Hong Kong I

4.29.2011
In a non-caffeinated stupor my day more or less started when I tried to call my parents at the gate at Pudong international airport. As soon as my call went through a horde of retired Chinese tour-goers invaded my clearly available waiting bench and personal space. Fighting for seats they barked in full volume from across the airport. When it was time to board the plane the aircraft quickly filled to capacity with more extremely loud Chinese tour groups. These are the people that are taking retirement trips provided (presumably) by their former employers. Chinese grandmas and grandpas populate these tour groups, many had never been on a plane before, nonetheless traveled across the border to Hong Kong.
I left the Mandarin China behind me when the Chinese tour groups were grazed in the opposite direction by the florescent flags of their tour guides, the flags that they would live and die by for the next few days. In Hong Kong I was immediately presented with a humid tropical smell mixed up in the ping-pong like syllabic clarity of Cantonese. I knew by the smell and the language that this was a new country all of its own. And also because the first business I saw was a caviar bar serving winded jetsetters.
I stood in the immigration line with a constantly increasing number of foreigners. I was quick to get my carryon and person into Hong Kong as I sprinted through declarations. Upon official entry into the Special Autonomous Region I asked information how to get to my hostel on public transportation and if I had the right SIM card. I soon bought my ticket on the fast train to the city center and was whisked into one of city that I had always dreamed about traveling to.
My analysis of Hong Kong began underground in the metro towards my hostel. I felt I could look at people here because they did not stare at me with infinite curiosity like migrants and common peddlers might in the Shanghai metro. People got on and off the train, mostly Hong Kongers speaking Cantonese, but also Australians, Brits and Americans. Generally speaking young people looked fit and healthy, wearing new designs and classy dress; old folks looked older than in China but with the humble grace of the elderly.
When I finally got to my train station I felt a bit like a paratrooper dropping into the depths of chaos and disorganization; everything was new to me. I focus on finding my hostel and followed some maps and directions, crossed the rooftop walkway that felt a bit like a tree house, climbed to the 12th floor of an immaculate youth center and found my fresh and clean hostel. I checked into my room, the cheapest single in town at a cost of $80USD a night.
Once I got situated in my new room, I stumbled out of the hostel in hypoglycemic delirium. I searched for any restaurant with edible options. The first place I found was packed and the food looked good but the menu was in traditional characters and I didn’t have a clue what was going on. The place next door had a menu with pictures and English, so I got some duck noodles and was happy.
After the quick refresher I headed out to explore the city, after all I hadn’t yet seen terrestrial Hong Kong. I headed for a street walk which the guide book claimed was a taste of the old world. After riding the Island Railway to its end (HK gives its metros names instead of numbers) I emerged into a normal day in Hong Kong. Small streets lined with sidewalks filled with hurried workers and business people lay bellow the towering apartment buildings. The streets reminded me a lot of Chinatown (in Boston or San Francisco) because the shops sold dried meats and fish, along with herbal medicines. I snapped shots of giant shark fins and dried lizards on sticks while shop keepers watched me in amusement. Along the way I also walked around a hospital and saw some double-decker street cars. After a while the newness of everything was warring off and I decided to move onto Central Hong Kong to see some buildings.
This time I got off at the Central Hong Kong stop and headed for the ferry terminal. I walked on one of Hong Kong’s many tree-house like rooftop walkways through the financial institutions and five star hotels bellow. Along the way I saw lots of expats, to my surprise many Americans. Judging by their suits and tastes in eye glasses these Americans had been here since the 80s. The ferry I got on took me across the harbor to Kowloon. It was very foggy and I could not see buildings or the surrounding hilltops very well. All the same I walked on the water front. After a little walk I went to the same place I had lunch and crashed in my hotel room.