Day two in hong kong

My internal clock is a bit messed up...but not too bad. Crashed at 6pm local time, woke up at 11pm wide awake so hoofed it down to the hotel lobby to catch up with my sweetie, 12 hours back on the other side of the world. The lobby, next to the hotel bar on the 38th floor, is the only wifi-accessible place. So when i came down, all two chairs and most of the footstools were taken by a variety of internet-hungry youngsters from different countries. Talk about a global arena! I sidled over, settled on an empty stool, and logged in :) (As soon as i figure out how to add photos from this iPad i will!) All I could hear was the rush of fingers on keyboards of all types...iPads, smartphones, tablets. And giggles and sighs as people communicated with others out in the virtual world. A was hard at work, so mostly I just rambled and spoke of our day. That's the hard part....doing this adventure without him and trying to convey all the sights, smells and feelings thru a few words. Around midnight I went back upstairs and crawled back under the covers. Woke up at around 5:30 restless and starving. But my roomies were still snoring. What to do? Go into the bathroom and observe the neighbors of course! So into the bathtub I settled. I love to people watch. So it was incredible to just sit and REALLY look at the view. Where we first were a bit aghast at the view from our room, now i was intrigued. I love to see the real side of life when i travel .... the manufactured view created for tourists just isn't my thing. So these few moments alone were amazing. What did i see? Through one window, and old man and woman beginning their day. It looked like she was making their lunches for the day. The fridge opened and closed, he rubbed her back, she smiled at him, he went to the window and reeled in the laundry hanging outside... That laundry! Hanging from every window and balcony. Dishtowels, pants, kids' shirts...so many colors...such a commentary on daily life. In another window a woman was washing dishes. In another, a man in his undershorts making his bed. The outsides of these apartments are as varied as their occupants. On some, the stucco is dingy, dirty, peeling. The doors and windows sagging or broken. On others, there is fresh paint, new balcony railings, new windows. The pigeons are the constant...they land on laundry indiscriminately. I wondered how much of that clean laundry had to be rewashed each time due to pigeon poop. That would annoy the crap out of me (no pun intended). Our first crewmates have arrived. We swapped stories and recommendations over breakfast. Now we are going to take a walk to the race site, check out the course, hit the gym for some cardio and light weights, and then head to the ferry and street market :)