Sometimes he walks the street as an ordinary man, he is Mr. Walker

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Friday - Maxxing out the credit card

Well, it wasn't really as bad as it sounds, but Friday proved to make a big dent in my travel budget as I was occupying myself by continuing to hunt for good music. I had got a tip from my friend Michael that there were a number of second hand cd shops to be found at the Sino Centre, a marketplace style shopping arcade on Nathan Road close to Yau Ma Tei. When I finally came to my senses after a long sleep I headed out back to Kowloon in the early afternoon. At first I walked right past it without noticing, it is not uncommon for shops and buildings to seem very inconspicious on the outside, I guess it is because of the constant onslaught of advertisements and billboards that you in the end fail to notice them.

Once inside I found the first of a number of small shops on the 1st floor and had only been looking for some fifteen minutes or so when suddenly the lights went out. Shopping arcades of course do not have any windows so it all went pitch black, and before I had a chance to react the fire alarm started ringing in our ears. I've thought about it from time to time, what happens when a fire breaks out in these crowded and narrow confines? I guess it would be a safe bet that all fire exits would be blocked off or simply locked, and that there must be so many toxic materials involved that an incident could quickly turn into an disaster. Most of the shoppers did the same as I did, they equipped their cell phone flash lights and together we all walked out in an orderly fashion. There was never any panic, I will have to assume that this was not a new experience to anyone else but me.

Having written off the incident as a power failure I was startled to hear the sound of an approaching siren, wailing over the constant noise of the traffic. A fire truck was dashing up Nathan Road and was doing fairly good progress through the traffic. However, as it turned out it was a conicidence, the truck continued past our location heading for Mong Kok. My accomplishments so far had been pretty slim and I decided to walk down to the HMV music shop at Tsim Sha Tsui to double my efforts. On the way down it started raining, and I had the dubious enjoyment of having to manoeuver a crowded street full of umbrellas. Since most of the pedestrians were shorter than I am I found myself dodging a dozen or so eye pokers before I could reach sanctuary at an MTR station.

While the raining continued I took the opportunity to hit the HMV over at Causeway Bay as well, and then went back to the hotel to rest a bit. I went back out in the early evening to hunt for an Indian restaurant. Seeing as Hong Kong is such an international place and has a number of foreign cultures represented I figured it shouldn't prove too hard. I set off on foot from North Point and started walking westward. Past the busy marketplaces over at neighbouring Marble Road and Chun Yeung Street and then following the tramway through Fortress Hill and Tin Hau towards Causeway Bay and Victoria Park. I like walking the neighbourhoods on the east side of town, there is always something to look at, and the pace is much slower here than hitting the constant crowds over at Nathan Road or Causeway Bay.

It turned out to be a long walk. I found all the Indonesian eateries over at Sugar Street as well as a great deal of other cuisines, but the Indians remained out of view. Not until I had walked all the way to Wan Chai for nearly two hours did my search bear fruit, as I found a little curry house on a small road. The food was ok but not exactly the type of dishes I had in mind. This was compensated for by the fact that the dishes were very large, and I walked out of there like a stuffed lion having just gorged on its latest kill. It took me another hour and a half to walk back home in an effort to attempt to digest and put to use at least a fraction of the energy consumed.

Saturday - Catching up with the past

I don't know if the main reason for my insomnia was due to a postponed jet lag or the fact that I had way too much to eat last night, but as it happened I didn't manage to fall asleep until 4.30 in the morning. Ready to hit the street again around noon I decided to go back to a camera shop at Causeway Bay that I had visited yesterday and pick up a new lens for my old workhorse camera. I spent some time reading up on it in the hotel business center before making up my mind. I had set my sights on a 50mm lens, the first of its kind in my stable of various zoom lenses, and at f1.4 it was tempting to fill a hole in my range. There would be plenty of opportunities to try it out, Hong Kong really shines at night, and a fast lens should come in handy as I had got really tired of deploying my tripod whereever I go.

On the way I received a message from my old friend Ivy confirming our meet for dinner in the evening, thinking back I had a hard time grasping that it had already been three years since last we met. They say time flies, but this is ridiculous. Such a waste.

Walking through Tin Hau I was suddenly stopped by a group of young people standing on the pavement outside a building. This took me quite by surprise; save for Indian tailors hammering you over at the tourist ghetto or school children mobbing you over at the Star Ferry pier in an effort to practice English I rarely have much contact with people in the street. I think it would be fully possible to live a life in a city the size of Hong Kong without really befriending a single person. It is really an unnerving thought. Any which way, the youngsters told me they were going to hold a sermon for some old people living inside a nearby tenement, and offered me to go with them. I couldn't think of a single good reason why a gwailo would prove useful in such an activity; would I provide an entertainment factor with my strange pale skin and big nose, or was I expected to be a Christian from my European looks, or where they simply trying to befriend a drifting soul in a megacity? I will never know the answer, because I politely turned down their offer and pressed on, not as much a decision as a conditioned reflex. I wish I had given it some thought and found out what it was they were up to. I will have to keep an eye out when I return.

As I reached Causeway Bay I took a moment to climb up to the circular walkway over Yee Wo Street to rest a bit before continuing. By some magic coincidence this was when the raining started. It poured down, relentlessly, and even the floor on this walkway turned into a big puddle. Fortunately the walkway had a roof and I found myself waiting out the rain watching the colourful umbrellas dodging the buses and trams as they made their way through the streets. I shared the wait with a number of local Indonesians, hanging out in the stairs to the walkway, sitting on blankets bringing with them picnic snacks and portable DVD-players.

Once the raining finally stopped I went straight to the camera shop and after a quick inspection purchased the 50mm lens I had aimed for. I also picked up some laughably cheap colour film at $20 a piece. I sincerely hope this is not symptomatic of its untimely demise. Time flies when you are enjoying yourself and I soon had to start thinking about returning to the hotel to drop off some gear. I decided to walk back on foot as well. I really like the way Hong Kong is accessible to a pedestrian, traffic is heavily regulated and the distances aren't that bad. Come to think of it, central Hong Kong really isn't that big of a place.

I returned to Causeway Bay in the evening to meet up with Ivy. Amusingly she had suggested an Indian restaurant, and while my first reaction was anything but Indian (with last night's experience fresh in mind) I quickly changed my mind at the prospect of finding a really good Indian place. Indeed she'd picked a good place where we could feast on papadams, raita, naan and all the other things that bring enjoyment to life! The fact that we were later joined by a large group of Indians including the local bigwig Guru Master must be considered proof.

Catching up on three years is no small task and I am surprised I found the time to actually eat anything in between all the talking. As it happened the evening went by much too quickly and I can only hope it will not be another three years until my next visit. We parted a few hours later, Ivy went eastwards while I mounted my new lens, determined to spend my last evening in town to hunt down the magnificent skyscrapers around Admirality. This financial district located between Causeway Way and Central is the home of several impressive bank towers, chief among them of course the peculiar Bank of China tower. The hot night and humid air actually made it a bit tricky to take photographs, as my hands were constantly slippery and carrying the heavy backpack with the tripod certainly did not help. Still I wanted to enjoy my last night in town to the full so I ended up walking all the way from Admirality to North Point, the amount of walking in the past few days really starting to take its toll.

I arrived back at the hotel after midnight knowing it would be a good idea to sleep as soon as possible, seeing as tomorrow I would have to get up early. But the ghost from last night was rearing its ugly head again. Again I could not manage to fall asleep. Instead I found myself rotating in bed watching the time pass 2 am, 3 am, 4 am... there is a song called 5 am and still not sleeping, never did I think I would know the meaning of such a song... However, I was not alone through the night. You see, some time after midnight the weather changed...

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Photos

International Curry House
Masala chicken, vegetables, chapati and ice tea

Chun Yeung Street, North Point
Over here, red lights mean a different type of meat market.

Gambling cruisers, Victoria Harbour
One of these days I will find out how to board one.

The Lippo Centre, Admirality
Possibly the funkiest buildings in all of HK.

A chance to get first in line, Admirality
The bus for Ocean Park departs from this terminal beneath the Lippo Centre.

Comments

[Yuki Jen]

HK's metamorphosis
I haven't visited HK since the late 90s, and although i remember my trips quite well, it looks like the city's burst into a grand metropolis! Amazing photos, interesting recount, thanks for your informative blog!