Honeymoon: Hong Kong Harbour

It seems the British did good things with Hong Kong during their extended leasing of the estate. The deep natural harbour and central shipping location have also contributed to its rise as one of the more impressive financial centres of the world.

On the top floor of every skyscraper, I like to imagine a millionaire businessman sipping coffee and staring contentedly at the concrete empire below. Then I like to imagine that one day I'll be someone rich and powerful like that. Then I imagine that I would buy a speedboat and zoom across this harbour, drinking Moet & Chandon straight from the bottle while gloomy office workers stare from their office windows.

But then I wake up and realise that we can't all be at the apex of the capitalist pyramid.

They say it's lonely at the top anyway.

Although Heather and I were pretty keen to buy these 'I love HK' shirts, we haven't worn them since. They seem a little irrelevant elsewhere, and I'm trying to think of other things that HK could mean.

Happy Kids? Heptagonal Kangaroos?

In case you didn't know, the new hip thing to do in now is to take a photo of yourself when you jump. The aim is to create a non-digitally altered special effect, whereby it looks as if you're floating in the air. The most logical way to approach this task is for the camera operator to count to three and synchronise the timing with the jumpee.

(Jumpee (n): One who jumps).

Easier said than done. Canon cameras autofocus as you press the shutter down, which means that the timing of the image to the split second is a little difficult.

It took a while for Heather to get airborne, but in the end it was well worth the effort. If you use your imagination extensively, you might look at the picture above and think that Heather is actually floating around on her anti-gravity knees. As our friend Anthony likes to say "Nothing is impossible."

And then I like to add "But some things are infinitely unlikely."

Yuen Wo Ping is a kung fu choreographer who has worked on some of the classic Hong Kong movies. He also directed the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Incidentally, him and I seem to have almost exactly the same sized hands. I wonder if that means anything.

Well, for a start I guess it means that I could borrow his gloves and they would fit quite well.

Here's Heather doing a bit of role playing.

And here's Heather doing a bit of shopping. We'll have to change the name of this blog soon to Lee's Heather Blog.

The Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong has one of the best lobby views in the world. They've really made the most of it too, with large glass panels and an elevated seating area.

One would expect hotel lobby food to be overpriced, but it's still fun to look at the menu and proclaim daylight robbery anyway.

You do need to divide by seven to get US dollars. But still, that is a bit steep for a bottle of wine.

Heather and I ordered a cocktail each. Whenever I find myself drinking cocktails before midday, I always think of our friend Jef in Busan. Not because we used to drink cocktails together before midday, but because he taught me never to feel guilty about being a daytime alcoholic.

I like the composition of this photo.

It takes a while to get a westernised tongue around the pronunciation of Tsim Sha Tsui.

On our first day in Hong Kong, we found a foot massage place. Heather really wanted to go back to the same place on the third day, but we couldn't quite remember where it was. We finally found it after walking up and down the streets in 30 degree heat. In the photo above, Heather is displaying how pleased she is at recognising the poster in the lift.

For about US$13, they will massage your feet while you watch TV for 45 minutes.

The funny thing was that Heather really likes strong massages, while I like soft ones. But I ended up getting some dude who really got stuck into me, and Heather got a little lady who barely touched her. Contrary to our appearances, Heather is actually the big tough one in our relationship, while I'm fragile and delicate.

Then our three nights in Hong Kong were up and we left on the ferry to Macau. The photo above is from the HK-Macau ferry terminal. In a nutshell, Hong Kong is a place worth visiting. The locals are friendly and the city is geared toward tourism. The good points are that the food and shopping are excellent. The bad points would be that it is a little congested at times, and the humidity can limit your outdoor options. All in all though, I'd definitely go back again. Hong Kong reminds me of Kuala Lumpur, but with more British flavour.

And in the next post, we're off to Macau.

See you soon!

Honeymoon: Victoria Peak

The funny thing about travelling is that you often end up making short-lived acquaintances with local people. Then when you look back on your photos after returning home, you remember some of them and think "Hey yeah, that person was pretty friendly."

If I ever return to Hong Kong, I'll track down this juice-lady again. Although she only met us briefly, she recognised us when we came on the second day and gave us a broad smile.

When I really think about it, I probably wouldn't mind quitting my Ph.D, opening a small juice shop and earning an honest living while giving nice smiles to strangers.

Why does life need to be more complicated?

Heather and I found a 'Sports Restaurant' in busy Kowloon, which looked a little out of place and inquisition got the better of us. Turns out there were hardly any customers and it had a theme of 'Sports and Food'. Apparently the owner thought that eating in a place with lots of pictures of sweaty basketballers might catch on.

I'm a big fan on Hainanese Chicken Rice, which you can get in Adelaide Chinatown for $5. It's basically a steamed chicken served on flavoured rice with a side dish of excellently balanced ginger and garlic sauce. The sauce goes together with the mild chicken flavour in a heavenly way.
Having not found it in Korea after 3 years of searching, I quickly ordered something that looked similar on the menu. Heather can speak Chinese quite fluently, but when reading a Chinese menu, she often ends up saying something like "Umm... this one is some kind of chicken. And this one is beef."

What ended up coming out was instead Hainanese Chicken Soup. Not quite the same, but we were still distracted by the confusing mixed sports theme anyway.

We pointed at some other enticing hieroglyphs on the menu, and out came these little fellows. They were crispy fried and had a sweet filling.

Not too bad.

It's always nice to do your own thing when sightseeing, but the downside is that you might miss some of the major attractions. We decided to go on a guided tour for a day and it turned out to be pretty good.
This lady stood in the aisle of the tour bus and commented continuously on Hong Kong customs and culture while we drove around the city. She told us that Hong Kong gets 28 million tourists per year. That's a lot of photos.

You could probably collect them all and photosynth them together.

And then there's Victoria Peak. It's the highest point on Hong Kong Island and you can get to the top by tram, bus or the longest covered escalator system in the world. Out of all the views I've seen in my life, viewing from Victoria Peak on a clear day would have to be one of the most stunning.

It's virtually impossible to come here and not take a photo of yourselves.

The Hong Kong government decided that the view of the harbour was too picturesque to disturb with bridges, so they didn't build any. The only cross-harbour traffic is via ferries and three large tunnels that go under the water. Now there's some inspirational city-planning.

The hills of Hong Kong Island contain some of the most expensive real estate in the world, and therefore attract some of the richest people in Asia. One of these includes Stanley Ho, a billionaire who had a virtual monopoly over gambling in Macau for a good 40 years. Later we found out from our Wikipedia-like tour guide that Mr Ho has a number of estates in the area.

I'm guessing he only bought them so that he can casually say to his friends over drinks "Oh, Victoria Peak... that old place? Yeah I think I've got a few mansions up there."

At the top of the peak are a few shops and restaurants. But they are really small, because the altitude up here makes the people grow shorter. Look how big Heather is in comparison.

Seeing so many matchbox houses and fleeing masses below me, I couldn't help but release the carnal Godzilla monster within me.

The photography on the walls was actually put there to cover the ventilation system of an underground building.

Even though I don't drink Coke, there's something comforting about seeing familiar brands for sale overseas. It's that same old feeling everytime: "Hey, they sell that here too!"

Next up on the tour was a boat ride on the other side of the island. They often have small printing on tourism brochures saying things like "Optional boat ride will cost an additional HK$55, which is not included in the tour fee."
Finding out about these things later doesn't disturb me too much, but it is rather difficult to skip out. And then you end up spending more on a tour which at first seemed such good value for money.

The boats were comfortable enough, and I've always liked the idea of reusing car tyres as bumpers. Makes them look friendly.

I wonder who the first person was that thought of it. And I bet you his drinking buddies never believe him.

That white yacht on the left is none other than Jackie Chan's. My claim to fame now is that I've seen it.

So I guess that gives you the ability to say that you've read the blog of a guy who's seen Jackie Chan's yacht.

This is the Jumbo Floating Restaurant, a renowned fine-dining destination on the island. Tom Cruise once ate here.

More intriguing to me than the fact that I had just seen the Floating Restaurant That Tom Cruise Once Ate At - was this friendly Sikh. We never found out his name, but he spent the day smiling at us and generally contributing to a friendly atmosphere amongst foreigners.

We chugged along the canals for a good 30 minutes. High rise apartments are often aesthetically displeasing creatures, but I still find something oddly compelling about them.

Monuments to the monotony of the middle class.

Some of the fishermen in the canals live on their boats in moored groups. Wi-Fi access is sweeping the population.

Here's us, smiling for the blog readers.

This was our boat operator, who could speak very basic English. As we were passing fishing boats along the way, he would point and say things like "Look. See. Fishing."
Short, sweet and effective.

Oh and also, I hope you're enjoying the Wikipedia-style links I'm including this time around. Not sure if I'll keep it up though.

Anyway, see you soon!

Honeymoon: Hong Kong Shopping and the Avenue of Stars

The city of Hong Kong is separated into two halves by a large body of water. Connected to mainland China is Kowloon and across the water is Hong Kong Island. The New Territories are a more sparsely populated area to the northwest. If you're coming to Hong Kong as a tourist on a tight schedule, I'd recommend finding a hotel in Kowloon and taking a daytrip out to see Hong Kong Island.

Kowloon is a good place to stay (we stayed near MongKok Station) because you're closer to the airport and right in the middle of the busy shopping districts. If you don't like shopping and noise, you could probably find a nice hotel in Aberdeen, but it may be more expensive.

On a side note, two good restaurants in Adelaide Chinatown that I used to eat at were called Cafe Kowloon and the MongKok Restaurant. Now I know what the names are referring to.

Lots of tourists target Hong Kong as a shopping destination. Clothing, food and souvenirs are noticeably cheaper, but other things like electronic goods are similar to Korean prices. The best places to go for cheap clothes are the markets in Kowloon. Here they'll sell shirts for around US$4 as the asking price, but you can easily bargain that down if you're willing to put some time and acting into it. Bargaining is fun if you have the time, although not quite so enjoyable if you're in a hurry.

The basic modus operandi of market vendors in Hong Kong is to first give a lightning assessment of the potential buyer. From my brief observations, it seems that you'll be given a lot of attention and less room for bargaining if you look rich and from a western country. Next come other Asian tourists, who get given a little attention and more bargaining leverage. At the apex of the economic shopping category come the native Cantonese-speaking locals. They will often be able to get a cheap price in a short amount of time, with the vendors just waving them off quickly so they can concentrate their efforts on the more naive customers.

As a general rule, you're not getting a bargain unless you pay less than a third of the advertised price. Heather and I did fairly well, after a few hit-and-misses.

A good thing to remember is that if the vendor is watching you, don't look like you're interested in any one particular item. If they know that you're interested in a certain item, you're sure to have difficulty bargaining it down. Ask for prices on a few different things first, and then eventually arrive at the thing you're after. If it's $100 HK dollars, ask for it for $20. Then they'll probably say $85. Give it some time and make use of the oversized calculator they always have nearby.
If that doesn't work, try pulling the oldest trick in the book. Pretend to give up on it and start walking away. If the vendor isn't busy, they will nearly always shout a cheaper price as you're just out of hearing range. If they don't call after you, don't worry because there'll be a shop selling exactly the same thing just up the road and you can try again.

There's always room for common courtesy and mutual respect though.

Common to much of Asia is the endless bemusement to be derived from English mistakes on shirts.

'Fo let the good times soll!'

For US$2, you can get any three of these fruits blended up in a smoothie. We tried carrot, orange and apple, which was a surprisingly good combination. The next day we came back and had some more.
The fruit on the top left that looks like it's on fire is called Dragonfruit. The flesh is white and has little black seeds like kiwi fruit.

Live seafood is sold in a similar manner to Korea. I remember when I first went to Jagalchi in Busan, I saw an ajumma buy a live octopus with a head that was only a little smaller than a basketball. The vendor put the squirmy creature into double-lined shopping bags and it was just carried off, writhing in a rather curious manner. Through the opacity of the bag you could see things like tentacles, something wet and breathing, and an eyeball.

Great Halloween idea.

This Adidas shop had a resident cat wandering around and greeting the customers. Before I came to Korea, I was always a dog person, but these days I'm learning to appreciate cats. I like the fact that they know where to poop, and they don't smell bad.

But then again, nothing beats coming home to an exuberantly excited canine, overjoyed with just the fact that it hasn't seen you since you left in the morning.

We came back to the hotel with a fair bit of shopping. I think I spent around US$300, but it was a $300 well spent. Luckily, I had packed a half empty suitcase in anticipation.

Then it was off to meet Tommy for the second time. The Hong Kong subway system is fairly simple and easy to use. The line map is much simpler than Seoul's, and everything is nice and clean.

This is Tommy Lau. I used to live with this guy back in Australia for a couple of years and we're good friends. Now he works in a trading company and seems to be doing pretty well for himself. He picked us up at the airport and took us around to some bars. These days he seems to be a little wiser and a little more healthy than when I last saw him.

It was nice catching up with him, and now it's his turn to come and see us in Korea!

He took us out to a Taiwanese restaurant. You'd expect to eat out at a Hong Kong restaurant if you're visiting Hong Kong, right? But the funny thing is that for me also, when people come to visit Korea, I feel like taking them out to foreign restaurants in Itaewon. Mainly because I spend too much time eating Korean food, so it doesn't seem special anymore.

For the record, Taiwanese food is quite nice and they like to eat sweet spiced chicken.

This is the Peninsula Hotel, one of the most famous in the city. If you're feeling suave, you might want to stay here or at the Intercontinental.

Here's Heather and me in front of the Space Museum. It's shaped like this because there's a planetarium inside. Anybody who knows me, knows that I like all things space-related, except for long-bearded professors who talk too much about the mathematics.
We came back to have a look inside, but it's closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Take a note of that if you're visiting.

What are those green lights in the sky? They're lasers mounted on top of the buildings across the harbour. On certain nights, they have a Festival of Lights, and many of the buildings participate by lighting up in various neon patterns. It's all synchronised to a public music broadcast and worth coming out for, but we only got to see the tail end of it.

Here's Tommy, me and Heather on the Avenue of Stars. This area is a kind of boardwalk dedicated to important figures in Hong Kong movie history.

The boardwalk has some nice views of the harbour, surpassed only by Victoria Peak, which we'll see in the next blog post. That really tall building on the right is Two International Finance Centre. Batman jumped onto it in The Dark Knight movie.

Notice that dazzling blue neon billboard? That's none other than Samsung's contribution to the otherwise perfect photo opportunity. It's so bright that it becomes an overexposure problem in everyone's photos.

See what I mean? The funny thing is that in lots of the advertisements and other official photos of Hong Kong Harbour at night, the Samsung sign is actually covered up or obscured by something.

If any of the LKB readers out there works at Samsung, please ask the boss to hit the dimmer switch at the Hong Kong branch.

Similar to its Hollywood counterpart, the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars has these dedications on the ground. Tsui Hark directed the Once Upon a Time in China series, which are movies that captured my imagination as a middle schooler.

There was a time when I would jump around yelling "Futsan, Moying ge!"
(Cantonese for: No-Shadow Kick from Fushan!)

That's it for this time. I actually have to head to Jeju for 5 days this week on a science conference. So I'll be back with the next post sometime early next week. And I also start tutoring soon too.

Hmm... busy schedules; we all hope they lead somewhere worthwhile.

See you soon!