Brittney Spears in Nepal

The Nepalese are clearly unaware, or don't care about, of the demise of Brittney.   Or maybe she is back and I'm just behind?   These are two examples, of countless, Brittney propaganda encountered not only in the cities, but in the northern Himalayas as well.  

It's also possible everyone is too busy Palin bashing and supporting Obama to update to Milley Cirus.  In the mountains, I saw dozens of 'Obama Hope' stickers.  The ones from his early campaign, slightly photoshoped to look Indian.  Throughout my travels, I have learned that most of the world, western and developing, supports Obama.  In Indonesia it is mainly because his skin color is the same as theirs.  This is not an assumption, but a statement I heard more than once; "Obama! Same color."

During my last few days in Nepal, Tihar, the second most important Hindu festival in Nepal, was finishing up.  During Tihar (also known as Diwali in India and even more important there), buildings are covered in colorful lights, most hanging vertically from the roof down to street level.  The streets are filled with families dancing and playing music.  There are also animal sacrifices throughout town.  Given I had seen most of the sacrificial sheep being herded through the mountains, marching to their death, I chose not to seek out that experience.  And, I am still traumatized by my yak experience.

I spent the last day in Kathmandu walking from village to village sight seeing.  Durbar Square in Patan has beautiful architectural Newari temples and ancient Newari houses.  I met another Sadhu, it only cost me $1USD to take his picture.  He is as short as he looks.

Pashupatinath is one of the most important Hindu and Shiva Temples in Kathmandu located along the holy Bagmati River. Bodies of deceased are cremated on concrete squares, known as cremation ghats, using wood logs and straw to fuel the flames.   After cremation, the ashes are swept into the river, the same river local children play in and use to bathe.  The Royal family of Nepal was cremated here after their massacre in 2001.  A must see in Kathmandu, it is a mixture of emotions.  There is obvious sadness and curiosity combined with the desire to punch the tourists who are shoving their camera out there to get a good photo of the burning foot protruding from the flames.  

The Kali Ghandaki Trail

The trek was amazing. 70 miles in 8 days, walking through the deepest gorge in the world,

 around the amazing Annapurna, Nilgiri and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges and reaching an elevation of 4,800 meters.   Although we saw so much, there is much more to see as the scenery changes dramatically from village to village. The trek started in Nayapul and ended in Muktinath. We played on bamboo swings with Nepali children, drank Tibetan tea in a woman's kitchen, visited 550 year old Buddhist monasteries and slept in a local house in Tatopani when the lodges filled up. There were plenty of trekkers on the path, most going opposite of us completing the final days of the Annapurna Circuit Trek, a 14-21 day circular trek around the entire range.

Day 1: Nayapul to Ulleri. 5 hours, ascending 800 meters, and a minimum of  300 flights of stairs. The trek was adjacent to the Bhurungdi Khola river through a rich jungle filled with hillside villages and pony's carrying supplies up and down the mountain. This day provided the most difficult mental challenge. After ascending 3 hours of stairs in the later part of the day, I made a joke about the never ending staircase, and Javed (the guide) responded by stating the stairs continued to Poon Hill. Poon Hill was a day and a half away. I knew I was in trouble because I found myself excited when I took 4 or 5 steps on flat ground opposed to 12" high steps. In Ulleri we hung out with school kids and I felt like a wimp when I discovered my painful afternoon walk was their daily walk home from school. After dinner, my intoxicated porter led Nepalese dancing in the kitchen, which was a stand-alone building with a wood burning fire used to cook.

Day 2: Ulleri to Ghorepani. 4 hours, ascending 1,000 meters. I woke up to a view of Annapurna 1, which was followed by a manageable walk with slow ascents and reasonable stair climbs. Javed had set me up to fear this day, but, thankfully, it wasn't that bad. Although it seemed more crowded than the day before, it was a great walk with scenery much like day 1. We arrived at Ghorepani early and were able to enjoy the day and the views of the Dhaulagiri mountain range from the lodge. Shortly after I went to bed, I woke to Micheal Jackson's Beat It playing loudly in the lodge restaurant. I went down to check it out. The lodge was filled with Australians and Nepalese doing shots of whiskey and dancing, poorly, to cheesy American music. At one point there was a Conga line. I am sad to say that after I made 6-8 rejection attempts, I was forced to join the Conga line. This was, by far, my darkest moment on the Trek.

Day 3: Morning trip to Poon Hill then Ghorepani to Tatopani. 8 hours ascending 400 meters then descending 1,000 meters. In the morning we got up at 4:30 am (ouch) and went to Poon Hill to see the sunrise. The colors of the sun were amazing, changing from red to yellow to white. The 180-degree view of the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountain ranges was outstanding.  Descending down the hillside through the villages was the first time I realized how far away from civilization we were. Although there are small medical stations along the way, it is a good 2 day walk to a major town. Initially, I was very excited for the decent, thinking it would be a piece of cake compared to the uphill climbs we'd been making. How wrong I was. Going down is as hard, if not harder, then going up. But, the hillside scenery more than made up for the pain.When we got to Tatopani, I was wrecked and looking forward to a hot shower and some r&r. I was in for a rude awakening when Javed told me the lodges were fully booked and the only 'room' he could find was a tent on the roof of a restaurant located next to a lodge. There were no other tents around my 'room' and the bathroom was down a spiral staircase, through a patio, through a hallway.....I fought back tears of pain and exhaustion. Shortly after, he found a room in a local house.  Even though the bed was no more than a piece of wood with a blanket, I was ecstatic I was not staying on the roof of a building. The evening went in a strange direction when David, the porter, decided to mix alcohol and Hindu prayer. At first I thought I was not understanding the Hindu culture, as he sounded possessed and angry. When our host started voicing her concern, I knew we had a problem. 

Day 4: Tatopani to Ghasa. 5 hours ascending 800 meters. We woke to views of Nilgiri.  On this day, I found I could no longer pass the ponies who were hauling supplies to the villages. I was losing steam and felt like they were on my heals the whole day, taunting me for going slow. The walk to Ghasa started in the deepest gorge in the world with the adjacent hills standing approximately 2,500 meters above the trail. The views of the mountain ranges continued most of the day along with beautiful waterfalls, the best being a multi-tiered fall at Chhaharo. The unfortunate mixture of alcohol and prayer continued this evening and Javed sent home porter number 1.

Day 5: Ghasa to Tukuche. 5 hours ascending 600 meters. Javed hired a local villager, Kuber, as the porter and we headed out for more fantastic views of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri. As we were walking around the mountains, every turn on the path offered a new amazing view. Kuber followed me closely and would reach out to grab me each time I stumbled. Because my inherent clumsiness is exacerbated by looking around while walking on a rocky path, this happened quite frequently. Either he was a uniquely nice guy or he was hoping to appear to save my life and get a great tip. I was torn between the two possibilities as most of the time he tried to catch me, I had barely moved and was in no danger yet he seemed genuine.   The mountain scenery was followed by a wide river bed surrounded by pine trees and more mountains. In Tukuche, we stayed at the Dutch Bakery and the lodging was fantastic. Many other trekkers had commented it was the best on the Annapurna Circuit, and it did not disappoint. Great room, shower and food. Even the mouse running around the second floor common area didn't ruin the atmosphere. Tukuche is an old hub for Himalayan transport to and from Tibet. The homes were all made of stone and many were abandoned. The village population is only about 500, but some of the friendliest people on the trek.

Day 6: Tukuche to Kagbeni. 5 hours ascending 200 meters.  This trip was typically, 'Nepali flat,' which means lots of small ups and downs on a rocky path.  The day started following the river with hillside views, but quickly dried up. As we approached Jomson, the dirt road, used for jeep transport starting in Tatopani and continuing to Muktinath, started to get old. It was dusty, windy and the most bland scenery of the trek. In Jomsom, we picked up one of Javed's friends, Niken, who joined us for the remainder of the trip. He was a great addition to the group. Kagbeni was a nice village located on the edge of Upper Mustang, the northern most area of Nepal, bordering Tibet and forbidden to tourists unless you have a guide and pay $500 to $700 USD. We snuck in and climbed a nice size hill for a great view of the forbidden area.

Day 7: Kagbeni to Muktinath. 5 hours ascending 1,000 meters. The walk was slow and steep mostly surrounded by gorgeous desert hills. As we approached Jharkot (about 30 minutes below Muktinath and pictured on the right) there were beautiful fall trees with the desert and the Himalayas as a backdrop. It was an amazing combination of colors. When we made it to Muktinath, the end point of the journey, it couldn't have felt better - we made it! Walking around, we happened to come across the slaying of a Yak. Thinking it would be a cultural experience, I anxiously watched. It was awful. The lower caste of Hindus have a ritualistic killing of the yak that involves tieing up it's legs, sitting on it's head and wrenching a knife into it's heart until it dies. The process took about 30 minutes. We only stayed for 5 then went to hang out with the live Yaks, who retreated down the hillside to hide from their ultimate fate. When we returned, the Yak was dead and they were sawing off his hoofs. The next day we saw the end product, a bare rib cage laying on the ground. The Nepali's use every part of the Yak, there is no waste. I kindly rejected the Yak momos on the lunch menu. The village of Muktinath was not as nice as Jharkot, so we decided to head back down and stay in Jharkot. A few days earlier, Javed had noticed that our trek had an extra day in it. It was supposed to be 8 days, flying home on the 9th, but we had booked 9 days, flying home on the 10th. So we had an extra day to explore the Muktinath area.  This day we lost porter number 2 to foot problems.  It was a sign that I needed to carry my own bag.

Day 8: Day Hike from Jharkot. 6 hours ascending then descending 1,000 meters. We reached our highest point of about 4,800 meters. It was amazing! It only took about 2 1/2 hours to get up an extremely steep hillside, with no real trail. Being with two Nepalese, I was by far the slowest and most cautious. Theses guys went up and down like they'd been doing it for years. 

On the way down, we side tracked and went back to Muktinath to see the Muktinath Temple. This is one of the holiest Hindu temples in the world and many Indians take pilgrimages here. Although the temple is mainly Hindu, it also has a Buddhist and Bon temple. Bon is a Tibetan derivative of Buddhism. By far the best part was hanging out with the Sadhu Baba, known as Baba to the Nepalese and seen to the right smoking tobacco from the horn of an animal. A Baba is in the fourth phase of Hindu life and gives up material attachments to live in caves and temples searching for liberation through meditation and contemplation of God.  Basically, a Hindu hippie.

We took a jeep to Jomsom and flew back to Pokhara on a very small, seemingly unreliable, propeller plane that navigated it's way through the narrow gorge.  Thankfully, it was only a 15-minute ride.  

Trekking Nepal

For the past few days, I have been preparing for my upcoming Trek through the Himalayas. Preparing entails shopping for supplies (I am officially a faux North Face ad), resting and hiking around.

On Monday, October 20th, I am starting the Jomsom Trek. I chose this trek, opposed to the Everest Base Camp Trek, for a couple of reasons. Jomsom is not as technically challenging as Everest Base Camp, important as I am recently recovered from a month of various ailments and am not physically ready to ascend 9,000 meters over 14 days. Additionally, Jomsom is more scenic and culturally interactive. As a bonus, which I discovered after I booked the trip, the Jomsom trek has some of the best hillside accommodations in Nepal. Still doesn't save me from using the outhouse in the middle of the night, but I like the thought of whatever 'some of the best accommodations' means. Since day trip 'pee' breaks are usually road side stops in a semi-discrete location, the outhouse shouldn't be much of a problem.
The trek is 9 days and starts in Nayapul at an elevation of about 1070 meters above sea level. Each day we will decide how far we will go and where we will stop for meals and lodging. Below is an anticipated route, but will change based on my stamina.
Day 1: Hike to Tirkhedungu: approximately 4 hours ascending to 1480 meters
Day 2: Hike to Ghorepani: approximately 4 hours ascending to 2750 meters
Day 3: Hike to Poon Hill then to Tatopani: approximately 7 1/2 hours ascending up to 3,200 meters then descending to 1190 meters. This is one of the deepest mountain gorges in the world, and the trail is surrounded by mountains. In Tatopani there are hot springs to help with the pain of the first few days
Day 4: Hike to Ghasa: approximately 6 1/2 hours ascending to 2010 meters
Day 5: Hike to Larjung: approximately 6 1/2 hours ascending to 2550 meters
Day 6: Hike to Jomsom: approximately 5 1/2 hours ascending to an elevation of 2720 meters
Day 7: Hike to Mukinath: approximately 6 1/2 hours ascending to our max elevation of 3760 meters
Day 8: Hike back to Jomsom
Day 9: Fly back to Pokhara

I am trekking with a guide, who I selected from our Bhote Kosi rafting trip, and a porter, who will carry the bags. Click here to see a map of the trek (page 2). Although this is not the company I am going with and their stops are different, it shows the path and the surrounding mountain ranges. I am so excited!!
I do not anticipate being able to get online while trekking. I will blog again upon my return on the 29th.

Hillside Villages

I have hiked through many hillside villages over the past few days. Some on purpose, some on accident. It happened accidentally because unnoticed merges in a descending path become confusing forks when ascending the same path. Hard to imagine it gets better, but the villagers are friendliest group I have met in Nepal. Everyone says hello, 'namaste'. Mostly, it's due to their kind nature, but a personal theory is that they also want to see if you can breathe well enough to respond. Everyone works so hard just to sustain life. For starters, what I would consider a medium difficulty hike is their walk home, on stone paths and steep stone staircases built into the hillside. They live off the land harvesting their food and often carrying it up in baskets on their back or attached to their forehead by a band. Children entertain themselves on swings made of bamboo, by playing imaginary sword fighting with chickens and once, by stealing my cell phone to play a game on it.

I hiked through the Sarangkot hillside village to watch the sunset, a venture recommended by 'the bible'. The short 30-minute hike was rewarded with some of the most amazing view I have seen since the Everest flight. It was a relatively clear evening and the top of the Sarangkot village had 360-degree views of the hills and the Himalayas. There were many guest houses at the top and if one can handle trekking their pack up 30 minutes of stairs, I would highly recommend staying there. The village is full of families, there are few tourists and the guest houses are strategically placed to take advantage of the sunrise and/or sunset views.

Of course, I stayed too long at the top thinking how lucky I was to spend the next 8 days in the Himalayan villages, surrounded by the people and the mountains. I climbed back down in the dark. Because I had seen a snake on a previous hike, I thought that every noise I heard was another snake coming to get me. About half way down, a local passed me, stopped to ask where I was going, then led the way back down, saving me from fearing any more snakes.

Pokhara

Nepal continues to impress. After our quality time with the Rhino, Athanasia and I headed to Pokhara, the second largest town on the Nepali map located about 6 hours west of Kathmandu. Pokhara is smaller and quieter than Kathmandu. We stayed in Lakeside, adjacent to lake Phewa Tal, the second largest lake in Nepal surrounded by small mountains with the snow capped Himalayas towering behind. Outside of going into the Himalayas, it is one of the best places in Nepal to get a view of the mountains.

We took a wooden doonga (rowboat) out on the lake to admire the scenery. Except for the Nepali insect making a continuous a noise like a fire alarm, it is a fantastic way to enjoy the native monkeys and beautiful white egrets against the hillside backdrop. We visited Devi's Falls, a small series of waterfalls marking where the Pardi Khola stream goes underground. The falls were named after a Swiss visitor's girlfriend who was pulled to her death by her boyfriend when he tumbled into the waterfall. Chivalry is obviously dead in Switzerland.

Hiking up to the World Peace Pagoda, given to the Nepalese by Japanese Buddhists to symbolize world peace (if the beauty pagent contestants of the world could see this kind gesture they might think their dreams have been realized), was good preparation for my upcoming 9-day trek through the Himalayas. We chose to take the easy route up. Per 'the bible', you can take a bus to Kalamati and from there walk about 20 minutes to the Pagoda. After one short bus ride and about 30 minutes we figured out there might be a bus to the town, but it only runs every 4 hours. Instead of spending the day on the side of the road, asking every passing bus if they were going to Kalamati, we got a cab. After an hour and a half walk in the blazing sun, we realized the cab driver stopped short of our anticipated destination.

Saving the best for last, we went paragliding! In tandem with an instructor, you run and hurl yourself off the edge of a cliff with a parasail attached.

Save the minor turbulence encountered on the edge of a thermal, it is amazing to fly around above the lake.

The view of the hillside villages and padi fields continues to be an amazing scenic backdrop. However, if I would have known before I went that these guys were packing the sails, I might have been a little more nervous.

I extended my visa today for a couple of weeks to accommodate my upcoming trek. It is easier to get a visa extension then a phone card. Athanasia went back to Kathmandu and I intend on spending the next few days getting ready for my trek.

SIM Card

In each country I have been to, I have been able to walk into a 7-11, or similar upscale corner establishment, and purchase a SIM card for my mobile phone. This gives me a local phone number and a bunch of phone minutes I can use to call the states or locally. It's a great system.

In Nepal it's like registering with the CIA. In order to get a SIM card in Nepal, one must fill out a 2 page application and include: a copy of your passport, an extra passport photo (which must be stapled to the application), the purchaser's signature written across the application and photo, and thumb prints from both hands. Seems a bit extreme, but when you're a short plane ride away from Kabul, you can't be too careful who you give a local phone number to, right?

The Jungle

After the Everest experience, we headed to the jungle for a few days. We went to Chitwan National Park, a few hours southwest of Kathmandu. We stayed on an Island in the park, it was reminiscent of going to camp as a kid. There were organized jungle activities, set times for meals and rooms lit after 9pm only by kerosene lamps. Each day, they had 'elephant bathing'. This means, they take the elephants to the river and the tourists attempt to climb on the elephants, but usually get violently shaken off. Surprisingly, elephants do not seem to like having their ears grabbed. One guy lost his pants in the process of trying to mount the elephant and instead of pulling them up, chose to persist and let it all hang out. In an attempt to save his friend from further embarrassment by showing his ass to everyone, his buddy jumped on the elephant behind him. As his pants were still down, that was even more awkward for the group. Athanasia joined in the fun. The elephant showed his admiration for Greeks by not violently throwing Sia into the water.

On our first jungle tour we learned what to do if we encounter the following animals:

• Rhino: hide behind a tree; climb the tree (the trees have no branches in Chitwan, so I 'm not sure how that is possible); run in a zig zag pattern (apparently, a rhino can only run straight); or hit the Rhino on his bottom lip with a stick.
• Tiger: everyone should stare the tiger down. Per our guide, who was dressed in a zoo uniform, this lets the Tiger know we have the upper hand and that he is no longer king of his jungle. Also, one should not point at a tiger, as the tiger will think it is a rifle and counterattack. I have a hard time believing a tiger has started down the barrel of a rifle and lived to understand the potential consequences of not attacking.
• Sloth bear: Clap you hands and sing.

On that jungle walk we saw sloth bear poop, a rhino hoof print, a tiger paw print, and a grasshopper. Things were not looking good for us. On the second day, we took an elephant ride through the jungle and spotted a Rhino. We tracked it for a while, getting glimpses here and there. It was pretty cool. The jungle safari trip was saved.

Everest

I met God on Nepal's mountain flight. Flying above the clouds, at 25,000 feet, we saw 6 of the world's 14 tallest mountains, identified by towering over 8,000 meters in height. Of course, this included the grandaddy, Mount Everest. The plane was a 30-seat prop plane, advertised as a jet. Everyone got a window seat. The flight was about an hour long. We travelled along side the snow capped Himalaya Mountains with a peak-a-boo view of the Tibetan Plateau to Mount Everest, where we turned around and flew the same path back. When turning around, the plane headed directly towards Everest. At that time, each passenger got to visit the cockpit and view Everest head on. It was like being on top of the world in some magically spiritual place. What a sight. This is Everest below, in the middle, and only slightly taller than it's neighbor.

Nepal

Exchange Rate: $1USD = 73 Nepalese Rupees

Time Difference:  12 hours 45 minutes ahead of PST

Cost of a room: $30USD

Preferred method of transportation:  taxi or bicycle driven rickshaw with small carriage in back.

I fell in love with Nepal on the flight into Katmandu.  The mountains terraced with rice fields, covering every available square foot in the Katmandu Valley, provides some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.  The people are great!    We went white water rafting down the Himalayan river, Bhote Kosi, yesterday.  The rapids are class II-III with one class IV that knocked a few people off the raft.  Sia was one of the fallen.  Like a pro, she held on to her paddle as she slipped under the raft and held it high when she surfaced for air.  Thank goodness for the British Army, who were there to pull her out of the freezing cold water!  

The river cut through the mountains yielding hours of amazing scenery.  We rafted past villages and under suspended wooden foot bridges.  We were often followed by Nepalese children who either ran down the side of the river along side us or jumped in and swam with us.  Lunch was made on the side of the river: pasta, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and coleslaw made from fresh ingredients.  What a great introduction to Nepal. 

I cancelled my return flight today, as it was for October 18th and I decided that the national economy was not ready for me to return yet.

Monkey attack

This is the monkey who attacked Athanasia's window on the way to the Taj Mahal.  The guy in the background owns the monkey and is pondering how much we are going to pay him for this adventure.  Sia also had a stand off with a monkey today at the Monkey Temple in Katmandu over who got her bottle of water.  Even though it was his turf, Sia prevailed.  Nice work, Sia!!

Continuation of Delhi

Some corrections to my previous blog:

 - there is trash everywhere in Delhi

 - only Delhi, not the entire country of India, is 30 minutes off GMT

 - Nepal is 45 minutes off GMT

There are some very nice architectural sites in Nepal, including India Gate, Humayan's tomb (mini Taj Mahal), and the park where Gandhi was cremated.  The food is out of this world and the city is full of culture.  But the gnats are enough to chase anyone away.  As soon as the sun goes down they are, no exaggeration, everywhere, inside and outside.  In summary, the top 5 things that stand out about Delhi are:

 - beautiful temples and elegantly dressed women in the middle of chaos;

 - blatant staring (of the natives at all westerners);

 - consistent, great food;

 - camel drawn carts and carriages; and

 - filth.

We took a 15 hour excursion to the Taj Mahal.  After 7 hours of driving to the Taj Mahal, via an unimpressive Hare Krishna temple, a snake charmer (using a cobra) and a monkey attack on Sia's window, we walked in wondering if it would live up to our expectations.  As we walked through the gate, there was mistaking the grandeur and it was clear why the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.  It is magnificent and truly, beyond words.

My first impression of India

Conversion Rate: $1USD = 46.1IR (Indian Rupee)
Time Difference: 12 hours and 30 minutes ahead of PST. Before landing in Delhi, I had thought that Afghanistan was the only country with a 30-minute time difference from the rest of the world. I have since learned that it is the same in Nepal and Iran.
Hello/goodbye: namaste (with 4 official languages throughout India, Hindi is a good staple, given 80% of the population is Hindi)
Thank you: shukriya
Cost of a room: 1,050 IR
Preferred method of transportation: Tuk Tuk. Different from the rest, the driver is inside the cab, steering from a big-wheel type steering contraption.

I have suffered many plane rides with crying children. It doesn't bother me too much. However, the flight to Delhi had 3 or 4 children who did not just cry, they spent most of the time screaming bloody murder. It was like nothing I have ever heard before, uncontrolled hysteria. I heard it again in the immigration line. It was only a couple minutes before the immigration officials moved the woman and her child to the front of the line.

We are staying in Paharganj, New Delhi. I arrived this afternoon and Athanasia is arriving tonight. I have not yet ventured out, so I can only comment on my experiences so far in this small area. It is dirty, dusty and polluted, but doesn't seem as polluted as Hong Kong. The trash isn't too bad, the clutter is due mostly to dust and the remains of partially constructed sidewalks and buildings. Not surprising as I saw underground street work being done by a skinny Indian man who was using an pickaxe to dig through the asphalt. In this heat, I'd quit too. I've spent the last 6 weeks in extreme heat. When I got off the plane here, the severe dry heat was suffocating. On the street, I was approached by a 6-year old kid who asked for a cigarette. I was harassed by a12-year old boy who was so wasted he could barely stand up, at noon. When I went to look at a room in a hotel, I had to walk over two separate guys passed out in the hallway. The rest of the people I have met had been helpful kind. I had the best Chicken Masala I've ever eaten. It cost $3USD. So far, the experience has been full of contradictions and complete sensory overload: sight, smell, sound. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. I've only been here for 3 hours.

More on Hong Kong

Since I am cooped up in my hotel with self-diagnosed, Chinese medicine man confirmed, bronchitis, I thought I would expand on Hong Kong a little bit. Since I am terrible at finding a hotel and the Hong Kong is a terrible place to try and find a hotel, I have moved around quite a bit and explored a variety of areas.

Central, on Hong Kong Island, is the main business district, home to Hong Kong MTR station, Central Ferry terminal and IFC2, the tallest building in Hong Kong. It is where the largest concentration of new high-rise buildings are, although they appear to be dispersed throughout other areas. Central is also where the Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo areas are. These are Hong Kong's self touted bar hopping areas. Besides the previously mentioned Gecko Lounge, there are a variety of high end bars rumored to include a bar with a shark tank and an ice bar where they give you a parka upon entry, M1nt and Ivan's, respectively. One was closed and I couldn't venture out to see the second due to the giant stepping on my chest.

West of Central is Sheung Wan, an older area filled with dried seafood markets and locals who shooed me away because I was a tourist. I thought it was quite rude. Admittedly, I am not always the friendliest person in the world, but I have never used my hand to shoo away someone who was trying to ask a question, while scowling.

Wan Chai is east of Central, also on Hong Kong Island. Wan Chai is the home of Happy Valley Racecourse and wall to wall hotels and bars. Most of the hotels are nice and the bars range from laid back beer gardens to swanky wine bars to gentleman clubs where the ladies, dressed in mini-skirts and boots to their thighs, solicit customers out front.

Lantau is the biggest island in Hong Kong covering 170 square miles (for perspective, Rhode Island is 1,045 square miles). As previously mentioned it is home to the airport, Disneyland and 3 prisons. Shek Pix prison is the largest of 3 prisons on the island and is about 12 miles from Hong Kong Disneyland and about 8 miles from the Hong Kong Airport. The 5-star location shown below kind of makes me want to commit a crime:

As far as I can tell, the only thing preventing escape is the location and the waterfront rooms overlooking the beach and pier. The bus stop immediately adjacent to the prison offered a close up view of the facility. There appeared to be only one fence separating the prison from the rest of the world, and it didn't appear to be much of a deterrent. Additionally, the prison is surrounded by a thick forest, a perfect cover for convicts to make their way to the airport or Disneyland. But again, who would leave this place?

The prison reminds me of Shek O Beach. Located on Hong Kong Island, Shek O is one of Hong Kong's most secluded beaches. I just happened to go on a national holiday and missed out on the seclusion.