Dear diary! -How Hong Kong awakes...

...or go to sleep, depends on how you see it.
After getting up yesterday morning (Wednesday the 27th), I didn't go to sleep again before this Thursday (28th) morning. It was not one of these "wauw, I'm so cool, I haven't slept for 36 hours" manifestations, no it was way more serious and caused by an event which on this day may have cast its shadow upon other major events on this Wednesday; the final in the UEFA Champions League.
Set in Rome was this maybe the dream final between the maybe two best Football clubs in Europe at the moment; FC Barcelona and Manchester United. I'm a big Football (soccer) fan, but havn't been able to follow this years Champions League, but I knew that I wanted to see this Final, so I planed to take a day of work today, so I could stay out all night to watch this game kicking of at 2,45 AM, But somehow destany gave me a helping hand, and so this Thursday was a holiday anyway here, so I didn't have to use a holiday. Back in Europe it was somehow easier and more handy as kick of time there is at 8.45 PM, and you can still be in bed by midnight and go to work the next day. Here it is more spectacular. The game is finished by 4.30ish AM. If there is extra time and even penalty shootout, it easily get's to about 6 AM, and then I normally get up, but staying out watching this game, I had to head all the way home over the mountain to our village by the sea as well.
I met up with another foorball crazy colleague, Graham at 1 AM, and then we found a bar to watch. It wasn't that easy. The streets was fuilled with people in ManU or Barca tops, trying to find some empty seats infront of the screens, offering the green images of adoration. We found some seats in a kind of German pob called "Biergarten" but thats was also nearly the only German about it, apart from the beer, I mean.
I'm not going to say much about the game, other than that I'm pleased that Barcelona won it, and that was indeed deserved, as they made Manchester look like a team from a much lower league, and I really enjoyed to be able to sit there to watch, without worrying about work the next day.
The pub was full and crowded from other football fans and night ravens -whoalso had a day of- and after the game when we came out, the other pubs in the neighbourhood was still filled with people and the steets filled with people on their way home, one way or another.
So it was the first time I've seen Hong Kong awakes, or go to bed, if ever!
On street level you can't really realize that dawn breaks, it is still dark down there and dominated by the lights and neon signs from the shops, but if you are able to raise the head and look up, the sky above lights up in a nice lightblue colour.
At 7 AM I was back in our house and could continue my beuaty sleep I started on the minibus back from town, and just interupted by a friendly soul, trelling me that we'd arrived and I should get out.
So that was my 24 hours of bring awake because of a football match.