27 hours, 3 flights, 1 hellish 5-hour layover in Detroit, and literally a jump over the North Pole later, I’ve finally arrived in Hong Kong!
My initial impression upon landing is one of surprise. They’ve got a coal-fueled power plant right near a major water source here like we do in Charlotte with Duke Energy’s very old, very dirty Riverbend power plant in Mount Holly. In complete ignorance to local governance when it comes to these things, part of me wonders if Hong Kong is experiencing the same kinds of negative impact Charlotteans do: contaminated ground water being perhaps the most obvious, but also bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, heart disease, lung disease, and pneumonia.
The New York Times says Hong Kong has some of the cleanest air in all of China but that a huge number of deaths can still be attributed to coal. There’s the answer to the question of if the people here are affected the same as we are. Humanity really is uniting in some ways, isn’t it? Too bad it’s over something depressing like mortality due to environmental pollution. Oh, but that haze sure makes for simply stunning photos and videos, doesn’t it?!?
I’m actually still in the Hong Kong Airport as I type this, which is why the title of this post references Ain’t No Sunshine. I’ve been here, oh, something like 10 hours at this point. My host, TEDxLionRock’s Clive Lee, has arranged for pickup in the morning but I arrived at 7 p.m. and so I wait, patiently, with another GEILI Fellow, Vineet Chhatria. In the absence of humanity in a large, open, public space, we decided to go on a photo snapping extravaganza somewhere around 2 a.m. The chance to snap photos in such a place is really a once in a lifetime chance. Have a peek:
Finally, what would you, the readers, like to see from me while I’m out here? I thought about trying to find the weirdest possible thing I can to purchase from a vending machine. Would you like to see that? It seems like used panties are kind of cliche but … is it? Is it really possible to buy such a thing? Someone found live crab for sale in a Hong Kong vending machine. So it can’t be that difficult, can it?
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2012.
Welcome to my hometown. Enjoy your stay. I hope your hosts will show you an authentic side of HK. PS. You won’t find used panties vending machines in HK. That’s supposedly in Japan. 😉 -Ivan (Acuraworld)
Hey Ivan!!! So, what should I be seeking then? I already had YUMMY noodles and brown rice cheese bread but I’m looking for something extra… HONG KONG. Ideas? 🙂
Head to Lan Kwai Fong – probably the most fun you’ll ever have. http://www.lankwaifong.com/index.php?page=…
Eat Dragon Fruit. Avoid the fish vagina (no, I’m not kidding).
-Kevin (fellow Charlottean)
You have to have dimsum, wonton noodles, the street food and clothes shopping in Mong Kok. There’s a street that sells a lot of unique things along with knock-offs, i don’t remember the name right now, if you plan to buy things there, make sure you haggle, pay at least 1/2 of what they want.
For the bar scene, go to Lan Kwai Fong.
Enjoy!