Walkabout

Oy! Looks like I'm a few days behind again on my writing.

I'm forever getting mixed up with my days. Having been sick for a while and not working and now being almost a day a ahead of where I'd usually be, I seem to forget exactly what day it is and which day I did what.

Anyway, Tuesday I headed out to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Sure, not everyone's cup of tea to be sure, but interesting to me nonetheless. As luck would have it, the museum had a brand new exhibit showcasing the French Revolution. But, as has been my Achilles heel of late, I neglected to read the signs properly and when I arrived at the museum, it was closed. Seems I showed up to the museum for the French Revolution one day early. So, no museum for me. I headed across to the Hong Kong Science Museum to see if I could get my museum fix for the day. As chance would have it, there was something going on there as well, preventing me from going inside. So, with no museums to go to in this part of town, and a whole afternoon in front of me, I decided to go exploring and go for a walkabout.

My trek took me along down along a familiar street to the water's edge passing shops that I recognized from my frequent bus rides down this stretch of TST. I had to take a slight detour along my way, weaving and winding through a variety of street and building construction. As I found my way back to the main street, I passed by this little noodle house tucked into the bend of a side street. The only reason I took notice was there was a massive line up of people waiting to get in. Must be lunch time in HK. Now, I'll be the first to say that I won't stand in a line up for a restaurant. With all of the great food available, especially here in HK, why wait to eat? Also, still recovering from my recent stomach ailment, I find that now more than ever, that when my system lets me know I need food, I need food like now!

So, the waiting for food, not exactly an option for a hungry person such as myself. Luckily, I had already eaten lunch and didn't need to eat. But, it got me thinking. If there is this many people lined up outside this place, it's gotta be good. Perhaps, it'd be worth the wait if I were prepared to wait. :P But, you can find similar line ups for food all over the city. One place I have to try, is a little hole in the wall down Nathan Road. For those of you who don't know, Nathan Road is one of the main streets in Hong Kong. It's full of shopping, shopping and...more shopping. It is also home to a great number of restaurants too. Back to the hole in the wall. Of course, there's nothing fancy about this place, it is literally a whole in the wall. They don't serve anything fancy or upscale, no home cooked Chinese food or anything like that.

What they make is what I know as bubble or egg waffles. It's sort of hard to describe them. Ask Leng if you really want to know. Anyway, the line up for this little food stall is always there. I've never passed by it when it wasn't busy. V pointed it out to me at the beginning of my trip. She tells me that it's the best place in Hong Kong for those waffles and I can see why. Each time I pass by that place it smells sooooo good. It's intense. It's sort of like a cross between freshly made waffle cones, fortune cookies and an ever subtle hint of almond cookie aroma too. Anyway, when I finally get through the line up, I'll let you know how they are.

So, I made my way down the busy street, stopping every so briefly inside the New World Center Shopping Mall to hide from the afternoon sun. Now, with the snow falling in Vancouver, I probably shouldn't be complaining too much about 24 degree weather. But, quite honestly, I really wasn't prepared for the warmth of that afternoon.

I traveled along the Avenue of Stars, a great stretch of waterfront real estate paying homage to the great stars of Hong Kong and Chinese cinema. I'd been there before during the evening for a quiet stroll with V last time I was here. But, I hadn't seen it during the day so I took this opportunity to walk along the promenade and stop to take pictures of the Hong Kong Island side as I went. As the sun beat down upon me, I reached the end of the Avenue of Stars finally reaching the Hong Kong Cultural Center, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Space Museum.

I stopped outside this iconic trio of buildings, which defines the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, to take some pictures of the architecture and of just everyday life in TST. There were these two old gentlemen playing Chinese checkers in the shade of the HK Cultural Center; a seemingly stereotypical photo opportunity that I couldn't pass up. They were so enthralled with their game, that I dare not interrupt them to ask them if I could take their picture...so I just quietly snapped a shot and let them continue on with their game. After taking pictures for a while, I needed to find refuge from the sun. So, I headed into the art museum to cool down and take in some culture.

Now, I can't say that I really understand art, especially modern art. But, this museum isn't just fancy paintings of Van Gogh or Rembrandt. This art museum showcases Chinese artwork, everything from calligraphy scrolls to Chinese brush paintings, to ancient pottery and relics. They also have some modern art too. They're current feature exhibit was the art of Antonio Mak. Again, I don't really understand modern art, but his stuff was really quite interesting and though-provoking. Usually after viewing modern art, I leave the gallery some what confused and feeling a little cheated of my hard earned dollars. But, I left this exhibit with maybe a little more understanding of art and the artist's message. The other exhibit that I really wanted to see, was entitled 'The Story of the Horse'. I have a certain affinity for the horse. It's my Chinese astrological sign. So, I was interested to see both modern and ancient interpretations of the horse and the spiritual and symbolic meanings that the horse has in Chinese culture. The exhibit was quite interesting and I was fortunate enough to be in HK to see it.

So, after finally venturing into a museum and getting my cultural fix...and possibly responsible for breaking a hand dryer in the bathroom...I headed back out on my walkabout. As luck would have it, V was just finishing work and heading out to an appointment on the island side. I was to meet her in Causeway Bay, one of the city's most colourful and vibrant areas, I think. I'll tell you now that V was quite impressed in how I got to the island side. Now, conventional wisdom would tell me to find the closest MTR station and take the subway out to Causeway Bay, seeing as it has it's very own station. But, I was on walkabout, so time to explore.

I headed from the museum to the Star Ferry. I've mentioned the Star Ferry before I think. It's a turn of the century ferry boat that still has fares for upper decks and lower decks. Having take the noisy and slightly smelly trip on the lower deck already, I think I might be worth it to pay the 50 cents more and ride in a little bit more style. So, I hopped on the Star Ferry leaving from TST to Wan Chai. Wan Chai is an area on the HK Island side right next to Causeway Bay. My plan was to take the ferry across to Wan Chai, take some photos around the HK Convention and Exhibition Center on the Wan Chai waterfront, and then continue my walkabout to Causeway Bay. Would it have been simpler to take the MTR? Probably. Was this just another excuse to take the Star Ferry? Definitely.

So, about 15mins later, I emerge on the Hong Kong Island side near the HK Convention Center. I spent a little over a half an hour taking pictures in and around the convention center, before I headed out for Causeway Bay. It was neat to see the city at twilight and I was sort of glad to see the sun fall below the skyline. Not knowing how long it would actually take to get there, I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get there and not leave her waiting for me. I've traveled around Wan Chai a little bit and I was weaving in and amongst covered walkways that zig zag above the streets of Wan Chai. When I finally emerged from that crazy labyrinth and looked at my surroundings, I thought to myself, 'hmmmm...I'm somewhere where I don't know where I am.' Oh well, not much I could do about that now. So, relying once again on my brain, I headed down Hennessy Road towards hopefully Causeway Bay. As I walked among the hordes of people, the last remnants of sunlight had disappeared from the rooftops. With the sun now gone the neon glow of the city began to light my way. I walked for what seems like forever. Not really sure I was going in the right direction, simply carrying on my path from a gut feeling.

Finally I recognized the iconic red and white symbol of the MTR, so regardless of whether or not I was actually going in the right direction, at least I would be able to get to Causeway Bay. A few more blocks and a few thousand people later, I arrived at my destination. Causeway Bay MTR station, exit F. Yay! Feeling triumphant in the completion of my quest and being about 20mins early to meet V, I decided to explore a bit. Causeway Bay is a vibrant and busy shopping and eating district on the island side. Similar to TST I suppose, but a whole lot more people. There seems to be a greater mix of high end fashion and expensive restaurants too. I wandered about the streets in behind the MTR station. It was a crazy mix of winding roads and unique storefronts. As I weaved amongst the buildings and people, I found myself staring at Time Square. No, not NYC. Time Square is like a huge marble spire gently set in the middle of Causeway Bay. It's really quite pretty all decked out in it's Christmas finery. Aside from the general Christmas lights and stuff, there was an amazing art display out front of Time Square. It was a winter village scene but not with your average Christmas characters. It was like seeing a Hayao Miyazaki film in real life. You'll have to see the pictures I suppose it's kind of hard to describe, but it was really quite spectacular.

And then all of a sudden it was time to meet V. I rushed back to our meeting spot feeling pretty weary from the days adventure. I finally met up with V and we did a bit of shopping before we headed to her aunt's house for dinner. All-in-all, a pretty eventful day for me. I was glad when I finally climbed into bed.