By now I am somewhat set in my grove of globe trekking; the day before I reach a new country/city I read the Lonely Planet, browse trip advisor and various other sites, book a hostel. I should be used to this by now; in a new country every week, once the plane lands, go through the security check, exchange money, get a sim card for my international phone, pick up some maps and brochures and hop into a taxi.
But why is it different this time? This time I was finally alone, nobody to pick me up or meet me at the airport..I see the bright lights of this city as the plane lands and my body is filled with excitement and nerves. A bit of nervous energy is always good for the soul, or at least I´d like to think so. Images from the movie "Taken" flash through my head, and a recent documentary I watched in Singapore about refugees from North Korea escaping to South Korea. Yes, I´m a psycho, I don´t know why I think about these crazy things.
So I got to the hostel just fine, and the next day I leisurely strolled down Nathan Lane on the Kowloon side to take a ferry to Hong Kong Island. On a hop on hop off tour bus, I met Hong (aka Cedric); a young tour guide who told me all the must see areas of HK. Intrigued by his name, I asked why he had an American name since he lived in HK, don´t quite remember or maybe I just didn´t understand his response but he said that American expats who move to HK also get a Chinese name..which I found rather amusing. Hong Kong has a breathtaking skyline which slowly rises from the Central area to the Mid Levels and the Peak (the highest point on HKI), finally lined with huge mountains in the background. Think, have you seen any major city with mountains in the background? It´s simply marvelous. Every evening at 8pm there is a Symphony of Lights: think Bellagio Fountains with a long line of skyscrapers..music..and lights. It lasts for about 15 minutes and you have to keep moving your head from side to side to see all the buildings light up - I should have invested in a panoramic camera.
Though the skyline is beautiful from afar, in the depths of HK, it´s pretty much a crowded and congested city. It city is jamm packed, people, buildings, streets, all piled up on top of each other. I have to admit, this is the first place so far that I don´t like as much. Other than tall skyscrapers, I didn´t sense much of culture here and based on speaking to various folks, big things in HK include eating, shopping, and karaoke (which is ok I guess, but yeh, not my place...).
Interesting folks in HK
"Oh My God, I don´t remember the last time I heard this voice!!", exclaimed the voice on the other end of the line, it was my friend Jen from high school. I vaguely remember seeing her before she moved to HK for her i-banking job a couple of years ago, and was lucky enough to hunt her down here. We met for dinner and drinks and walked around the city. I had an intense feeling of nostalgia as we chatted about high school, our old friends and good old Edison, New Jersey. It´s always nice to catch up with folks who remember certain things about you (i.e. she remembered me when I wasn´t a vegetarian, my family, my old house etc). I ended up crashing at her place since we ended up reminiscing til the wee hours of the night.
So my last night in HK, I didn´t have much to do, and had heard of this area full of bars called Lan Kwai Fong. It´s a windy cobblestone road that has lots of lights, music, and of course bars and restaurants sprinkled throughout. I don´t normally roll up to bars by myself, but I thought what the hell, I´m only in HK once and walked into the most packed and rowdy bar. The South Korea vs Argentina World Cup game was on and I chatted up this guy who seemed to be the only guy in the bar rooting for Argentina. I asked where he was from and he said he was Egyptian and was Arab (for those of you who know me, seriously out of all places I meet an Arab dude..lol). So I ended up watching the game with him and his friends, his brother managed the bar, so free drinks all night long. I also met some folks from Taiwan who were in HK on business and lucky for me they were going to be in Bangkok the next evening. We then made plans to meet up the next day in Bangkok to watch the Germany game. Exhausted, and pretty intoxicated, I planned to leave the bar, but the Arab guys convinced me to go to another bar that one of the guys owned. Again, free drinks and food, I ended up drinking with them all night. I wasn´t feeling so hot the next day..but it was well worth it!
One other interesting person (Kunal) I met was a friend of Jani ( who I met in Australia). She introduced me to him and said he would show me around HK. He was pretty busy all week working on his start up biotech firm, pitching to investors and prepping for business plan competitions. Definiately glad I met him, got learn about his trials in starting his own business, something I plan to do eventually. We ended up getting sweet treats and what he calls ¨the best dessert place in HK¨" in Kowloon and walked around that area, which I hadn´t seen that much of.
Had a great time in HK, but happy to leave to the more exotic Thailand.
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