New place, new country, new smells and sights. It creates that old well known to me excitement, a feeling of discovering something new. It's hard to live without it after stopping to travel. The only way to fill this void is to go back on the road. Changing places and cultures is a great mental exercise, and a chance for spiritual growth. There is a threshold where traveling becomes a life style. You are no longer just a tourist. You live where you step off the bus, and your home is the place where you sleep tonight. Tomorrow is another story.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → After a quick look I turn around and explore the streets. No concrete destinations yet, just wandering around. At one past noon, I am pretty tired after the flight, but I can't make myself go to bed and take a nap.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Nathan Road in Kowloong, one of the major areas in Hong Kong, is one of the major streets with lots of things going on. Branching from it are smaller streets with shops selling anything from food to appliances and jewelry.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Just like almost anywhere else in Asia, people here make artsy displays by drying laundry from the apartment windows.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Walking around, the scenery changes just around the corner. High rise buildings are the most prominent fixture of Hong Kong's central areas.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Advertising billboards are the characteristic prominent fixture almost on any busy HK street.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Money exchange, money exchange, and then there is.... Nikon! Why don't they just exchange the piece of crap they sold me!?!

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → I don't know where I am going. It's the first day, everything is new. I like getting lost, explore. Then I find my way back.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → It's quite common to discover another tall structure just in the middle of one road. The streets are not a perfect grid here, and many fork out connecting to others.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Palms and reflections.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Billboards, advertisements.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Hungry, I went for a fix of gyudon. Yoshinoa is Japanese and I wanted to see what will it taste like in Hong Kong. Sadly, I must say, the original Japanese gyudon is much better.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Another small street. Nothing significant about it, but it shows how dense Hong Kong streets can be.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → And yet another street. Just walking around....

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Garbage cans between buildings, set like pillars or stones for kung-fu training of a master.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Water pipes on a building. Quite common to have them just running outside along the wall.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Colorful advertizements, of what I am not sure.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Here they are, on the corner.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Back on the main street. I think it's Natham Road again.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Lots of city public buses in Hong Kong are double deckers.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Simply, one of countless intersections.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → And one of many streets.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Some older, residencial building I think. Not the oldest though.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → A typical street scene.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → And again, a jungle of colorful billboards.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Apartments and guest houses.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → The streets in Hong Kong are busy with cars and buses, but there is still a fair number of bicycles and trikes for transporting of goods, mainly produce.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → A nice photo showing how colorful a street in Hong Kong can be.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Another one of a small but busy colorful intersection.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → I am showing lots of similar in a way photos - it's buildings, cars and people. I just want to show this part of Hong Kong, the Kowloon area, at different locations.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → A nice photo showing the dencity of this city.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → A row of building along one of the main streets. I think I've showed this area before, but this is a nice shot.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → They definitely love Nathan Road! I wonder what the Chinese sign is saying..

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Just another street shot.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → Walking back to my guest house, I ventured into a park, to find people showing off their kung-fu moves.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → It was pretty cool to see young and old exercise and not be shy. And cool to see kung-fu in Hong Kong!

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → There was a dragon entertaining us at the end.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → His profile.

Photo:  Hong Kong, China → My first day in Hong Kong came to an end. I am impressed how modern and colorful the city is. The food is also great and plenty. Now, time to take a rest...

Hong Kong - Continued here.