Hong Kong

It has been a while since I have written here. Well, the latest adventure was to Hong Kong to visit my sister and brother-in-law who are living there. As soon as I get off the plane the smell suddenly brings me back to Taiwan; a fragrant smell that is a mix of flowers, moisture, incense, Chinese food, and sewer. Anne Marie and Tom met us at the station and took us to their apartment. It is a small but decent one bedroom in the 8^th floor of a 20 storey building. I got the sleep on the floor (on a very comfy mattress I might add; thanks Anne Marie).

This city of 7 million is almost the definition of cosmopolitan. You would be hard pressed to find a building that was less than 10 stories tall unless you went to the country side. One building might even house a school and then residential on top. Many of the big banks in the region have their headquarters here in their grand tall skyscrapers. What was nice about the residential towers was that they were very slender which allowed for light to reach the street. You would also find all the big name clothing stories such as Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Gucci, etc. Their bill boards were every where. The one that seemed a little ridiculous was that 20 storey sign of a guy in a pair of Calvin Klein tighty whiteys…ewww!

What was also a surprise was how hilly Hong Kong was. It is built on the side of a rocky and hilly island! The roads tend to follow the contours but sometimes the streets would run perpendicular to them. Talk about a steep climb to the next street. Sometimes I wondered if the only reason that Hong Kong exists at all, is because it was the only land that the Brits had to work with. Supposedly, Queen Victoria found it amusing that her Admiral was so proud of having gained a rock island from China.

The Hong Kong people seem very go, go, go. They have business to do. And I was surprised that with the amount of fashion outlets, everyone was dressed rather conservatively. No anime here.

A couple of interesting places we checked out in the City included the ladies market in Mong Kok (say that fast), a street lined with antiques, and Lan Kwai Fong (the expat place to hang out and have a drink).

Trains, planes, automobiles and….

This city is crisscrossed with transportation networks. There is the metro, trams, buses, mini-buses, ferries, and even helicopters. Skywalks take you between buildings and roads and the airport is a hub for the region. It is amazing to watch the waterfront and see a helicopter, a plane, and boats all simultaneously. There is just no excuse not to take public transit for where you need to go.

One adventure for us was the airline we had flown on, Oasis, went out of business. Fortunately, I had had a good conversation with a flight attendant on the flight over and she notified me of the liquidation of Oasis. Otherwise, we would have arrived at the airport with no way home. We booked another flight with Air Canada in the end.

Octopus Card

Pure genius I tell you! The octopus card in Hong Kong has to be one of the best inventions since sliced bread. Like London, you can put money on this card to use to pay for public transit. Just place by the scanner, beep, and go. What is better though is that you do not have to fill out any forms to get one. Just go to the 7-Eleven and add some money to it. If you lose it, well, maybe you lost $20. Not only that though, I even understand you can use the card to buy groceries and other goods. None of this pin and signature stuff. Scan and go! I even saw a pop machine that took the card! Hello world!? Shouldn’t we all be using this?

Outside the Big City

A nice aspect of Hong Kong was because of the high density and because of the amount of hills; there was a lot of open space preserved. We hiked up one of these lush hills to the “peak” to get a view of the city. I was expecting something like Mount Royal in Montreal at the top. Unfortunately, we were greeted by a large viewing tower and two malls?!

We were also able to visit this one village that is called Tai O. The people have their homes built on stilts along the inlets. I guess after one fire, the government was willing to build new accommodations for everyone. Well, the locals protested and they still live on stilts. There were also the legendary pink dolphins to see. Hmm, I have concluded they are mythical after spending 30 minutes on the water in a boat and not seeing anything. What a great way to bring in tourists. After we off course had to go to the Outlet mall. Yay! Outline Mall! It was not so great but the food court was fun. The mall was surrounded by 20 storey condos.

Another day was spent in Stanley; a nice but touristy town along the ocean. The place reminded me of a town in Croatia. There was a picturesque waterfront with shops and such. We also toured through the market and bought a few goodies. My dad and I had to stop and enjoy a Chinese beer.

Lamma Island (which has no Lamas, booo) was another place we visited. We took a four kilometer hike between two of the towns. There were a few beaches along the way and even the coal fired power plant…time for a family photo. The end town was where we stopped at an amazing vegetarian restaurant (see I am not always a carnivorous meat eater) and chilled out to folk tunes and looked through the library of books.

Food

I had heard some rumours that the food was not so good in Hong Kong. I beg to defer…it is amazing! And so much variety too. It could be because Tom and Anne Marie know where to go but I am not sure. We tried everything from Dim Sum to vegetarian to Sichuan. Had to love the fruit slushy and yogurt desert, mmmm! Not so hot was the dish that had chicken feet and a chicken head on it. Probably our favourite was the hole in the wall Indian restaurant. Along with great Indian there was pizza! The Tandori pizza was my favourite.

Zhuhai, China

For me, the highlight of the trip was Zhuhai in China. There is just something about developing countries that make travelling way more interesting. Perhaps it is because you are seeing a way of life different from your own. Anyway, I was not really sure what to expect when I arrived. All I new was this city was one of China’s first Special Economic Zones (where taxes and regulations are reduced to attract companies) and it has gone from a fishing village in the 1980s to a city of 500,000 people. The Lonely Planet made the joke that the only fishnets you will find around here are the ones on the hookers, ha, ha!

When we arrived, I was surprised by the place. The city was really well laid out with grand avenues, buildings that were built proportionate to the street, large parks, and a waterfront promenade that stretched from one end of town to the other. Along the pedestrian only street were a variety of flashy shops, hotels, bars, and restaurants. The bars were interesting as they were just small square tables that were manned by a couple of cute girls. You could see them drinking and gambling with the guys and sometimes families (?) that were perched on a stole. When my dad and I walked by alone, the girls would calls us over for a drink at their bar, ha, ha. Of course we were good.

The one thing you had to be careful about was crossing at the crosswalks. Cars paid no attention to them and would just zoom right through. You watched the locals as they made it across one lane, stopped, waited for the cars to go by, and then on to cross the next lane. Reminded me of the old Atari game Frogger.

The most fun was in the maze of back lanes which acted as a market for the locals. You would see everything from places to eat, tea shops, food vendors, antique stories, etc. You felt like you were really seeing how life was in this town. I was surprised that something so haphazard could spring up in such a new city. Where was the planner!?

I was expecting to see a lot of variances between rich and poor. However, most people seemed to be pretty middle class, easy going and friendly. You would see in the markets people playing Chinese card games and others strolling along the waterfront. One garbage collector found a glass fishing float and gave it to Tom. The guy even went into the ocean to clean it up!

Fun times were also at the restaurant we found after a long day of shopping. There, we were waited on hand and foot! First are the hostesses who are dressed in tradition slim fitting, long slit up the side, traditional (?) Chinese dresses. They take you to your table where a server takes your order. Then there are two busers who stand only a few feet away to help you with anything you need.

I ended up buying a tea pot at a tea shop. I was really surprised at how expensive tea pots could be; up to $200 sometimes! They were beautiful though. I ended up paying maybe $25 for my own.

It was too bad we were only there 1 night; would have been great to explore more. It was back to Hong Kong and then next day back to Canada. Anne Marie and Tom were supreme tour guides.