Hong Kong Series: The City

A city quivering with vibrancy where neon and bright lights cast a glow in even the darkest alleys, the mouthwatering aroma of food making it almost impossible not to commit gluttony. Hong Kong flashes frantically before me, the fast pace seemed chaotic at first until I learned to blend in and become one more face in the crowd. How do I even keep up?

I may have been to Hong Kong more than I could count on one hand but it never seizes to give me that spark. When I think of this dashing city or even just the mere idea of it, I am overwhelmed and unsuccessful in my deliberate attempt to describe it in a coherent fashion. So much can be told that writing yet again another post doesn't seem too much of a task to me.

Over a period of time, I have developed an intimate attachment to this alluring city. Since it is just a two-hour flight from Manila where sometimes tickets are cheaper than a bowl of Ramen, I couldn’t count the number of times I have visited this place without having to refer to my passport for stamps (or that tiny piece of paper they chuck on one of the pages). Despite the scarcity of land area, Hong Kong doesn’t fall short on stories, probably as a result of its being packed - something that has worked in its favour.

No matter how familiar the streets of downtown Hong Kong are, the excitement of wandering these streets doesn’t fade one bit. I always come with an itinerary, but on the first day, I digress away from the plan and aimlessly walk around wherever my feet bring me.

The bond between the traditional lifestyle and the modern feel is what makes the candid life in Hong Kong quite peculiar. This, I think, is what keeps calling me back. When I first visited this city a couple of years ago, my itinerary was set to see what the internet had told me. But it wasn't until I started walking the streets mimicking like a local, getting lost in a dumb-proof city, challenged by how I wanted to convey a simple message and explored without a to-go list, that I have finally gotten the chance to be up close and personal with Hong Kong. And that intimacy has given me the attachment to the character that the city bears.

The Central is always a good start when assembling a walking route with this city. I don't mind long walks, in fact, I take pleasure in it - weather and temperature permitting. I flew in around March so winter was just at its tail end and the temperature was leveling off at 16 degrees an average - perfect for strolls.

The Midlevels Escalators, being the world's longest outdoor escalator was a unique way to get from point a to point b and everything around it felt very bizarre. It was a hodgepodge of modernity wrapped in walls of culture.

Following the signs, the escalators led me to a personal favorite spot, the Hollywood Road which houses a variety of trinket and antique shops. A place to know more about where the Hong Kong life is rooted from.

The visually thought provoking Man Mo Temple tops my list of temples in Hong Kong. It is also the temple of the Chinese's God of Literature Mo Tai, making it take a special place in my heart.

But Hong Kong's charm isn't as alive as it is without its people. After all, they are the ones who paint the canvass of the city. Sundays are often a time to see the unwary locals go out unlike the weekdays which are spent chasing time to make a living, so I headed on to the Sunday Market at Central to catch the locals at their routines.

Unfortunately, with fog wrapping up the entire mountain top, the Victoria Peak wasn't generous enough to show me an afternoon sight of the city. Hugged by thick clouds, the climb to the top didn’t seem to be wasteful.

Causeway Bay is where all shopping action commences for the brand conscious. I could be a needle in a haystack.

Whether the night is young, which always seems to be the case in Hong Kong or the dawn is about the break,

Lan Kwai Fong offers an entire street for booze and to make new friends.

You don't even have to get a table to earn a good time, the alleys become an extended part of the bars and so I happily grabbed a can of beer or three, the rest was a blur, in a good way.

The inner kid in me was excited to be at the happiest place on Earth, as some suggest. Probably not the most extreme rides but DisneyLand is always quite an experience. After all, it is in some way how we all grew up.

When I heard that the Art Basel was being staged in the city, I stormed through the website for tickets only to realise I couldn’t get them anymore.

The Basel is an international art fair with the world's highly sought after artists displaying thought provoking masterpieces and it was obviously silly to miss it where it was just a few blocks away. But I chanced upon luck and met one of the art directors who later on offered me a free pass. And there I was.

There are so many ways to savour a night in Hong Kong, a stroll in the harbour is probably one of the best. The scenery of both bright lights flashing from across the ocean and the iconic Junk traversing its way along the waters that separate Hong Kong and Kowloon Island, It is in the splendour of this view that makes me realise life is good.

All photos and text in this post are imported from the previous site.