Hong Kong Sing-Along

Hello All,

Well, I promised I'd put Hong Kong up today so I am going to do it. I'm a bit overwhelmed with job search etc. at the moment so my heart's not in it. I miss my family and I hate the fact that trying to communicate love over the phone often gets twisted and frustrating. I just need hugs sometimes, and phone hugs suck. But, perhaps reminiscing about Hong Kong will cheer me up!

We arrived via ferry from Macau rather later than we had planned due to our unexpected bungee run (see previous post). Once in Hong Kong, we took a cab to our hotel, which was a lot harder than it sounds due to the fact that many (if not all) cab drivers in Hong Kong speak only Cantonese. Even though we had the address written out, it was written in English, not Cantonese characters, so Jocelyn had to talk to the cab driver's friend over the phone and spell out the address. We were not at all certain that we were going to end up in the right place, but we were stoked when we did. Our hostel was right in the heart of Nathan Street, the busiest thoroughfare in Kowloon. Here were the bright lights and throngs of people I had imagined for Hong Kong! It was exhilarating, despite our exhaustion, and we snapped lots of pictures straightaway.

Yes, that's a twenty-four hour McDonalds. They are EVERYWHERE. I swear, when I find the one country without McDonald's, I don't know what I'll do. Laugh? Cry? Starve? Hard to say. Maleeka, one of my travel buddies, is a big Fillet-o-fish fan. She had about six of them over the weekend, which Jocelyn dutifully photographed. Jocelyn has a really fancy camera that she uses to take incredible pictures. I was really glad she did, because now I have her whole album via the wonders of facebook!

How did people travel before the internet? I remember not having a cell phone as a kid, or internet. My brother doesn't. My kids certainly won't. The world seems smaller now that I can skype home and blog about my adventures, but I'm not entirely sure that it's good. Yes, I look forward to my skypedate with Tom every night, but my endless facebook checking does seem to keep me from being fully present here. What, if anything, is the solution? I was just about to make a statement about the good old days blah blah blah but I read an article yesterday about how "the good old days" are statistically full of crap in many ways (i.e. food was not actually cheaper, people were not actually smarter, music was not actually better, etc.) so I will abstain. And I do love my blog. I just wonder sometimes about the life I am accustomed to (reading blogs, posting youtube videos on facebook, sending long emails) and wonder if we're not slowly turning into Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. And if you haven't read F451, what are you doing reading my stupid blog? Get your ass to a library (they do still exist) and grab a copy!

Anyway, we grabbed some dinner and decided that we had to partake in the quintessential Asian experience: karaoke. What we Americans percieve as a slightly kooky diversion akin to bowling, Asians take deadly seriously. We had to rent a private room for the four of us, which we had until 5:45am (we contemplated canceling our hostel and just hanging out there instead). The room was a bunch of padded sofas, the karaoke system, the huge tv, and four wireless mics. And a phone which we could pick up and order drinks, which we did :) At some point, we had some shots that were caught on fire. I remember thinking, "this is something that I will tell my kids that I did and they will not believe me. They'll be like, Mom? In Hong Kong? Doing flaming shots? No way." And I will smile mysteriously. Oh no, something I just realized is that my facebook will probably outlive me. That is, my teenage kids will someday be able to google me and find pictures of me doing naked mudwrestling (or something) and be totally mortified. How will we as a nation deal with this? Would you block your own kids? Or abandon facebook as you age? I am the first generation whose adolescence (well, end of adolescence) was captured digitally. Scary. Very scary. I want to ask Mark Zuckerberg what's going to happen in the future, but I hear he's a jerkface. At least he was on "The Social Network".

So karaoke was super duper fun. We got to control our own song choices and do whatever we wanted. I was kind of hogging the machine but the gals informed me I was a great DJ. We sang our hearts out to Madonna, Britney Spears, Ace of Base, Celine Dion...the works. The highlight of the night was surely Priya's rendition of "Touch My Bum", by the Cheeky Girls, which was apparently #1 in Britain for about a month. Youtube it. I dare you. We rolled out of there around 3:30am and hit the sack, ready for another wild day. What else could we experience?

Next morning we got a bit of a late start (see above) but started out on an awesome walking tour of Hong Kong, this one also courtesy of LP. (Are you listening, LP? Why do you never return my calls? We could be so good together...) We saw the sights of Hong Kong Island, which are...big buildings. Central Hongun-feng-shui), there were a ton of skyscrapers, and at least we were There. Here are some pics from the morning.

That afternoon, we decided to grab a bite to eat/learn stuff at the Tea Museum. It's in the middle of a garden and very pretty. The Chinese word for special tea is "gongkfu" which means "laborious and confusing". (I have decided to hijack this word for my own purposes, e.g. that instruction manual is a bit too gongkfu for me! Any takers?) As we watched the woman fix our tea, pouring water into several cups and performing a delicate ritual not unlike a dance, we were mesmerized. America is a wonderful place, but we are a bit bereft in the traditions department. By traditions I mean things we've been doing for THOUSANDS of years. I was trying to think of anything that we do that's so lovingly intricate...maybe restore antique cars? I know people are going to tell me all sorts of things, but at that moment I was just awed by the majesty of the production and honored to be able to witness it, an upstart kid way too far from home.

From there, it was off to the Star Ferry, aka You Haven't Seen Hong Kong if you Miss This. It's a ride (a short one at that) across the bay from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon and back. We embarked just as it was starting to rain and the sun was setting. I did manage to take some passable shots of the skyline, featured below. The feeling I had was hard to describe-dizzy with the things I'd seen, intoxicated with the promise of the rest of the evening, every possibility laid out before me in this unfamiliar place.

Once we arrived in Kowloon, we grabbed a seat at a waterside bar to witness the Symphony of the Stars, which is a must-see light show that we...missed. From what we could see from our LP-recommended bar (aka Best Bar Ever), it was not much to look at. An odd missed note on this trip of harmony, but we passed an hour sipping cocktails and people watching. Not a loss at all. Perhaps the bad weather made the light show impossible? I guess we'll never know...

Our penultimate stop of the night was the Temple Street Night Market, an infamous bazaar that stretches for miles...if you know where to look. When we arrived, we were like "is this it?" Fortunately, it was not. You have to cross the street. We saw people selling tea, telling fortunes, designer bags (knockoffs obvi), watches, religious icons, jade, original art, perfume, clothing...almost anything you can think of. Priya bargained like a fiend and got some incredible steals. I got a few things, the most important being a Chairman Mao watch that a)has a waving hand that moves constantly and b)glows in the dark. It's the tackiest thing ever/coolest thing ever and it was less than $5 American dollars. I can't post a pic because it can't capture the grandeur that is this watch. No, I am not a Communist and I don't support totalitarian regimes, but seriously, if you saw this watch, you'd understand. It's hilarious. All night, when someone asked me what time it was, I said, "let's ask the Chairman" which did not get old at all. We had a blast and left with our hearts and wallets a bit lighter.

Finally, we went out to Lan Kwai Fong, the clubbing district of Hong Kong. We had some tips from friends to hit the Bejing Club, but with a $50 cover we said no thanks and moved on. Lan Kwai Fong is as close to martial law as I'd ever like to get. There were drunk people everywhere. The streets were full of people (many places cars could not get so it was pedestrians only) just talking, walking, flirting, yelling, kissing, harassing...just a huge morass of people doing their best impression of Sodom and Gomorrah with a healthy dose of Babel mixed in. It was like the world's biggest frat party and for some reason I did not feel threatened like I usually do. In college, when there were big parties at the Lodge (Johnnies know) or even in suites, if I attended, it was a heads-down-duck-through-the-crowd-avoid-eye-contact-while-sipping-diet-coke affair. I never had any fun (with the exception of a notable Mr. Hoffmann encounter senior year) and I always cursed myself fo being so socially awkward. I wanted so badly to feel like Us instead of Them but I always felt like I was on the outside and didn't even know how to get inside.

Not so here. I strode down the street confidently with my new friends, dodging puddles of puke with elan and feeling like a million bucks. Was it the foreign locale, a chance to be anyone I wanted for one night? The safety in knowing I was not looking to spark an emotional connection (my best one was shoveling snow in New Hampshire)? Or have I just grown into myself at last? I may never know. No matter, because Zinc looked inviting, and we made our way to the bar.

Hong Kong bar/clubs are weird. I wish I could describe it better but I can't. I had...a good time? We stayed too long for my liking, but my friends were the soul of courtesy and kept making sure I was just whiny and not actually distressed. We all danced together and that part was definitely fun. The music here-I could write a whole different post about the music here. It's Western, but it's really random. Right now, Rihanna-Only Girl in the World, Katy Perry-Firework, Shakira-Waka Waka, and Black Eyed Peas-I've Got a Feeling are HUGE. I don't think I will ever hear any of those songs again without thinking of Asia. Which is good, because I don't want to ever forget my time here.

At 6am, we tumbled, giggling, into bed. And right now, I have to do the same. I will do my last day in Hong Kong tomorrow. I just can't go on any further, I'm too tired. Blogging is exhausting! Tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve, so I think I'll go down to Chinatown and fight the throngs of people to see the fireworks. Then early Thursday Lisa and I are going on a jaunt around Malaysia. So it might be a while before you hear from me again. What can I say? I have lots of the world to see! But, I promise I am missing you all and thinking of you and home often. But, until later, this is Singapore Sue, saying Sionara Suckers!