Hong Kong
Lifting out from Indonesia and getting whisked up into bustling Hong Kong was eerily quick. I met up with Cliff at the end of my airport express metro ride, and in the evening we joined his friends Laura and Lily for a ferry ride over to Lamma Island. A "pre-dinner walk" turned out to be hour-plus trek up, over, and around to other side of island in fading light, but I enjoyed it a lot. I was disappointed with myself, for on the ferry ride I got a bit seasick. This kind of surprised me, and it ended up happening multiple times on ferries in HK. Later consultation with someone better acquainted with boats than me yielded the advice "sit on a lower level" (I was sitting on the top) and "sit towards the middle." (I was sitting towards the front. Thus, maximum up and down-age. Good job me.)
The Hong Kong skyline is quite impressive at night; the bright lights don't allow the sky to actually get black, but the dark, inky shade of purple provides a dramatic backdrop for the outlines of skyscrapers and glow of a thousand neon lights.
On Monday, Cliff, Laura, and I took the metro to Kowloon and walked around the "Ladies' Market" there, basically a never-ending street market selling all sorts of knick knackery, and "Goldfish Street," which featured shop after shop after shop of fish stores. The M.O. of my time in HK, much like in Singapore, seems to be Eat Ridiculous Amounts of Food, and boy have I been packing it in. I told myself that once I hit the ground in Hong Kong, I'd find some fresh milk and mint chip ice cream, yet I still haven't consumed either of those.
In the afternoon we headed up the hills of Hong Kong Island toward the Botanical Garden, which features, hooray, birds and monkeys. Not a big fan of either type of animal, but I saw an orangutan flopped forward, looking like a big hairy red deflated beanbag chair. He was eating/playing with an orange peel, setting it on top of his nose, then using his flexible snout to roll it forward, into his mouth, and then supporting it with his huge fingers - HUGE FINGERS! - as he took a tiny nibble. He was kind of cute. I liked him.
As dusk settled in, we took the tram up to The Peak, the highest point of Hong Kong Island, where I took the Same Picture Over and Over. That just tends to happen to people once they get up in high places. After meeting up with Lily, we found a street with two food stalls sending billows of smoke and steam up into the brightly lit road. We picked the stall with more shirtless Chinese men, which was a great choice. The food was great.
On Tuesday, Cliff, Laura, and I ferried over to Cheung Chau Island. Don't know if I spelled that right. We walked around on the island's trails, and proceeded to get lost. After lunch, we dipped our toes in at a beach, and I almost single-handedly ate an entire pomelo. I also noticed a bunch of ads in the MRT station with Elyse Sewell, the runner up on the first season of America's Next Top Model. I knew that after the show, she'd been working in Hong Kong, but kind of fun to see her in ads and recognize her. I think she was selling...jewelry. And clothes. Definitely clothes. Maybe jewelry.
I think I came to Hong Kong unconsciously set on not liking it, because it was the reason for me leaving Indonesia, Sawit, and Hands On. My brain was like a fist, clenched around the notion of Hong Kong being impersonal, glossy, and soulless, but as I've been quietly surprised by the natural beauty, streets meeting at odd angles, good food, and interesting history and cultural mix, it's like the fingers of that fist have gently relaxed, and I must say that I'm quite charmed.
The Hong Kong skyline is quite impressive at night; the bright lights don't allow the sky to actually get black, but the dark, inky shade of purple provides a dramatic backdrop for the outlines of skyscrapers and glow of a thousand neon lights.
On Monday, Cliff, Laura, and I took the metro to Kowloon and walked around the "Ladies' Market" there, basically a never-ending street market selling all sorts of knick knackery, and "Goldfish Street," which featured shop after shop after shop of fish stores. The M.O. of my time in HK, much like in Singapore, seems to be Eat Ridiculous Amounts of Food, and boy have I been packing it in. I told myself that once I hit the ground in Hong Kong, I'd find some fresh milk and mint chip ice cream, yet I still haven't consumed either of those.
In the afternoon we headed up the hills of Hong Kong Island toward the Botanical Garden, which features, hooray, birds and monkeys. Not a big fan of either type of animal, but I saw an orangutan flopped forward, looking like a big hairy red deflated beanbag chair. He was eating/playing with an orange peel, setting it on top of his nose, then using his flexible snout to roll it forward, into his mouth, and then supporting it with his huge fingers - HUGE FINGERS! - as he took a tiny nibble. He was kind of cute. I liked him.
As dusk settled in, we took the tram up to The Peak, the highest point of Hong Kong Island, where I took the Same Picture Over and Over. That just tends to happen to people once they get up in high places. After meeting up with Lily, we found a street with two food stalls sending billows of smoke and steam up into the brightly lit road. We picked the stall with more shirtless Chinese men, which was a great choice. The food was great.
On Tuesday, Cliff, Laura, and I ferried over to Cheung Chau Island. Don't know if I spelled that right. We walked around on the island's trails, and proceeded to get lost. After lunch, we dipped our toes in at a beach, and I almost single-handedly ate an entire pomelo. I also noticed a bunch of ads in the MRT station with Elyse Sewell, the runner up on the first season of America's Next Top Model. I knew that after the show, she'd been working in Hong Kong, but kind of fun to see her in ads and recognize her. I think she was selling...jewelry. And clothes. Definitely clothes. Maybe jewelry.
I think I came to Hong Kong unconsciously set on not liking it, because it was the reason for me leaving Indonesia, Sawit, and Hands On. My brain was like a fist, clenched around the notion of Hong Kong being impersonal, glossy, and soulless, but as I've been quietly surprised by the natural beauty, streets meeting at odd angles, good food, and interesting history and cultural mix, it's like the fingers of that fist have gently relaxed, and I must say that I'm quite charmed.
posted by Stefanie at 6:40 AM
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