February 17, 2008

Kowloon (HONG KONG)

Fresh Fish in Sai Kung, Butchering Frogs & Turtles, and Another Light Show

I am a silly man: I knew Arsenal would put out a weakened team for their FA Cup tie against Manchester United, but still I could not resist the temptation to stay up and watch the match at 1:30 am this morning. In fact, I even went to the trouble of "borrowing" a LAN cable from a computer in the hotel (sneaky sneaky sneaky) so I could bolster my connection speed, and with an 11Mb/s connection the internet stream from Thailand came through just fine! The only trouble was the Arsenal team didn't fancy the match, and were thrashed 4-0. Enough said.

So AC Milan this Wednesday in a Champions League match, where the real marbles reside!

After being too gutted to go back to sleep, I was understandably prone to sleeping in this morning, and fortunately the Hong Kong marathon was taking place just down the street on Nathan Road, so everything was closed down anyway! By the time we finally got going this morning it was around noon, and with an early start tomorrow morning my father and I decided to make this an easy, relaxing day. (As though I would willingly accept anything else.)

We rode the MTR to Diamond Hill station, where we caught bus 92 to the center of Sai Kung town in eastern Kowloon. Strangely, I saw the Chinese characters for Sai Kung (西貢), and although I don't know the second character, the first is obviously "west" - some one got their bearings mixed up when they named the village... Anyway, Sai Kung is famous for its fresh seafood and fishing village feel, and with many good memories and a great atmosphere, it is one of my favorite places in Hong Kong. As we alighted from the double-decker, British style bus, we heard the pounding of a drum, so we followed the noise and found a dragon festival (pictures and video below.)

Perhaps because of the fine Spring afternoon there were many people relaxing along the waterfront in Sai Kung during the afternoon. There was the normal sight of people walking their dogs and fresh seafood for sale - whereby people pass their money into fisherman's nets after selecting a live fish or crustacean from the fishing boat (shown to the left) - as well as of others patiently watching their fishing line from the end of the pier. The few musicians, mostly guitarists, who were modestly plying their trade added to the convivial family atmosphere that makes this such a great place to enjoy a pleasant afternoon.

For lunch we walked along the waterfront until we found the string of restaurants at the far end of town that are never as busy or hectic as the few near the pier. This was my fourth time eating at the seafood restaurants along the Sai Kung waterfront, so by this point I am fairly familiar with the so-called "good" places. I took care of the ordering, and we selected fresh lobster, garlic scallions, spicy calamari, a "whole fish" (I have no idea what kind of fish it was), and garlic vegetables. There really is no way to mess up fresh seafood, but even so the food was surprisingly tasty, as was the Tsingtao beer that my father has taken a liking to. I tried explaining that in China one can actually drink this beer out of a plastic baggy and a straw from the "quickie marts," or convenience stores for those who didn't grow up with The Simpsons, but I doubt he believed me.

Below is some rather disturbing video of a fresh foods (vegetables and meats) market near Choi Hung Station. I happened across this place back in 2006, and ever since it has been one of those "you have got to check this out!" places I take people who visit. Fortunately, the wonders of technology will save you the $$ and time that would otherwise be necessary to see what I am talking about.

One last word of caution: this video is GRAPHIC, so anyone who is against eating meat please avoid this video!

There was another man chopping up turtles, but I didn't think it was appropriate to include the video or pictures of this - small frogs are one thing, but I have an everlasting allegiance to my shelled friends thanks to a childhood constructed around the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Somewhere in my mom's attic lies a box-turned-shrine with all the action figures, VHS tapes, t-shirts, and even a framed picture.

The last bit of excitement for the day involved heading down to the Kowloon waterfront to watch the nightly Symphony of Lights on Hong Kong Island. Something like 33 buildings take part in the 20 minute light and laser show (coordinated with a strange techno-Chinese fusion of music), and although the view is just as good from our hotel room there is an added sense of reality along the water that the insulation of a quiet room towering above the ground simply lacks.

Below is some video footage of the light show...