Hong Kong: A Place of Contrasts

(Mel)

Hello!

So here on full-day two we’ve just landed on the main land (Guilin) after spending a day and a half in Hong Kong. I’m not sure how much of this post will overlap with Mr. C’s so I’ll keep the beginning short. We arrived in HK late thursday night and after checking into our hotel we went out to grab a bite to eat but didn’t really get to exploring the city until the next day. Friday (yesterday) we spent the day walking around Hong Kong- a city that’s completely manageable as an English-speaking tourist but completely overwhelming as someone who has grown up in Sherborn.
Gigantic sky-scrapers line the often narrow streets, stretching all the way up to pierce the layer of clouds/fog/smog that cloaks the whole city. The number of people everywhere was also just insane; multi-block long lines to get into a lot of stores like Luis Vuitton and Gucci, and groups of 50 or so people congregating at a street corner in a matter of minutes were some things I’d never seen before.

In the morning, we went through a few street markets with vendors selling food in alleys and visited the Man Mo Temple which was really cool (and really smokey- incense). Inside people made offerings to very ornate golden statues of Buddha and other deities. Each person lit their own cluster of incense, and as the temple was quite full, the air was almost unbreathable. People also burned offerings of paper, left fruit and small candies, and dedicated ribbons to the healing of their sick friends and relatives. For lunch we ate at a very classy Pizza Hut (formal sit-down restaurant) and watched some dancers perform at a New Year’s celebration (we couldn’t really understand what was going on but it was on the front page of the South China Press the next morning!) We also went to the Hong Kong Museum of History which reminded us that HK wasn’t always a solid coat of concrete.

Last night we met up with one of Andrew’s friends (living in Hong Kong) and he took us to a mall where we got dinner and could sit up on the roof overlooking the river. After dinner we watched a light show from our hotel room that took place across the river. In reality as soon as the sun sets each night all of Hong Kong is a light show but this just meant that for 13 minutes the buildings were all coordinated with each other and set to music.

This morning we got an early start and visited a Buddhist/Taoist garden temple complex. It was really one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever seen, and incredibly relaxing. The statues were gorgeous and inspiring and we got to spin a wheel that brings wisdom. The gardens were filled with beautiful rocks and all different types of trees and some flowers as well as a series of koi ponds. The temple did start to feel a bit out of place as the morning fog lifted and the striking contrast of the gardens and the towering skyscrapers behind them was revealed. Also, for those of you who were aware of the whole Dunhuang Caves debate (as an item in our itinerary), ironically, there was an exhibit at the Gardens of murals from the caves. It was all replicas but it was still pretty cool.

After we checked out of the hotel we hung out by the river for a little while enjoying the sunlight, and scaring several people with our errant frisbees and then made our way to the airport. After four unexpected hours of chilling at the Hong Kong international airport and 100 HK dollars of vouchers from the airline we finally took off and are now in Guilin!