high an dry in HK

Sunny and 17C on Lantau Island :)

The first thing I noticed last night when I got off at Mong Kok station, was the people. There are lots of people. Lots. There are plenty in Taipei as well, but there, I found that there were more things, like cars, cabs, and scooters. But in Hong Kong, it's ALL people. Maybe if I hadn't chosen rush hour to meet my Grandfather in Kowloon, or maybe if I hadn't gotten off at Mong Kok -- one of the busiest shopping districts -- on a Friday night, I wouldn't have felt that way. Nah. It took me a good ten minutes to walk a block, as everyone was squished against everyone. A public fondler's paradise. The second thing Kowloon and HK have more than Taipei: neon lights. Everywhere. Even the side streets. Noise, light, air pollution abound -- but that's what makes this place seem so exciting. Looking forward to finding some dessert soups (pumpkin is good for the throat; almond is good for the lungs; black sesame is good for the hair AND the colon - black sesame is my absolute favouritest!) in the city. Mango pudding with coconut and sago is already pretty kickass.

My lovely friend Ruth has lent me her apartment for a few days, while she's off to spend Christmas in Australia with a busload of tourists. As soon as I landed at the airport yesterday, my middle finger split open for the first time in three weeks. And so it begins. Not that it's super dry in HK, but Ruthie's apartment (just minutes from the airport) is on the 57th floor, where it is much much drier than street level. I fell asleep last night to the sound of airplanes taking off and woke up to the sound of airplanes taking off, to a view of the mountains and sparkly ocean, and to a slowly-splitting right thumb. Most of the tenants in this building are flight attendants and expats so there's no real need to speak Cantonese. But I still try :) Although Lantau Island (where the apartment is located) is a bit of a MTR/busride from Kowloon, I can see why so many people would want to live out here -- it's rather peaceful. The droning of planes is calming.

Off to find a bandage, a cup of HK-style milk tea (McD's tea isn't horrible!) then up I go to the Peak. This will be my first trip up there. This is my seventh or eigth visit to HK, yet I have never done anything super-touristy, like visiting the Peak. The view of the island should pretty spanktacular. I just hope it's not too cloudy when I get up there!

The new Disneyland is just one MTR stop away. If I get back early enough, I just might catch the fireworks from the apartment ^_^