Hong Kong - January 2005

The skyscrapers in Hong Kong are most impressive, crammed on top of the many islands to fit the dense population that they have, and their lights reflect beautifully on the bay. Some of these buildings are at least 70 stories high! I remember a few years ago when I came here, I went to my friend Albert’s home and he was on the 44th floor or some crazy number like that! Imagine looking down from that window!

The office in Hong Kong is in Causeway Bay, which isn’t extremely central to all of the tourism area. This really doesn’t matter too much, considering everything is busy with a lot of nightlife in this city. Stores are everywhere, with bright lights, a mixture of English and Cantonese on the signs. The minute you start window shopping, I noticed the salesman would come outside and watch with you, almost like the good angel on your right shoulder telling you to buy it. This type of customer service seems normal here; even in restaurants the waiters wait patiently by your side as you are looking over your receipt. Personally, it makes me uncomfortable because I’m shuffling through my wallet to figure out whether or not the service charge is included and if I should be tipping them, but I think in their minds they feel it is respectful to show that they are ready to serve you immediately.

On the weekend, we decided to go to Macau, which used to be a Portuguese colony, and was reclaimed by China in 1999. We had to bring our passports, as we are basically leaving Hong Kong for China, and took the 1 hour turbojet service to cross the bay. I couldn’t imagine crossing this bay without the hydrofoil because any normal boat would take about 3 hours. We didn’t choose the best weather to visit Macau, as it was hazy all day, and even rained for an hour. As we were not fully prepared, I ended up buying a “Hello Kitty” umbrella once we got to the city…how appropriate!

We concentrated our tourism around the ruins of St. Paul’s church, where one façade lies on the top of a hill, and as you spiral down the hill, you pass all the tourist shops filled with clothing, shoes, Asian clothing and specialties, and replica antiques. It was really interesting to see the fusion of the Portuguese colonial architecture with Chinese buildings and signs bearing both languages. We ate at the Restaurant Platão, which was the absolute best food ever! All of the food in Hong Kong has been spectacular, but this was beyond belief…and it was Western food!!! If you travel in Asia for more than a few weeks, there is a point where you start craving normal bread. I don’t know how else to explain this, but even though you get carbs from noodle soups and rice plates, you don’t ever see bread. I don’t eat that much bread at home, but it almost seems like there is a different satisfaction that you get from having this food staple.