So I'm at Hong Kong airport trying to get my way into Japan. Apparently if you travel to Japan you have to hold a ticket that gets you out as well. I'm in the unique position of holding a ticket in, but having an standby e-ticket out from Tokyo to Sydney. So i look good going in, but looking all dodgy coming out.

By all means there should be no problem, I've travelled standby before to Japan, but ridiculously they are asking me to print out my e-ticket. E-ticket, what's the point of printing it? *sigh* it makes no sense. jaijin HK!!!

Ohayoo Osaka! Oh, well im here no dramas, staying about 50 metres away from the hostel i stayed at the other time. Ive done a small photo update if people are interested, nothing particularly good is up yet, Chrissy has the nice ones =) She`s also censoring some as well... booo!! Also as a side note, the difference in talent is staggering. Nippon ichiban!

From noodles.21@picasaweb

Although im not here at the right time for cherry blossoms, apparently plum blossoms are in season at the moment. I wish i could stay till the end of march, but i think benny and sam would kill me if i did. Fortunately, this photo was taken yesterday @ kyoto, a one hour train ride from here. Its not as awesome as cherry blossoms but, sugoi still =)

So looking forward to it!

Retrospectively last night was a night to be remembered, possibly  best night out in HK. I was partying with not one but TWO Miss Hong Kong's (one came 2nd and the other 5th), a up-and-coming celebrity and what seems to be his entourage perhaps? We went to this armani bar where we met up with this guy Jimmy, who is an up-and-coming shoe designer, watch out for it Early Morning if i remember correct. I was like, damn how are you gonna compete with Dunks and AF1s, he says he's gonna change the game, u know new designs working off AF1s =) right.

 

We hit this club called sugar, Rock (imagine rock except like 6 foot tall) got us in for free and it was alright eh. Nice club, nice music. I mean it was filled with asians some quite attractive ones as well (perhaps Lynzy didn't get around to LKF) and the dance floor was filled.  Was a goooood night out =D Did i mention two miss hong kongs?

 

But still the favourite part of the night was the pre-party drinks on top of Chrissy's apartment block, 17th floor, overlooking the entire Hong Kong harbour. I feel uncool.

Happy Chinese New Year to all who read here. I never expected CNY to be this fun and exciting here in Hong Kong. Everywhere you turn people are doing celebrations of some sort. The atmosphere is very happy and excited, completely different to the regular Hong Kong that im familar with.

 

It was great to see my extended family again. In australia they seem so far off and removed, but seeing them in Hong Kong again was nostalgic. I've forgotten that i come from such a big family and it was good to see that my cousins might have changed in small ways, but still the same as i remember. Some are generous, some are geeky, some are vain and some are funny, some i just dont know =D I hanged out with them at a karaoke for the rest of the arvo, just watching them fight over the mics and the next songs =) I need to learn some chinese, and how to sing. Either that or just a lot of alochol =D  

 

In addition to shopping and eating in Hong Kong, i've been shopping and eating Macau with my new-found hongky friend Chrissy, who thankfully is as immature as me. We spent a good half of an hour at a public seating area near macau tower which had conveniently shaped dividers allowing those creative in mind and not afraid to get their clothes dirty to slide on their arses. Basically, we played slippery-dip =)

 

So. anyways. I'm off to Osaka on the 27th and likely to be back in Sydney on the 9th or 10th i would say. I'm staying about 2-3 days then im off to Singapore. Look forward to seeing you peoples then =D

so i talk a lot about how i dislike hongkies. But i must say it's all talk. The second i land i love being back here. All that busyness, all the people, the food and the shopping. I love it all, I just need to find a few friendly hongkies and i can really start getting over my stereotypes. 

 

CNY is gonna be great. Having dinner and then lunch with relative the following day. In anticipation of the celebrations i brought an entire box of mangoes back from brisbane. Hopefully that will go down well =)

 

how is this for coincidence. As i got off the plane, i went to get my octopus card, went to get some cash, some maps and get myself to the bus stop. As i'm walking down the ramp, out of the airport, i stop suddenly. "wait a sec" my brain says, " you should really go pee". That made sense so i turned back and went to the bathroom. Nothing out of the ordinary happend there.

 

But as i was returning to the busses i saw GERALD, of all PEOPLE. crazy. I had come from brisbane, and he from sydney and somehow we meet in the middle of the arrivals hall in HK.

 

ridiculous.

I dont have fungal contamination in my stem cells.

So an interesting weekend, full of strawwy events that will eventually break my figurative camel back. So just to sumarise

• no money from work till March 23rd (conveniently my birthday)
  
• no rooms yet, its hard to secure one... so far.
  
• car broke down on saturday, hole in the radiator tube.
• what the hell am i doing up here?
  

I manage to get my car fixed today, and a workmate, pierrick, is offering for me to stay at his place for the time being till i find a place i can call home. And the weekend was quite good as well. Involved shopping at the market, beers, happy feet, meeting mel (stem cell researcher), bbq and settlers of catan playing (which i won, convincingly).

=D So as i was saying, at least I don't have fungal contamination in my stem cells.

say nothing at all. =P *sigh*

They say be prepared, and i was. Things have pretty much gone the other way since i got here. There have a been a few saving graces here and there but generally horrible horrible luck. So i shan't talk about it no more, i am content none the less. I'm looking forward to Monday though when this girl is gonna give me a ring back about the spare room she has in this awesome location for a great price.

 *fingers and toes remain crossed*

Rent is placed on one end of the scales and standard of living on the other. Somehow, it must balance. What do you give up? 10 bucks a week or a bigger room further away from the city? I'm not sure how to do a cost/benefit analysis, 10 bucks a week is seeming negligible (2%) and a bigger room has no direct benefit (it's bigger i can put more stuff in). Do I need a bigger room? how big before it's big enough? As big as my old room? Everything comes down to dollars, and sacrifices.

For now a bed under a roof will do, costing me 26% of my possible weekly income. Tomorrow, maybe a room in a Queenslander with a spacious deck, outdoor spa 2 friendly small dogs and a female roommate (16%). Or maybe a granny flat (19%)?

*fingers and toes crossed* So too the point, how much rent is too much rent? 10% or 30%?

This is why it's good to be rich, everything just becomes negligible.

I have arrived in Brisbane after a long and exceedingly boring drive from Sydney. Apparently if i didn't stick the speed limit I would have made it in 8.5 hrs, says one local at a petrol station. Conclusion, brisbane people are absolute hoons.

 

So, i'm staying at a hostel at the moment, paying 23 bucks a night for a bed. This is somewhat ridiculous actually considering i'm not on holidays but i suppose its cheaper then parts of europe, but seemingly more expensive then any other place i have been to.

 

So currently I have no pay, no place to stay, and no friends. I'll try to knock' em down in that order. Well, i lie I have a friend who I had dinner with tonight, shared a beer and also offered a place to stay for a week. But I made this friend in Sydney so that hardly counts. 

 

13 hours of driving is very thought provoking. Unfortunately, I have forgotten all my thoughts at this current point in time. I have got to say the next 3 years is going to be very interesting, although it may end up being a waste of time.