliding) in the same vicinity just makes the overall style points of Hong Kong plummet to the ground.

But I came here for one reason and one reason only: to expose myself to the Chinese culture. Much like the hork exiting from the old man's throat, the Chinese are obtrusive, loud, and yellow, but managed to divert my path for the last time. I say this because when I was younger, I could not have cared less about Hong Kong. I didn't really take any pride in my heritage.

But this whole trip, which started in Japan, was a medium for me to learn more about myself by removing myself from Western society and placing myself in a whole other context. That went well. And after that ran its course I sought Hong Kong on my own terms, away from my mother's usual influence, and I'm glad I came to see it for myself, by myself (remember FUBU, Pat?).

No itinerary. No time limit. No sweat.

Actually, lots of sweat.

Roll call!!

ULTRA MAGNUS

HSBC Headquarters, Standard Chartered

The hood

Oscar lives here:



Which is next to here:


here:

and here:

Sorry but the pics don't capture all the grit and grime.

Time is Love

Move over Big Daddy Kane, we have a new goosebumper

(L-R) Jack Swagger, gitty-azzed wrestling fan, Evan Bourne

Actually, I had more sweaty palms than goosebumps during this wrestling show. Jericho vs. Mysterio = worth every motherf*cuking penny. Live wrestling shows are FUN and I'll easily go to the next one in a heartbeat.

19.9kg!

Ho's before Bro's in HK
The Tokyo adventure's over. I am now in Hong Kong staying at my friend Oscar's place in Kowloon. He lives in a luxury condo in an industrial centre. Next door grimey shirtless dudes with cigarettes dangling from their lower lip are carting tropical fruits off of trucks into warehouses. Same situation across the street, but another kind of fruit.

But I can't wait for the condo people to fill Oscar's swimming pool with water. Until then, I'll have to settle for his maid doing my laundry. Or maybe there's something good on on the TV in the bathroom.

First morning observations:

Chinese people are kinda ugly
Jay walking is the shit here
The sights (ugly people), the sounds (loud-talking ugly people), and the smells (not of B.O. like Tokyo, but of the streets like Chinatown).

Watcha got in store for me, Big Guy?

Doomsday Whistle

This happens at least 3 times a week in the mornings.

Living like a hobo, eating like a king

The Longest June...EVER

Gotta love the type

With 3/4 of my apartment sold and eating only bento boxes (among other prepared delectables), this has been the longest 10 days of my life so far. I guess I'm anxious to go but can't yet so it feels like forever. Save the best for last of course. Night biking this Saturday and of course, Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio with special guest referee Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat!!

One thing I won't miss: some old stank-ass B.O. motherf*cker was LEANING against my chest in a crowded train, READING A NEWSPAPER! I could feel the sweat from his shirt soak into mine. I couldn't get my arms up for some reason, and I ended up smelling like him when I got of the train. Time to burn that shirt.

Bassmaster

Me, The Bassmaster


Last night, I went to a restaurant called Zauo in Nishi-Shinjuku with my friend Hashi. The concept? Snag a fish and they'll cook it for you! Along with the standard izakaya fare on the menu, this restaurant also lets costumers catch their meal from an open fish tank surrounding the dining area. It's a great idea and a lot of fun.
It took a little while for the fish to bite. There were many times where a fish did bite but fell off the hook as it was splashing around on the water (subsequently wetting the adjacent diners). Fishing can be frustrating. The fish seemed smart enough to nibble from my poorly baited hook. But after numerous unsuccessful attempts, one did not get away. I schooled that fish, later identified as Tai (Sea Bream). Though it was the cheapest fish on the menu (and the most abundant in the tank), it was delicious. Hashi ate the eyeball.

Catch fish from the comfort of your own booth

Bait was soft and shrimpy

Thus difficult to hook

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend

Here fishy fishy fishy fishy...

SNAGGED



Owned!!

DISCRIMINATED

Just getting rid of some unused sauces in my fridge

I've been discriminated against. By Japanese people. For being smart.

I plan to go to Hong Kong from Tokyo before heading back to Vancouver. This means I need one-way flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong and one from Hong Kong to Vancouver. A travel agency in Japan called "No. 1 Travel" offers discount discounts to many popular destinations all over the world. I found a nice flight to Hong Kong for 198,000 yen round trip. I figured I'd buy this one now and buy my Vancouver ticket in Hong Kong.

So I went down to their office in Shinjuku to ask some more questions. I asked how much a round trip ticket would cost and I asked how much a one-way would cost. It turned out that the cost of a round trip ticket was substantially lower than the cost of a one-way. I thanked the gentleman for his time, left the office with this new information, and returned home to work out my schedule. Hell, I figured I'd buy a round trip ticket and 'miss' my return flight. Whoops, my lazy ass slept in. Big deal.

With my dates set, I went back to the Shinjuku office and spoke to the same gentleman. "I'd like to book a round trip ticket to Hong Kong, please," I requested. Knowing I was aware of the price difference and SUSPECTING that I was not going to return to Tokyo, he demanded that I present a re-entry visa to Japan before he can sell me the flight. I had no such visa. In that case, he demanded that I show him a copy of a plane ticket leaving Japan for a date after I return from Hong Kong. I had so such ticket. He said without either of those documents, he could not sell me the ticket to Hong Kong. I told him this was crazy. Since when does an agency care whether I had the proper visa or need to know my travel plans for an unrelated trip? Plus, being a Canadian citizen, I wouldn't need a re-entry visa to enter Japan as a visitor anyway. Their 'new policy' was completely bogus. I blew a fit. I asked him when this policy became effective. He stumbled out a made up time frame. I then asked for evidence of this policy in writing but he said he didn't have it. I asked to speak to his supervisor and she gave me the same tired routine, except this time she was able to tell me that the policy came into affect in April. Ya right. In the end, they were not going to sell me the ticket because they feared I was not going to use the return. Of course, they did not say this to me directly. I left the office quite frustrated.

The next day, I went to their Ikebukuro office and purchased the same ticket, no questions asked. Looking at my itinerary, what does it say? Kindly note that passport validity and visa requirements are not our responsibility or that of your travel consultant and we are not liable for any loss or expense due to a passenger's failure. Also: No. 1 Travel is not responsible...if you could not board the flight, or was not admitted to immigrate or emigrate to the immigration control office at the airport in Japan or in the country of your destination because you did not have a proper visa..." No shit, eh?

I can't believe Japanese people lied to me in my face like that, straight discriminating me because I brought up the notion that flying round trip is cheaper than one-way. Well, I won in the end. I'm leaving Japan and going to Hong Kong!!

The Beautiful People