Tuesday, July 7, 2009



Hi friends- It's a little strange writing on this Blog now that I'm home in my living room. Things are good here and it's great to see my friends in Bend. After2 and a half days home I feel like now would be a good time to start unpacking. My sleep schedule is completely messed up and I unfortunately have a ton of yardwork to do as soon as I clean up the horrible mess that a hundred lbs of rotting fish can make when the freezer mysteriously turned off while I was gone. Still, I'm anxious. Every day of my trip I had something to do somewhere that I could learn from, experience and challeng me. I made a little video compilation this morning that I hope you enjoy. I'll keep you posted on my next adventure. It looks like I don't have to work until august 1st so there's a ton of fishing, hiking, kayaking and adventuring to do around here... If anybody wants to visit, Let me know!

Here's the link over at youtube for the video.. make sure you have the sound turned on your computer!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Holy Hong Kong!

Well Guys, I am wunderlusterly awestruck once again. Just when I thought it was all over, here in the magnificent city of Hong Kong I find my self in huge amazement.

I initially wrote all about it yesterday with my first impressions of this incredible city. The post failed to launch for better or worse I'll sum up my experience before sharing with you my impressions from today.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong I felt like I had landed on an Alien planet inhabited by strange looking lightly tanned slim eyed lanky people who moved past me as if I was a ghost. Never making eye contact, unimpressed by my presence and moving with certain purpose through a city of amazing apparent enormity. You would not believe how big this city feels- Even though it's not really that large! Massive buildings cover every inch of coastline and every square of existence here where people Carry on with their everyday lives and business. In between the buildings are other buildings and beneath those fortress like towering skyscrapers is an efficient underground moving people even faster to where they want to go. Corporate headquarters, epicenters of commerce and trade, shopping mall after shopping mall, restaurants of every taste, housing complexes, saunas, tea houses and even parks line the interior and exterior alike along brightly colored streets sometimes decorated with alleyways of markets, food stalls, eastern medicine shops and arcades of sorts. After second observation, I realized that I was the ignorant alien here and felt more so in my place once again as a wide eyed explorer knowing that I had much to learn about this rich and prosperous city. My words cannot express the how big this city feels while still being so compact. As far as feeling like a ghost, I haven't shaken that feeling quite yet and kind of feel comfortable in a sense with that identity. Nobody seems to mind that I stop in awe with my camera at any moment. They're care full not to touch, bump or disturb my space while they move hurriedly past with whatever purpose they serve. Which could be due to the measure of sanitation I've also witnessed in this place. Never before have I witnessed such extreem levels of Germaphobia. There are signs everywhere assuring residents and visitors alike that each area has been sanitized on a two hour schedule. Free ninja masks are passed out at the airport and every service person wears them.. from McDonald's to Starbucks to banks, even the chefs in sushi restaurants wear them while they work! I passed a random temperature scan in the city just an hour ago.. for my personal safety of course.

Hey whitey round eye! Check this out!

Today, I woke up in my luxury hotel (which overlooks the city) courtesy of my older brother Jer and his awesome wife Sallie who offered me the family employee discount rate through her work and walked over to the museum of Hong Kong history where revelation once again found me. I was shocked to learn how Hong Kong was originally colonised by the British and why. Sorry Brits, here comes a huge skeleton from your closet.

After the Dark ages in Europe the English were interested in trade with China. the Portuguese had already opened the market doors and paved the way. the Chinese, However, weren't as interested in what the English had to trade and only allowed them access to two cities under a strict set of rules and guidelines that the English weren't quite fond of. The emperor at the time even flat out made a statement to the British telling them that they were proud of and enjoyed their way of life and had little use for western wares. Frustrated yet determined, the British hatched a devious plan.. get the Chinese hooked on Opium and they'll sell anything including their souls to the crown. So, the British (already manufacturing Tar in India) Began to import Opium to china by the ton. Trade relations changed immediately. they found it quite easy to get the things they wanted from people now only interested in getting their next big fix. When the Emperor of mainland china realized what was happening he seized all the opium to be found and boarded British ship to relieve them of their toxic cargo then piled it up into huge ponds, mixed it with lime while it dissolved and washed it back into the ocean. He ordered that anyone caught distributing Opium to Hong Kong or China would be put to death. Trade stopped immediately. That is Until the British Waged war. the Chinese had an estimated 100,000 troops against the British 20,000 but stood no chance against ships armed with a hundred cannons or more, against battle tested generals using modern warfare tactics and the matter was easily settled. The British assumed control and Opium manufacture, sale and trade resumed. This all happened in the 1830's and 1840's in case you were wondering!

the history of Hing Kong gets worse. In world war two, the Japanese seized Hong Kong and the British military fled making way for almost four years of what has come to be known as the Darkest period in its history. Residents were tortured or executed for not conforming to Japanese rule and people starved as rations were small and inadequate. On the Bright side when The United States of America dropped the bomb august 1945 the world stopped and Japan signed an unconditional surrender. Unconditional. Meaning that they had to evacuate Hong Kong and relinquish control back to our Opium dealing friends from across the pond.. Long live the queen. Things are quite different now as you might guess. The royal crown has surrendered control of Hong Kong which has been reunified with China. The city has been a boom town ever since mixing western technology with eastern ways, hong Kong is a the business center of Asia..or at least it seems like it to me!

I have some awesome pictures that I hope will illustrate how magnificent this city is but I also have taken enough video this trip to make a compilation when I get home that I'm looking forward to. I'll post the pictures on the 5th.

I have to roll friends, I'll be seeing a few of you soon!