Hong Kong differs from NY obviously in many ways but to me the most appreciated difference I've encountered is the fact that in an hours commute you can be in exotically remote areas scattered along rocky shore lines with jungle esque vegetation. I've hiked to a few of these locations but recently was invited to go on a boat trip which Hong Kongers refer to as a Junk trip. These trips bring you and a crew of like minded folks out for a day to anchor at a serene beach location where you've got a few options for activities throughout the day.
We met in Sai Kung (the village I had ended my first hike in Hong Kong in) and departed at about 9 am. The owner of my agency introduced me to Jocelyn and she was kind enough to invite me on this excursion with a few of her friends as well as a few of her friends friends. We all made our introductions and boarded the vessel, a large boat about 40 feet long with ample space to relax towed a smaller motor boat which was to be used for wakeboarding and banana boating once we arrived at our desired anchoring spot, and we were off.
After just about a half an hour we pulled up to an isolated white sand beach and the anchor was dropped. The first batch of guys boarded the motor boat and went off for wake boarding while everyone else jumped in the sea with a plethora of floaty noodles and a few beers then headed for the beach. It was really great; the people I had just met were all very cool and from such different backgrounds, the location was unlike anywhere I'd ever been, and the schedule of the day was flawless (chill on a boat or on the beach, eat, drink, and be merry). I fantasized about running such an operation; purchasing an old fishing boat somewhere in South America or some random Asian country and bringing out travelers or business folk on my ship wishing to forget about their lives for a day and providing them their temporary venue to do just that. The day dream was brief but I made a mental note to revisit the thought as it seemed promising. The day was packed with good conversation (with good people), decent food, and an overall highly entertaining day. As with any event where the alcohol starts to flow before noon my conciousness faded and in no time I was buying folks shots at a pub playing billiards getting black out drunk-Good times in Hong Kong.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The hike over the ridge...
I was told that my beginning month in Hong Kong would be slow so to counter boredom
and quench my thirst for exploration I've ventured to a few surreal locations. I live
in Ma On Shan and there is a "Country Park" about 15 minutes from my hotel. The first
day I went there I really was not sure how to get there. I mean it's relatively
obvious being that there's a giant mountain range staring you in the face everytime
you walk in my area but to find the trail itself took a bit of navigating.
I found the "family area/BBQ area" and discovered a large map. It showed a mix of
lines going this way and that way but I really didn't know where I ought to go for my
first adventure so I kept it simple and took the road. You can follow a paved road
about the width of one car a pretty good distance, about an hours walk. The road
brings you through some dense vegetation, wild sounding birds, and what felt like an
endless climb. I came to a fork in the road (doesn't that sound so unoriginal?) and
the signs were in Chinese so I opted to go right, I snapped a photo as a guide for my
return back to this point should I have needed to turn around and made it to a
"squatter village".
I Immediately thought to myself how similar this looked to some places I've seen in
Mexico. The "houses" were very make shift either with concrete walls or other
materials bound together to keep the elements out and everyone had fences around their
patio areas where clothes were hung after being cleaned. The walkways through the
village were a maze of walls (with an occasional window I'd peer into to see how cozy
these shacks could be) and I felt that I could have kept walking deeper and deeper but
opted to take a few photos and carry on with my original intentions of summitting the
ridge I had seen and walked towards earlier in the day.
The fork in the road where I was originally puzzled by the Chinese symbols was less
intimidating since I now knew which way was "up". I carried on and eventually the road
got rougher before ceasing to exist as its concrete caterpillar and blossomed into the
butterfly of a (real) trail I was longing for. I completely appreciate having roads
and accessability to beautiful places for those who physically cannot bring themselves
to the gorgeous spots (like the road up Mount Washington in New Hampshire) but at a
certain point I also appreciate being places only accessible to those who push
themselves to their physical extremes (like Mount Everest). I took my pack off, drank
some water, had a handfull of cashews and prepared myself for whatever lay ahead.
Dense bamboo occasionally lined the path which eventually felt more like a natural
staircase than a walking trail and I was a bit disappointed not to be able to see very
far into the growth since I had been listening to some wild sounding birds and wished
to see them. I hiked up appreciating the infrequent openings through the trees which
permitted me faint views of the tall buildings where my hotel was located making the
increase of my elevation blatant. Again, I came upon a sign but this time it was
written not in Chinese characters but still in Chinese and I opted to hike to a town
rather than to summit the Mountain I had been tempted to after studying the map
earlier in the day.
The scenery went from dense forest to somewhat of an open field with rolling hills.
This was exciting for me because at this point I could no longer see any sign of
civilization other than a trail which was well travelled. After twenty minutes of
this, the awe wore off and I was reminded how brutally hot the sun was now with no
trees to protect me from the direct rays of heat. One last sense of excitement was
given to me that day when I saw the trail headed towards a ridge where I could see no
mountains beyond its top. From my past experiences I knew that this meant I would be
getting a lovely view. My pace increased until I made it to that spot and my
assumption was proven to be correct. I could have cried at the beauty, this was a
setting which I never had fathomed I would be viewing in person. Miles ahead of me was
a sea littered with small islands with abruptly climbing hills from their shores and
hundreds of yachts and sail boats accenting the natural beauty of this view like the
stars around the moon on a clear night. Everything in my vision right then was
flawlessly beautiful.
I checked the time and it was only 10 am so after examining the town on the shore line
I had just been flabbergasted by I decided to walk to it. I made it down through the
thick forest and entered what appeared to be the wealthy area of this town. There were
large properties with convertible euro cars parked out front and comfortable vibes,
this was a place I could see myself settling in many many years. I was not sure how to
get to the water but it was relatively easy considering all I had to do was walk down
hill and assumed once it got flat that it would be obvious where to go. Again, my
assumption was validated and I found myself on the sidewalk of the towns center
dripping with sweat but completely satisfied with my trek. I had no intention of
backtracking that trail so I asked a British woman where the bus station was so I
could confirm that I would be bussing out of this town rather than hitch hiking.
The town of Sai Kung is obviously a fishing/boating location and the restaurants
lining the water boast gigantic tanks showcasing the freshest seafood from the fishing
boats. These were the epitome of seafood dining establishments and I was thrilled to
be staring into tanks at creatures I had no idea of what they were and how they may
taste. It was about lunch time and I was starving so I, like any legitimate American
dismissed the notion of consuming this what appeared to be magnificent seafood before
my eyes and ordered a pizza and a cocktail. The bus ride home was brief and I was a
happy boy...
and quench my thirst for exploration I've ventured to a few surreal locations. I live
in Ma On Shan and there is a "Country Park" about 15 minutes from my hotel. The first
day I went there I really was not sure how to get there. I mean it's relatively
obvious being that there's a giant mountain range staring you in the face everytime
you walk in my area but to find the trail itself took a bit of navigating.
I found the "family area/BBQ area" and discovered a large map. It showed a mix of
lines going this way and that way but I really didn't know where I ought to go for my
first adventure so I kept it simple and took the road. You can follow a paved road
about the width of one car a pretty good distance, about an hours walk. The road
brings you through some dense vegetation, wild sounding birds, and what felt like an
endless climb. I came to a fork in the road (doesn't that sound so unoriginal?) and
the signs were in Chinese so I opted to go right, I snapped a photo as a guide for my
return back to this point should I have needed to turn around and made it to a
"squatter village".
I Immediately thought to myself how similar this looked to some places I've seen in
Mexico. The "houses" were very make shift either with concrete walls or other
materials bound together to keep the elements out and everyone had fences around their
patio areas where clothes were hung after being cleaned. The walkways through the
village were a maze of walls (with an occasional window I'd peer into to see how cozy
these shacks could be) and I felt that I could have kept walking deeper and deeper but
opted to take a few photos and carry on with my original intentions of summitting the
ridge I had seen and walked towards earlier in the day.
The fork in the road where I was originally puzzled by the Chinese symbols was less
intimidating since I now knew which way was "up". I carried on and eventually the road
got rougher before ceasing to exist as its concrete caterpillar and blossomed into the
butterfly of a (real) trail I was longing for. I completely appreciate having roads
and accessability to beautiful places for those who physically cannot bring themselves
to the gorgeous spots (like the road up Mount Washington in New Hampshire) but at a
certain point I also appreciate being places only accessible to those who push
themselves to their physical extremes (like Mount Everest). I took my pack off, drank
some water, had a handfull of cashews and prepared myself for whatever lay ahead.
Dense bamboo occasionally lined the path which eventually felt more like a natural
staircase than a walking trail and I was a bit disappointed not to be able to see very
far into the growth since I had been listening to some wild sounding birds and wished
to see them. I hiked up appreciating the infrequent openings through the trees which
permitted me faint views of the tall buildings where my hotel was located making the
increase of my elevation blatant. Again, I came upon a sign but this time it was
written not in Chinese characters but still in Chinese and I opted to hike to a town
rather than to summit the Mountain I had been tempted to after studying the map
earlier in the day.
The scenery went from dense forest to somewhat of an open field with rolling hills.
This was exciting for me because at this point I could no longer see any sign of
civilization other than a trail which was well travelled. After twenty minutes of
this, the awe wore off and I was reminded how brutally hot the sun was now with no
trees to protect me from the direct rays of heat. One last sense of excitement was
given to me that day when I saw the trail headed towards a ridge where I could see no
mountains beyond its top. From my past experiences I knew that this meant I would be
getting a lovely view. My pace increased until I made it to that spot and my
assumption was proven to be correct. I could have cried at the beauty, this was a
setting which I never had fathomed I would be viewing in person. Miles ahead of me was
a sea littered with small islands with abruptly climbing hills from their shores and
hundreds of yachts and sail boats accenting the natural beauty of this view like the
stars around the moon on a clear night. Everything in my vision right then was
flawlessly beautiful.
I checked the time and it was only 10 am so after examining the town on the shore line
I had just been flabbergasted by I decided to walk to it. I made it down through the
thick forest and entered what appeared to be the wealthy area of this town. There were
large properties with convertible euro cars parked out front and comfortable vibes,
this was a place I could see myself settling in many many years. I was not sure how to
get to the water but it was relatively easy considering all I had to do was walk down
hill and assumed once it got flat that it would be obvious where to go. Again, my
assumption was validated and I found myself on the sidewalk of the towns center
dripping with sweat but completely satisfied with my trek. I had no intention of
backtracking that trail so I asked a British woman where the bus station was so I
could confirm that I would be bussing out of this town rather than hitch hiking.
The town of Sai Kung is obviously a fishing/boating location and the restaurants
lining the water boast gigantic tanks showcasing the freshest seafood from the fishing
boats. These were the epitome of seafood dining establishments and I was thrilled to
be staring into tanks at creatures I had no idea of what they were and how they may
taste. It was about lunch time and I was starving so I, like any legitimate American
dismissed the notion of consuming this what appeared to be magnificent seafood before
my eyes and ordered a pizza and a cocktail. The bus ride home was brief and I was a
happy boy...
Ok Ok... I need to BLOG more
Now two weeks a resident of Hong Kong it has dawned on me that my adjustment to the
new land has distracted me from my writings and that an update was necessary. I live
in a hotel with two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette. There's a bathroom
with shower and I suppose it has everything one could need to survive here minus
cooking pots and pans. There is a pool, small gym, and computer room with 3 computers
that you can usually use as you please. The best part of the hotel is the shuttle bus
to the MTR (subway) stations.
The neighborhood I live in is mostly Chinese speaking persons with the occasional
European which is a nice change of scenery from my place in Brooklyn. Rather than
seeing hacidic jews walking around my abode there are loads of elderly chinese and
children. Also, I live right on a sea which is surrounded by mountains so I constantly
have this feeling of being in some exotic land, a place I once saw on the national
geographic channel or in travel advertisements and wished that I were there. But I
don't have the mentality of a tourist, I have a pressing fear that I owe someone loads
of money if I don't acquire enough work and it's a shame because I feel that in years
I will look back and say it wasn't so bad...
new land has distracted me from my writings and that an update was necessary. I live
in a hotel with two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchenette. There's a bathroom
with shower and I suppose it has everything one could need to survive here minus
cooking pots and pans. There is a pool, small gym, and computer room with 3 computers
that you can usually use as you please. The best part of the hotel is the shuttle bus
to the MTR (subway) stations.
The neighborhood I live in is mostly Chinese speaking persons with the occasional
European which is a nice change of scenery from my place in Brooklyn. Rather than
seeing hacidic jews walking around my abode there are loads of elderly chinese and
children. Also, I live right on a sea which is surrounded by mountains so I constantly
have this feeling of being in some exotic land, a place I once saw on the national
geographic channel or in travel advertisements and wished that I were there. But I
don't have the mentality of a tourist, I have a pressing fear that I owe someone loads
of money if I don't acquire enough work and it's a shame because I feel that in years
I will look back and say it wasn't so bad...
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Hong Kong
It's July and I now live in Hong Kong. Surprised? Events in life don't really surprise me any more I just accept them as part of the innevitable spectrum of good and bad and strive to cherish the good since we never know when those "bad" times will arrive. I am here in HK on a 3 month model contract working with a management company and freelancing with local agencies. The deal I have is that I was fronted the money to cover flight, lodging, and living expenses in exchange for my reimbursing my financier upon departure from Hong Kong as well as allowing their 40% cut from any and all jobs I acquire here as a model.
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