Good Times In Hong Kong

[ by Stian ]

Hong Kong is a major city located on the south coast of China enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and the South China Sea. It is one the two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Macau. The region was under British rule between 1842 and 1997, except for the short period between 1941-1945 when the Hong Kong island was occupied by the Japanese. In 1997 China once again regained sovereignity of the region. Hong Kong literally means «fragrant harbor». Hong Kong is definitely the most western-like/friendly city in the whole of the Asian region and has a very vibrant feel to it and is world famous for it's skyline, it's shopping and it's nightlife.

I have always wanted to see Hong Kong, so of course I was excited, but even more excited as I was to be seeing Kisa again, my «ex-girlfriend» from 12 years back, when I was a foreign exchange student back in the US. Hooray:)

Coucsurfing at Jody's

Hong Kong is definitely a pretty expensive city. The cost of property is extreme and normal rent for an apartment is way overpriced. Shopping and dining can cause a huge cut in your budget, but there are plenty of cheap options as well. Since Hong Kong is one of the more expensive cities we would be visiting, we chose to do couchsurfing to save in some money on accommodation. Our host, Jody, an ex-pat from Texas/California, met us at the Hong Kong station upon arrival. He immediately seemed like a very nice guy. His apartment was located in the Wan Chai area, close to most of the city's attractions. It was a one-room apartment so we all had to share the same room for the nights, but the the size was OK so we were all good. I and Kenneth got to share the sofa which easily could be turned into a double bed. During day-time Jody had to work though, but since he's been living in Hong Kong for 6 years, he came up with suggestions of what we could do while we were in Hong Kong.

Since Jody worked to pretty late every evening we did not get to hang a lot with him,other than the very last evening. Jody took us to a Thai restaurant called Chili Club which was located in the Wan Chai area as well. Here we ordered several kinds of Thai dishes which we all had a taste of, which was very nice indeed:) It was also very nice getting to know Jody a bit more as well in a more natural setting, other than in the late evenings, when all of us were too tired to do anything at all. After dinner this last evening we moved on to a British restaurant/place (at least Jody said it was British) called The Pawn. We were warned that the prices were a bit stiff at this place, but we did not care about the cost since we had not spent that much money in Hong Kong by then. A drink cost about 100 dollars, which is around 76 NOK, so compared to Norwegian prices it was still cheaper ;) I had myself a The Pawn special called Chinese Lantern, which was a cocktail with ginger and lychee fruit, and it tasted really really good:) We only had the one drink and then left for home were Jody introduced us to a new TV-show called Hunting Season, which was interesting indeed – at least I think most of my gay friends will find it to be a very sexy show;) haha.

Tripping Down The Memory Lane

The part I was looking the most forward to when arriving to Hong Kong was to meet up with my ex-girlfriend Kisa, whom I have not seen for 12 years. Back when I was a foreign exchange student living in USA, I, along with 38 other foreign exchange students went on a trip to Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York. Back then I was still a closet-case, and I had actually never seen a gay person in real life at all, other than on tv – at least not anyone that I knew completely for sure that were gay. So therefore my «interest» was still with the girls. One of the girls on this trip was Kisa, from Japan, and she caught my interest almost right away. She was extremely cute and she seemed like a very friendly girl. We got in touch and we kinda did flirt for about 5 days, and the 2 last days of the trip we were a «couple». Of course we were not the only couple as to come out of this trip – of the 39 students on the tour there were about 6-7 couples in the end – haha. I did though fancy Kisa a lot – and when I had to leave the bus at the end of the tour, and we were forced to part our ways as we were living in different states, I was devastated. I was really heartbroken. The whole farewell scene was as taken straight out of a Hollywood production – in many ways it was very dramatic;) This whole experience is pretty hilarious to think about today, but we were young and naive youth back then. I and Kisa stayed in touch for a few weeks after the tour, and we then eventually found each other on facebook as well later on. By then I had though come out as gay, so I informed her about this – and she did not mind at all and just thought it was funny. This was though many many years ago. Now Kisa lives in Hong Kong with a husband and a daughter - and I was about to see her for the first time in 12 years. I was really looking forward to meeting her again.

When I met Kisa the first day, she came straight from work. The first thing I noticed was that she had not changed at all, other than that she looked way more mature, sexy and extremely good in her business outfit (of course the gay in me noticed the outfit right away, haha). We met at the HK-station and sat down for a drink while waiting for Kenneth to meet up with us as well. Meeting Kisa did not feel any weird at all, and the conversation was light and friendly right away. Of course we jumped right on to the memory lane and started talking about the trip we did 12 years ago, and we had a good laugh at a lot of what happen back then:) When Kenneth caught up with us we left for Kisa's house to meet her husband Mike and her daughter Abbie:)  

Poor Abbie, who is only 20 months old, was terrified of me and Kenneth when we arrived to their apartment and of course started crying right away. She has obviously not been introduced to the Norwegian folklore yet so being exposed to two pale Norwegian trolls entering the front door must have been a shock for sure;) Eventually Mike got home as well so we got to greet him as well. They were all living in an extremely small apartment right int he city center. The cost of an apartment like this is extreme if they ever were to consider buying it. The cost of a small apartment in downtown HK equals the cost of a huge villa back home in Norway. Well well...so paying 8 million NOK's or MORE for 50 sqm would never have been a good option for me at least.

Spoiled by Kisa:)

Kisa then took us out for dinner. We ended up at a restaurant called Tasty Congee and Noodle Wantun Shop – or I think that was the English name of the restaurant anyways – as it was the only English written on the business card that I got from the place. Here we got to experience some Chinese meals, and among them: Congee with Frog and Chicken. Congee is like a salty rice porridge-like soup and it has meat of frog and chicken in it. This was the first time I had frog and the texture is exactly like chicken so it was pretty good. We also tried BBQ pork dim sums which were amazing – probably something of the best I have ever eaten. We had some other things as well – we ordered several different dishes and then just tasted a little bit of everything. Kisa treated the whole meal on us – which we told her she did not have to do, but she insisted, so we can't deny her the pleasure if she really wanted to. We had a blast and really enjoyed the dinner for sure.

The second day we met up with Kisa again after she had finished work. This time we went for a coffee at at very nice café in the SOHO district, called Life–Organic Restaurant and Bar, before we went for dinner at a very local restaurant, Kiu Heung Yuan – Yunnan Rice Noodle, located in the «easternes area», where Kisa once again treated us with everything. This time I had a Rice Vermicelli Soup with vegetables, sliced pork neck/shoulder and enokitake mushrooms. I ordered it mildly spiced, and it was just perfect! The flavors fit amazingly well together. I have never had anything like this at a Chinese restaurant back home in Norway. When we had finished our dinner we moved on to this very fancy place called Sevva for a drink. Even here Kisa treated us with the good stuff. I and Kenneth both had a Strawberry & Champagne mojito each, while Kisa had a white chocolate drink of some kind – we also shared a chocolate fudge cake between ourselves – so it was in all a very very good evening once again, thanks to Kisa:) ...and we were becoming really spoiled indeed!

We met up with Kisa for the last time just before we were about to leave Hong Kong. She met us at the Hong Kong station were we could check in all our luggage, which was AWESOME – so we did not have to stress at all when arriving at the airport later. We had one last coffee together with Kisa, and this time we treated her – though it was only a fraction of what she had treated us with earlier, haha. I am so glad that I got the chance to meet Kisa, and of course I told her this. She really brought back great memories and the best thing of all is that she is still the same perfect girl as I remember her to be.

I have always said that IF I had gotten the chance to stay together with Kisa, then I would have probably postponed the coming out process for a long time. Our relationship would not have worked in the long run obviously, but she sure had a thing about her that made me like her a lot – and meeting her again made me realize that she still has this effect on me. So one can say that my interest for the shorter and exotic guys probably started with her, haha;) I have only one thing to point out though: Kisa seemed a bit overly ecstatic of that I still have my tummy intact. She really did like my tummy back then and was very pleased to know that it's still there. Girls are strange for sure, sometimes in a very good way. If only the boys could have been the same ;)  

I will miss Kisa for sure, and hopefully it won't take 12 years until the next time we see each other again:) She is really eager to come and see me in Norway as well, so hopefully the next time we see each other I will be able to take her around and show her some of my culture back home:)

Sights in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is not known for any major sights, but there are a few attractions worth visiting. The one attraction I really wanted to go to was of course Disneyland Hong Kong. I was though told that the park in HK is really small, and is just a copy of the one in Paris. I was recommended to rather go to one of the Disneyland parks in Tokyo instead. Tokyo even has a Disneyland Sea which is pretty exclusive for Tokyo, and therefore cannot be experienced any other place in the world – which did sound like a way better option than Disneyland Hong Kong. There are two other theme parks as well in Hong Kong, an Ocean park and a Noah's Ark park – though we didn't care for any of them either.

We did go to the Avenue of the Stars, Hong Kong's walk of fame, and to The Peak. The Avenue of the Stars was just OK – but we did not know any of the names, except for Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li. The Peak, which is the highest point on the Hong Kong Island, is where one can experience a pretty amazing view of the whole city, though it was too cloudy and foggy during the days we stayed in HK, so we did not get to experience this amazing view unfortunately. I definitely need to come back obviously...

Kenneth chose to do a flight experience while in Hong Kong, in other words – Kenneth found HIS Disneyland, haha. Hong Kong is one of two cities in the world that offers regular people to fly in a official Boeing Flight Simulator, the other city being Seattle in USA. The cost of participating in this flight experience is 5 times cheaper in Hong Kong compared to Seattle, so Kenneth really found his inner child during this day, haha;) I though do not have interest in stuff like this so I ended up walking by myself in the city center while he was doing his stuff. This day it was raining heavily and well I spent most of the day walking around, getting completely wet, window shopping and actually finding Hong Kong to be a pretty boring city: cause the only kind of shops I could find in the city center (that is the Kowloon area) seemed to be extremely expensive designer stores, watch-shops and tailor shops – I didn't care for any. To escape the rain I decided to go to the Hong Kong Museum of Art, but of course it turned out that it was closed on Thursdays – so then I chose to go to the Space Museum to attend an IMAX-experience instead, but the show I wanted to see had just started so I wasn't able to go there either.... too bad. So all in all my day was pretty shit until I met up with Kenneth again.  

Dialogue In the Dark

One of the things recommended by Tripadvisor, and awarded by the Hong Kong department of tourism as a must do attraction, is the Dialogue In the Dark experience. DITD is in short a tour that takes 1h15min to complete, and this whole time you spend in complete darkness. It's purpose is to make people with perfect sight experience how life works for those visually impaired. I have to say that this experience was pretty nice, and I am glad I did it. Walking around in complete darkness feeling the different surroundings, hearing the different sounds and experiencing the different smells, without using my visual sight, is pretty weird, but very interesting.  

Shopping

There are plenty of opportunities to do some great shopping while in Hong Kong. The only problem is that we do not have a lot of money so we always have to limit our shopping to a minimum, or at least I have to do so;) For most of the time I only did window shopping while in Hong Kong. The only things I actually purchased, besides food, were a Moleskin 2013-planner, an umbrella, a notebook, as well as a simple key chain as a souvenir. I just love my Moleskin though, it's amazing:) When I was about to pay it turned out that it was even on sale so I got it for 50% off, which was a pleasant surprise:) Kenneth did spend a bit more money than me though, cause he chose to invest in a brand new Iphone 5. Electronics is way cheaper in HK compared to Norway, so it was only natural to purchase it here since he knew for sure 100% that he would be buying the new Iphone at one point anyways.  

Dining in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a culinary fusion of everything the world has to offer. You can find everything here – and for the first time during our journey we were very pleased to experience the service at the restaurants to be VERY effective, unlike the rest of Asia and Oceania. So it was a very positive change from what we have gotten used to by now. I have already mentioned a lot about our dining experiences while here in Hong Kong under the sections about Jody and Kisa though. Hong Kong is definitely a place for excellent culinary experiences ;)

So we spent 3 days and 4 nights in Hong Kong. Of course the meeting with Kisa made the Hong Kong experience a great one. If it had not been for Kisa I probably would have found Hong Kong to be pretty boring as the weather was not the best and the city center is mostly for people who likes to purchase expensive brands. Though next time I come to Hong Kong I'll inform Kisa way in advance so she can help me plan my days way better ;)

It's Hong Kong Baby!!!!

First meal in Hong Kong... NOT the best one... 

Cloudy day... damn it:(

Elevator buttons, sterilized EVERY hour? really?

I collect bills from each country, but why make it so hard for me to choose...
there are 5 different banks issuing money in Hong Kong obviously....

Hong Kong ferry:)

Hong Kong Cultural Center and the old Clock Tower.

Skyline Hong Kong:)

The mandatory photo of myself:)

 At the Avenue of the Stars

Olympic 2008's torch.

Cleaning the seaside...

Wiiii... I put my hands where Jackie Chan put his
- and a million others afterward probably...

German friendship bears:)

Everyone wanted a photo of themselves in front of Bruce Lee.

Star for me?

Kenneth almost being "scammed"

Connecting malls! Downtown HK, Kowloon area.

Hanging with my teenage crush, KISA:)

First meeting with my beautiful Kisa:)

Kisa and her handsome Mike and the adorable (but screaming) Abby;)

Congee with frog and chicken:)

Dim sums with bbq pork - AMAZING!!!!

Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop (restaurant)

The sweetest girl ever and myself:)

Cool hotel in our neighborhood.

Twin towers of Hong Kong:)

On our way to The Peak

It's an extremely steep ride with the tram to the top of The Peak

Weather was not on our side neither in Hanoi or here...

The nicest view of the day...

By paying way more you could get access to the top...
It would NOT have been worth it on this day...

When In Hong Kong, do as the ... eh Asians.

Shopping area at the Peak:)

 Dinner with Kisa in the evening

Rice Vermicelli Soup w pork neck/shoulder and enokitake mushrooms (very good)

Kiu Heung Yuan (Yunnan Rice Noodle)

Having drinks and chocolate cake at SEVVA, very fancy place!

Strawberry and Champagne Mojito!

GOOD TIMES!!!

Electric double decker:)

Last day in Hong Kong

Shitty rainy day - but we got to do the Dialogue In the Dark,
which was very nice:)

Optical illusion of a kissing couple:)

Cody, our couchsurfing host and me:)

Thai food in Hong Kong:)

My Chinese Lantern Coctail at The Pawn, AWESOME:)

Skål folkens:)

I picked out Kenneth's outfit - he looks smashing! 

Ah well. That was Hong Kong:)