I never thought I would have the opportunity to celebrate a birthday in Hong Kong, but that’s how it turned out this year. The trip didn’t really come at a good time, but I’m trying to look at the bright side. I’ve always wanted to see Hong Kong, and it finally happened.

Because of certain regulations, I had to go and leave the country to get my visa. Covid isn’t really a thing anymore, and because of the jobs I had, the visa thing wasn’t an issue. But I had to leave this time and come back. Seems like I can’t catch a break—EVERYTHING seems to be coming hard for me. Two steps forward, eight steps back. But whatever, I’m trying to look on the positive side.

Hold me closer, Tiny Room

Since money has become an issue again, it meant I had to find cheap accommodations in one of the world’s most expensive cities. I lucked out though. I found Ashoka Hostel and got a very cozy 12 foot by 6 foot room for around $44 USD per night. But it’s fine. I don’t need a grand piano and a sitting room. There’s a big enough bed, a dorm fridge, hairdryer, tiny bedside table, and a bathroom. I can literally shit and shower at the same time if I please, because it’s all in a two foot by three foot room. Oh, there’s a television in the room, a fan and an air conditioner. That’s nice, because I like to sleep in a very cold room, and during this warm, damp spring weekend, it’s wonderful to crank up both the fan and a/c. Although, I don’t really need the fan. But it’s nice to know I can use it if I want.

It’s the tiniest room I’ve ever rented, but it’s good enough. The hosts are super nice too.

The trip timing could have been better. I wish they would have scheduled this for a week after payday, but no one really asked me. Anyway, I estimated having just enough money to get through the trip. The problem though, is not knowing if there will be a snag with the visa. And I HAVE to be here—I guess I can’t just send in the paperwork and my passport.

Bank of China Hong Kong, You’re killing me

But there’s never a dull moment. I have an emergency fund which I’ve not tapped since last summer, and I was confident that if I did need money, I could access it. Except I couldn’t. I went to four branches of Bank of China trying to see what was wrong. The last branch was able to get through to the mainland by phone. Because you see, there’s Bank of China mainland and Bank of China Hong Kong. One bank, two systems. One country, two systems. So, the last branch came through, I got to speak with someone, and they said nothing was wrong with my card. And yes, smart asses, there WAS money in the account. But a Hong Kong BOC employee voiced the theory that maybe something was physically wrong with my card. That statement jogged my memory. So when coming back from the grocery store Friday night, I stopped by a BoC Hong Kong branch. I rubbed extra hard on the little gold chip and on the magnetic stripe, hoping that was the problem. And it was. I was so relieved to hear the whirring sound and see the cash dispensed seconds later. I was relieved because even though my visa is scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, Friday afternoon the visa office had questions. I neglected to answer my phone, because I’m a dumbass, two, I’m conditioned to not answer because my Mandarin is still poor, and three, I figured it was someone trying to sell me something. So the visa office sent me an email, and thankfully was able to get the document they were asking about. I emailed it to them, but will probably go back to the visa office tomorrow to see if I can talk to someone about the situation.

It’s Victoria Harbour, because it’s British

Exhausted but relieved beyond words, I slept incredibly late on Saturday, and did a lot of walking. My hostel is located in a great location; near to all the cool spots, so I hit up Victoria Harbour Saturday evening. OMG. The lights shining on the water are incredible. It was a perfect night to sit by the water—someone was giving an outdoor concert on Hong Kong island, and we could hear it across the water.

I continued walking around and finally found the postcards I’d been hunting for. Alas, I couldn’t buy postage. My Wechat Pay doesn’t work here, and there wasn’t a card reader that I could use my newly liberated BoC card on. So I figure I’ll go to the post office and buy stamps in person. It’s so weird to be handling money after literally years not really using it. It’s weird—my Wechat Chat function works, but my WeChat pay doesn’t. Some kind person bought my snacks when I first arrived at the Hong Kong high speed railway system and I was able to pay him back.

So far, it’s been a good trip. HK sort of reminds me of New York in the 1980s for some reason. There’s lots of posters advertising things, there’s graffiti, high prices, stores and food everywhere, and pornographic magazines.

The conversion is also screwing with my head. One US dollar is worth about 7 HK dollars. But the dollar sign looks exactly the same, so the prices are heart-attack inducing. Anyway, there are more photos to come.