As mentioned before, setting out to swallow all of a foreign
continent in as limited amount of time as I was provided for Asia is a
daunting task to say the least. It could
also be said that if the challenge is even at all possible, you will surely be
left with quite a bit of mental indigestion there after. Trying to stay attentive for nearly three
weeks in four countries leaves all senses fatigued and numb by the end, and you
will inevitably miss something. But it
didn’t stop me from trying regardless. Each
country wore me out in its own right.
Simultaneously though, all provided a glimpse of calmness amongst their invasively
overwhelming character. Out of all of
them, it was Hong Kong that I felt the most at home in. It was this city that seemed most akin to the
large American cities I am accustomed to.
Hands down it was the least taxing place to unearth someone who spoke
English. The restaurants all seem to emulate
the current trends in high-end American bistros. And the culture – having been influenced by
British rule for well over a century – was not far from an unassumingly
approachable bridge between eastern and western life styles.
The influence of Hong Kong’s history with the UK defines the
city in many ways still even now though it is technically China. Because of its long period of foreign control
while the Chinese government was not in its prime, Hong Kong and the greater
metropolitan has artificially collected more wealth and businesses than its
mainland counterpart. The city is
self-sufficient in that it has its own contained form of government and
currency. It is the only place in China
that has uncensored media and internet access.
All of which attracts foreign business, tourism and a young, progressive
thinking crowd of Chinese citizens to the area.
When we arrived to the city it was just at sunset. The view from the plane was quite
breathtaking. (Unfortunately the cabins fragrance
made any deep breath short lived.
Ethiopian Air was a fantastic airline, BUT American and Ethiopian
concepts of personal hygiene differ and so the plane reeked of sweaty bodies.) I
hadn’t anticipated it would be one of the most aesthetically pleasing cities I
have seen. Islands parallel to China’s coastline, bordered by gleaming beaches
and bright blue water. Each islet housed
an entanglement of modern architecture and mountains competing for the highest
point. This town is well maintained… and
I mean that in every way. Part of
customs was riding an escalator that did thermal scans on all the incoming
international passengers. If you are
running a fever you are pulled aside and quarantined. (Ironic this was the city I got sick in)
A
short bus ride and we were at our hostel in an area that felt like a miniature
Time Square. Its hard not to notice how
clean everything is right away. 5,000
Hong Kong dollar fine for spitting makes good sense how they maintain
that. There are also cameras everywhere,
but there wasn’t an overpowering sense of big brother like you might expect. Rather, it was as if the entire personality
of the city shared an obsessive-compulsive need for public hand sanitizer
dispensers and a 24-hour custodial crew for the walkways. I didn’t mind after the polar opposite visit
to Bangkok.
Diverse architecture can be seen just about anywhere within
Hong Kong. They have the world’s longest
escalator (or more accurately series of escalators), which cuts the artsy
district SoHo right through the middle.
They have a colossal central library and seemingly spare little expense
on the design or the construction of government funded projects.
All which utilize bamboo tied together as
scaffolding...
We took a cable car up a nearby mountain to hike a few
trails and get a better view of the city.
I can recall every kid at some point in their childhood cracking a joke
about digging straight down to get to China.
Walking around and seeing how different even the plants are on that
mountain was a blunt memento that I was in fact on the other side of the world.
With out a doubt the most expensive of the four cities
visited, Hong Kong felt more like the States than the rest of Asia when it was
time to eat. The mom and pop
establishments I loved in Thailand have been replaced by professional kitchens
and global food on a strikingly endemic proportion in Hong Kong.
It is easier to find Indian food than Chinese
in many instances. Overall the city
offered a vast and very delicious variety of cuisines.
If you are craving dim sum it is not hard to
come by.
And if you are having a
homesick moment, flavorless omelets and toast can be found at one of the
classic All-American 24 hour diners.
We took the trolley around the city once just to get a good
view. You see a lot but they stop so
often that it is not a practical way of getting around.
Locals use the tracks as a bike lane and get
home much quicker than paying a dollar the ride would be.
When the sun sets on the city, the buildings blaze with
colorful lights and lasers.
There is a
light show over the bay every night where people gather and watch it
synchronize to music for fifteen minutes.
A little cheesy, but does your city provide free public entertainment
every night?
Just a twenty minute bus ride through lush mountains and you
are at a beach with warm water and a spectacular view. The sand to garbage ratio made the area even
more appealing to me as I am most familiar with Southern California’s less then
immaculate coastline.
A hairy Italian
man was kind enough to stop taking candid photos of families he was obviously
not one of to snap a few of me, Katherine and the water.
All in all, I loved Hong Kong. The city was everything you want a city to
be, with mountains and beaches just a bus ride away.
The people are sophisticated enough to pay
homage to their ancestors and tradition.
And young enough to recognize the lighter side of life and modern
interests. The citizens are
friendly. The streets are clean. The scenery incredible; and absent getting
sick my last day there, I cannot think back to the city with any dislikes.
I do recognize my romantic memoir of Hong Kong misses a lot of imperfections. No city is free of them. They too suffer
from dilemmas of dependency on natural recourses, tax budgeting and social injustice
like all major cities. Nonetheless, it
can be safely said that Hong Kong is doing many things right, and because of it’s
high scoring GPA, I will always remember it fondly.
Next stop… Seoul
