February 15, 2008

Kowloon (HONG KONG)

Moving Downtown, the Wonders of Mong Kok, and "What a View!"

Why on earth would so many taxis wait around at the airport when the Airport Express is so efficient, and infinitely cheaper? It must have something to do with the fact that those who are in a serious rush will opt for a taxi, but even then I cannot see how driving can possibly be quicker than taking the train. Maybe people don't realize how easy Hong Kong is to navigate, and feel more comfortable paying four times more for a taxi that will drop them off at the front door of a hotel, rather than walking 2 minutes from the nearest station. Whatever the case, the vast majority must feel similarly to me. Otherwise, all these taxis would have customers, rather than lying dormant in what looks like one of those airplane graveyards found in places like Nevada.

My father and I switched hotels today (riding the Airport Express!) so we could be closer to the "action" in downtown Hong Kong. As much fun as I have had sitting around watching scarcely clad flight attendants at the airport, even my ego would suffer a serious blow after if I continued being rejected all weekend. (I will have better luck at the clubs and bars!)

It took some arm-wrestling, but I convinced my father that staying at his previous hotel on Hong Kong Island - which overlooks the number one night spot, Lang Kuai Fang (LKF) - would never match a hotel I knew about along the Kowloon waterfront. Now, here comes the interesting part: my argument was supported with the well-founded claim that we will be staying next door to Asia's nicest hotel, The Peninsula (featuring nine Rolls-Royces and helicopter pick-up) with the same magnificent view of the harbor, and at a price that is far more reasonable than anything he could have found. How is this possible, the average person may wonder? Well, the secrets are in the details: the hotel is sponsored by the **hush hush** YMCA. (I can't help but laugh!) Obviously, I neglected to tell him this minor detail, so when he checked in at the front desk and realized he was staying at a YMCA-associated hotel gave me one of those "Oh Boy..." looks, but I stuck to my guns: there is no sense paying exorbitant prices when the YMCA Salisbury gives you the same thing!

For the afternoon I took him on a walking tour of downtown Kowloon (leaving Hong Kong Island for tomorrow.) The highlights of the day were watching him experiences Chinese haggling for the first time: he was looking through the many knick-knacks for sale in a market and made the inexcusable mistake of seeming interested in buying something. For the next 10 minutes the woman was trying her best to take him for all he was worth, so I broke my vow of silence and piped up in perfect Chinese (I have bargained in Mandarin far too many times):

"Haha, why are you trying to cheat this silly foreign man? Your price is far too high for these goods, look!, I can see the poor quality. Besides, Shenzhen in mainland China has cheaper goods anyway! Maybe I should just take him there(etc etc...)"

She had this look of absolute shock, but after a second or two her innate ability to bargain (as sure a Chinese trait as any) regained control and she spouted back at me:

"Haha, so you speak Chinese! Sneaky, haha! Tell your friend I will give him a good price, how much does he want this for? Tell him I will give him two for the price of one! (etc etc..)"

Naturally, my father was eager to know what was going on, and between trying to catch everything the woman was saying (she started speaking too damn quickly for me to catch everything) and translating his "terms" I quickly decided I wanted no part of these proceedings. I told him he was on his own and started walking away. The woman sensed that she was about to lose a sale, possibly her only one of the day given the never-ending stalls lining the streets, so she chased me down, grabbed both my arms, and began pleading with me that she wanted business, just name my price. I told her we would be back, broke free, and continued down the street, leaving my father helplessly wondering what to do next. Shortly afterward, two Chinese women approached me and said:

"That is your father, isn't it? [I nodded my head and smiled] The poor guy, look at him!, go back there and help him."

I took pity, returned to tell the woman we would come back after lunch (which we both knew meant that she had lost the sale), and we escaped unscathed.

Speaking of lunch, I decided there was no way my father could visit Hong Kong with trying meat on a stick and bubble tea. It wasn't hard to find stalls serving both, but I made sure to walk around for 10 minutes first to see which ones were attracting the most customers - eating meat from a stall on the side of the road is not exactly the most sanitary way to do things. Fortunately, my father was a real sport about it, and I like to think he even enjoyed the equivalent of a Chinese barbeque. He probably hasn't stood on the side of the road eating greasy food since his college days! Likewise, the picture to the left shows just how much he liked the bubble tea!

Finally, below are the views and a short video taken from the hotel window during the nightly Symphony of Lights... I felt justified!