Hong Kong

Some people say they love Hong Kong – the city itself – and I can understand why. Although… if you ask me, I wouldn't want to live there again, not after having spent the most part of my life in Singapore. But the city, the culture and its people do call out to me as my roots beckon me closer. 

My first visit in three years, and my first time going there by myself (I usually go with my family), was greeted with a typhoon (how typical). The days were wet, and I went to slept and woke to the sounds of torrents of rain. Everywhere I went was wet and when it was raining the streets were flooded, and it wasn't much of an incentive to go outdoors. I stayed at my grandparents' place – recently moved from Kowloon Tong to Causeway Bay – with my aunt in her room. I was treated to bowls of chicken soup, chicken feet and duck tougues upon my arrival… -_- and that night saw a gathering of all my relatives in HK at Golden Bull for Vietnamese food. Second day – went up to Sha Tin for a bit of shopping around before meeting up with the rest of the QuGee household (Bernard & parents and Xiao & mom – who also arrived in HK from S'pore the day before… and Kamil and Terry (both HKgers). We then went on a very bumpy bus ride up to Sai Kung for a seafood dinner – and to celebrate Bernard's birthday! Followed by desserts, and a long night thereafter… when we tried to beat the last trains and buses home.  

I was supposed to return to S'pore before Sunday to take on the WB-IMF groups on nature tours… until I received an email saying that those were cancelled due to the discovery of a few dengue cases. So I postponed my flight and stayed on for a couple more days. I did pretty much all I wanted to do and went to places I wanted to go during the rest of my stay. Had lunch with Kamil in Tsim Sha Tsui, desserts with my aunt and Po Po, had gei dan chai, plain congee, the normal cha chaan teng stuff, Sha Tin pigeon with my uncle, Amigo, steamboat… the whole lot. There was never a moment when my stomach wasn't filled. The gang met up again on Saturday when we went up to Tai Po to visit Kamil's family. In addition to my usual haunts (Goldfish street, Yuen Po bird garden, the places between Admiralty and Mong Kok), my aunt took me to places I haven't been to before – Lam Kwai Fong (the Soho of HK), the 'witches' below 'Goose Neck Bridge', Temple street markets, Stanley and the other markets). 

On Sunday I got lucky. Alex Fong Lik Sun was at Times Square promoting some mooncakes for charity, and I was with my dSLR. The moment I lifted the camera to shoot, he saw me, and even when I disappeared for a while and re-appeared on the other side of the stage, I saw that he kept looking at me. He kept smiling and then gestured that I get closer, so I did… after some hesitation (shy la… compare me with his wild fans holding up banners screaming madly). I managed to get a picture taken with him, and got him to autograph my mooncake tin. One of the presenters asked (over the mic) if I was a reporter – all of them thought I was from the media – and so I explained that I was from S'pore. Which then led to a stupid question: "Do you speak Indonesian"? -_-" That night, while at a Shanghainese restaurant, we saw another actor – I think it was Shek Sau? – the chap who plays the dad in many movies and series.

Meanwhile, I struggle to sort out another of my identity issues – I am applying for a HK permanent ID card, and many factors complicate the process. Even the immigrations officer, when he saw my place of birth, remarked that it was 'silly' that I do not hold a HK ID.

Other than all that exploring… I learnt a lot on this trip – about my extended family, about what's been happening, and I have a sense of what may come in the future. I just hope my next visit won't come too far in the future, for I realise how fragile everything is. I've been lucky so far. 

Links: 

All HK photos here
Bernard's blog
Kamil's blog 

HK skyline 

Neon signs

Goose Neck Bridge witches in Wan Chai

Yuen Po bird garden

Goldfish Steet in Mong Kok

Butcher in a wet market

The gang in Tai Po

Alex Fong