Hong Kong
We land in Hong Kong after 4 hours and 1 minute. My first impression of Hong Kong is that it is very hot and humid. In fact that is not only my first impression, it is my constant impression and lasting impression of Hong Kong. It is very easy to get from the airport to the hotel in Kowloon. The fare is only 25 HK dollars.
Thursday, May 23, 1991
Thursday, I talk with Doreen again to try and figure out my flights. The outstanding issue is that I can’t get a confirmed seat out of London on Saturday and will have to wait until Monday evening for a flight. British Air told Doreen that I should have no problem going standby on Saturday, but I know that it may be difficult since it is a long holiday weekend in England (Bank Holiday or something). I can hardly wait to leave Hong Kong at 10:00 PM and fly 12 hours to London, arriving at 5:00 AM.
Taking Doreen’s suggestion I booked a morning tour of Hong Kong island. Since the tour was overbooked, I was placed on a small van with about eight people instead of a large bus. This did make the tour more intimate.
We drove through the tunnel to the island and drove up to the top of the Peak, along with about 20,000 other tourists. At least it was somewhat cooler up there. The heat and humidity is very high here. Also the noise level.
After the Peak, we went to what the guide called a garden. It really amounted to a house/mansion with a small garden in front and surrounded with Chinese painted statues depicting heaven and hell. It reminded me a little of a rundown theme park. We then drove down the far side of the island to Repulse Bay where all we did was stop and look briefly at a small bay with high rise buildings behind it.
After that enlightening experience, we drove to Typhoon Bay were all the junks are moored. This is where the boat people live. We paid an extra $40 HK apiece to take a saipan tour of the harbor. All the movies I have seen make this seem much more impressive than it was. I did shoot several photos from the saipan of the people living on these boats.
The tour was officially over at that point, but since we had finished early the guide took us to a jewelry factory. Here we were given a short tour showing the workers creating jewelry. Then we were taken to a showroom where we were given the “opportunity” to buy jewelry at significant price reductions. Once again I am thankful that I am single and travelling alone as I watch the women in the group begin to salivate and tug at their husbands arms.
We finally leave and end the tour, returning to the hotel around 1:00. I walk over to the United Airlines office to change my tickets. They put new stickers on the Hong Kong/Bombay leg and direct me to the British Air office. The British Air office was in a hotel across the street, but the office was closed for lunch. This is a common occurrence in most of the world. I am beginning to think that the U.S. is one of the few places where people can actually shop during lunch. I decide to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the hotel while waiting for the office to open.
Now I have eaten in many restaurants all over the world, but this had to have some of the worst service I have ever seen. First they seated me and gave me a menu, then a little later they come back and take the menu, but don’t take my order. I sit there looking around for about ten minutes and finally get a waiter’s attention. I ordered a bowl of noodles with goose which finally comes. The goose is mostly gristle, but at least it had a nice taste. The price was only $45 HK dollars ($5 U.S.) so I guess you get what you pay for.
After eating I go back to the British Air office and take care of my tickets. I decided to walk up Nathan Street to the Grand Tower Hotel. The tour guide had recommended visiting a street behind the hotel named Hong Lok. It is known as the “Bird Market.”She said that the government was going to tear down the buildings soon so it would be the last chance to see this market area.
My mistake was in walking down Nathan street. I think that Hong Kong makes Tokyo look like a ghost town. Perhaps it is that in Tokyo people seem to move together. In Hong Kong the people surge and flow more. Anyway, it was unbearably hot and humid. It was so bad that my camera began to malfunction for a while. By the time I returned to the hotel my clothes were drenched in perspiration. But I did find Hong Lok street.
The bird market is fascinating. It is about three city blocks long. A narrow street, really more of an alley way, with only foot traffic on it. Shops come out from the buildings leaving only enough room to walk two abreast. The first couple of shops I saw were not actually part of the bird market, but seemed to be machine shops where workers were dismantling various types of office machines like typewriters. Behind them were baskets filled with bits and pieces of equipment that seemed to be unidentifiable. This seemed to be like an auto parts junk yard where instead of auto parts, customers were rummaging through the baskets looking for equipment parts.
A little farther down the street the actual bird market began. You first notice the sound of thousands of birds chirping, unless the wind is blowing towards you in which case a different sense notices something. Bird cages are stacked from the ground up to over your head with each cage typically holding up to 10 birds.
The birds seem to be mostly parakeets, for sale as pets. Here and there are stores selling bird seed. Customers bring their birds down the street and if the bird sings in front of some seed, the customer will buy the feed for the bird.
Other shops include shops that build the rattan cages the birds are carried in.
And somewhat inexplicable are scattered shops where they seem to be welding kitchen sinks for restaurants. I had difficulty taking photos because the light in the alley is so low, and many of the people seem reluctant to have their photos taken. At one end of the alley I find two cats. I have seen very few cats in Hong Kong, and those I have seen are scrawny and look underfed.
After leaving the bird market I walk along side streets back towards the hotel. Along the way I go through one block that seemed to be dedicated to making caskets. I pass an outdoor fruit market and see the smallest little kitten at one stand. It was in shadow so I don’t think the photo I took will come out. As I near the hotel I go through what appears to be a market area that is closing up. I think it is likely a fish market because it is close to the waterfront.
Hong Kong reminds me of the city depicted in the movie “Blade Runner.” It is a dark and dingy place where you expect rats to scurry to when startled. It reminds me of an overage prostitute that looks attractive in the shadows at a distance. At night Hong Kong is lit up with neon and comes alive with activity as the temperature drops to bearable levels. The neon hides the reality of life in the city. Hong Kong has a tremendous dichotomy between the rich and the poor.
The government completes an apartment for the poor every 15 minutes. Yet there seems to be an extremely high percentage of Mercedes on the roads. It is difficult to imagine how most people live here. It is better than India, but I don’t know how much better.