Day 11,12,13 Hong Kong, China

Look out NYC

This weekend. Where do I begin? The group of Mike, Brian and I took a trip to Hong Kong this weekend. HK is a cab and ferry ride away from Shenzhen, about 2 hrs. So the three of us trek over to Shekou and hop on the proverbial slow boat to, or in this case, from China. Technically this was the second time that I was in HK. Our plane to China landed at HK airport, but it was night, raining and we only stayed there long enough to catch the ferry to the mainland. So I didn’t really get to see anything.

We already have some HK Dollars from our earlier trip to Macau (see previous post) so we head right to the hotel in the district of Wan Chai to drop off our packs. Then off to Aqua, a restaurant at the top of a 30 story building, with a view of the harbor. The prices there are akin to that of NYC; after the cheapness of food and drink in Shenzhen, this seemed very expensive.

Hong Kong is very international so most everyone there speaks enough English to make an American like me feel at home. There were definitely more people from, well, everywhere. Germany, France, India, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, the Philippines were all represented, as well as many, many Chinese. Hong Kong doesn’t feel crowded until you get downtown during the day. Then the sheer amount of people is enough to shock you.

So after Aqua, we went dancing in the down town part of the city at night. For only a few HK you can ride the MTR subway system. It’s super clean, modern and was a quick enjoyable method of transportation. (see also video of Getting around in HK below.) We used the MTR to get everywhere, food, hotel, bars, sight seeing, almost nothing was out of the range of the MTR. NYC’s subway is probably much more extensive, but HK’s would definitely beat it for cleanliness, modern-ness, and ease of use.

View from Aqua on the 30th floor

Saturday, we wake and grab some food and Mike goes for his usual morning Tai Chi; he fits in so well here. We walk, take the subway and walk again over to the Mong Kok district to check out the street market. There you can shop for most anything your heart can desire. I bought a shirt, sunglasses and two traditional Chinese scrolls to hang in my room. Bargaining is the name of the game here. See below for my original play on the subject of bargaining.

Traveling in Hong Kong

The Haggle: Bargaining at a Hong Kong Street Vendor

A Play in One Act.

Act One:

The year is 2007 but vendors have everything from ancient wood carvings to modern Channel knock off purses. You, being the wily young American tourist, browse the stands, not being drawn in by the constant beckoning of each shop owner. You look. They try to persuade you, but you are unmoved. Then you happen upon a t-shirt with a terrible English translation hanging high upon a hook, in the small market stand. Being the American tourist you are…you have a weakness for such things. You ask the woman how much for this t-shirt with terrible English translations.

Market woman: 100 Hong Kong Dollar.

Not dollars. She does not pluralize any of her numbers. You know only a fool would pay the $100 strait up, although you are tempted. After all, it’s only about 13USD. You, like a chess player, thinking many moves in advance, set your price significantly lower than her starting price.

American tourist: $50.

Market woman: (laughs) No, no no. (still laughing) Ok, $90.

American tourist: $60.

Market woman: (laughs) No, no. $85, ok? Ok? $85. Ok.

The last Okay, is not a question; it’s a statement. She thinks she has you there. Here’s where the magic happens.

American tourist: (groan, then start to walk away...)

Stage hands to sprinkle a small amount of glitter around the feet of the American Tourist to illustrate the magic.

Market woman: ok. (she steps to you and grabs your arm) ok, $80 Ok? OK? Ok? $80

You can tell by the number of Okays that she nears her breaking point. You proceed cautiously.

American tourist: $70

Market woman: Ok, ok, $79

American tourist: What?!

Surprised by this coy move to take only $1 off, you stand dumbfounded for near a second. But you are a bargaining force to be reckoned with…you play the trump card one last time. Stage hands again sprinkle glitter.

American tourist: Nevermind (you start to walk away…)

Market woman: …Ok…(she makes a face like you are breaking her heart)…$75.

The barrage of Okays has stopped. To get her down any further may be impossible.

You pause…the silence is painstaking. Everything around, the bustle of the market…the din of the streets, near and beyond, all silence themselves, waiting for your answer. It seems as if the very earth it self stops turning, waiting, waiting for…

American tourist: …Ok, $75.

American tourist exits stage left with a t-shirt and a smile. Market woman secretly rejoices for charging the American tourist an additional $25HK. She starts the bargaining at $75 for the locals.

End of Act One. Curtain Call.

Mike, Brian, and a street vendor that is not happy I'm taking pictures of her bootleg men's thongs.

Land of inconsistencies
Later that day, we head to Victoria’s Peak, the highest Mountain in Hong Kong. From Vickie’s Peak you can see much of the harbor and the city. Long leads us up at night because there is supposed to be an orchestrated light show of city lights. Long is basically our insider for China. Being on an extended stay in here gives him the opportunity, or forces him, to find things to do on the weekend. He’s already been to Hong Kong more than Seven times. His experience is invaluable to the overwhelming success of our endeavor. His friends, Cheryl and Sarah (with an “h”) both speak quite a bit of Mandarin. Even though English is commonly spoken here, it helps to have that little extra boost of Chinese. Still, keep in mind, the local language is Cantonese, the other Chinese language, so even Cheryl generally speaks English to everyone.

View from Victoria's Peak

The land of inconsistencies strikes again. In our case there was no light show. There was light, there were buildings, but no orchestrated show. Nonetheless the view was amazing. On the way down from the mountain, we stopped to grab some food at, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Make no mistake. This was not restaurant that pretended to be styled after the Forrest Gump movie, it was the real deal. They had the movie playing in the background and everything. And their fried sea food was amazing. Trust me. After a few weeks in China, some good old American food goes a long way. We told them that it was Sarah’s 16^th birthday (we are only about 51/2 years off) and they brought out a cup of ice cream and everything.

Oh yeah, Authentic Chinese Food

Happy Birthday!

We took the MTR back to the Hotel and shot over to Lan Kwai Fong. Lan Kwai Fong is the “premier dinning and entertainment center” of Hong Kong. We stopped by a bar with a live Chinese cover band. And finished the night at Ebenezer’s, a kebab and falafel place to die for. One word of caution though. You absolutely should get you sandwich, “Spicy.” How ever you should not be so confidant that you say, “Spicy, yes. Extra Spicy. Crazy Spicy!” You just might regret it. I did. It’s usually better to feel your tongue at the end of your meal. But don’t take my word for it.

Note the "Engrish" on the t-shirt

Our last morning, Long took us to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food in HK is great. I recommend going. It’s accessible enough for someone who doesn’t speak Chinese well. And yet it is still a world of a difference from the US. Our final cab ride back to the ferry was with an awesome cab driver who put on The Beatles and we sung the whole drive back. (See the video of getting around in Hong Kong above). It was the perfect ending to a great time in Hong Kong.