Hong Kong - awe-inspiring Metropolis
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2007
1
14
27
Trip End
Dec 20, 2007
Where I stayed
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Hong Kong is great, for all of you that haven't been here yet, it's well worth a stopover if you pass through, be it only to take in the skyline.
And that is truly magnificent during the day and even more so at night, especially if you take in the free nightly light and sound show. This highlights some of the most stunning buildings on HK's skyline through neon, spot and laser light spectacle choreographed to music. You best take it in from Kowloon's harbourfront/avenue of stars.
We were astonished by the amount of free stuff you can do in HK, courtesy of the Hong Kong tourist board: We cruised the harbour on a chinese junk, took a sweet tea appreciatin class in a stylish tee house, took an introduction into traditional chinese medicine (TCM) and took part in the Tai Chi class to wake us up in the mornings
Po Li sitting Buddha on Lantau: note Swastika
.The TCM class was a bit of a two-sided sword. On one hand it's interesting to scratch the surface of such a well-established school of medicine, on the other hand, some of the ingredients leave a very bitter in the mouth of anyone who's the least bit environmentally conscious: lizards in a stick (give a man more ooomph, I was brightly scholared), turtle eggs and shells, deer antlers and tails, and rhino horn. There are stories abound of miraculous healing of especially chronic conditions (after a short course of TCM: our pharmacist told us not to take TCM too long in one go as it may well disintegrate the liver through e.g. mushroom toxins or heavy metals). We tried one of the bitter herbal potions sold on the street to wake us up and it sure made our toenails curl up!
There's also a free botanical/zoological garden and a free huge walk-through aviary to recover from the bustle on the streets.
The best way to try TCM is to seek out a skilled practitioner who will then classify your illness according to five elements (earth, wind, fire, metal, water) and, more importantly, according to yin (female, cold, wet) and yang (male, hot, dry, active). He will then devise a prescription which a pharmacist will mix up for you. You then take the mix of herbs, worms, assorted animal parts and fungi in powder form and hopefully get better...
We then spent a lot of time walking the streets of HK to see the goldfish in bags in the aquarium shops, the bird fanciers taking their caged birds for a walk in a custom-built park and the various shops and markets
Monks chanting Po Li monastery
. These specialised in TCM herbs, bird's nests, dried seafood, antiques, etc. I tried some quite delicious dried scallops, but couldn't bring up the courage to munch down on some dried sea cucumber. They also sell shark fins everywhere. These bring in hefty prices around 400 pounds per kg. The other bits of sharks are worth practically nothing, so shark fin collectors catch the animals, cut off all their fins and throw them back into the sea to drown, having lost all capacity to navigate. How's that for thought...On that note, the stuff the Chinese are willing to eat defies belief: dogs, inards, birds, basically any part of anything that crawls the earth also ends up on the table.
Accomodation-wise most backpackers will end up in either the Mirador or the Chungking Mansions. These are no mansions, but in fact run-down 17 storey huge rabbit warrens of 100s of hostels. They offer low prices in a very central location on Kowloon and thus also ended up being our abode. It serves as a base for the Indian and African communities and was thus another excuse to sample some excellent Indian food. Bed bugs aside, it was quite nice and definitely and experience to make.
Other sites in Hong Kong we took in:
the huge Sitting Buddha at wonderful Po Li monastery on Lantau Island
Worshipping the giant sitting Buddha
. Despite its vicinity to Chek Lap Kok airport it's a haven of peace and the Youth Hostel there was a great base for walking around Lantau, especially when the amplified chanting of the monks guided us up to Lantau Peak. This was our first impression of Hong Kong and it was hard to believe we were within a stone's throw from this vibrant metropolis.Another Peak worth visiting is Hong Kong Island's Victoria Peak by Tram. This overlooks HK's skyline. To get away from the hordes at the tram terminal it's worth taking a public footpath and, presto, you have a tantalising and very intimate view.
A note on the people:
Our first impression of the Chinese is mixed. On one hand they can be the most polite and well-mannered individuals whose courtesy makes even those westerners with the best upbringing blush and feel like cavemen. On the other hand the sounds an individual Chinese man can create, especially in the morning, make your stomach turn somersaults. With incredible guttural snorts they can haul up the thickest phlegm from the deepest crevice of their lungs to then unashamedly spit it out in public. Also Chinese in conversation tend to be very loud and quickly slip into what appears to be a very angry and aggressive tone when they are only really just being enthusiastic about something
tossing charms to read future
. To western ears this makes the language seem very harsh. Some Chinese can be incredibly rude, but so far we have been able to deal well with these people. Our Mandarin phrase book has proven a great ice-breaker with the locals.Then there's the tour groups. Chinese do not have many holidays and then like to have their trips well organised. Chinese love to travel their own country. The language barrier to the outside might be a reason for this. We have only met very few (and incredibly lovely) Chinese individual tourists. The vast majority swarm in like locusts. That's a site to behold. It's nice to no longer be the prime target of Chinese tourist destinations. The amount of Westerners in most tourist destinations here is negligible compared with Chinese tourists. The great thing about the Chinese tour groups is they are well herded. You only have to walk a short distance away from their path of destruction you can have absolute peace and the same good (or better) views. Their tours are often so well organised they often don't have to walk more than 20 feet on their own. They're driven everywhere by bus or golf cart.
So far we've met very many welcoming, warm and friendly Chinese, especially in the less touristed areas. We were pleasantly surprised by this and have been enjoying our trip to the middle kingdom very much.
