Hello from the Down Under!
Well, it's been a while and I thought to drop by and say hello. I am about half way through my trip. My first stop was at Hong Kong and I must say it was better than I expected it to be. Essentially it is a chaotic version of Tokyo. I found it impressive that so many people can fit in so little space, and yet leave plenty of room for hiking and rock climbing. I stayed at friend's place in the "suburbs" (what is the suburb of a small island?) and started most morning with a pleasant walk through the mountains. The weather was hot and humid and most days it drizled a lot. This is normally the kind of weather that I hate, but for some reason I did not mind it at all. May be because it helped to keep the air clean, or may be because I am on vacation and it is hard to tick me off then. The population seems to be overwhelmingly young. I could hardly find anyone out there that was over 60 and most people on the streets seemed to be in their 30s.
Services in general are very cheap. Taxies are especially cheap. As is having a maid. On the other hand, most goods were more expensive or at best about the same price as in New York. Gone are the days that you could buy top quality items at 30~50% off the US prices. I think this is perhaps the most pronounced effect of the deflation on the US economy. My theory is that many companies are trying to sell as much as they can in the US, and this has pushed the US prices below HK's. Of course the Hong Kongese don't know this and still think that their prices are the best. They are surprised that their sales to tourists are much lower than before.
Another surprising thing was the Canadian influence in HK. Before I left for HK, I decided to bring my friend something that would not be so easy to find in HK (or so I thought). I settled on buying a bottle of fine Canadian ice wine and some smoked salmon from the Fraser river. To my surprise, even the smallest of wine shops in HK has a fair selection of Canadian wines and the first one that I went to had 6 different kinds of Canadian ice wine! In contrast, you are lucky to find any Canadian wine in Australia, let alone an ice wine. The closest they have here is a fake kiwi imitation (it was frozen processed). You can also buy PC nachoes here (a Canadian brand). And there are stores called "Toronto Sports" and the like. There was even a "Sam The Record Man" store in one of the malls! Then I remembered that a couple of years before China took over HK, an influx of Hong Kongese emigrants into Canada (especially Vancouver, BC) began. I was in Vancouver two years ago and could see a significant Chinese influence on the city. Now I was seeing the other side of the coin.
After HK, I came to Sydney. BTW, checking out of HK is a breeze; you can check in your luggage at the train station in down town HK. Then go explore the city some more before taking the train to the airport. Your luggage will be already be in the plane when you board it. The new airport is built on the water and I actually know some of the people involved in its design. But I wish I was flying into the old airport. I've heard it to be an experience. Ok, back to Sydney.
It is in the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere and Sydney is cold. There is something not quite right about feeling cold in mid July in a place where palm trees are everywhere and the leaves are still green. But for some reason, I feel colder indoors in Sydney than in a Canadian winter. For one thing, Canadians know how to insulate their homes, and the houses in Sydney are actually colder than the weather outside is. It also doesn't help that I am in the Doublebay area near the ocean.
Sydney is a fun city. It is a toned down version of Amsterdam. There are many things here that are legal or psuedo legal that you could spend time for in USA. Everything is way over priced here because of the hefty taxes (think 30%+) but also because the margins are higher due to the smaller population. If you are not a blond, then you need to be well dressed and clean shaven before you get a decent reception in some places (just being white -- which I am not -- doesn't cut it). On the other hand, showing up with a 3 day beard and a backpack goes a long way towards getting you cheap deals in travel agencies. There are a lot of backpackers here. Assuming you do look presentable, people are friendly and women will make a lot more passes at you than most places in the world.
Next week I'll be leaving for Ayres Rock which is the largest rock in the world and lies in the center of Australian desert. A few days there and I will head towards Cairns for some scuba diving and rain forest camping. After that, if a few things work out in Sydney, I will take a two week bus tour from Cairns to Sydney and explore the entire east coast. Otherwise I will go back to HK for a few days. I plan to spend a week in Thailand before coming back to New York. This trip might take a month longer than I'd anticipated, but for once I don't mind being behind the schedule <vbg>.
It is unlikely that I will have Internet access once I leave Sydney. So you'll have to wait until I come back to hear the rest of the story.
Cheers,
Sun Tzu
PS what is wrong with the market? Can you guys keep the fort while I'm away? It does not look good. |
