Hong Kong Go Home You Are Drunk

I’m not entirely sure on how to start this entry, so I will begin by just saying that I spent the last month in Hong Kong and it was awesome. For my last post, I didn’t really write much about Hong Kong but rather let the pictures do most of the work. However, this is a pretty amazing… Country(?)/Region(?)/City(?).. I’m still not quite sure where Hong Kong falls.  

From what I could gather, it is pretty much considered its own country but has a loose ownership by China after the British gave it back in ’97 (I think). They have their own currency, flag, and culture apart from either England or China. The city itself has many Hong Kongese (self proclaimed, I believe) and Chinese but still a considerable amount of other nationalities represented. With everything going on around you, it was really easy to get caught up in the hustle and just go with it.

With that being said, I did a horrible job of keeping track of everything I did while I was out there. However, some of the highlights that easily stick out in my mind since my last post are Ocean Park (Hong Kong theme park and marine life park), horse races at Happy Valley, Lantau & Tai O to see the big Buddha and fishing village, Stanley beach, Chung King & Mirador Mansions, going out in Lan Kwai Fong & Wan Chai, and the incredible friends I made. A special thank you to Ellie for showing me such a good time!

I would like to quickly describe the Chung King and Mirador Mansions because I don’t think you can find anything quite like it anywhere else in the world. These are two very large buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui that are home to the only budget accommodations in Hong Kong and a ton of African and Indian people. The first few floors are all dedicated to little Indian food shops, electronic shops, knock off jewelry and hand bag stores, and some other little shops. Outside the entrance, if you are white, you will be bombarded by people trying to get you to stay in their guest house or buy hand bags, watches, hash and weed.

Once again on this trip I get to use the cliché saying “What a small fucking world”. During my last week in Hong Kong I found out that my friend Sarah from back home would be out there working for two weeks. Other than my sister, this is the first person I’ve seen from back home on my travels. It was a great experience after almost four months on the road. I felt that it really helped me re-balance myself. After this long of meeting new faces all the time and being in different places every few days, you begin to wonder if you are even yourself anymore. I have grown immensely during my travels but I can also say that I am still Brandon Lohmann. It’s odd how that can be so comforting…