October 5 2010 Hong Kong

Travel is always exhilarating, and my first day in the 'Far East' was quite overwhelming. I arrived in Hong Kong after a direct flight that took 15 hours. With a 14 hour stop-over I was determined to see what I could of HK, depending on my energy. With a few suggestions from Sahm and tips gathered along the way from tourists and locals, I started out on the speedy MTR train to Hong Kong island. The landscape was astonishing; forested mountains with amazing trees alternated with thickets of narrow and extremely tall apartment towers. I was quite overcome by the strangeness of it all, the combined awe and exhaustion bringing tears to my eyes. I was on the other side of the world! On a fresh lead from an Aussie couple, I boarded a No. 6 city bus for Stanley Market - not knowing much more than that it would go 'over the mountain' and offer some great views. I took a seat top front on the double decker bus that wound around a steep, curving narrow road. The lurching ride was a bit hair-raising as the bus was on the left side of the road hugging the mountain, and tree branches were at eye level. As we ascended, a great view widened on the city's clumps of thin towers, including a newer one perched precariously on the highest slope and easily more than 50 storeys high, thin as a space needle. It felt a bit like Blade Runner meets Predator! The bus eventually did start its descent past Repulse Bay, with views of open water, beaches and humpbacked islands. When I saw a sign for Stanley Market I got off. It was about 7 AM - I had landed at 5:00 - and the market was not yet open. But there were charming spots to visit in easy walking distance and a modern shopping complex with WC and a supermarket where I bought fruit and soy milk for breakfast. The sea was right there, mountains, temples, a couple of colonial buildings, exotic birds singing in exotic trees, street sweepers (all older women) in straw hats stopping to rest and chat. A handsome policeman smiled, probably amused at the look of awe and delight in my face as I took in all this wonderful news stuff.
The ride back didn't seem as long, and I followed Sahm's list and got back on the MTR to Causeway Bay (he had suggested taking a ferry but the train was faster). Finding the busy streets a bit too congested, I sought refuge in lovely Victoria Park. A bronze seated statue of 'Old Vic' presided. The park in the morning was both an arboretum and a community fitness centre. People congregated to jog, do tai chi or walk among the amazing trees (many labelled for identification). I recall a 'Horsetail cypress' with long feathery needles and stringy red bark, a 'Cuban Basswood', India rubber trees with those strange roots that go down from above into the ground, and lots of healthy palm trees of many kinds. A chat with two women who spoke English got me directions to the Public Library nearby, where I signed in to the internet and sent messages to Sahm and Mohammad that I was safe and well. I wandered further and did the touristy tram-ride to 'The Peak' but my energy was flagging and finally I got back on the Airport Express a little early and got horizontal in the waiting area for the connecting flight to Jakarta. Overall impression of HK: a fascinating city, much more pleasing and rather less grungy than I had expected, with a mix of affluence and decay that were really engaging.