Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Hong Kong


So far, I love Hong Kong. All the frenetic energy of Manhattan set against a backdrop of green mountains and tropical foliage. And so much street activity!

Today, I left my hotel room around 9:30 AM and started walking. I’m staying in an area called Causeway Bay, which consists of residential (50 and 60 story!) buildings on really narrow windy side streets and a big main drag lined with department stores. I headed into Victoria Park, which is a huge formal park with gardens, fountains and cricket fields. Lots of elderly folks doing tai chi. I continued west along narrow little streets with not-so-nice smells, and then popped out onto a huge boulevard called Hennessey Road. Tons of traffic, double decker buses, electric trams, you name it… people everywhere. I put my map away and just jumped into the stream of pedestrians, following the flow. Eventually, this river of people flowed into an enormous shopping mall (called Times Square), so I went in and had a look. I think it’s Hong Kong’s version of Trump Tower, with glitzy jewelry and clothing stores, lots of designer names (and Tony Roma’s and California Pizza Kitchen!).

I continued west along little side streets and alleys, taking a right turn in Wan Chai and heading down to the waterfront to see the Convention Center. One nice thing is that the busier pedestrian areas have elevated sidewalks that bridge the streets, so you don’t have to worry about getting killed by crazy drivers. Traffic moves on the left here (British style) which takes some getting used to. But both the pedestrians and the vehicles seem to follow the rules. Being used to Chinatowns in Oakland, SF (and even NYC), the street atmosphere seems pretty familiar though, minus the tourists!

I trusted the Lonely Planet guide for my lunch choice (usually reliable, but a mistake this time). Lonely Planet claimed this place had the best pot stickers in Hong Kong. The menu was all in Chinese and I was the only patron, but I managed to order pot stickers (guo tie)—they were really greasy. After lunch, I kept moving west, getting into the Admiralty and Central areas where the major office buildings are. The skyscrapers rival midtown Manhattan and are pretty impressive. There were also some really nice public gardens and a historic church (St. John’s) built in the mid-1800s. Other the old church, virtually all the major buildings in the City seem less than 50 years old.

I ended up at the tram to Victoria Peak. This is one of HK's “must-do” activities. The weather was pretty nice (85 and sunny, with haze) so I headed up. It’s a pretty dazzling ride up the side of the mountain, with incredible views of the City. Interestingly, when you reach the top you’re not at the observation platform, but rather on the first level of an 8-story tall shopping mall. You have to ride escalators up all 8 stories, passing things like the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant along the way. Once on top, there are amazing views across the city, and south toward the ocean.

I spent a few minutes at the observation deck and then did a 2-mile hike around the peak along a beautiful paved trail (well, actually it was called a road---but it was only 9 feet wide!). It was amazing to find such beautiful vegetation, butterflies, birds, (and really loud cicadas!) so close to the City…and of course, amazing views.

When I got back to the bottom of the tram, I walked around Central Hong Kong, finding eventually my way to the Mid-Level escalators. This is an elaborate system of really long covered escalators extending for about one-half mile from the Downtown to the hills above the city. Really interesting way to commute, and lots of cool side streets with curious-looking restaurants, antique stores, and good photo opps along the way. I headed back down through the Soho neighborhood (not sure why they call it that… I didn’t see Houston Street!) into Lan Kwai Fong (an entertainment quarter), and eventually onto the subway where I boarded a train to Tin Hau. I visited a Buddhist temple (lots of incense) and then walked back to my hotel for a shower and a rest.

Bob and Charlotte (two other travelers in my group) came over around 6:30 and we went out for drinks and dinner. Had an OK meal at a Cantonese seafood restaurant above the subway station. I am now back in my room watching Hong Kong TV--there’s a show on that I think must be the local equivalent of American Idol. Really bad teenage singers doing American songs ( “feelings, nothing more than feelings”), and an audience of screaming girls. It’s pretty funny.

2 comments:

carole said...

Wonderfully descriptive. I can almost smell the side streets.

FCC Hong Kong Election 2007 said...

It's called Soho because it is south of Hollywood Road.