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Hello and welcome back after a break in Hong Kong. I am now in Guilin with the beautiful graceful Louise (according to her new Chinese name) after a mad few days in HK.
I was there on June 4th - the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square. There was a huge gathering in Victoria Park, with candles and singing. I asked what time the free speech was supposed to start, but nobody seemed to know....
Actually it was very moving, even though apart from a video montage, I didn't actually understand anything. It was humbling to see so many people out in force in the only part of China which is allowed to protest.
Hong Kong is hot, sticky, crowded, confusing, noisy - and fun. The waterfront and the skyscrapers are amazing. My taxi driver was called Wong Kar Wo, which didn't bode well, but luckily he didn't live up to his name. The hotel was fantastic (as was the view from our 31st floor room), the food we had was great and we saw some interesting sights as well - the longest escalator in the world (next to the smuggest ex-pat bar in the world), amazing views from The Peak, and a crazy packed-out market - still not really sure who was selling what to whom...
My first meal (before Louise arrived) was interesting. I sat down in a huge restaurant, where I was the only westerner in a room of about 200 people. No-one seemed to want to take my order, but there was a "scorecard" in Chinese which I scribbled a couple of "1"s on, and that seemed to do the trick. A Chinese gentleman sat down opposite me,ordered, and received a 3 course meal - I got four tiny rugby-ball shaped things, and as if to compensate for this paucity, the biggest bottle of beer in the world. I knew I'd ordered twofood items, but only one appeared. I finished everything - very slowly - and the guy opposite had been and gone to be replaced by another, who was also getting his food. I was about to leave when three dim sum turned up - hurrah! I was not to starve after all- patience is obviously a virtue in Hong Kong.
That certainly seems to be true of walking around - it's nearly impossible, no-one seemed to be bothered about getting anywhere except in our way.Louise described it as a meandering style, which we saw them training their kids in early. Very frustrating.
Now in Guilin, where the view would be exactlylike the photo above - if only there was a view through the mist. Never mind, boat trip booked for tomorrow- hopefully the fog will lift. All together - fog on the Li is all mine, all mine...
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