last day in hong kong

It’s been a lovely day in Hong Kong. Jet lag has caught up with me and I’ve felt my heartbeat in my head all day. I fell asleep watching a Suns game but luckily only slept for about an hour so hopefully I didn’t throw off the whole sleep schedule adjustment.
We had a little private tour of Hong Kong this morning with our dear friend Alan. He was our tour guide who became our friend if that stands in need of clarification. He taught me lots of cool things also. While driving under Victoria Harbor to Hong Kong (we are in Hong Kong but there are different islands so technically we are actually on Kowloon) he was telling us how new Hong Kong really is. He said that 70 years ago, Hong Kong was just a fishing village and that his father would leave Hong Kong and travel to “find standard of living.” Apparently Alan has traveled quite a bit and spent time in Manila but he says that now he has come back to Hong Kong to find that standard. I guess I never realized how new everything is here. We saw the oldest building in Hong Kong driving up to Victoria Peak and it was only a little over a hundred years old.
Side note: The saddest part about Hong Kong is that it is absolutely beautiful but there seems to be no regard for conservation. There are electric cars but everywhere you look there are oil drills, abandoned factories, and billions of cigarettes. The light show that we went to this evening (which happens every night) probably uses more electricity than an American city uses in a whole day. It just seems like no one is really concerned…it’s just kind of sad.
Back to the tour: I saw my first Sikh temple on the way up to Victoria Peak! I was pretty excited. From the top, you could “see” almost all of Hong Kong. And I say that because you could at least make out that something was there through the fog. Buildings go on for as far as the land does. It is quite the sight.
On the way to our next destination in Aberdeen, Alan told us that Chinese parents want their children to learn two languages and three dialects: Chinese & English and Mandarin, Cantonese, & English. I think he was saying it as a joke but I’m not really sure! It’s interesting to see the generation gap in English speakers here though. Most of the teenagers and kids I’ve heard or spoken to speak it quite well while the older adults either don’t or they struggle a bit more. I think it’s a fairly new pursuit.
In Aberdeen, we went to a fishing harbor where a lady tried to get us to go on her boat; she sounded a bit angry. We also learned that the official flower of Hong Kong is the Bohemian (I think…), anyway they were all over the trees and really pretty. We also went to a jewelry factory/showroom and watched them making rings and then we got to peruse the showroom. Somehow my headache subdued a little when I had four carats on my finger. The man tried to get me to buy a diamond ring and seemed to think I was really funny when I told him that’s what boys are for. The diamonds were pretty cheap but that was manifested in the clarity, so I wouldn’t recommend ring shopping in Hong Kong anytime soon.
Finally, we went to the Stanley market which was just a big bazaar. There was lots of good shopping there but nothing we won’t be able to find in Beijing so we didn’t buy anything.
After the tour, we asked Alan where we could find some good dim sum. The restaurant that he directed us to had one English menu and no one actually spoke English. And I think I’ve had enough dim sum for the rest of my life now. I think I ate a ball of flavored fat at one point. Of course we had to stop at a bakery on the way back to the hotel after that. One lovable thing about Hong Kong is the bakeries. They are quite tasty.
We went to the Avenue of Stars and New World Center tonight to see the Symphony of Lights. The light show was a little disappointing but completely made up for by the Chinese singer on the pier. Hopefully I’ll be able to load a video of him. Actually, the video was of a man who was dancing in the crowd during the song, and let me tell you, his hips don’t lie.
We couldn’t find a McDonald’s for dinner so we settled for Wow Burger. Not a good idea. I don’t think I was eating beef and I’ve been experiencing painful stomach cramps for the past two hours now. Hopefully we didn’t get food poisoning.
We leave Hong Kong in the morning and although it has not been what I expected, it was still completely satisfying, even if just for Andrew the attractive Australian and the dancing man on the pier.
Hopefully I can keep posting once I can get to China but I can promise it won’t be this often. Good thing? Bad thing? You decide!