So when MM proposed to have a short vacation on our way back from China, I have to say, Hong Kong was not an optimal choice for me. My heart was set on Thailand. Unfortunately Thai Airline just raised their airfares to an intolerable point, and as a Chinese citizen, I don't have to apply for a visa to enter Hong Kong (as long as I leave in a week, otherwise I need to apply for a special permit). So Hong Kong it is!
My first impression about Hong Kong is about skyscrapers. I did expect to see a lot of them, but I have never seen they are built so close to the water and even halfway up the mountains!
My second impression is how multi-cultural Hong Kong is. I lived in my own multicultural world ever since I moved to the States for my PhD seven years ago. I am getting used to the life of constantly shifting between English and Chinese & Western and Eastern cultures. But no matter where I was, USA, Australia or China, I am one of the minority who does that. But in Hong Kong, people have been doing this for ages. So in this sense, Hong Kong feels, homey. A word I didn't think I'd ever use to describe Hong Kong.
Everything is written in both English and Chinese, even on the road.
Two weeks before Halloween,a giant pumpkin was set up outside a shopping mall. Obviously they are not only into English tradition. By the way, nobody seems to celebrate Halloween in Australia--I wonder if it is because we don't harvest pumpkins now...
A restaurant specialized in Thai and Italian food, MMhouse's favorite. Another sign of beyond English and Chinese traditions.
My third impression is how people and nature co-exist in a harmonized way in Hong Kong. Here are the most ugly buildings in CBD of Hong Kong island.
For me life would be miserable if I have to look at a bunch of these stuff everyday. Luckily there is a park within five-minute-walking. Even better they even put a bird's house there.
Here is the most peculiar bird I have even seen in my life so far. It looks like a witch and the name is Maroon-breasted crowned pigeon.
This one looks like an angle in comparison,and the name is Bali Mynah.
This is a picture of Yoyo on the Peak of Hong Kong island. More Skyscrapers!
At least one can if he wants to get away from skyscrapers. On Day Two of our trip we went to a "remote" fishing village in Sok Kwu Wan, which is 30 minutes away by ferry.
Most people live here are still fisherman/fish-farmer. Somebody was sun-bathing their morning catch.
The only road in the village is way to narrow for any four-wheel vehicle and all the houses are flat or at most two floors. The only flashy building is this Tianhou Temple. Tianhou is Goddess who is in charge of sea safety.
It was hot and humid but still somebody didn't mind being wrapped in their traditional clothes.
Still the seaside of the village was packed with shops selling fish-products. I don't know what is this fish for rather than being rather cute.
We had lunch at this seafood restaurant, which is famous and probably why 90% of the visitors went to the village. Notice their fish tanks. The point is you can point at whichever fish you like to taste and then the killing starts...We order their set lunch menu instead. This way all the pointing and killing happened behind the scene.
My last impression about Hong Kong is how they micro-manage their city and people. As the 4th populous area in the world, you would think they have to do something to keep things in order. It is very impressive to see that every piece of public property have two tags like these:
It is good to know who is in charge and which property we are dealing with when something goes wrong. But other times you don't quite see the point of having a sign like this.
Perhaps this sort of warning/to-do/not-to-do has become part of Hong Kong culture, I suspect. In the taxi we took to the airport on the last day, I had to take this picture when seeing 20 signs on my side of the door! According to MM, there was 17 of them on the other side!!!
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