Dispatch from HK
Coming to HK was a welcome change for me. It brought me back to a place of order–something that is mostly lacking in the Philippines. (Chaos and randomness and informality can be good, I think, but one really needs to time to get used to that sort of thing.) What I’m talking about is this: in HK, all streets seem to have names (and people actually refer to them), buildings have addresses and there’s a very orderly and efficient public transportation system here. Like New York, you can easily make your way around here without a car of your own. Walking is common here too, although parts of the city such as the trendy Lan Kwai Fong in Central where our hotel (aptly named Hotel LKF) is located, are extremely hilly and replete with steep concrete stair cases. It’s kind of a cool effect if you can manage not to trip and get run over by one of the ubiquitous red taxis. I really do miss walking around outside even if I just wander and have no clue where I’m going. The weather is nice here (high 50s to low 70s) and refreshing for a change, although it feels a little cold after two months of being in a place where the thermometer never drops below 70.
There are also some giant, outdoor escalators in the middle of the city leading to what else? Another mall. Yes, Hong Kong must have more malls and retail space per square inch than any other city I’ve been to. It seems that shopping is the favorite pastime here with eating being a close second. Obviously, Chinese food is king here but there is also a nice variety of ethnic cuisines: Lebanese (we ate at Beirut last night which was overpriced and disappointing), Italian, Vietnamese, Russian, English, Japanese, etc. I’m taking a little break from Chinese food right now as I had it two days in a row and Gahum tends to order the greasy, fatty stuff which tastes good, but does a number on my stomach. Today, I had a healthy nicoise salad from Pret a Manger down the hill from our hotel. Wish they had one of those in the Philippines. I am looking forward to getting some dim sum this weekend, though.
Yesterday I was reminded of my former life working in Manhattan. I went to order lunch at Tsui Wah restaurant near our hotel. I had to shimmy my way past the hordes perched near the entrance in order to get to the cashier so I could place an order. Luckily, she spoke English and was able to understand me, I think. Then, Sammy (one of our companions here) and I stood amongst the aforementioned hordes waiting for our number to be called as I got dizzy watching the crowds of lunchgoers hustle in and out. This was the lunchtime rush of office workers, mostly Chinese though some were white. There still seem to be a lot of Brits here. It was a little too much for me after spending two months in the calm and relatively sedate Cebu. And I haven’t worked in Manhattan and dealt with this kind of lunch rush since 2002 anyway. I don’t think I want to go back to that anytime soon as much as I can complain about the slowness of the Philippines sometimes. In this place, like New York, you must be assertive and shout to be heard and often push your way past others to be seen. It’s even more complicated here where many restaurant workers do not speak English.
Neither do most of the cabdrivers. This can make getting around a little difficult sometimes. Even if you show them the address they can be confused if it is not in Chinese. Apparently, this was not the case before 1997 and the end of British rule.
