Livin' it Up in Hong Kong

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  Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Metropol...Shek O...Happy Valley horse races...Octopus Card...Wan Chai...Cheung Chau...Mango yogurt dessert...Texas Hold'em...

What do all of these things have in common? Good times in Hong Kong.

Of course, anyone can have a good time with Texas Hold'em, wherever you are. In honor of the Texas Hold'em crew on Martha's Vineyard we had a good night of cards and beer.

What's a night of hold'em without a good Chinese dessert. Although not renowned for their dessert-making skills, The Hong Kong bakeries do a great job with their mango. I recommend the mango yogurt dessert. You can't just have one.

Why stop at one island, when you can take a ferry from Hong Kong Island to Cheung Chau Island? After all, Hong Kong citizens need to get away from it all too. Here you can walk the portside streets and enjoy a meal by the water amidst a flotilla of fishing boats, both big and small. All the fish shops keep their catch alive, so imagine a huge open air aquarium complete with moray eel, multi-colored crabs, parrot fish, snails, sea snakes, turtles, red fish, green fish, silver fish, you name it. Walk to the other side of the island and enjoy a few hours of sea kayaking around sandstone cliffs reminiscent of Joshua Tree.

When you return after dark, check out Wan Chai and have a few drinks while enjoying live music at Skitz from the "Best All Black Band of Wanchai" or at Dusk 'til Dawn from a Phillipino 80s cover tune band. Or watch the crowd of large Australian ex-pats and old businessmen dance and mingle with the locals. Or watch as the local police raid your favourite bar with 20 officers only to bust one underage drinker. Better yet, head to Ebenezer's for some after-hours kabobs: simply the best.

Out of change late night? Have no fear, the Octopus Card is here. No one knows why it's the Octopus Card and not the Lobster Card, but it will get you around the town. It's the SpeedPass of Hong Kong. Swipe it in front of a Octopus-o-meter and the card is debited for the cost of a bus trip or ferry trip or a trip to the horse races...

...at Happy Valley, where you can lose all of your money and still leave smiling. Why? Because it's horse racing. Betting on horse racing makes you feel like you're an important person. Any way you look at it though, it is one of the most popular betting events in Hong Kong (I lost every time, no thanks to Noble Wind, Nilometer, Sensible Way, Amo and those other loser horses).

Sometimes it's better to just quit betting for a while and head to the beach, maybe Shek O after a long hike over the steep mountains in the interior of Hong Kong. Eat a big meal at one of the local cabanas in this sleepy little town then go for a swim at the soft sandy beach where the water's always warm.

When you think you've had enough, relax and eat some dim sum at the Metropol, where the locals go. The sticky rice and the dumplings are excellent.

Time for another Mango Yogurt Dessert.