Hong Kong Is Fun

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Hong Kong
September 10-16, 2006

After arriving in Shenzen, a mainland city that features much cheaper airfare than Hong Kong, we transferred to the ferry terminal for a ship to Hong Kong. While we were waiting for the ferry we spotted something you don’t usually see in these parts, a Kansas City Chiefs baseball cap (this is also akin to wearing a giant “talk to me” sign). Naturally we went right over to talk to this unassuming young man who, as it turns out, was an actual Kansas native living in China and working as a teacher on his way to Hong Kong to renew his visa. We had a great time talking to Matt for the hour long trip and, after disembarking the ferry in the Kowloon section of the city and clearing customs, he was helpful in directing us to the subway.

Fatigue and the overwhelming dazzle of Hong Kong, even in broad daylight, left us a little dense and we did not get Matt’s email before parting ways. Having stumbled upon an American, particularly one so enlightened as to the aging of the Chiefs offensive line, we quickly regretted not having obtained the young man’s contact information or arranging to meet him during our respective stays in the city. It is a testament to the tenacity of Amy’s stalking ability and the wonders of the modern age that, armed solely his name and the name of his college we were able to track down Matt’s teaching organization, email them, and have them pass along our email to Matt in time for us to meet up with him again.

Having parted ways with Matt for the time being we were off to see Hong Kong. The Administrative area now known as Hong Kong was once a British territory, returning to Chinese rule in 1997. The area consists of about 1100 square kilometers extending out from an oddly shaped peninsula along the Pearl River Delta. Kowloon is the name given to the southern tip of the peninsula (about 4 kilometers of the mainland), and Hong Kong Island is, well, the island immediately to the south. There are also numerous islands included under the banner of Hong Kong, combining with the aggressive commerce and shipping industries to create a bustling, high-traffic harbor at the center of it all.

Arriving in Hong Kong after the relatively rough road of travel in and around China is a lot like leaving rural Iowa to find yourself on the Strip in Las Vegas. Suddenly, beneath the shining skyscrapers, neon, double-decker buses and high-end cars clog the streets, club kids in trendy hip-hop wear tramp the sidewalks at all hours, and a general din of fashion, commerce, shopping, eating, and socializing explodes with a prosperity most Chinese could probably not imagine. Mingling with the modern there is an exotic and authentic flavor of the orient in every corner of the city, amplified and refined in ways familiar to those illustrated in fast, glitzy Hong Kong action films.

We stayed at Noble Hostel (www.noblehostel.com.hk) in an area of Hong Kong Island called Causeway Bay. The room was a very good value and not like a typical hostel but more like a quiet apartment located in an apartment building. There were no typical backpacker services that are usually at hostels, which was just fine with us as Hong Kong is a pretty easy place to acclimate to and to explore. Causeway Bay itself is quite the hub for restaurants and shopping and lies near the huge Victoria Park, the largest area of greenery and open space for recreation in the city.

Hong Kong is a very diverse city offering just about everything you could want, and definitely a place that would be nice to live in. Because it is so international and culturally different you don’t get any stares like the ones we received in the rest of China (like you are the most grossly obese person they have ever seen, like blue eyes are some sort of mutation, etc.). In as much as Causeway Bay was a hub we really liked the area. Name brand shops, DVD/VCD vendors every few stores, street food, and even an Outback Steakhouse were within steps of our front door. A decadent little slice of heaven.

Our time was spent much as we may spend a weekend in New York City, walking around taking in the wonders of urban living nearly perfected. Much of Hong Kong feels like New York, in fact, though it bears repeating that there is a profound multi-cultural and Chinese presence that makes for a unique and exotic cityscape.

We were surprised that in general we didn’t find the Chinese food in Hong
Kong to be that much better than anywhere else we had been in China (admittedly that could have been a failure on our part due to the language barrier or a lack of knowledge of the prime dishes to sample). The big exception for us in Hong Kong was the dim sum, which is phenomenal, and we found it to be far better than any we have had in New York, DC, San Francisco, or most recently, Melbourne. Unlike those places in Hong Kong you either order off a menu or from a centralized table rather than picking from a cart. One day while exploring we unknowingly ate at one of the city’s most popular restaurants, where we also tried the gelatinous, black “thousand year old” egg. The briny egg was not something we are likely to try again, but the meal was fantastic. We also sampled the many joys of Hong Kong’s bakeries and splurged for both Haagen Daz and Ben and Jerry’s ice, just to round out our balanced diets.

Among the many culinary delights offered we also stumbled into the remarkable City Super grocery store, a supermarket offering the very best in products, ingredients, and treats from all corners of the globe. From Americans looking for Dr. Pepper or red licorice to Aussies looking for Tim Tams or vegemite, the place is a paradise for someone far from home. City Super also features a variety of food carts in front of the store where you can get fresh, hot delicacies and deli items. Had we known about the store earlier in our stay in China we may have moved it.

We did not spend all of our time in Hong Kong eating (not that there’s anything wrong with that…) and we did manage to see some of the city’s sights.

Victoria Peak, a wooded, towering 552 meter peak on Hong Kong Island is one of the city’s must-see attractions. The steep peak has long been a posh residential area that for the last 100 years has been accessible by the Peak Tram, an electric powered cable car. The lower terminus is in an area of the city that appears like any other, completely urban and developed. Rising out of the terminus on the tram it is amazing to see the skyscrapers peel away, replaced by trees and scattered posh residences. The top of the peak is remarkably well developed to capitalize on those seeking the views from the observation platforms and features several shopping and eating facilities. From the deck you are able to see both sides of the island and across the harbor to Kowloon, a spectacular swath of water traffic and urban achievement. The Hong Kong skyline features numerous unique and interesting buildings and examples of engineering projects to claim land from the sea are very evident.

We visited the peak on a somewhat cloudy day with Amanda, an old friend of Roger’s, who was in the city on business from Dubai. The three of us passed on eating at the Bubba Gump Shrimp outlet and the other overpriced dining establishments, but we did take a long walk around the circuit of pathways that extend around the peak. The dense tress and relative quiet were almost enough to make us forget the metropolis below. The three of us would also attempt a “battle of the bars” in an effort to find the best view of Hong Kong’s stunning harbor by night. Any of the rooftop bars, like The Peninsula, where we stopped one night, on the waterfront in Kowloon would certainly provide a stunning view of Hong Kong Island’s super-dense urban sprawl jammed between mountain and sea. A night or two later we found the most satisfactory view from near sea-level when we had dessert and drinks at The Intercontinental. These stops were a little more than we may have typically spent for a drink or some sweets but the view was simply spectacular and well worth the splurge.

One afternoon we would also join Amanda in taking the ferry to Lamma Island, the largest island in Hong Kong beyond Hong Kong Island. The floating “fisherfolk” village of the island, which now appears to function more for tourists than for the purposes of fishing, did not lure us out into the rain and we opted for a long, leisurely seafood lunch at Shum Kee, one of the many restaurants lining Sok Kwu Wan Bay. Most of the restaurants look alike with large dining areas on the water, but the massive and numerous tanks of live fish awaiting the whims of diners really make the scene special. Aside from the fine seafood the ferry ride itself was the highlight of the excursion. Being among the dredgers, floating restaurants, cargo ships, and numerous passenger ships of the harbor was really enjoyable and gave us a full view of life around the busy harbor.

Having spent an evening with Matt for a traditional Cantonese meal and Starbucks and a couple of nights goofing off with Amanda, our time in Hong Kong was the most social time we had spent in several months and we enjoyed having an opportunity to see some things through another set of eyes.

On our own we also took in a series of sights in the central part of Hong Kong Island. Reaching from near the water and up a good way towards the Peak are the Central Escalators, a seemingly endless spine of stairs and escalators providing access to the stepped neighborhoods above. The escalators cross the market areas of Hollywood Street and Cat Street (north of the western end of Hollywood) and both are a neat blending of Chinese architecture and style with an unmistakable modern refinement. Looking out from the escalators on one side you may see trendy bars and lounges while on the other are rows of Chinese antique shops and temples.

With Christmas approaching we also spent a good amount of time prowling the multitude of markets around the city, including the numerous gem and stone shops around the Jade Market, the intense Ladies Market, the glittering Little Japan, and a night market. Hong Kong’s markets, at least the ones we visited, offer far fewer pirated movies and music than we had encountered elsewhere, but made up for it in the designer knock-offs department. We were slow to indulge in purchasing much but once the flood gates opened we found ourselves in the market for a new suitcase (and we found one near our hotel where a sidewalk luggage shop occupied a rare vacant corner).

Our final full day in Hong Kong we explored Victoria Park, a busy recreation area for the city residents. The vast grounds of the city include soccer fields, basketball courts, play areas for kids, meditation gardens, a public pool, tennis courts, and a good amount of open space. Our visit coincided with an exhibit of customized cow statues decorated by other nations, essentially turning the field into a surreal pasture that was great fun for photos.

We really enjoyed our time meandering through what can only be described as the electric streets of Hong Kong. British refinement and ancient Chinese tradition live side by side in virtually every corner of Hong Kong. The harbor and the still virgin forests of the islands add a feel unique among the world’s great cities and one we would highly recommend to potential visitors.

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Photos

Preserved Egg
They may not be a thousand years old, but they look it. And taste it.

Bustling City Streets
By law thousands of people are required to mill around in the streets for hours at a time.

Hong Kong Island
The low building in the foreground is the convention center.