In Hong Kong I stayed at what was called the Mirador Mansion, and from what I have heard, it is a lot better then the Chunking Mansions right next door, but it was still a far cry from a palace or a mansion. The building is more like a whole little neighborhood crammed into a 17 story run down complex filled with a bunch of cheap electronic phone stores, indian food joints and tailors on the bottom levels and on the top, a bunch of floors filled with laundromats, cheap hostels and visa service shops all surrounding a courtyard that looks down empty roofs filled with trash and vents from the stores below. If you happen to stay there I would recommend to take the elevators, even though they are confusing and only go to certain floors, because if you take the staircase down you’re likely to encounter some smells and scenes too disgusting to describe.

I would begin my explorations first by taking the ferry across the water from Kawloon to Hong Kong Central, which gives you an amazing view of the city as you approach it from the water, a long row gigantic skyscrapers with even larger green mountains behind them as a backdrop. I made my way through the downtown area, through underground passages, up outdoor escalators, down small alleys filled with all types of storefronts packed with merchandise, all filled with crowds of people. In a certain sense it feels like one giant hamster megapolis, complete with 24 hour hamster treadmills and tube like skywalks, but considering how hot and humid it was outside, it was relief to be inside with the cool air conditioning pumping hard. At one point I made my way to the old cable car that takes you to the top of the mountains. It goes up the hill at like a 45 degree angle and I was a bit on edge for the whole ride as the car makes its way up the in a very unsmooth manor, with a bunch of jumps and creaking, I wondered when was the last time the cable snapped on this ride. At the top, there is a huge complex with restaurants, t-shirt shops, starbucks and an incredible view of the city and the water below. I took a bunch of photos there and then decided to skate down the hill back to the city. It was quite a steep ride and I am probably lucky that I didn’t scrub hard on the way down, but I must say that it was an amazing experience as I came down into the urban area, with the skyscraper apartment complexes on top of the steep hills, flying by on my board.