Hong Kong, before.

The second flight away in less than a year, where am I going? Leaving Squid behind, what I am doing? Moving to Hong Kong, the lure of The East, the corporate east this time, not the jungle and mountainous of the remote east. Dim sum and glass sky coffins. Tropical skies and associated deluges. Reading shows and people speak of Hong Kong's many faces, sleazy, capitalist, diverse. Hunting ground for the dollar, prostitution, Buddhism, Christianity, Cantonese, suits and ties.

Britannia turned this island in the 1850's from farming and fishing villages to global economic quarterback, a banking axis with Shanghai, HSBC, red and white now sits on many a countries street corner. Neon lights, I suspect the outward normal sprawl, flickering signs of suburbia, missing 'el's from the Hotel advert. The modern center, the renovated, the places that move with times, a trait of capitalism to adapt to circumstance and environment, the dragons mouth, breathing fire.

Hong Kong Island, expatriate haven, Chinese refuge, mixing bowl, east meets west soup on a tropical island with surfing beaches, serpents, electronic music, banned Falun Gong, discotheques and chop stick handling skills. Will these pre-conceptions be true?