Welcome to the Jungle

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Stepping off the train, Erin and I strained our necks as we looked up, up at the jungle that stretched its branches high into the hazy gray sky. We were immersed in smells and sounds, crowded by a beautiful yet dangerous world that could devour us in a heartbeat.

The train rolled off behind us and we found ourselves isolated, but far from alone. Strange sounds encircled us and we looked in all directions, not sure which way to move; each way looked the same and extended as far as the eye could see. Odd lights filtered down from the canopy above, casting radiant hues of blue, red, yellow and green across the firm ground beneath our feet.

“What was that?”

We looking at each other as scream after scream came from somewhere within the dense walls enveloping us. “Welcome to the jungle”, I thought to myself.

We carefully threaded our way through the winding pathways, some only wide enough to squeeze ourselves through and others as expansive as a field. Climbing higher, then lower, then higher and higher again, we had lost all sense of direction. We winded back and forward, lost among a torrent of paths snaking in

every direction and none. Upon reaching the top of a hill, we looked out and saw that the jungle grew even denser; we were lost.

As the sun sank, we could hear the animals all around us and catch their dark eyes peering at us from every height. The sky was gone and everything was so much the same that it was impossible to determine any landmarks. Occasionally something would come at us, frightening us with a foreign shriek and forcing us to carefully quicken our pace. “Remember”, we would say to each other, “They can sense our fear; they know we do not belong here.”

Finally we reached the place where we would camp out for the night. In our tiny space, six feet square, we rinsed with cold water and prepared for what we hoped would be a sound sleep. We drifted off to the loud, screeching sounds of the night…

When we awoke, we felt refreshed yet were quickly reminded of where we were. Today we would have to make our way back towards the train stop.

So hungry… what would we eat? We had brought a few things and devoured whatever we carried in our small knapsack, but we definitely needed more. In time we managed to find enough to satisfy us, a mix of greens and what we assumed could be considered protein. Full again, we continued on.

I would not have thought it possible the day before, but the smells had intensified, putrid stenches wafting from one place while sweet aromas drifting from another. And the sounds – ceaseless – echoed from every direction, loud and with no discernible characteristics. Our eyes wandered incessantly never sure what may come from around behind, in front or around the next bend. We were on guard at every moment, the tension of never relaxing beginning to take its toll. How much longer before we would feel the safety of the heavy train around us?

As the day wore on and our patience waning, we saw the path that would lead us back to our starting point. Invigorated, we rushed towards the train, leaping in just as the doors closed and it slowly inched its way along the tracks and away from the jungle that we had narrowly escaped.

As the last light faded and we allowed our stresses to run free, I looked out the window just barely catching the sign: “Thank you for visiting Hong Kong!” We had survived the jungle!

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[indianmicrosystems]

Hong Kong Skyline
The skyline of Hong Kong is really like no other. Though New York City boasts plenty of skyscrapers, because of the small size of Hong Kong, there are more skyscrapers packed into a tiny area.

[indianmicrosystems]

A sea of neon lights
we love this place and it really is a secret gem and putting a review on here means more people will experience the quality that you get every time.