Hong Kong Crazy

I arrived in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon and spent the rest of the day getting my bearings and checking out the local sights near my hotel.

I am staying at the Guang Dong Hotel in Kowloon. I would only recommend the place to a seasoned traveler would just wants a clean quiet place to lay their head. The rooms a fine, quite spacious for Asian standards, but there is no service to speak of. No worries, I am not here to be waited on.

On a day two, I decided the best way to orient myself to the place was to take a guided city tour and then decide where to go from there. I had already chosen the Big Bus Tour company the night before, so I only needed to show up at the starting point at 10 am. When I arrived there was a bus, but no one will to sell me a ticket. I was working in concert with some Brits to get a ticket agent to appear. When they arrived at last we managed a small discount and we were off. The first part of the tour was on the Kowloon side, so for me it was quite interesting, as I wasn't that familiar with Kowloon. That portion last about 1 1/2 hours and dropped us off at he the Avenue of the stars with about a million other tourists, most of whom where Japanese. Now you'd think I would be use to the Japanese by now, and I am, but they turn into something completely different when they are on holiday and on tour together. This is when the stereotypical Japanese tourist rears their camera welding, pushy side. It is quite astounding to witness.

I decided to grab a bun and cold drink to take with me on the ferry over to the Hong Kong side of the harbour. For those of you unfamiliar with Hong Kong, the harbour divides the overall city into the island of Hong Kong and the mainland area of Kowloon. I lived on the Hong Kong side for 3 1/2 years as a child. I arrived when I was 7. Growing up here in some pretty formidable years gave me an unbelievable perspective on life and foreign cultures.

After a very nostalgic crossing on the Star Ferry, I was ready for another bus. As we swung around the Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay district memories kept flooding back. There was my father's old office building, the Swiss Cheese building (also known as the building of a thousand assholes), the Royal Hong Kong Yacht club, and the Peak. There was also an astounding number of new buildings. Hong Kong's cityscape never stays the same, which is one of the reasons why I love this place.

I hopped off the tour at the Peak stopping point and got chatting with an Aussie, Murray, just finishing his 5 month tour around Europe. He was leave the next day for home. We chatted quite a bit about his experiences and my plans. It actually seemed quite a lot like there was a torch being past. We ended up spending the rest of the day together. We got to see a few authentic markets in Central. I never did find the Bird Alley, but I think we covered a lot.

After dinner we caught the Guinness Book of Records for Continuously Playing Light and Sound Show in Hong Kong harbour. Then it was off the Temple Street Night market.

The next day, I caught up with Murray again and we made the trek back to my old neighbourhood of Repulse Bay. Standing on the beach looking up at the new building landscape was a bittersweet experience. I love to see the place where I have so made fond childhood memories, but my old apartment is horribly outdone by many new developments.

I was glad to see the small temple and Goddess of the Sea was still well entrenched on the beach. I even got to rub the local laughing Buddha statue for luck. Fingers crossed.

We also hit Stanley Market when we were on the south side of the island. The live fish and poultry stalls have been replaced with clothing and souvenir shops, but there is still a sense of the old Stanley there.

We ended the day at another one of my reminiscent spots - Jimmy's Kitchen. The pickled onions were fantastic as always. Murray wasn't so impressed, but he wasn't raised on them like I was. It was the perfect end to trip down memory lane. I don't know if I could ever come to Hong Kong and not cover off these historical locales. They defined my childhood and a big part of who I am today can be attributed to my years in Hong Kong. I am really glad I had the chance to come back.