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| Doing some major work for the subway system here. |
I managed to walk from Ming's place all the way to Kowloon which was probably a 20 min walk, but not too bad considering I was carrying two bags. The airport check-in was really easy to find and as I checked in the guy at the desk asked if I wanted to take an earlier flight. I said no, but then asked if I could take a later flight out and he said there was! The reason I asked for the later flight was because things were gonna be tight for time with taking the MTR out to Lil's area and then coming back and with the later flight I was able to have a relaxed final evening in HK without worrying about catching my flight.
I checked in my bag and headed out to explore the city. The details of the walk aren't that exciting but I found it quite peaceful to walk leisurely though the city soaking up the sights before I leave and taking pictures. I walked down the main Kowloon area and sat in the Kowloon park for a while enjoying the sun. The park is situated right off of the main drag, but I was surprised how quickly the sound of the traffic and street diminished and was replaced by chirping birds.
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| Kowloon Park |
After the park I walked towards the Star Ferry terminal. I put on my headphones and the first song that came on was Dakota by the Stereophonics. I love walking through cities with music. I think everyone should try it at least once per new city. Soaking up the sounds of the city is great (I always do this first) but I find once the music replaces the sounds of the traffic you notice things you wouldn't have noticed before, such as the flashing of neon signs that match with the beat of the music, or the rhythms of peoples steps as they hustle across the crosswalk.
It was quite hazy today, but it made for some interesting pictures along the water. I hoped on the Star Ferry for the last time and headed towards Wan Chai on HK Island.
Just beside the Star Ferry Terminal in Wan Chai is the HK Convention Centre. At the end of the convention centre peninsula stands the Forever Blooming Bauhinia Flower. This sculpture was given to HK from China when China took back HK from British rule in 1997.
It's a pretty touristy place so I just took my self portrait and got outta there. The Convention centre is located right along the water and I was treated to my first real look back at the Kowloon Skyline. Definitely not as impressive as the HK side, but it was neat looking back on the place I spent a lot of time in.
I didn't have any other plans really for the day so I just made my way back towards the Central and Hong Kong MTR area. There's a handful of malls there with AC and free internet so that was my next mission.
One gripe I did have about HK is that walking anywhere in a straight line on HK island is basically impossible. I saw on the map that to get to Central, I could just walk along one of the roads and it would take me right there. However, the way HK is built is that there are roads weaving in and out and up and down buildings. There are very few crosswalks anywhere and for the most part you are required to take pedestrian bridges up and over roads to get anywhere. It's probably not so bad if you live there, but my feet were starting to ache so going up and down and in a zig-zag towards my destination was becoming a nuisance. However I did love all the architecture and the city itself is really neat to explore!
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| look at all those pedestrian walkways! |
Lil fortunately got off work a bit early and told me to meet her at one of her favorite cafes; the AFTER SCHOOL cafe in Causeway Bay. I was at Central when she called me which is a good 45min walk away from Causeway Bay so per her suggestion I jumped onto a tram and rode it to the cafe. The cafe happened to be right on top of a store we checked out on my second day there so I knew exactly where to go.
The AFTER SCHOOL cafe was a really cool place. They advertise themselves as a design cafe. There's a working space where I believe they actually have a design studio, and then in the evenings it turns into a cafe/workspace. The entire interior is furnished like an old classroom. There's old school books around and school desks with cubbies in them. I loved the atmosphere and definitely could see myself hanging out there had I lived in HK.
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| This is the menu :) |
Lil met me shortly at the cafe and we had some drinks and then left to check out her apartment complex.
When we arrived I wasn't really sure what to expect, but she said she was moving in a few months so she wouldn't have the chance to show anyone after that. All I can say is wow! The chinese know how to build a great amenities set for their apartments. Granted, her community was 10 towers, each with ~66 floors so if I do some quick math, thats 3,660 apartments, and if each has ~3 ppl in it, then thats already 11k residents.
Before we headed up to the apartment she showed me around their "clubhouse." I should rephrase that it's more like a resort hotel. She brought me downstairs and there was a massive fitness/entertainment area with gym equipment, a studio for marital arts and dance, a study area with all the latest magazines, movie rooms, a 4 lane bowling alley, virtual video golf, karaoke, billards, ping pong, a music room with piano, drums, guitars etc, and I'm sure there was other stuff that I didn't get to see or can't remember. Oh yah, and apart from all that there's a giant outdoor swimming pool, basketball courts, hedge maze, bbq pit area, and other garden areas to walk around. What the heck! Crazy place :D
We went up to her place before we checked out the rest of the amenities grabbed some food. She lived up on the 38th floor in a small 2br apartment with her family. I met her dad and he took our picture on their balcony. I stood out on the balcony and it gave me the heeby jeebies looking down. Wow 38 floors up is pretty high and there were still 25 floors above her.
Lil also showed me her room. She had a bunk bed in it because otherwise there's be no space for anything else! We had a quick iced tea and then headed back downstairs to walk around the grounds and eat.
Oh I should also mention that the apartment complex is built on top of a mall. And the whole complex is called Metrotown. Yes, lil moved all the way from Coquitlam to HK to live in Metrotown :P
There were 2 new restaurants that opened in the mall so we picked a Cantonese style one and sat down for our last meal together. I wasn't too hungry so I ordered a cold peanut noodle thing and lil saw that they had rib eye steak so she tried that out. She also ordered me a Watercress Honey drink which was extremely refreshing and another first for me.
Having diner together was becoming some-what of a habbit and I was a sad that it was our last one. We chatted about lots of things and divulged a bit more about our work and ambitions. It was a great conversation as usual and I was sad when we looked at the time and I had to catch the MTR back to the airport. Lil and I had become great friends over the course of my time in HK and it was a weird feeling not knowing the next time I'll see her! We said our good byes, hugged and I walked into the MTR. Hopefully we'll get to hang out again in the near future. She's a lot of fun and I know she's the soul reason why I had such a memorable time in HK. Thanks for the fond memories lil! HK is definitely a special place for me now knowing I have a great friend there. "Media tech friendships are for life!" :)
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| last group pic outside of the restaurant |
My ride back to the Airport was a time of reflection about Hong Kong and acted as some great decompression time allowing me to relax and enjoy my mini adventure from my other bigger adventure in Taiwan :) Ciao HK! Hope to see you again soon.
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