Seventeen days to like Hong Kong

So let me explain to you one thing about HK: there are 17 days of public holidays in one year, which ultimately, can make you like this place when you work here! And this weekend is a long weekend ahead of us. A lot of people will be away, but as new comers, you can imagine that getting time off isn't necessarily the priority for our employers... All our colleagues have planned their days off since Christmas, and 'on l'a dans le baba'.
So instead of feeling riled and depressed, how about discovering HK? It seems like we are in a city that we can never know enough. New venues are opening every week and I realise that there is pretty much no sport that cannot be practised here, apart, of course, form snow sports. Our previous long weekends have taken us so far to the Philippines, in Boracay, where Jimboy learnt kite surfing, and I fell in love with wind surfing. The place is simply a garden of Eden. Beaches are white and soft, the sea is so transparent that even Vanessa who is scared of Baracudas (oui oui) could swim there in peace, and you can enjoy good food all day long and parties in the evening if you want to shake your hips on stage. It is said to be the future Asian no. 1 destination for tourists, well trust me, you will say so why when you will go there! But as much as it is amazing to get out of our island and get to know Asia, we still have to know more about what is happening in Hong Kong.
So far we have explored 3 islands: Lamma, Lantau, and Macau.
Lamma is said to be the island where hippies used to live (and still) do, but how can I explain to you my confusion when the biggest Power Staion in the region is on this island?? The island is made out of one trail and a few restaurants. Quiet villages can be found at the back of the mountain and straying dogs look for a home (i swear i almost got one... he was so cute, looking at me with a little coat that said 'I need a home' and about 2 months old... Comment ne pas craquer? je vous le demande). There is no car there (yey), and if you want to go on the trail for your 'hiking trip', be aware that you will be kindly accompanied by another 480 people taking more pictures than admiring the view. Still, a nice day to spend there for visitors, i reckon.

Lantau is one of my favourite, even though i only have been there once. Beaches are not packed, and you can find hidden restaurants at every bus stop, where you can go spend a long afternoon with your mates. There is a huge 'Bouddah couche', and good bays for kite surfing. If you come around here, we'll take you to that woderful BBQ place where you can eat dsert on the beach, and stress isn't permitted.

Macau is the one island I don't really know what to think of. It used to be Portuguese until 1998, and so when you get there, you kind of have this European feeling that I hadn't sensed for a while. Buildings are low and cars park in a 'boite a chaussures', just like in Paris. The streets are paved, you can find churches in every nook and cranny of the island, and the main street and 'place' look like Barcelona's Placa de Catalunya with fountains, and colourful buildings. On the other hand, once you have seen the fort and the Sao Paolo ruins (only rest is the facade of a Cathedral built by Japanese Christans in exile in the 1800's), there is not much else to do. You might have to go to ZE pasteleria of the island where you can get 'original' sesame and peanut biscuits and cakes, and even dried smoked boar, that James has bought "for fun" (i think he just loves it but doesn't want to admit it!) as well as some sort of dried fish and biscuits filled with seaweed. How weird! Oh... and also you have to go and try the pork chops in a bun, that you can get from a street restaurant in a deserted part of the island. That's pretty much it.

This weekend, as i mentioned, more to do. i will keep you in the loop. Joyeuses Paques, Hagsameah, et Happy St George's.