You see all these photos of Hong Kong at night, all the high-rise buildings separated by a body of water. People always ask me how I find the places I travel to, its easy. I go online and look for the most striking photos. In this case I saw a photo of the Hong Kong skyline taken from “The Peak”. Walking out of my hotel onto the streets of Hong Kong I’m greeted with a few things, red taxis, luxury cars, and people on the move. When I say that these people are moving, I mean almost running. It seems like everyone has somewhere to be, and can’t waste an extra second by walking at a normal pace. So I jump into the mass of people and make my way to the closest subway station, about a quarter mile away. Once I arrive I step onto an escalator and I’m taken down two stories where I jump onto yet another until I’m deep under the Hong Kong streets. By now I’m already an expert when it comes to public transport in Hong Kong, and its only been two days. I find the platform I need to get on, and wave my Octopus card over the gate. “Beep” and as quick as I can walk the machine knows who I am and will track me until I leave the subway. I get to the Central Station and exit the train, and walk towards the exit that takes me closest to my destination. After a few escalator rides I arrive again to the surface. Fifteen minutes of walking up a gradual hill I finally see what I’m after, The Peak Tram. I walk into this small station where one trolly car waits, it fits maybe 40 people and from doing some reading has been operating for over 100 years. Again I walk past the gates and the familiar “Beep” sounds as money is debited from my account. I jump on board and have a seat on one of the old wooden benches. After about a minute we’re off, and very quickly I realize that this is going to be a bit hairy. The slope drastically increases and it feels like I’m in a rocket prepared for takeoff. I tell myself not to worry since they have a flawless safety record. What if a cable breaks? This little train will definitely be the end of me. By the time I decide that its too late to go back, we pull up to the final stop “The Peak”. I exit and walk through a small shopping mall, and find a small road I walk until I can find where the photo I saw was taken. FINALLY! Over 7000 miles of traveling and I’ve arrived! I set my camera up on a timer and take my silly “Reached the Summit” photo with my hands in the air looking like I’m selling hugs.
I read a lot, so much in fact that I would say that I read about 5 hours every day. People always ask me how I know all the things I talk about. Well, if you read 5 hours everyday you would know plenty too. One of the many topics I devote my time to is electronics, this includes computers, cell phones, and other assorted gadgets. All of these sources say that the best place to go and see unreleased or leaked electronics is at the computer centre in Mongkok. So I set my destination and jump on the subway. Mongkok is on the mainland across the bay from my hotel, but you wouldn’t know it from riding the subway. You walk in one entrance, and bam 10 minutes later you pop out on the other side of the bay! When you step out you’re surrounded by THOUSANDS of people. This is the highest populated area in the world! Shops, people, lights; its very interesting to feel the energy here. Feeling like a little kid at Disneyland for the first time I find myself looking for a sign that directs me to the computer centre that I’ve heard so much about. I walk past street vendors, all selling strangely enough Beats by Dre headphones. Counter-fits I’m sure, but visually you’d never know; even the box looks IDENTICAL. Almost passing it, I catch a glimpse of a sign in the corner of my eye. I walk in and head up the stairs and I’m transported to a world I’ve only seen in photographs. I wander the aisles looking in windows and seeing unfamiliar things. Copy cat iPhones, Mp3 players of all sizes and colors. Even Apple MacBooks that would be indistinguishable to the untrained eye. Before you know it I’ve walked the entire floor, so I head up to the third floor for some more action. This place is TINY! I thought it was going to be huge, from all the tech blogs they describe this place as the holy grail. Hmm, oh well one more check on my list of places in the world I want to see.
