An Unforgettable Summer: Hello Hong Kong

5/15/10

Location: Hong Kong, China

We only had one full day in Hong Kong, so we knew we would have to make it count. Go big, or go home, as the saying goes. We definitely went big and our full day in Hong Kong left us feeling drained, but we felt like we covered most of what we wanted to see and do in the city of 7 million.

Our day was made a little easier by a woman named Faith. Faith is also a Concordia student, a junior majoring in religion and music, who is spending the semester abroad studying at a seminary school in Hong Kong. She became our tour guide for the day and was very helpful to our group. First, Faith took us to the Wong Tai Sin temple, where Taoists practice prayer called Kau Cim. Wong Tai Sin is famous for the amount of prayers answered. The Taoism temple is the largest, but there are also Buddhism and Confucianism temples next to it. Hundreds of people flock to these temples to worship their gods. Most of the worshippers had incense sticks and fruit to offer to the gods. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. I’ve read about the different religions of the temples, but it was great to be exposed to see in-person their followers worship, the elegance of their temples, and learn even more about them, courtesy of Faith.

Next, we took the Star Ferry across Hong Kong’s harbor to get to the other island. Hong Kong comprises the Kowloon peninsula and 236 islands, but the largest two are the Lantau Island and the Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong has a great public transport system in their subway, which is the easiest to use that I’ve ever seen and it also goes underwater between the two islands, but the Star Ferry gave us spectacular views of the city. Or, it would have, if it wasn’t so hazy out. China has 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities and is the biggest producer of CO2, and Hong Kong is the smoggiest city I have ever seen. The tops of the skyscrapers were all shrouded in dirty gray smog, and the smog clings to the air in Hong Kong as well. The muggy, dirty atmosphere is the perfect opposite to New Zealand’s cool and fresh air. Despite the air, the Star Ferry was still enjoyable.

We stopped for lunch at the IFC mall, which is the largest mall I have ever been in. It’s absolutely sprawling and more maze-like than the Mall of America. I would also say that about ¾ of its stores were all designer or luxury brands, like Chanel, Cartier, Tiffany and Co., True Religion, Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and so on. Some of the girls and I were looking for a couple cafés that were listed on the mall directory, but there wasn’t a map and this mall was so huge that we couldn’t find them. We found a McDonald’s though, so we settled for that. My value meal at Mickey D’s with the exchange rate was about $3 USD!

After lunch, we decided to go to the Peak, which is a tourist attraction above Hong Kong that offers the best views of the city. We took the bus up to the Peak, and actually went through a lot of forest that reminded me of the rainforest in Cairns. The Peak offered a galleria of shops (since shops are ever-present in Hong Kong), restaurants, and had great view points. But again, there wasn’t much to see due to the haze of the smog. It was both disappointing and disturbing to me that their air was so unclean that is eliminated a view from the position of the Peak.

We took the tram down from the Peak, and then took the subway again to meet two of Faith’s friends from school, who are both from China. Their names were William and Olivia, and they escorted us to dinner, which was a traditional Chinese meal. It was absolutely delicious and my favorite part of the day. I ate the whole meal with chopsticks, which was quite an accomplishment for me because I always have used forks at Chinese restaurants in the US and Canada. I can’t even begin to tell you all of the names of the dishes, which were heavily circulated on our table’s lazy susan, but there was a cashew chicken, a fish in a superb sweet and sour sauce, a kind of seasoned green beans, bean curd, Chinese dumplings, rice, and much more. We were all feeling pretty full when we were told there was still one dish on its way and it was a surprise. The surprise was a Peking duck! Everyone tried it, and while I didn’t really care for it, I’m still glad I can say I did try it! The meal was so wonderful, and the food was only part of it. William and Olivia shared a lot of information with us about Hong Kong and China, and it was great to get to know them.

After the meal, William and Olivia escorted us to the night markets of Hong Kong. The night markets are on Temple Street, which is a very long street full of vendors selling everything from knockoff designer purses to chopsticks. I bought some of the chopsticks which had floral designs and were packaged in satin sheaths, compact mirrors with colorful, metallic designs on their covers, coin purses, and earrings for little souvenir gifts for myself and friends, all for under $30 USD. You had to bargain with the vendors, which I had only done once before in Mexico, but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty fun and I got some good deals. While the night markets made for some great shopping, it was also a little nerve-wracking because there were always people trying to get you to stop at their shop or restaurant or give you a coupon or flyer for a night club. We always traveled as a group though, and when we were in the night markets we only separated into pairs or small groups for 40 minutes before meeting up again.

We got back to the hotel around 10 P.M., and after being on our feet since 10:30 A.M., we were all tired. Plus, our journals are due after Hong Kong, so we had some work to do to catch up!

I didn’t fall in love with Hong Kong like I did with New Zealand, but it’s obvious now that you don’t have to love a new place in order to learn something or to have a great time. I can’t stand large crowds, and I didn’t enjoy running into people all the time. But being only one of so many also made me realize how large the world is and how many people comprise it. Before this trip, I lived in a fairly small bubble, even though I try to stay updated on current events and connected to larger issues outside my own personal ones. Yet when you’re standing on a corner in Hong Kong, and the world is rushing by you—colorful neon lights are flashing, horns are honking, laundry is blowing in the wind on an high-rise apartment balcony, a pack of twenty people briskly walk in a rhythm across the crosswalk—you feel like you never knew how immense the world was until then.