If I were to tell you that Hong Kong is part of China, you would find it hard to believe me; well, it has only once again been part of China since 1997. I can’t really put my finger down on any one ethnicity or language to sum up what is Hong Kong.
Since being here, I’ve seen a wide range of people and languages. They say that the official languages are English and Cantonese, but that’s only half the truth; actually, it really should be only credited with Cantonese, less than ¾th the people actually speak English fluently.
Back to Hong Kong’s enigma: Hong Kong is located at the center of the Asian world. You have China to the north, Malaysia and Indonesia to the south, Southeast Asia to the west, and the great Pacific Ocean to the east. This is perfect for trade and industry, where supply and labor is found all around, and Hong Kong’s harbors are the gateway to the U.S. and the rest of the world. You can really see this in the demographics too, with people looking less Chinese and beginning to look more Malaysian and a hybrid of many ethnicities. This one's for you Charlie:
On the surface though, you will be crammed by people and bombarded with Hello Kitty and solicitors. Solicitation – people trying to sell you stuff on the streets – is rampant in Hong Kong. Today, taking our usual route, Lily and I counted up to 20 people trying to hand us pamphlets and sell us crap. I’m guessing I really do stand out like a sore thumb; I mean, they swarm me like flies in the middle of a large crowd of people.
Yeah, these guys:
Hello Kitty might as well run for prime minister, I’m sure she’d win by a landslide. You can find Hello Kitty and her cute little friends everywhere, from the subway, to McDonald’s, to business women scrambling about to their day jobs.
But it’s only half the story. Hong Kong is also the home place of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan; man, those guys kick ass. Hong Kong breeds movie stars and has a New York style to it. Lily and I walked the Soho district, where one could find a hotel room for HK $2500 (more than US $300) a night. This area also has a lot of hills; it could brandish its own “Hollywood” sign. Maybe, “Leewood” (corny joke, I know).
Hong Kong also has a very beautiful bay area. The first night Lily and I spent in HK, we watched the laser light show that is supposedly world-renowned. From Kowloon (which is one side of the bay), you can watch fireworks set off in Victoria Harbor, as well as a plethora of lights from across the bay. These lights shape the skyscrapers on the other side (Central district) and are put in sync with music that is heard all around. Lily described it as seeing transformers in action; I describe it as a wacky anime scene. Just kidding, it’s real nice; though, you could take it as advertisement, because all the buildings in Central are labeled with huge companies (I’m talking Toshiba, Philips, Samsung, and the like).
If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle, you can hop onto a ferry and head over to Lantau Island. It is here that you see more of a village life, where small towns are surrounded by lush forest and hills. Today, Lily and I took this trip in search of the Buddha statue that is a “must see” in Hong Kong. After taking the ferry and setting foot on Lantau Island, Lily said that she felt she were in another place. I agree with her, it wasn’t quite the same as Kowloon.
From the pier, we took a bus that crisscrossed inland and along the coastline. Everywhere, you could see overgrown trees and bushes. This day, you were also submerged by fog; it really felt as if we were heading towards a sacred place. Not to mention the lakes and the harbor found everywhere around, I felt closer to nature once again.
We finally made it to the temple and the Buddha statue.
It’s interesting, as I told Lily, that there should be a statue erected for the Buddha. Likewise, there are many temples and mythologies that surround the Buddha. It seems that people are always interested in constructing their own beliefs surrounding a historical figure. I simply remember the Buddha wanting to be a humble person offering a philosophy to help people end their suffering. However, history and the Asian world have made him God.
Some other great places Lily and I saw in Hong Kong were the Peak, where you can see the entire city and harbor; Huang Da Xian temple, where Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism are combined for worship; Lan Gui Fang, a bar district similar to Austin’s 6th street.
Hong Kong overall has been very fun; expensive, but fun. Still, there is something within China that is beckoning me. So far in my travels, I’ve come to realize that it’s the people who make the memories and the life experience. Cities begin to look the same, but personalities are never duplicable. I’m ready to meet new and interesting people, as well as strengthen my relationship with Lily’s family. I can’t express enough gratitude for having met them, they are truly amazing people.
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