The Land of Chocolate
Trip Start
May 22, 2005
1
81
107
Trip End
Jan 22, 2006
Hong Kong,
Hong Kong
Saturday, November 19, 2005
As the children of Hong Kong immigrants, experiencing the mother ship gives you a deeper understanding of why your parents are the way they are. So that is why they insist on carrying Kleenex around!
After being on the road for so long we really enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces in HK. We had dim sum with Janice, Derek, Vienne and Vicky. We visited with newlyweds Janice and Derek who invited us to the excellent church where they both serve and work. We rode the world's longest outdoor escalator with Vienne and a box of mochi. We sat for a brief time in a really noisy jazz club with Vienne and Daphne who was there to watch her brother's car race. We had a tasty dinner and rode the Star Ferry for no real reason with Patrick, Tien, Janice and Vienne.
We also spent time with family from both sides. Paul's 7th Uncle and Aunt and 13th Aunt took us on a day long excursion to see Paul's grandparents' grave, his 1st Uncle's grave and even Paul's parents' first apartment and original factory in Goon Tong. We also visited with Mel's aunts and cousins and Mel was treated to a wonderful spa day by one of her aunts at the private spa club that she goes to everyday-tough life.
Happy Paul Bargaining at the Computer Market
After almost half a year with only seeing strange faces, coming "home" was superb.The mother ship must serve the mother of all Chinese food. The street food did not disappoint. HK is like a giant food court that is always open. In countless scenes reminiscent of Homer Simpson's joyful romp through the "Land of Chocolate", we happily wandered the streets looking excitedly for what we could eat next. A few street side favourites include deep-fried century old egg (Paul once had an idea for deep-fried eggs), fresh squeezed sugar cane juice, and impossibly soft and warm pork floss buns. Why must we get full??? The fancier restaurants on the other hand, while good, were not up to Vancouver's standards. We were treated to several family dinners at nice restaurants and only the priciest at the Hong Kong Jockey Club was on par with the best in Vancouver.
The vulgarities of backpacking had until now forced Mel to reasonably restrain her finely honed shopping instincts. The fact that Mel's parents could be our pack mules for taking stuff home to Vancouver removed any hint of restraint. Mel pounced like a cat. Mel's constant exclamation was that, "It all fits!". Paul's highlight was visiting the Computer Market. Imagine every possible electronic crammed into one low rise building. The funny thing is that every vendor basically has the same inventory so the opportunity to bargain is ridiculous.
