Wow. It really did take me a long time to finish blogging about my trip to HK. Well, this is a great time to do so, as any.
On the fourth day of the trip, I (and I think the rest of the girls too) was getting a mite tired of the cold weather. Had the usual breakfast at the hotel – the usual dingwing of bacon, eggs, red beans, eggs, eggs and more eggs. No nasi lemak. Was starting to yearn for something a little bit more different to eat, you know. I remember thinking to myself, many people say that there are different delicious delicacies to be had in Hong Kong and whilst I have to admit that the DimSum was out of this world, the Peking cuisine we had on the first night here (which was HOT HOT HOT) wasn’t what I had expected of Hong Kong.
On the fourth day, in Hong Kong, the stark reality of the difference in mentality and lifestyle suddenly hit me. It hit me hardest when I see even the ah-sam pushing the rubbish cart along the MRT underground walkways walking faster than me….and I was huffing as it is. Young ladies dash around in their high-heeled boots seems unperturbed with the way they were walking on their toes for what seems like a hundred miles to me! One time, I was walking VERY FAST (by my standards) in the underground walkways when I heard a voice behind me, “Hung fai tit lah, siu cher” (Walk faster, Miss). I turned around to see an old woman walking at the speed of a bullet train behind me.
Frankly, I suddenly realized how pampered we are in Malaysia or it is more like how accustomed we are of getting stuck in a traffic gridlock. Here in Hong Kong, everyone rushes about mindlessly about their daily activities on foot, on trains, on foot, on trains, on foot…..yeah. And this very culture caught on with the group I was traveling with. Everyone was in a rush for something. Want to shit also got no time, needless to say, rushing bowel movement is no fun! Not only is Hong Kong a very compact place, it’s also a very rushed society. At this point in time, I was thinking, “With my kind of stress level and blood pressure, I sure die living here. Live and work here? No, thanks. I would rather go live with the sheeps in New Zealand or maybe with the polar bears in Antartica”. Hongkies, according to one of them (not me), compensate the lack of space and the hectic lifestyle by ‘rewarding’ themselves with material things.
“Yeah, we are a very stressed out society. That’s why when we make money, we are happy, we go out and buy a new handphone”, says one friend. Huh???? Oh. I see.
I started yearning for something slower because all that running around and sales-chasing was getting to me. I really really REALLY started dreaming of a trip to Bali. And thank goodness I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Since some of the girls had loads of cash stashed into their cards courtesy of their hubbies, some of us were getting pretty anxious about the rising stack of receipts. So, even though I’ve been up to The Victoria’s Peak before, I joined two others for a trip up….and we walked pretty much all the way towards the tram’s entrance.
Hong Kong’s Victoria’s Peak was even colder than the city center (duh!) and it must have been like under 10 degrees up there or something. But it wasn’t the cold that was torturous….more like the wind!!! It was a hassle taking pictures up there because you won’t be able to get your hair to behave long enough for a nice picture. I posted a video earlier of me trying to take a picture of my sister, Karen and her friend, Sharon.
Well, did I say I wanted something different to eat? Yeah, my prayer was answered when our dear friend organized a trip to Lama Island for seafood! But the seafood wasn’t the highlight – for me, it was the yatch that he rented for us! Blissfully elegant yatch very much like the kind of yatches I used to see in HK TVB movies with three bedrooms and upper deck. I was thinking, “Walau-eh! This is the life, man!” But since it was very windy and cold, we took some anti-seasick pills to keep us from turning green. I don’t think I am the sea sick kind of person but our friend, Ming, warned us that it’s going to be a rocky ride, so, instead of taking the chance, I swallowed the pill.
The food was amazingly good with all kinds of crabs, prawns, fishes, squids and lobster laid out in front of us! I cannot remember the names of all those dishes and all I remember is licking my fingers and digging heartily into the food!
Hong Kong’s Victoria’s Peak was even colder than the city center (duh!) and it must have been like under 10 degrees up there or something. But it wasn’t the cold that was torturous….more like the wind!!! It was a hassle taking pictures up there because you won’t be able to get your hair to behave long enough for a nice picture. I posted a video earlier of me trying to take a picture of my sister, Karen and her friend, Sharon.
Well, did I say I wanted something different to eat? Yeah, my prayer was answered when our dear friend organized a trip to Lama Island for seafood! But the seafood wasn’t the highlight – for me, it was the yatch that he rented for us! Blissfully elegant yatch very much like the kind of yatches I used to see in HK TVB movies with three bedrooms and upper deck. I was thinking, “Walau-eh! This is the life, man!” But since it was very windy and cold, we took some anti-seasick pills to keep us from turning green. I don’t think I am the sea sick kind of person but our friend, Ming, warned us that it’s going to be a rocky ride, so, instead of taking the chance, I swallowed the pill.
The food was amazingly good with all kinds of crabs, prawns, fishes, squids and lobster laid out in front of us! I cannot remember the names of all those dishes and all I remember is licking my fingers and digging heartily into the food!
The Hong Kong night scene is VERY unique in the sense that many people have to become 'members' of a club that is often made exclusive to gwai-lows and rich people there. You head on over to the normal disco and you will meet all kinds of ah-bengs there, according to my friend. Jean-Louie, a French working in HK was a member (of course! Being French and all....) to a club that I cannot remember the name to (now you know why I am called Mong-char-char for a good reason. I follow only...) and we entered with a little bit of difficulty. I thought I spotted a celebrity vomitting or making an ass out of herself beside the dance floor. We took up a VIP section very near the dance floor and danced our hearts away. I think we had like 5 or 6 bottles of champagnes between us.
We gagged when we were told the price of each bottle....like something around RM1k per bottle or something and we were like WTF??? We just drank and pissed away RM6000 just like that???? But being rich and gentlemenly, Ming and Jean-Louie refused to accept money from a bunch of young and pretty (ya, ya, ya, ya....) girls from Malaysia.
Phew! Tiu. If I knew it was RM1K per bottle, next time, I drink water, man.