Kowloon, Afternoon, Typhoon
Another exciting day! (did you expect anything different?)
At this point I feel like I’ve been cruising on other people’s goodwill. It’s been two days (three if you include tomorrow) where I’ve done zero research, yet managed to visit many of the most famous HK hotspots: Victoria Peak, Wan Chai, gweilo Soho, the Mid Levels Escalators, Kowloon, Mongkok and the Ladies’ Market. What can I say, it’s good to know people!
During the first half of the day, I met with one of my oldest friends from high school (20+years and counting), where she took me to a traditional, heavily AC’ed Dim Sum restaurant near the IFC (International Finance Center), followed by a digestive Star Ferry ride to Kowloon. It was at this moment that the entire vibe changed.
I was in CHINA.
Sure, it’s still “Hong Kong North”, but to think that I could simply walk to the nearest bus station and buy a ticket to Beijing was a powerful feeling.
In any case, being a tall white guy, I couldn’t hide. So naturally, I went all out, and took as many pictures as I could, while my friend guided me all the way from Prince Edward to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST as the kids call it these days)
Once home, I rested a bit (that jetlag isn’t going to fix itself) and I began making plans for the evening, with some of the crew from the previous day. Yes, the Swedes.
Crayfish, anyone?
It turns out that tomorrow is a National holiday celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it is a BIG DEAL. I didn’t know this, but the Hongkongers congregate in troves in and around Victoria Park, and light traditional candles under the full moon. It’s a fantastic occasion to see them celebrate a yearly festival and realize that while we may be different, we are all the same.
All under buckets of rain.
Naturally, the night didn’t end there. Although the rain kept telling us to stop, we responded with a resounding “No”, and made our way to the local pub, where we finished the night alongside friendly Westerners, under the cover of a 7/11 enjoying cozy Belgian beers coupled with salty Seaweed chips.
