travel report . hong kong 21-28 sep 06
how many times in life do you meet a friend by chance on the streets in another part of the world? i had such an encounter recently while on holiday in hong kong. bumped into an old friend at a nondescript bus-stop in the middle of a congested, noisy road in an area not usually visited by tourists (Hung Hum). now this made me change my disbelief about that familiar scene in movies where boy meets girl by chance in the busy streets of hong kong where throngs of people mill about every day, every hour.
hy is taiwanese, married to a hongkonger and we met when she came to Singapore to study. we had not arranged to meet before my trip so i went quite hysterical when i saw her jostling her way down the queue along the narrow bus-stop.
evidence of my meeting with hy in hong kong.
and here is my Hongkonger friend, Vin, who also knew hy when he came to singapore to study. he met her earlier in junior college and i met them both separately in university.
talking about encounters, i met Vin before i knew him. i was at a travel agency booking a budget tour to europe and he was there too, but i didnt notice. i must have made some fuss or whatever cos he remembered me and told me so when we met again at some christmas party the next day.
i realised one thing Vin and hy have in common: they both did not acquire the singaporean accent despite having studied here for several years. how can?? singlish bagus you noe.....
hy says there are no quiet spots in hk. i found the 'quiet' spot!
actually despite such signage, the hk-ers were still rattling on and on at the top of their voices in that so-called quiet car in the train throughout our 1 hour journey from town to lowu.
another funny signage.
a rare signage in hk. becos it is rare to find a public toilet. the ones they have in some fast food restaurants are so dirty and tiny, you have to jump onto the toilet bowl in order to close the door. i think for plus-sized people, impossible to use those toilets.
hk is not all built up... yet. there are several hill-parks near the housing estates. this one's nearest to bonz's place. takes about 20 min walk to the peak.
enjoying splendid view of highrise apartments
breakfast in hk.
the "cok" (porridge) is very good. if you don't know chinese, tough luck. the menu is all in chinese and they have fanciful names for the dishes such as "ting zai cok" (literally translated as "little boat porridge") for porridge with cuttlefish and pork and "ge shi you qi" (literally "assorted oil equipment") for dough fritters in different shapes and sizes.
a typical hk breakfast. macaroni in murky soup, topped with canned meat and egg.
after breakfast, we decided to give ourselves a scare by walking through elm street. the scene was gruesome indeed...
murder of porky pig.
his lungs hung up for display.
scariest scene is this.... napolean wrasse awaiting death in a tank too small for him. not only that, he had to share his living space with a few groupers and snappers. i think his living condition is not unlike the average hongkonger's, cramped in such a tight space.
this fish likes body piercings.
the scary scenes did not put us off ordering grouper for dinner at hu tong. a chic chinese restaurant on 29th floor with a splendid view of the hk harbour.
the next day, went to try out the cable car ride to lantau island. this was the latest tourist attraction in hk. quite exciting when the winds got too strong and we were swaying in the car.
on the way back to hk island, made a detour to disney to take those touristy shots.
last day in hk, sunset from bonz window. a pretty end to the one week holiday.
