I'll sail to Hong Kong harbour, the winds were warmer there...
Oh I wish we could have sailed! It would have been lovely to coast into Victoria Harbour on a retro looking boat of some kind, but time limits are time limits so it was a flying visit, but a worthy one. Ah heck, when is a visit to Hong Kong NOT a worthy one?? There's something about the place that just buzzes and works its way into your system and grabs you and then.... you're a goner. I think one of the reasons I like it so much over there is due to its being an ex-colony; Chinese it might be these days but there's something distinctly British remaining in some areas. Whether it's the MTR voiceover lady asking ever-so politely to "Please mind the gap" in a tone worthy of the queen, the Cantonese wearing England football shirts, the sheer multitudes of foreigners, cars driving on the left, the double decker buses or the presence of Marks & Spencer (aka heaven to us long suffering Taiwanese food victims), I couldn't specifically say. I think it's a combination of them all together with a hint of something else I can't and never will be able to pinpoint, but it makes it feel like home. At the same time though, it is definitely DEFINITELY Asian. It feels, in parts, like a mega-sprawling Chinatown, full of hustle and bustle, noisy traffic, taller than tall dilapidated buildings, pollution, street markets and food vendors, and it doesn't matter how accustomed I think I've become to innumerable aspects of Chinese culture, it's still a lot to take in on first arrival. Going into the city by bus from the airport I didn't know where to look, and I mean that in a good way; the same way a kid doesn't know which Christmas present to open first :-) I'm not sure where to begin to describe it all; the chronology is all a bit befuddled in my current mindset, but
The harbour 'light show' was an atrocious spectacle; the Cantonese food was glorious; Kowloon was ... Kowloon! in all its splendour, oh how I love it...; the infamous Chungking Mansions were everything they are hyped up to be and more, with extra Indians and knock-off handbags thrown in for good measure; our room was enough to incite claustrophobia unto even the most resilient of us, that or vertigo, but it was also the cheapest of cheap as chips rooms we were ever going to find, and clean to boot so it made me happy; the view from Victoria peak was panoramic, the journey up the open air travelator escalator thingummy was much more than a journey; H&M was devoured, as was Sasa; Hong Kong park was a tranquil treasure sat in the heart of the city; Mongkok appears to have earned its name; our time-keeping was laughable, Lan Kwai Fong was terrifying; the weather was hot hot hot, the buildings were shiny, and our ferry rides across the harbour were gorgeous.
I returned thoroughly overwhelmed, but highly satisfied. Hong Kong, this is not the end...
The harbour 'light show' was an atrocious spectacle; the Cantonese food was glorious; Kowloon was ... Kowloon! in all its splendour, oh how I love it...; the infamous Chungking Mansions were everything they are hyped up to be and more, with extra Indians and knock-off handbags thrown in for good measure; our room was enough to incite claustrophobia unto even the most resilient of us, that or vertigo, but it was also the cheapest of cheap as chips rooms we were ever going to find, and clean to boot so it made me happy; the view from Victoria peak was panoramic, the journey up the open air travelator escalator thingummy was much more than a journey; H&M was devoured, as was Sasa; Hong Kong park was a tranquil treasure sat in the heart of the city; Mongkok appears to have earned its name; our time-keeping was laughable, Lan Kwai Fong was terrifying; the weather was hot hot hot, the buildings were shiny, and our ferry rides across the harbour were gorgeous.
I returned thoroughly overwhelmed, but highly satisfied. Hong Kong, this is not the end...