Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Hong Kong: Day Three
Soundtrack: ‘All Maps Welcome’ by Tom McRae
Good evening this evening.
The saga continues. I’m trying not to let it all build up until I have to spend ages and ages going back to keep all this up to date, which would just be silly because it’s only a silly little blog to keep myself amused and to make sure that I don’t lose my grasp of the English language.
Michael Wong picked me up mid-morning so that he could take me on a drive around HK Island, to prove to me that it’s not all skyscrapers and Italian designer labels. And he was right. Once you get away from the harbour, you’re left with beautiful oriental landscapes and an inviting ocean. The surrounding mountains are covered in lush greenery, and you’d feel a million miles from the westernized world of the city if it weren’t for all the super-exclusive mansions and apartment blocks lining the way. Sadly, there are very few buildings in the old-fashioned Chinese style: mostly they’re based on European-style chateaus (I can’t remember what the Italian for castle is. Is it ‘castello’? Or have I just said something obscene?)
Our first stop was at Repulse Bay, so called because that was where the English fleet repulsed the pirate hoarders in around 1841 or 1842. There’s now a big temple there, and all the local fishermen go to worship the sea goddess there on her birthday, which apparently is coming up very soon. There are lots of other Chinese gods and goddesses there. Well, lots of different images of them, anyhow. There are only four main deities there: the god of prosperity, the god of happiness, the god of wealth and the goddess of the sea. There are others, but they’re of secondary importance, really. You’ve got to get your priorities right, haven’t you?
Further along the coast is Stanley, which is famous for its bootleg market. “100% cashmere!” proclaimed one sign. Yeah, right. We had dim sum for lunch again, and this time Michael let me choose, so we ended up eating things like pig ears and shark fin soup. Delicious delicacies.
What else. The airport express is very cool. It’s a branch of the MTR, and it’s actually quite expensive – HK$100 one-way, which is nearly 7 quid. Maybe I just think that it was steep because all the other MTR routes were so very cheap, let alone the ferry. But anyway, it’s got the train’s path traced above you in lights so that you know just how far you’ve traveled, and how far you’ve got to go. No more standing up to get off far too early and looking like an idiot – no, now everybody knows when it’s time to get off and nobody can look at you smugly or quizzically any more. I wish that all trains were like that.
Incidentally, HKIA claims to be the best airport in the world, as voted by some odd little association with many letters in its title, affiliated with other little associations with many letters in their titles. If I could be arsed, I’d check.
Good evening this evening.
The saga continues. I’m trying not to let it all build up until I have to spend ages and ages going back to keep all this up to date, which would just be silly because it’s only a silly little blog to keep myself amused and to make sure that I don’t lose my grasp of the English language.
Michael Wong picked me up mid-morning so that he could take me on a drive around HK Island, to prove to me that it’s not all skyscrapers and Italian designer labels. And he was right. Once you get away from the harbour, you’re left with beautiful oriental landscapes and an inviting ocean. The surrounding mountains are covered in lush greenery, and you’d feel a million miles from the westernized world of the city if it weren’t for all the super-exclusive mansions and apartment blocks lining the way. Sadly, there are very few buildings in the old-fashioned Chinese style: mostly they’re based on European-style chateaus (I can’t remember what the Italian for castle is. Is it ‘castello’? Or have I just said something obscene?)
Our first stop was at Repulse Bay, so called because that was where the English fleet repulsed the pirate hoarders in around 1841 or 1842. There’s now a big temple there, and all the local fishermen go to worship the sea goddess there on her birthday, which apparently is coming up very soon. There are lots of other Chinese gods and goddesses there. Well, lots of different images of them, anyhow. There are only four main deities there: the god of prosperity, the god of happiness, the god of wealth and the goddess of the sea. There are others, but they’re of secondary importance, really. You’ve got to get your priorities right, haven’t you?
Further along the coast is Stanley, which is famous for its bootleg market. “100% cashmere!” proclaimed one sign. Yeah, right. We had dim sum for lunch again, and this time Michael let me choose, so we ended up eating things like pig ears and shark fin soup. Delicious delicacies.
What else. The airport express is very cool. It’s a branch of the MTR, and it’s actually quite expensive – HK$100 one-way, which is nearly 7 quid. Maybe I just think that it was steep because all the other MTR routes were so very cheap, let alone the ferry. But anyway, it’s got the train’s path traced above you in lights so that you know just how far you’ve traveled, and how far you’ve got to go. No more standing up to get off far too early and looking like an idiot – no, now everybody knows when it’s time to get off and nobody can look at you smugly or quizzically any more. I wish that all trains were like that.
Incidentally, HKIA claims to be the best airport in the world, as voted by some odd little association with many letters in its title, affiliated with other little associations with many letters in their titles. If I could be arsed, I’d check.
