2. Side Trip to HONG KONG

Landscaping in Kowloon

I decided that since I was going to be moving to Asia, I might as well visit some friends before I went to Japan. This little one-month side trip was also designed to help me relax since the last few months prior to my leaving were jam-packed with many activities, including banquets, holiday parties, farewells, and oh yes, preparing to leave. I left St. Louis on February 1st at 7am; needless to say, I bade farewell to just a few early morning folks...my Mom, Aunt, and Grandmother. So I was off to Hong Kong for a five-day stay in Kowloon with a new friend, Yan Yee and her family. I met Yan Yee just six months earlier when she was visiting her relatives (like family to me) here in St. Louis and I gladly showed her around town. Yan Yee and her family so-generously returned the favor when I went to Hong Kong. 

Now if you have never been to Hong Kong, I highly recommend it. Oh, what a city of lights and bustling activity. I had been there once before back in 1994, but my, had things changed in that amount of time. No longer did our plane glide ever-so-gently near the rooftops of Hong Kong. No, now there is a huge airport that is beautiful but I miss the exhilarating rooftop approach. The former airport area was used as a night market the night Yan Yee and I went to visit. There were so many booths to see, filled with children's games and cheap souvenirs, with local Hong Kong pop music playing through the night air. One of the more interesting sights I saw were all these small, colorful, inflated kiddie pools, filled with water. I had to ask, and I found that they were used to host games of goldfish and mini turtle catching. Watching both young and old trying to quickly scoop up a tiny, swimming turtle before the wafer scoop they were using disintegrated in the water, was quite amusing. And yes, I tried and nope, no turtle.

Hong Kong was still wonderfully decorated with vibrant colors of Chinese New Year when I arrived, so that was a first for me. As mentioned, this was my second trip to Hong Kong so I did not happen to visit nearly as many tourist spots this trip around. However, I still managed to hit quite a few. One day, Yan Yee took me to see the Chin Lin Monastery, a former school that was later renovated to be used as the monastery. Apparently, many of the Hong Kong superstars chipped-in financially to secure that it would be built. This place was so tranquil, walking through the zen meditation garden and viewing the great, golden statues...you wonder how they arrived and are thankful that they are not disturbed. After this, we walked to a local mall. On the way, we passed through a small, poverty-stricken alleyway that had been home to many of the poor for generations. Along the way you could see that people not only lived beneath these tin roofs, but they also sold their wares of clothing, toys and food there. Due to civic progress (new luxury apartments were to be built there) the alleyway was to be torn down and the people re-located. There was much controversy surrounding the area and I could not help but feel heartbroken and helpless, wondering how these people would continue to their maintain their livelihoods. The contrast between the peace of the monastery and the turbulence of the neighborhood were both very powerful images for me.

The fresh seafood market at Sai kung

On another day, we visited the area in and around Shatin, where my friend was going to school. There we toured a new Heritage Museum, complete with wonderful relics of Chinese culture, but not just ancient but modern designs too. I saw the magnificent costumes of the Cantonese Opera and home-styles from the last one hundred years; along with popular culture including art and comics. A fun time but no photography allowed. After so much education, recreation was next, so off we went to Snoopy Land, a cute little amusement park for "kids". Later that night, we took a bus up to Victoria's Peak and enjoyed the fantastic view of the harbor and city lights below.

On a day when Yan Yee was busy at school, her mother took me on a tour. She worried that her English was not so good but I was sorry that I spoke no Cantonese. We still managed to have a wonderful time together, of course! I enjoy visiting other cultures because communicating with people who did not learn English as their native language, makes me more aware of gestures and new vocabulary. You have to train yourself to pay attention so as to hear more clearly but it is well worth the rewards of greater interpersonal communication. Yan Yee's mother and I went to see the majesty of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and then we went down to Sai Kung for a fresh seafood lunch. There you can watch the fishermen bring in their catch; watch them unload at the fish markets, to be displayed in the large glass, tiered tanks; then choose your own to have it prepared fresh for lunch at a nearby restaurant. So good! After lunch we took the Star Ferry across Victoria's harbor to see the Exhibition Center, which was built for the official handing-over ceremony, from Britain to China. I love taking the Ferry. There is a Cross-harbor tunnel now, but I enjoy the gentle rocking of the ferry, so as to have my view of the approaching grandiose skyline.

Yan Yee and myself at Snoopy Land

On one of my last days, I struck out on my own to the tourist-laden Tsim Tsu Shui. There I found the Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe restaurants, where I bought my token souvenir city shot glasses, that I collect on all my travels. This day was especially nice and at the same time a little more nerve-racking, for I had to find my own way around and use the public transportation but I had a closer experience with the culture of Hong Kong. Of course there were many, many other wonderful places I visited, but just too many to mention here. I do have to say though, that dining in Hong Kong with friends is always a great treat. I enjoyed a wonderful reunion with a former exchange student, Brice Siu, over an enormous seafood buffet. Another night I shared Korean barbeque with another new friend I had only met at Christmas. And on Sunday, I had the traditional dim sum with Yan Yee's family. Of course, what would dim sum be without stopping by the nearby bakery on the way out to pick-up some delicious and addictive sweet breads.

Hong Kong is a great place where I have always felt safe and comfortable just walking about on my own. It is a great big city with everything at your disposal. I am still amazed by the contrast of vendors, from the fish markets where they scale fish so rapidly that you want not to stand too close; to the jewelry store displays, just around the corner, with their glimmering golden treasures resting on magnificent red fabric...both intoxicating to see, yet so different.  Gotta love Hong Kong!

Inside the courtyard of the Chin Lin Monastery

Next week: #3, "Sidetrip continued: Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA"

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