In hot and steamy Honkers now, in a skyscraper eyrie on the 26th floor overlooking the hip and happening Wanchai neighbour-hood just a nudge away from the CBD and right on the tramline which I'm going to ride shortly, taking with me an umbrella for the sun, a Chinese fan, and a bottle of H2O. Shanghai population 20 million, Beijing population 18 million, Hong Kong a mere seven million. Hurrah!
Was lucky to reach HK at all. When I checked in, the check-in attendant pointed out that my ticket was for 20 June, and today was 21 June! Eeek. Luckily for me, I was born in the year of the Chinese Rooster, a sign that signifies great luck, and sure enough, the check-in guy informed me the plane was not full so they'll check me in, no problem. One week earlier, during the Dragon Boat Festival, and I would have been in deep trouble! So, will report back later as I've been in town less than 24 hours; just wanted to apologise for the typos and mistakes in previous blogs. I could not post directly in China as http://www.blogspot.com/ was verboten by the Land of the Yellow Star. Now I am in Billionaire territory, where millionaires and jewel-encrusted limos are a dime a dozen. Ah, the pursuit of the mighty dollar! .... Or should that be the mighty yuan? Only time will tell! 
I attach here a photo taken for me by one of my many new Chinese friends, at the Mao mausoleum in Beijing on Tiananmen Square. Below you can read about my strolls in the environs of T Square and the Forbidden City. Strange to have two such bedfellows sitting cheek to jowl with one another... one a symbol of the power of the common people, the other a symbol of unrestrained rule by all-powerful dynastic families! How did a famous philosopher describe the rollercoaster of life? "History", he said, "keeps on repeating himself." Hear hear, Voltaire, too true!
DON'T MENTION THE THREE Ts in CHINA: TIBET, TAIWAN AND TIANANMEN SQUARE.
Before I blog about Hong Kong, let me summarise the good and the bad about this vast Asian superpower
LOVE
1. The community activities in the parks in the early morning before the heat kicks in... ribbon sticks, feather soccer, kite flying, flute playing, line dancing, group opera singing.... you name it, it's all happening.
2. The fruit on sticks
3. The subways - pretty full, yep, but work a charm, and there's a total 10 lines in every direction
4. The cleanliness of public streets, parks, subways... gawd, there's a street sweeper on e very corner!
5. The eagerness of Chinese to be helpful (most of the time) to foreigners, despite their complete non-understanding of our tongue. After all, it IS "a completely different linguistic tree" (as our guide, Frank, put it) and they know a helluva lot more phrases than the Europeans who can't even be bothered to learn some basic phrases, like please, thank you, etc.
6. Chinese translations into English, eg. Black is "chill" this month, instead of "black is cool this month". or "the top hat of blue copper" instead of "the crown of bronze artworks" and a gazillion others where words are always in the wrong order. Too cute! What would they do without their Google translator???
7. Foot and body massages. No wonder they can all walk forever and don't suffer rickety knees; they look after their bodies. Gotta love it.
8. Chinese babies and children: definitely the CUTEST in the world
9. The romantic storytelling, the fables and mythology
DON'T LOVE
1. The crowds
2. The heat in summer, worse than Sydney.... and cannot speak for the other seasons. (This is June and apparently it gets hotter in July and August. Eeek)
3. The incessant noise, especially loud music on speakerphones
4. The never-ending bargaining
5. The obsession with accumulating wealth
6. The smell of marinated tofu
7. The crouching creeps of the public toilets- eeeeeek.
Over and out, the hotel manager wants me out of the office, I suspect he wants to nap. Everyone sleeps everywhere here: on their feet,in the subway, standing up, on the job, on their bikes, under a tree, on their haunches, ANYWHERE.It's been a culture shock, but I have learned so much and I leave with complete admiration for this country and its people.
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