Right now, I should be somewhere in a skyscraper in Hong Kong, cheering for 2009 with a mainly nordic group of friends, and about to party the new year. It is unlikely, therefore, that I am eating 12 grapes, like all my compatriots will do in 7 hours, and I will not run San Silvestre race like last year, but I hope that does not mean I will get a bad 2009, and my wishes are still valid. š
I wish you all the best for 2009. Feliz AƱo Nuevo!
PD: I have realized that 2008 would have been the shortest year of my life… for 7 hours if it had not been a leap year… Who cares, right? š
Walking in the street today I saw this sign in a park in Hong Kong.
It might seem a bit strange to you, but there is some foundation for this. In China, spitting is normal, extended and generally accepted; at least in all three cities I have been before, and I do know than in many others too.
Hong Kong is really close to mainland China, and in fact, it is part of China, but they still have many english ways of living, and one of them is that spitting is not something socially accepted, as in the rest of the country, so they have set up local penalties to fight against that.
Hong Kong is one of those special places in the world for several reasons. It is a city in chinese territory, and now under the chinese flag (until 1997 this was Great Britain), but still with special agreements regarding passports (you do not need a visa if you come from the EU, for example), currency (HK dollar), driving (on the left)… and, of course, appearance.
It is also peculiar because they are a set of islands with many mountains, so the space is quite scarce. Its situation has been very important in the history, and therefore it is one of the economic poles in the Globe. That justifies being the second city in the world in number of skyscrapers.
I like this so far. It does not have many spots to see, but it is clearly different from the rest of China, which makes it interesting by itself in this trip.
And before I leave, here you are two more pictures from Shanghai.
First, a Buddha statue in the Jade Temple:
And also a nice view of a park. I like this kind of parks in the middle of the city. They are like oasis.
I did not know that Shanghai is going to host the Expo 2010, but it is quite obvious if you walk a little bit in any area of the city. So, please let me introduce you Haibo, the mascot of the Expo. It looks familiar to me…
