Thursday, January 27, 2011

HONG KONG --City I Love-- ...a memoir

We are flying over, coming into Hong Kong. It's dark outside, but I should be able to see city lights soon. There! Right below us - white and some red; a bit sparse... those aren't city lights. I recognize these lights; they are the kind of lights I am familiar with! They are ships in the harbour - probably waiting at anchor.
We are still pretty high up, but now I can see the clusters of lights forward of us that is HK! I can't see them because it's all dark, but I know that down there too are mountains, mountains we used to climb when I was a child to overlook the city. Sea, city, and mountains. That is HK.

Being back in Hong Kong I realized...

>> You walk a lot! (maps with tourist spots have them marked in how many minutes it will take to walk there! i.e. "20 min. by foot")

>>You get a lot of exercise (I know now why we didn't need to do anything else to keep fit!)

>>When you blow your nose it's black from pollution

>>Everyone talks about money. A LOT. How much do you get paid at your job? How much did that cost? What do you pay for rent?

>>Everything is "squished"

And lastly, and maybe most importantly, I realized that

>>I am ready to give up HK as home.