Going where the weather suits my clothes...

In less than 12 hours I should be in the Philippines ("Lord willing and the creek don't rise"... I was going to say as my dad always says, but I think that expression is more accurately attributed to my great-grandpa?). Looking forward to getting out of this busy city. I'm really glad I came to Hong Kong, it's definitely something to see, but ready for something moving at a slower pace, I think. Also looking forward to warmer weather. Hong Kong has been lovely in the low 70's and I think it might be safe to say that I won't see temperatures much below that for the rest of my trip. Mark the time... I'm sure it's only a matter of weeks before I'm complaining that I'm too hot! :)

I'm not sure what my access to email or the blog will be while I'm the Philippines. I would imagine it will be infrequent. As of now, I have an onward ticket booked to Bangkok, Thailand for 10 December, so I could be out of the loop for awhile. I will keep you all posted as I can. I've updated the flickr site with pictures from Hong Kong, and I'm not sure how many of you even pay attention to this, but I also changed all the music on this site. I added some of the stuff I've been listening to lately. The Sara Bareilles song is my new favorite, and if you're not listening to Brett Dennen or the Weepies yet, I wish you would start. :)

I realize I haven't told you much about Hong Kong. Hmmm... it's fairly expensive here (as far as accommodation goes anyway), and there are more opportunities for shopping than anyplace I've been so far. There is the full gamut of shopping experience available here, from top-end designers to back-alley markets full of throwaway clothing. I have resisted all of that as I'm trying not to add anything to my already too heavy backpack. This is also quite the international city; such a difference from being in China where you really only see Chinese people, and perhaps the odd Western tourist. Hong Kong is full of people of all nationalities, you hear many different languages being spoken, although it does seem that absolutely everyone speaks English. You can find any kind of food here too... I had Mexican for lunch yesterday, and it was actually pretty good. I've been staying in a room that's probably 12x12 and has 3 sets of bunk beds in it. There's one tiny window, and one of those tiny bathrooms where the shower head just comes out of the wall opposite the toilet, no shower curtain, and everything in the bathroom just gets soaked every time someone takes a shower. My roommates for the past 3 days were a doctor from the Philippines who was here completing a training course in cosmetic surgery, a South African couple stopping over on their way to Australia, and a girl from Colombia who is completing a master's degree in logistics and working at a kindergarten. She's been living in the dorm room for the last 3 months because she can't find anyplace to rent; definitely made 3 days seem more than manageable. I still haven't told you much about the city, I suppose, but check out the pictures. Hope this finds you all doing well. Thanks so much for all the Happy Thanksgiving emails, and as always, for your very sweet comments.

More soon...