I decided to go check out the # 1 touristy spot that I've heard about here - The Peak.
You can get all the way up there by taxi if you want, but that wouldn't be very touristy, so I took the Tram (which is almost as famous as The Peak actually). It takes you all the way up to the pretty new glass building they've got sitting on top of a mountain and sometimes the ride up is very steep. We passed several buildings on the way up, including houses and apartments with the windows open. I always wonder who wants a place where thousands of people can stare into their abode every day. I bet they're the same people who video their sweaty sex sessions.
Anyway, the Peak building is pretty much a smallish glass mall that overlooks the city and bay of Hong Kong. It's a cool place to pick up trinkets ( you're welcome Jodi & Jeri Jo & Kim & Val & etc etc). The view is pretty spectacular. Just a sec, let me post up a pic....
There ya go. I'll be posting several more (and a video or two) on FB.
While at the Peak I saw the only two black people I've seen the whole time I've been here. I think they were from Tennessee or something. I realized that if I stand out like a sore thumb in this place, they must stand out like a sore thumb that sings and does a little spur-of-the-moment ballet.
After the Peak I headed back to the hotel for a little afternoon siesta before heading to dinner with the customer. Ordinarily I would've declined a dinner invite from a customer (because I'm self-centered and would much rather do my own thing than deal with a crowd of people I barely know), but a big part of this project is rebuilding soured customer relations, so I figured what better way to do that than with a tale or three of drunken debauchery? It seems to have worked - the head of Asian operations is going to tell his Australian counterpart to request me for a project kicking off there next year.
We met at a restaurant in Mong Kok, Kowloon, the name of which roughly translates into The Fat Little Lamb. Before my history lesson I would've called the place a Shabu Shabu restaurant, but apparently that is Japanese and involves a cookpot with nearly clear liquid. The Chinese version (which I can't pronounce, but translates to Hot Pot) involves a large pot separated into compartments. Each compartment has a different kind of broth. Ours was separated into a lightly seasoned herb mixture on one side and a spicy concoction of chili peppers and other lip-burning ingredients on the other. I'm no big fan of super-spicy stuff, but I held my own and wiped away no tears while eating from the spicy pot. As anyone who's familiar with Shabu Shabu knows, they bring out a huge selection of raw meats, fish and vegetables. We had lamb, beef, eel, pork, oysters (good golly big'uns too!) and my personal favorite, a fish who's name I can't pronounce or begin to spell, but which is locally grown and considered a local specialty. Apparently they grow the fish in smallish ponds in which the water is kept running constantly forcing the fish to swim all day every day from birth until they're harvested. This makes for a very muscular fish who's meat is more the consistency of thinly sliced pork than a regular flaky texture. I loved it!
I also spent the whole 4-hour meal getting acquainted with a Chinese beer called Tsing Tao. It was surprisingly good, though I'll have to look into the alcohol content. Either it's pretty weak or I was focusing so hard on not making an ass of myself that I fought off most of the buzz. After probably 8 or 10 beers I was only slightly buzzing and my stories hadn't gotten anywhere near out of control.
I found out a couple interesting things tonight. First, the Japanese Kampai (camp-eye) and the Chinese Gan bei (gan-bay) sound similar and both mean the same thing - "dry your glass"...which we did over and over and over tonight. Second, oysters are even more disgusting half-cooked than completely raw. And third, Asians apparently think I look like Kiefer Sutherland - a couple actually took pictures with me to go back and show their wives...lol!!
Alrighty, I've got 2 and a half hours before I'm supposed to get up and start my trek tot he airport. My flight is at 9am on Friday and it lands in Detroit at noon after 15 hours in the air. How's that for time travel?
Gan Bei!!
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