Stuck in Hong Kong... because of Russia

On Wednesday, Claire and I arrived in Hong Kong for the first time ever!  We were both really excited about arriving in this storied city.  Ever since I can remember, but even more so since I took a Chinese cinema class at UCSB in 2009, I have been excited about seeing this city of roughly seven million people. After all, Hong Kong cinema after Hollywood is some of the most universally appealing in the world.  Performers like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, and Chow Yun Fat are commonly known and revered names in the west.  Let's not forget directors such as Wong Kar Wai and John Woo either.

Bruce Lee statue and tourists at Kowloon's "Aveune of the Stars"

Another big influence on our excitement to visit Hong Kong was, oddly enough, the author Michael Connelly.  Connelly's modern hard-boiled L.A. detective stories a-la Raymond Chandler, have been remarkably consistent in quality and entertainment value, and when Claire and I both read his 2009 novel, 9 Dragons, it sparked a seed of interest in us both to see Hong Kong.  Yes, in a bit of a departure, Connelly took our favorite L.A. detective, Harry Bosch, to Hong Kong to look for his kidnapped daughter.  A fun, quick read and highly recommended.

Having said that, Kowloon, the area of Hong Kong where we are staying and which represented a large percentage of the locations within 9 Dragons, is a really fantastic place to stay.  Claire and I discussed yesterday how we each had a rough idea that Kowloon might be somewhat seedy and very Asian culturally after having read 9 Dragons, but in reality the part we are staying in is very cosmopolitan with many high end shops and restaurants.  It is easily the most stereotypically "western" city we have been to on our trip.  It feels very multicultural and international, and there has been no issue language wise as English is spoken everywhere.  If you are in the mood for Starbucks, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC, Shakey's, Burger King, TGI Friday's, Outback Steakhouse or you just need to pick up something from 7-11 or Circle K, Hong Kong is definitely your Asian portal to the west.

Kowloon skyscrapers

Little lady... tall buildings.

 Across the bay, on Hong Kong Island, we took a walking tour and were surprised by how easy it was to get around on foot.

Raised, covered sidewalks make traversing the city of Hong Kong on foot a breeze.

Inside the sidewalks...very clean.

Breathtaking view from Victoria peak on Hong Kong Island.  That's Kowloon accross the water.

On the Victoria Peak tram.

Beautiful Hong Kong day from the Kowloon-Hong Kong Island ferry window.

You might recognize the tall building from the movie, The Dark Knight!

Fook Kiu.  That's right, you heard me.  I said Fook Kiu!  Mansion that is.  We happen to have taken up residence in the Lee Garden Guest House located on the seventh floor of the prestigious Fook Kiu Mansion building in Kowloon.  I know it is hard to believe, but it is true... just check out the pic if you don't believe me!

Sometimes captions are just inappropriate.

A sample of some of Hong Kong's many neon lit streets.

So we show up at the Russian consulate on Hong Kong island bright and early at 9:00am on Thursday in order to apply for our Russian visa's.  We have to get them in Hong Kong, before we travel back to mainland China, as all indicators through the research we have done (mainly Claire) indicates that Hong Kong is the only place in Asia where U.S. citizens can apply for and be issued a Russian visa.  And... the application process is arduous.  I won't go into detail, but Russia is not a country that actively encourages tourism for westerners, or anyone else for that matter.  I think if we had children they would have wanted a blood sample from our first born too, but as it stands we weren't subjected to that.  The short of it all is that we were very nervous that all our paperwork was in order, and that we might be turned away.  In fact, we had everything which was  a huge relief.  The curve ball was that we have to wait a whole week.  So... we are in fact stuck in Hong Kong as I said in the title of this post, and its all because of Russia!

Thankfully, Hong Kong is awesome!  For a city this large, it is beautiful, exciting and clean.  The people are helpful, and speak English, and we can get the occasional egg McMuffin (ham removed).  If we were gonna be stuck in an Asian city, Hong Kong is the place to do it.  We will be here until May 12th (Mason's birthday!) when we get our visas back, then its off to Shanghai by way of Jinhua.

Yesterday we took the tram up to Victoria peak, and it was amazing.  Tomorrow we are off the the local Island, Lama, to stay a few days out of the city, about a 20 minute ferry ride, and then we'll return to Kowloon on Wednesday.  Waylaid, but in a pretty good way it turns out!

It comes in pints and is still not owned by InBev, so...

...we celebrate the "Osama" news with the rest of America, the best way we know how!