We boarded the train as the China immigrants did, with our huge backpacks for their archaic blue-red-white striped bags. It brought us across the New Territories, deep into the heart of Hongkong Island.
Hongkong, one of the world's most populous and yet prosperous countries, a cosmopolitan business and cultural hub, a dream destination for many. And happily, we were not disappointed :)
Tai Po Market, Sha Tin, Kowloon Tong, Tsim Sha Tsui, the station names rung our imagination from countless TVB dramas. An hour later, Wan Chai. We chugged our bags outside, and met with Zhiyang, an old classmate of mine. He still looked the same, wearing specs and sporting the impeccably neat hairstyle. Zhiyang had kindly agreed to be our gracious host for the HK leg, and we'd be unimaginably grateful in the following week.
But first we saw the skyscrapers.
Towering above us from all sides, it was... awesome. Hongkong, the world's most vertical city with the most skyscrapers. They were everywhere, tall looming figures that flickered with gleaming skylights. I owe my parents this one for giving me non-claustrophobic genes.
What came next was no less amazing. ZY brought us into the service apartment where he and his parents stayed, a pseudo-condo with impressive security. Little did we expect that...we'd be treated to probably the most comprehensive hospitality we've ever had! His parents awed us with their wonderful care and help throughout our stay. They'd prepared clean, spacious beds for us and our own toilet for use, inclusive of towels, utensils, the works. We truly felt at home, or even better, as honored guests, in the full sense of the phrase.
We talked with ZY and his parents about the foods, attractions and idiosyncrasies of Hongkong, and were just brimming with excitement for the morning to arrive. Our planning slowly began for these five exhilarant days...
24th June, Tuesday.
Having found Civilization, we rediscovered dates.
But perhaps not our sense of time, seeing that we woke up late this morning. Auntie sent us off to the MTR with a couple of buns for breakfast. We chewed on it slowly as we decided on, firstly, to visit Ah Wang.
Remember Ah Wang (Xiao Xi Fu! Xiao Xi Fu!) from "Ah Wang Xin Zhuan"? We decided to visit the place Ah Wang lived, the suburban areas, most notably Sha Tin. Yet we walked out of Sha Tin MTR into a shopping mall. The biggest, most luxurious shopping mall we've ever been to. To illustrate: it even has its own Peanuts-themed playground, Snoopy's World! After indulging in a little camwhoring, we came to our senses and began exploring the surrounding suburban areas.
Nearby, a wet market. They had quail meat for sale, like miniature versions of chicken meat. Besides that, it was really similar to SG wet markets. We walked all around, to the Heritage Museum, a couple of famous temples (i'm not a big fan), and to the Tseng Housing Estate. There, Tseng Zhi Wei lives with his daughter! I saw him leave in a taxi, and Jason believed me for five seconds.
We hopped over to a park, to a pretty pond, strolled along the canal-esque river, saw the famous HK domestic bus(!) and, to satisfy our higher interests in learning, toured the City Hall, then the Library.
All this while we were seeing things new and interesting, old and familiar, in the suburban 'heartlands' of Hongkong. We even had a glimpse at the HK national flower, the beautiful Orchid Bauhinia.
Next stop: University.
It wasn't until we reached there and quizzed a couple of locals that we found out this wasn't the University of HK! But the Chinese University of HK is a close second when it comes to world academic rankings. Not to mention gradients and contours... CUHK beats NTU hands down! We walked, hiked, mountaineered up its steep roads and nature paths to its various faculties. An interesting one was 'Theology', for budding Saint Augustines perhaps. We took a tea break at the cafe at the top, sniffing in the air of hoi polloi like any other uni student in HK. The view was magnificent.
Melding into the population, we took a local shuttle bus down, and met Zhiyang and family for dinner near Wan Chai. ZY's parents gave us a generous treat for our Chinese five-course dinner at a favorite restaurant. After that, it's time for...
Nightlife! Hongkong's most famous haunt for drinking, clubbing and dining is undoubtedly Lan Kwai Fong. Expatriates thronged the place, as well as men and women dressed to the nines. Our outfits was an outrageous shirt-and-jeans, but having braved all contrasting social settings in Vietnam and China, we now strolled around shamelessly in ease :)
The place swarmed with bars, restaurants, clubs and billiard pubs. We entered a club and spent awhile dancing and drinking inside for a moderate fee. Then we headed to Tsim Sha Tsui, which had a vibrant night scene too. The night passed almost too quickly with a couple of interesting experiences...
...and then we were back in Wan Chai. Our newfound hobby awaited: arcade gaming! Arcade games were incredibly cheap here, and driving and guitar/drum simulation games were, quite simply, spammable. We had a great time racing each other at this Initial D game. It's been such a long time since arcade games felt so enjoyable, ha.
Past midnight, and sleep beckoned. We returned to our cozy beds.
As the winds blew outside, i looked through the windows. Skyscrapers stared back at me as if it were perfectly normal. I sniffed, and snuck under the sheets.
We slept sweetly, soundly. Our first day on Treasure Island had ended, but the next day impatiently awaits.
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