Humb-Awesome in Hong Kompton

I am in a state of utter exhaustion.  Extreme, mind-numbing, muscle-twitching, heart-wrenching exhaustion.  Let me elaborate.

I arrived in Hong Kong disoriented and sleep deprived, being awake for nearly 22 hours of constant travel.  I managed to watch an entirely ridiculo

us amount of movies, although I can now say I've seen Iron Man (awesome) and Indiana Jones (not so awesome).

After a wonderful nights sleep, we were off to tour Hong Kong with our super cool tour guide Sailor Moon.  (Ok, her name was Moon....what do you expect us to call her?)  During lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant I discovered a steamed bun filled with barbecue pork which was incredibly delicious.  I later found out this dish is called "humbao"; we proceeded to refer to it as "humb-awesome".  

Hong Kong, I'm finding out, is a massively overpopulated oasis of free market persuasion.  Apartment housing can cost upwards of $200,000 a year, with demand far surpassing supply.  The majority of the workforce lives in government subsidized high rises that are in desperate need of renovating.  This inspired us to nickname it Hong Kompton -- we can be very politically correct.

On our day off we hiked the highest peak on Lantau Island, which happens to be the second highest peak in all of Hong Kong.  This turned out to be far more of a challenge than I was prepared for.  My fair Irish disposition is more suitable for the type of hiking that includes frequent stops and a visit to Stabucks afterwards.  

This was not that type of hike.

This hike was 7 kilometers of steep incline and stairsteps, zigzagging through the foothills of Hong Kong.  The weather was blisteringly hot, and I was quite sure I was dying at least 4 times during the three hours it took us to reach the world's largest Buddha statue at the end.  At the end of the hike I was many things (sore, tired, dehydated), but I am not so sure about enlightened.  I guess we'll see.

I will try to write a more intelligent and illuminating blog entry tomorrow, but I'm running on very little sleep and lots of coffee....not a great combo.

P.S. - I'm sure the Korean people have mastered many things in life, but unfortunately, latte-making is not one of them.  Thankfully Hong Kong has embraced the Starbucks lifestyle, which is where I'm enjoying a latte on par with home.  A bit of Seattle across the world.  

-McG