Hong Kong - Fragrant Harbour

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New CITY, New COUNTRY, New CONTINENT!

After a month and some in Aussie and NZ, we finally made it to Hong Kong. It took 13 odd hours of flying (from Sydney to Singapore and then on to HK), but we finally made it at about 11:30pm on Saturday 11/05.

Here, we must note the quality of air travel on Singapore Airlines. On a jam packed 747 we experienced the pinnacle of inflight service- and for no extra charge. There was staff aplenty with hot towels before and after both of the meals. Wine, cocktails, beer - all complimentary. The best part was the individual LCD screens in the seat backs that allowed you to choose from any of sixty movies at any time. We both watched three movies and this made the 10-hour leg from Sydney to Singapore very bearable. The service and extras from Singapore to Hong Kong was just as good.

Operating on our second winds... we breezed through customs and jumped on the express train to the city. From that moment on we would come to love the the metropolis of Hong Kong and all of its treasures.

The train from the airport has only three stops - the last being downtown HK/Central. It took only twenty minutes to travel 20 miles from the airport to our destination. We would quickly realize the superb quality of HK's transportation system. Like Seattle they have great ferries going everywhere and like Chicago there are plenty of trains, busses, and cabs. All together, they form an efficeint and inexpensive way to get around without owning a car. And, seeing how the Government charges 100% import tariffs on any vehicle nicer than a moped, it makes a lot of sense to do it on public transit rather than own your own vehicle.

Back to the action. Holden's college friend Tucker is a businessman and resident of Hong Kong, and the impetus for our visit. He met us at the train station at about midnight, having - like us - already had quite a long day: American football; BBQ; and a house party. Backpacks and all we were off to rejoin the house party he had left to meet us.

Now on our third wind, we both were quickly welcomed into the great HK expat crowd at Bobby and Patrick's apartment. Both expats themselves, there was a wide variety of people with different occupations and backgrounds that had formed a tight knit group of friends. Some from Aussie, others from New Zealand, and even some from Texas. What a great group of very nice people. Everyone loved life in Hong Kong and everyone had recommendations of what to do while in HK. After awhile - at about 4:30 am if you're keeping track - it was time to retire.

We moved all of our luggage via Taxi to the apartment of Tucker and his girlfiend, Evelyn. As a sidenote: Taxis are always to be found anywhere and everywhere and they are very, very cheap. Anyways, it had been a very long day(and night, and early morning) for everybody involved. So, we were all overjoyed to get to bed.

We woke up the next afternoon to discover how very nice our new surroundings were. Tucker and Evelyn's apartment is amazing. Located in the hills above the Causeway Bay section, it is a spacious and comfortable place. Even better, it is the first free accomodations we've had!

Now, its time for Sunday Dim Sum - sooo good! The four of us found our way down to Times Square and spent awhile finding a Dim Sum joint still open at 4pm. We got lucky and found just the right place. Evelyn, who has lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong for some time, did all of the talking in Cantonese(?). (Note: Hong Kong's native language is Cantonese, created during the evolution of the area as a major trading port over many centuries. On the other hand, most of China speaks Mandarin - itself with many different dialects. So there is some confusion on my part which language was being used, but we believe it was mostly Cantonese - which Evelyn spoke very well.)

After stuffing ourselves with the Dim Sum for an hour, we moved onto to HK's Times Square to do some window shopping with Evelyn who needed a phone to install in her new office space, which houses her graphic design firm. We both tried to grapple with converting HK dollars to US currency, to know just how much certain things cost. The conversion rate is generally set at about $1 US = $7.8 HK (or 'Honky$'). It basically means that $100 'Honky' is about $13 US. It took awhile to get used to this after having very small differences in Aussie and NZ.

Enough shopping - Its time for a massage. 'Reflexology' practices are all over the place. Tucker and Evelyn have a favorite place, so we were on our way. Julia chose an hour back massage, while Holden followed Tucker by getting 30 min foot and 30 min back. The masseuse for Holden was a brute and really 'brought the pain'. In the end though everyone was relaxed and better for it. It was then off for a nice French Mediteranean meal in Deep Water Bay.

As for the workweek to follow, We were on our own. Tucker and Evelyn were both very busy and worked long hours- from dawn to dusk, no less. We had a good map book though and good ideas from our friends of where to go and what to see. Hong Kong is a very safe city and pretty easy to navigate. Its also very clean - much cleaner than either of us imagined. Not to say there's no pollution: smog and haze dominated most of the days' skies. But, after SARS, there was, and still is, a concerted effort to keep the city very clean.

So, that Monday (11/07), we started with more Dim Sum; this time at a well renowned place actually named 'Dim Sum', in Happy Valley. It was delicious. We then took a long walk all the way to Causeway Bay and then Wan Chai. We passed the Horse Track and the Cricket Club. All the while in the shadow of the pervasive high-rise apartment building or office. The streets are pretty hectic and it got to be quite a sweaty walk. We walked by all the window fronts in all the various sections of different vendors.

Above all were the boutiques to service the consumersim for fashion. Boutiques, boutiques, boutiques - everywhere. In Hong Kong there are shoe, handbag, and jewelry outlets in such density it feels as if there is a Louis Vuitton store on every corner. Major brand names are represented everywhere - even in the train stations and airports. Actual store branches! It kept Julia's mouth watering for the entire walk.

That evening, we joined Tucker and Evelyn for a great Japanese dinner at the Okinawan-style, En Restaraunt. Afterwards we enjoyed the coldest beer in the city at another Japanese place just across the street. Mmmmmm, ice cold Asahi.

The next day we were off to the other side of Victoria Harbour - Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon. These areas are known more for their solicitous hustling and bargaining than Hong Kong. Immediately after exiting the ferry we had so many vendors pushing their wares on us. We simply had to say no 30 times for each one and they would leave us alone. Anyways, we walked and walked for hours up the main drag, through dense sidewalk crowds. We were looking for cheap jade for Julia and a cheap jersey for Holden. No luck for Julia, but we found the cheap jerseys in Mong Kok district, in the sidewalk markets. Bootleg everything, and be sure the Iverson jersey Holden got ($40 HK = $5 US) is as bootleg as it gets.

Exhausted, we returned home on the train. We quickly turned around and attended an art opening for one of Tucker and Evelyn's friends, Ming. Afterwards we had a nice Thai dinner in Lan Kwai Fong, the most dense expat area which resembles Rush Street in Chicago. We even ended up drinking VB's(Aussie's BEST beer) while watching Monday Night Football on Tuesday.

The next day found us back across the harbour to visit the Hong Kong Art Museum. Now, we're told that HK is not known for its museums, but the exhibit of 'The Six Chinese Masters of Landscape' was memorable. Afterward, we spent 5 minutes walking along the entire 'Walk of Stars' - the Chinese equivalent of Hollywood Blvd.

The real highlight of this day would prove to be the nighttime. We had been invited to drinks and dinner at the Foriegn Correspondents Club (FCC), where an expat author, Peter, was a member. The FCC has been a home away from home to many journalists, photographers and writers over the years. Its cheap and good quality food and grog with a nice refined atmosphere. We even ended up playing pool until very late, but that was only the beginning of the night.

The next stop was the jazz club, Gecko, where Tucker had a friend performing. Very nice underground scene in a back alley. We were all quickly losing track of time now. Our last stop was a club/martini bar, 'Drop'(?). We all had some Lychee Martinis and gave dancing a try. It was time to go home though, especially with Tucker leaving for Singapore the next morning early - Wait, it was already well into the next day when we left. Good times!

With Tucker away on business and our heads pounding we spent the next day enjoying the comfort of an air conditioned apartment with a plasma TV and a live in maid to serve us dinner. Thank you, Susanne. Ahh recovery, excellent!

All better, we chose to go visit a neighboring island and visit the Buddhist monastery there. So we took a 30 minute ferry to Lantau Island and another 30 minute ride on a bus to reach Po Lin and get a chance to see the 100 foot sitting Buddha. Wow, the Buddha statue really is massive. We had to climb hundreds of stairs to reach the mount it sat atop. We're told it is the largest sitting bronze buddha outdoors in the world. What a sight to see. We returned that evening and enjoyed a nice Chinese dinner with Evelyn after visiting her new office space in the SoHo neighborhood.

That Saturday (11/12) we spent most of our time relaxing in the apartment. That evening though, we were invited to go to HK's annual outdoor music festival - Rockit. We went to the show with expats Patrick and Bobby, who had hosted the party when we arrived. We missed the last rock act, but got to see a very good DJ set. There were not that many people there, so we ended up sitting in the grass talking and listening to the music. Afterwards, we had some Vietnamese noodles for a midnight snack.

Tucker came home the next morning and we all went to the Stanley Beach section for a Dim Sum brunch. We were joined by another expat friend of theirs named Clive. After lunch we quickly ran through the Maritime Museum just across the street. We spent that evening enjoying some wine and watching TV back at the apartment.

The next day, when Tucker returned from work, we were surprised to learn it was his birthday. Evelyn had arranged a dinner for 10 at the Peak Lookout restaurant atop Victoria Peak - The highest point on Hong Kong Island. Many of the expat friends of Tucker and Evelyn were there to celebrate: Bobby, Patrick, Clive, Gerry, Corina, Derrick, Tsen Tsen, Mark, and Marrasi. What a blast! After dinner we toasted Tucker with Flaming Dr Peppers at the bar.

The following day we were headed back to Kowloon in search of the legendary jade market to find Julia something nice. We never found it, but Holden did find two bootleg Ralph Lauren shirts for less than $5 US. That evening we enjoyed another home cooked meal at the apartment and vegged out in front of the TV for a bit.

Wednesday, 11/16, was to be our last full day in HK. After some quick errands and lunch in SoHo, we went to go meet an old family friend of Julia's at his apartment. Nate Emerson, another expat, and his very nice family inhabit a spectacular apartment above the Central Business District. There we found the very best view of the city that we had seen yet. We had a fun time relaxing on the patio and playing with Nate and Nadia's adorable children: 5 year old Chance and 2 year old Lucky.

Afterwards, we walked down to Tucker's office to take him and Evelyn out for one last meal. We chose to go to a Korean restaurant, Sorabol. No coincidence, this is the same establishment that we dined at in Honolulu back in September. Only this time we did not indulge in any 'So-chu'. A good meal nonetheless.

At this point we were both getting weary of leaving Hong Kong. We both had enjoyed it quite a bit and we know we will be back. We are grateful for those who made our stay so enjoyable - most of all, Tucker and Evelyn.

Its Thursday morning now, and after saying our goodbyes, we are off to Bangkok and the rest of South East Asia. CHEERS!

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Photos

Holden & Tucker
Evening in Lan Kwai Fong - The expat hood.

Walk of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui
Chinese equivalent of Hollywood BLVD.