It's on like Hong Kong

Or is it?

This post is long cause it's therapeutic to write. And I NEED therapy.

It's 11:25 PM and I'm at a hostel room in Kowloon just across the canal from Hong Kong island. But let's review how I got here.

At Helsinki-Vantaa I bought a Premiere magazine which I read for the whole flight to Amsterdam. I did take a last foggy look at Helsinki when we ascended and saw the Pasila TV tower as the closest thing to home.

The first flight was easy. At Amsterdam I had a lot of time to burn, so I scoured the bookstores for new magazines and books but ended up buying nothing. I ate a slice of Pepperoni pizza and finished the mag before heading to my gate.

I flew to Hong Kong on a 747 Jumbo Jet for Cathay Pacific Airways. I had an okay seat cause next to me were a an Asian family of three and next to me was the bigger of the two boys. They were so polite that I didn't have to get up once to make room for his bathroom breaks.

Cathay had an excellent on flight entertainment selection and I'm glad my next flight is without them too. I ended up watching familiar stuff like Kick-Ass, Hot Tub Time Machine and episodes of Modern Family.

Sleeping on an airplane sucks. The seats on this flight didn't go back as much as they slid forward. My ass was really sore no matter what the position but I did sleep for about three hours before being woken up for breakfast. We arrived to Hong Kong at about 7:30 am.

At the airport I got my stuff, changed into my shorts and headed out to the express train. I checked from a map that the station closest to my hotel was Kowloon. I decided to walk from there. Somewhere I lost my map so I tried to rely on my navigation skills. That backfired, badly. I actually walked in a huge circle at one point before finding the right street.

Sweating like a pig, I found the right address but there were no hostels to be seen as I made my way around the block. I checked the address and headed in to the corridor. The next step was finding the right floor. Which was one floor above check in. Check in didn't begin until 2 PM and it was only 10 AM. But I did get to leave my stuff at the "reception"  (a foldable table next to an elevator) of the hostel.

Quickly I headed out to see the closest sights. I checked out the Avenue of Stars on the waterfront before heading for a ferry to HK Island. It cost $2 which is about 18 cents so that was nice.

I was feeling really crappy but then I decided to take a bus tour around the city to kill time and to understand the city a little better. It made me feel a lot better.

I even took a tram up the hill and looked down at the city from about 5-600 meters. The rest of the bus trip seemed to last forever and I was really tired in need of a nap. After 3 PM I got back to the hostel and checked in. I'd already paid 90€ but they asked me for $200 extra, $100 of which I'd get back when I leave.

My room was small as hell. I do have my own shower, but it's almost above the toilet.

Fortunately there's a good air conditioner. I was almost out of cash, hungry, sunburned and my iPhone's battery was running low. So I headed out to correct that stuff. I ate McDonald's, haggled to pay 10€ for a charger I can only use for three days and I bought some aloe vera. But withdrawing cash was harder than I thought and after giving the wrong personal number twice I gave up and retreated to my room almost penniless. I enjoyed the Wi-Fi for a second and napped until 9 pm. After showering I finally was able to withdraw some money and to my surprise the problem was the wrong personal number I'd given.

I felt so stupid. Cash got my spirits up a little. But while I was having dinner at an actual Asian restaurant I started to think about my friends and girlfriend, which bought a tear to my eye as it does now. I really miss everybody and I really don't want to spend two more days in this humid and hot hellhole where every peddler on the street is trying to sell me a suit because I'm the whitest dude they've seen all day. This place sucks and the culture shock is something I didn't anticipate. Instead of enjoying myself this summer I should've been preparing myself mentally but there wasn't enough time.

The worst part about this all is the fact that I'm all alone. Sure it's fun to be alone when you're surrounded by 300 DVDs and everybody you care about is a phone call away. Or even when you've just spent a week with your parents and you're sleeping in the back of a car in New Zealand for a week. Yeah, but this time it's at least four months before I meet anyone I know.

I know it'll be a lot easier in Australia where I can understand what's going on around me. Here, the only English I hear is either someone selling me suits (how unstylish am I?), selling me something else or a recording on a tour bus. I actually hope I meet someone Finnish in Australia, soon.

Tomorrow I'll do something mega-touristy to make thd time go faster and check out the Symphony of Lights which were cancelled today because of the hostage in Manila.

I'm not counting the days but I can't say see you soon either. Any encouragement and donations are appreciated. My e-mail is pelksaka@gmail.com.

I miss you, I'll write again soon.