Monthly Archives: December 2010

The case of black flip-flops

One of the gravest mistakes in my life was buying vanilla black flip flops. Ok, maybe not the gravest, but it is in Top 5 for sure. The reason is everybody second person here wears black flip flops, so finding your pair among dozens of similar flips flops can be from challenging to down right impossible. I had to swap my pair on the second day of purchase, when I noticed that my pair was gone, and have been in the swapping loop since then. Currently I have a pair of black Havaianas, which is a nice upgrade from my no-name vanilla black flip-flops and twice as expensive too (we are talking about the difference of two euros here). Let’s see where this flip-flops game leads me.

A transmission from Haad Yuan

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I visited Haad Yuan for the first time two years ago and immediately fell in love with the place. Haad Yuan is an isolated beach in the South-Eastern part of Ko Phangan reachable by boat or a two-hour walk through the dense jungle. It is only a short boat trip from the Haad Rin, the capital of the Full Moon party, but feels like a remote island with its own laws and customs. While the rest of Ko Phangan is rapidly developed, Hat Yuan does not change. Time is frozen here in a permanent state of bliss, tranquility and freedom. On a first sight Haad Yuan is like any other beach on Ko Phangan: white sand, turquoise sea, scattered resorts, bars and random activities. But the unique atmosphere and semi-permanent hippy community are what make Haad Yuan so special. Everybody seems to be on the same wave-length and share the same interests along the lines of chilling out, yoga, meditation and loud techno music. It feels like a mixture between Monkey Island (with pirates present of course, aaaarrrgghh!) and the mellowed out tropical Fusion festival all year around. Just beautiful.

I have been here a week and it looks like I will spend the rest of my Thai visa here. The place really pulls you in and once you land here you do not want to go any place else. Indeed, why go, when you know you can hardly top this.
New Year’s party at Guy’s Bar is lined up and hopefully some Ashtanga yoga, as soon as I get rid of my cold. Christmas Eve party was mind-blowing, despite the costs (water-damaged Nexus One and cold). Fingers crossed for the phone to come back to life.

HK2019 (Part 2)

High prices and lack of decent and cheap hostels make Hong Kong far from a good destination for a backpacker. After you cross the border with China, prices on the same goods and services increase two or three-fold. Most of things are still cheap by European standards, but at first such a dramatic change is hard to digest. Nightlife was particularly expensive even comparing to Finland. 350HKD (around 35€) to get into a club for a Canadian no-name deep house DJ (and that is with the name on the guest list) with the drinks priced accordingly. I gave it a miss. Some places compensate a steep entrance fee with an open bar, which I guess is a fair deal if you want to get wasted and have Western genes to process alcohol, but otherwise it is insanely expensive. Interestignly enough is that on average I spent about the same amount of money as in Russia and Mongolia, but after a month spent in China Hong Kong it felt painful.

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Accommodation situation is not any better. There are several hostels scattered around the city, with prices for dorms starting from 15€ upwards. If you want to go really cheap, then Chung King Mansions or Mirador Mansions are the best bets. These two massive prison-like 17-floor buildings standing next to each other host numerous guesthouses, hostels and inexpensive (by Hong Kong standards) hotels. Both buildings are the true melting pots and there is a good chance that you are can encounter here any nationality you can think of. Ridden with bedbugs, rats and other parasites, urine smell on staircases and renovation long overdue, these so called “mansions” look more like a prison complex. Add to the mix hookers, drugs/watch/suit/god-knows-what dealers and other dodgy people constantly on guard in front of the building and you get one of the most interesting attractions in Hong Kong. Chung King is particularly special – it has its own wikipedia article and a movie named after it too. What is particularly interesting is that most of clientele actually lives here, as opposed to staying a couple of nights. One of the dorms I stayed in was full of belongings of an older British man piled on several beds and occupying one entire wall. I have no idea for how long he has lived there, but judging by the amount of stuff he got there, it seemed like he made Chung King his permanent home. Sharing a bed with bedbugs for a couple of nights was more than enough, but living in such conditions is something I cannot imagine.

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One of the things I’ve been trying to figure out during my journey low budget I can go without compromising my comfort and I finally hit my edge of comfort in Chung King after getting bitten by bedbugs. Noisy dorms with snoring people, dirty sheets and crappy showers? No problem. Ear-plugs, eye-cover and a silk-linen sleeping bag cure most of these problems. But waking up at 4AM wondering what the hell is going on and spending the next week battling itchiness all over the body is the experience I would not want to go through again. Chung King and Mirador are definitely worth a visit, but you would be better off finding accommodation elsewhere.

HK2019 (Part 1)

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If Shanghai is Paris of East and Macau Las Vegas of East, then Hong Kong is most definitely New York of East. What do we have here? Very cosmopolitan and modern on the verge of being futuristic. Impressive city skyline and even more impressive history. English is widely spoken and understood here, which is a major bonus. Hong Kong’s Mass Railway Transit (MRT) is considered one of the best public transit networks in the world. No gimmicks or unnecessary decorations, it is stylish, minimal and functional. It just works. On a first sight there are no major tourist attractions here, but Hong Kong is doing just fine without them. Wandering in the maze of skyscrapers, exploring MRT or hiking around the numerous hills will keep you occupied for days.

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Hong Kong is a city of two faces. On one hand you have this modern facade: futuristic skyscrapers, ubiquitous wi-fi networks and massive infrastructure. While on the other hand you have lots of countryside and semi-wilderness, as well as the dystopian world of decaying backyards and side-streets. Gloomy backyards with signs of urban decay, skyscrapers standing proud in the night-sky and the weird mixture of English and Chinese complete the Bladerunner impression. Give them another twenty years and legions of androids will make their way into they daily life. The city skyline is long, but not as clearly defined as in Shanghai. While Shanghai’s skyline is designed from the bottom up and is tidy looking, Hong Kong’s one is seemingly random, as if it just happened on its own. The skyline as well as Hong Kong overall are best experienced in nighttime. During the day it is just grey tall buildings, but after the sun sets the city gets a new face lift. Symphony of Light, a daily 15 minutes long light/laser show incorporating music and choreographed skyscraper lightning, adds a nice touch. While the show itself is not such a big deal, the scale of the whole thing and the amount of effort put into it certainly leave an impression. As for nature, in fact 70% of Hong Kong’s area is hilly countryside. An hour on an MRT or a ferry and you find yourself in a sleepy fishing village that has nothing in common with the modern Hong Kong. It is indeed a delight to see a modern megapolis living in a symbiosis with surrounding nature.

Hong Kong is most definitely the nicest Asian megapolis I’ve visited so far. Beijing and Shanghai were great, but Hong Kong even more so. Loved it <3

Breather in Bangkok

Excellent food, chilling out by the pool, occasional shopping (Prada sunglasses for 200ba :D) and some yoga. No sightseeing, no hiking, no walking around the city for hours. Exactly what I need after very hectic time in Hong Kong. Many thanks to Pekka and Ana for their hospitality. Just one more day here and then I will continue to Phangan.