bulanbiru: March 2013

When I was holing up at the 29th floor of Petronas Twin Towers way back in 2004, I came to know an English expert named Mike Hessien. No, he didn't teach English, he was an expert on lubricants and he was born somewhere in England, which makes him English. He wasn't a vice-president but he seemed to know a lot about lubes. My knowledge on lubes was just enough to trigger the regular oil change for my car, but we hit off immediately when we discovered that we indeed had something in common: he loves Manchester United, I hate Manchester United. He'd been moving around a good bit and he recounted his first time in Hong Kong: "I've never seen so many Chinese in my life". Not exactly a heart-lifting sentiment, but it's nothing more than what you could expect out of a fiercely technical guy. There's no context to what he said. He meant just that.

I was in Hong Kong for four days (in 14 March, out 18 March). When I stepped out of the Airport Express at the Hong Kong central station, Mike's words rang out. I'd never seen so many Chinese in my entire life. (I turned 60 just last month). It's one and half Chinese person per square foot, give and take. But what do you expect? This is Hong Kong, part of China. China, Chinese. Fair enough, but coming from Malaysia, you'd expect something more cosmopolitan and less monochromic. You'd expect everywhere to be just like KL or KLCC, with Indonesians, Nepalese, Nigerians adding colour to the standard fare of Melayu, Chinese and Kelantanese.

Unless you're an inhabitant of faraway Norway, Hong Kong shouldn't evoke any touristic mystique. Last year my neighbour went to Hong Kong just to eat. I happen to live in USJ. We have a bustling commercial hotbed called Taipan, which is actually Kowloon in all but name. So why bother? Honestly, my first choice was Rome or Rio, but Tony's airbuses don't fly to these far-flung places, not while Tony's busy watching his QPR investment melting into a misadventure. Air Asia is cheap, but choice is thin. They fly only to Hong Kong and Nanning. No contest there. Nanning sounds like a gerund and probably is. So Nanning is out.

I'm hardly half-way through and you already think that Hong Kong is humdrum. And crowded, colourless with ugly red taxis, it didn't fire my imagination, and so on. You're only right about crowded and taxis. Hong Kong is a worthwhile experience. Believe me.

For a start, I went to Hong Kong with my wife, two girls, son, daughter-in-law, and, this is the exciting part, my granddaughter. Diana was 5 months old, and people at this age are less than subtle in expressing their feelings and ideas. (I could see fellow fliers holding their breath at the sight of our little screamer). But I can tell you now that flying with granddaughter beats flying with bosses any day.

Just a bit of an introduction to Hong Kong for my brothers/sisters-in-law who still think Ottawa is in Japan. Hong Kong is made up mainly of Hong Kong island and Kowloon, geographically just like Penang and Seberang Prai. Hong Kong and Penang are, of course, politically different: Hong Kong government is headed by a Chief Executive (a Chinese), Penang government is led by a Chief Minister (a Chinese).

One of the main draws and lures of tourist hotspots like Paris, New York, London, Ottawa is a charming Chinatown. Some, like Melbourne, have Chinatowns, Chinese mayors, Chinese laundries and Chinese launderers. This is where Hong Kong loses out. There's no Chinatown in Hong Kong. The whole town is Chinatown.

My picks of pleasant surprises and hidden gems:

1. JJ Hotel.

When I said JJ Hotel, the taxi driver joked: JW? Gay driver! Hong Kong has plenty of horror hotels, but not JJ. This Tripadvisor-rated hotel is clean and friendly with enough space to breathe and talk. And free and fast wifi to boot. If you can't afford JW, try JJ. Located in Wan Chai area, it's ten minutes to a subway (MTR) station and you can walk to Causeway Bay, Hong Kong's boomtown. On our trip to Stanley Market, we'd to take the MTR at Wan Chai and, after seven stations, get off at Chai Wan. Wan Chai, Chai Wan, priceless. I can think of Tokyo, Kyoto for a parallel. Or goreng pisang, pisang goreng. Hahaha

2. Dim Sum at Wan Chai Mosque

I'd read about the dim sum on travel blogs, but we discovered the mosque only on the third day. It's just 100 metres from JJ. The canteen served halal food, and the dim sum was the standout. Sublime stuff. It's Sunday, and the place was buzzing with off-duty Indonesian maids in bright tudung, who came here to meet, eat and pray. There's a plaque from Astro, whose crew had visited this canteen three times for their food program. Why three times? Because Astro likes to repeat its programs. The mosque is six-floor, clean, well-kept, with notices in perfect English (unlike our public university websites). Next day, I came here again with wife at 3 pm for zohor and asar. And dim sum. The canteen was closed.

3. Macau (or Macao)

This gambling den and Portuguese relic isn't part of Hong Kong, but close enough. The one-hour ferry ride was pleasant, even with the hassle of immigration (four times) on both sides. There's an unmistakable old European feel, the buildings, road signs, windows, hanging flower pots, and the Portuguese egg tarts. It should make you wonder why the Portuguese hadn't built something like this when they had their chance in Melaka in 1500s. Were they busy fighting off hare-brained Hang Tuah and friends? All they've left us is Jonker Street and its pineapple tarts. But a walk through the famous and grandiose Venetian (a mixed hotel, mall, casino, canal, gondola) should nudge you right back to the modern-day Chinese mercantile grandstanding, show-off and, ahem, knock-offs.

4. Avenue of Stars

For those yearning for Bruce Lee, look no further. This is the place to savour the fists of fury - in bronze. Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong's snappy answer to Hollywood's Walk Of Fame, complete with star-tributes to its very own movie pantheon. A whiff of nostalgia swept in when I stepped on stars of my schooldays favourites: Ti Lung, David Chiang, Wang Yu. Sadly nothing on Lo Lieh, another hero, who played the perennial villain. His final showdown with Wang Yu in "The Chinese Boxer" is more intense and artistic than Bruce slapstick. Anyway there's a star for Li Tit, not sure who but pretty name all the same. From the Avenue of Stars you can feast on the famous Hong Kong skyline, featured in serious spy movies (James Bond) and semi-serious spy spoofs (Johnny English).

5. Look, No Cats and Dogs

A sure pleaser, this one. Hong Kong's air maybe clogged, but ground level is spick and span. Roads and sidewalks are narrow without even a trace of phlegm. All toilets are free and cleaner than the tolled ones in London or Paris. KL? Don't ask. And no stray cats and dogs, not even one during my four days. Wonder what kept them off the streets. I'd stopped running on Subang Jaya roads for more than ten years now just to avoid crashing into pit bulls and pit-bull poos. I guess Hong Kong is corrupt-free which makes it phlegm-free.

6. Ocean Park

I didn't go to Ocean Park. Ask Diana if you want to know.