Our morning was a rush of souvenir shopping. The unique shopping experience only highlights how different Bali is than the other places I've been. Unlike other places with less than ideal economic situations, people in Bali seem really content with their station in life. They practice their religion constantly. There are offerings, shrines, and ceremonies EVERYWHERE! Even the most humble home is exceptionally tidy and has a spectacular shrine to leave your offering. When you bargain here, people don't get angry or annoyed with you. Instead, after you buy something, they act like you are their best friend. "Oh, this is the first buy of the day. You will bring me good luck."
By the time we got to Hong Kong we were exhausted! There were skyscarpers, mostly apartments, the entire drive from the airport. I could not believe that these weren't even part of the world-famous Hong Kong skyline. We crashed at the first hostel we found . . . at the Chunking Mansion. The "Mansion" is actually a huge skycraper with commercial enterprises shoved in every possible nook and cranny. It has four separate banks of elevators in different coordinates and is impossible to navigate. I don't think we made it to our room once without directions. Our hostel was a very cramped (think barracks), but tidy place on the 23rd floor. Strangely, although we had just left Indonesia, this was our first interaction with anyone Muslim (Bali is the Hindu enclave of Indonesia). The owners seemed nice and let us borrow a DVD player to watch the pirated movies we bought in Bali. I think we made it through ten minutes before crashing.
1 comment:
HAA HAAA! I love those masks! too bad you had to leave Bali! with $8 massages and milk baths i don't think i would ever have left the island and instead tried to set up working long distance with your firm!
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