Aberdeen used to be a small fishermen village which predictably lost against fishing industry and now turned into tourism and sale of properties to preserve ashes of it's pride. Small, rough harbor filled with random boats and surrounded by wall of huge apartment buildings like towers guarding newly conquered land look ridiculous and strange. It's worth visiting to see Jumbo restaurant, eclectic tourist magnet floating in the middle of the lagoon resembling carcass of some Chinese sea dragon which got stuck on the shallows. You can also get to the Ocean Park which apparently is a super attraction (I haven't been).I recommend climbing to the top of the water supply station - view is amazing. I did it completely randomly out of need for an exercise in the park and this was the best memory I will hold.
Macau claims to be an Asian Las Vegas. Well... Catamaran cruise is quick (50 min) and comfortable and you get free shuttle buses to every hotel and casino in town, but this is about it in terms of resemblance. Grand Lisbon Casino looks like a light house and is the only building noticeable from every part of town. Portuguese traits are everywhere, especially in street names and tarts but not in the architecture (or rather it's remnants). Great vantage point of the former Portuguese (of course) fortress can't compensate the view - most buildings look like favelas with kitsch hotels scattered around, glittering randomly like mad Christmas trees. Maybe it is a City of Dream like in forcibly present ads, but Las Vegas? Dream on. It's not there yet...
Few more words about Hong Kong. I strongly recommend visiting Wong Tai Sin (Diamond Hill) temple - absolutely amazing. Sha Tin monastery of 10.000 Buddhas is fine as well, just make sure you don't climb through the main portal to the cemetery (as I did) and watch for motorized scam monks offering you rambling blessing and religious artifacts... for a price of course.
Still my favorite place: Hong Kong Park and surrounding it skyscrapers like giants guarding their garden/oasis in the middle of the concrete desert, implanted there to supply them with carbon dioxide.
Despite all it's stunning ultra- modernity and recognizable familiarity I've seen few exotic things. I would open my list with karaoke contest in tents located along Temple Street Market. 20 separate stages, one next to another, exploding every single night with high-pitched sounding unplugged instruments and (mostly unfortunately) equally squeaky voices of old Chinese contestants. Imagine all these sounds mixed together on one street, reinforcing each other like they were trying to scare off daemons in a public, mass music exorcism... Unforgettable experience! Another curiosity is a bamboo scaffolding used in even the highest constructions - you should see how they raise it to understand what I'm implying here. Next thing, rather amazing is Chinese predictive text on a touch screen - I haven't seen ability to draw on our European smartphones which I would love to see!
Still my favorite place: Hong Kong Park and surrounding it skyscrapers like giants guarding their garden/oasis in the middle of the concrete desert, implanted there to supply them with carbon dioxide.
Despite all it's stunning ultra- modernity and recognizable familiarity I've seen few exotic things. I would open my list with karaoke contest in tents located along Temple Street Market. 20 separate stages, one next to another, exploding every single night with high-pitched sounding unplugged instruments and (mostly unfortunately) equally squeaky voices of old Chinese contestants. Imagine all these sounds mixed together on one street, reinforcing each other like they were trying to scare off daemons in a public, mass music exorcism... Unforgettable experience! Another curiosity is a bamboo scaffolding used in even the highest constructions - you should see how they raise it to understand what I'm implying here. Next thing, rather amazing is Chinese predictive text on a touch screen - I haven't seen ability to draw on our European smartphones which I would love to see!
Just to summarize my experience. Hong Kong seems like extremely friendly and easy place to live, with all modern amenities and municipal incubators making it accessible and not overwhelming like other aggressive metropolises. Asian modesty melted with cult of glamour make it just more interesting, especially for us Europeans used to narcissistic laziness and spoiled by blind consumerism. There seems to be some mystery calling you to be discovered here which could change you forever or at least cure you from arrogance of a Western culture and infect you with the same kind of thoughts astronomers get when looking at the distant galaxies and realizing how diversify and humbling known Universe is. If you can get over with crowds you will love it (karaoke is only a local aberration). I have confirmed my suspicion: Europe is in the blind alley, stagnant and decadent spasm of former glory it will never resurrect and Asia (if Hong Kong represents it) is speeding silently and relentlessly like a maglev train toward the future.
Same impressions after visiting the Middle East and reading "The Gulf Times": the future's in Asia. Europe is just a small, crowded place, absolutely self-centered, focused permanently on things completely irrelevant from the civilization's pespective. Hm... what am I still doin' here?
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