1427

I’m sitting at the top of Victoria peak waiting out the sudden shower that began to fall. I purchased my ticket and went into the building to wait for the tram when all of a sudden a downpour began. I had the idea to come here after reading the beginnings of the itinerary pasted on the wall of the hotel that I’ll be staying at tonight. It doesn’t include a visit here and I was prompted and encouraged to visit here as a must see destination. I’m watching the whisps of clouds being pushed away by the sometimes  strong wind. The rain has stopped falling I’m just enjoying a coffee and some lunch hike checking out the groups of tourists walking by. The longer I wait the better the visibility will be judging by the movement of the clouds. 

  
I checked out of my hotel room some hours ago and made my way to the hotel where the tour will begin. I took a bus but didn’t fully follow the walking instructions given by Google maps. It would have taken me in a circular way that’s why it’s still in Beta and it’ll be a while yet before it is an alpha way to lead you some place. 

  
The roommate that I’ll have tonight came up and introduced himself. I’m strongly debating inside weather or not to upgrade to having a personal room for the duration of the trip. I’m strongly leaning towards it. I get up way too early most days and I don’t feel like tiptoeing around somebody who is still passed out. The rain returned again and I wonder when it will stop. There is one benefit to the rain right now the place isn’t that packed. I have a seat on the patio with a view of the mountains. 

  
2249

The group finally came together awkwardly at first but then some of us started to gel as we shared our stories. Everyone is of some kind of European descent and at different points in their journeys. They are all considerably younger than me. I have a roommate now. He is traveling with a group of friends and they are also part of the group. He just happens to be the odd man out. 

  
We had a group meeting where we filled out a bunch of forms and got a run down from Harvey out CEO, Chief Experience Officer. He explained to us some of the things we should watch out for and some of the things we are going to need to abide to in order for this trip to be successful for all of us. We will be covering a lot of ground and tomorrow will be a long travel day. 

  
I don’t know how I’m going to keep up with my writing or how it will pass through the great firewall that China has set up. The moans that came out of people’s mouths when we heard that Google, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook et cetera will not be accessible anymore was palpable. I think we like posting and sharing and not being able to access information the same way that we have been able to before hurts a little. It’s going to be interesting to say for sure. What I am going to do is turn on the automatic post to Facebook feature. I disabled it because I want a little bit of distance between the two. In this instance and for the next three weeks I will try to post using it. 

  
The trip to Victoria Peak was nice. Once the clouds cleared up a bit I could capture the image of the city from the highest vantage point. It was an enjoyable trip up there. The ride down was interesting as everyone sits facing backwards from the direction of motion due to the steepness of the track along the gradient. 

  
The journey back was easy. I took the ferry and walked to the hotel from there but then got caught in a downpour again. I ended up under a shelter in a park. A conversation developed with a couple of guys waiting for the rain to subside. It turns out that they were Nepalese and former army. Supposedly according to him there are about seventy thousand of them living here in Hong Kong. I tried to buy a beer from him to no avail and he directed me to a shop owned by a friend. When I came back he offered me some Nepalese food. It was a dry mix that had a bit of a kick to it. 

  
I got back to the hotel in time for the meeting. We went for a little tour of the neighborhood afterward and then had the most awkward dinner at some Chinese restaurant. The menu was all in Chinese ( surprise! ) but with so many of us Harvey had a hard time translating the menu and explaining how we should order dinner. With so many Europeans who have only limited experience based on their chopstick techniques, it was difficult to order. The most weird thing too that we talked about during dinner is the fact that we didn’t have anything to drink. Most of us have just met and this was our first meal all together. I think we have a good group. We will slowly divide into groups and operate somewhat independent of each other especially when there is some flexible time. 

  
It’s my fiftieth day on the road a momentous number let’s see what lies ahead with an open mind and opened eyes. Hong Kong in this downpour today felt like a scene from Blade Runner.