oldtowntales

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I live in "old Sai Kung town", Hong Kong... I just moved here (I mean China overall) about three months ago... so if I say something hopelessly silly ignorant, stupid or pretentious ... I expect plenty of rude emails to the editor telling me off and informing me that my contribution was the first part of their favourite community rag (this column goes into Explore Magazine) to be sent for recycling.

Sai Kung is a fishing village bordering on the New Territories (or some argue it's still part of Kowloon depending on which postman you talk to).
The village has long been the retreat of many expats - mainly British/American, Australian .. with a smattering of East and West Europeans... I confirmed this during an informal survey taken while listening in to other people's conversations at Starbucks and at the recently reopened old town Steamers.

I believe the Europeans include a few French.. and one or two Russians -- at least that is what I THINK they speak - though my grasp of Russian is limited to Skol'ko eto stoit smirnof? (Please can I have a glass of your cheapest, nastiest vodka?), Etot mučina platit za vsë (The gentleman will pay for everything) and Moio sudno na vozdušnoy poduške polno ugre (my hovercraft is full of eels) - this one sounds really impressive in bars late at night.

My art teacher Slavania is Russian - and she teaches art in the old town - so I know for a fact there is at least ONE bona fide Russian living here.

Sai Kung is a little less frenetic, fast-paced and money/power driven than the rest of Hong Kong and that is why I like it and chose to move here when I took up a job in January ..... in a hellish fast-paced money and power-driven village called "Central"...
I felt a sense of community (whether real or imagined I haven't worked that one out yet - or whether I would - as a gweilo ever be part of it) It appealed to me...
And it turns out that I am a rarity in the old town -- most of us foreign devils retreated to other - probably dramatically quieter and more sweet-smelling parts of Sai Kung I guess. But for what it lacks in the peace and quiet department - Old Town - has plenty of things worth getting all warm and fuzzy about.

On the surface it reminded me of sort of like a Chinesy version of some old sections of Rome or Paris (Ok I admit I have only seen bits of old Paris/Rome in James Bond films during the car chase scenes - I never really backpacked Europe) Old Town with its labrynth of narrow streets and quaint little shop fronts is charming and interesting. It's a place where there's always a good chance you will find something new each time you go on a walkabout. You may also have trouble finding your house.. as I discovered.
I got lost going home most evenings for the first few weeks of living here - and that wasn’t because I was waylaid talking Russian either.

There are collections of friendly, wrinkly women selling stuff in the alleyways that is by all accounts perfectly edible although I have never seen before and most definitely have not smelled before either.
Most days start with the welcoming sound of shoft front garage doors being thrown up - the first few times I heard that I nearly jumped out of my skin because I thought part of my little three storey building had collapsed. This is usually followed by having the pleasure of hearing my neighbour clear his nicotine-damaged lungs... my other neighbour is a happy-faced grandmother who can only say one English word --- SAM -- which she uses expresses using a variety of tones - each tone meaning something different ........

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