Day 3 was a very up-and-down day.
I had been relying a little heavily on foreign food (Starbucks and Burger King) so I decided to find a more authentic Hong Kong dining experience for my early lunch. In keeping with the rule I learned in Korea, I walked into the most crowded restaurant I could find. Also in keeping with what I experienced in Korea, my ginger chicken was undercooked. Memo to Asia: rare chicken is not a thing!
I then hit up a shoe store. I do a TON of walking when I am traveling, and my five-year-old Timberland boots are not the ideal choice; a blister had formed on one of my toes. I picked up a pair of Adidas sneakers for the very reasonable sale price of HKD 169, or about 20 bucks. I was close enough to the hotel that I went back and put them on. It was hot and humid and I wanted to wear shorts, but shorts and boots is pretty much not cool at all. The jeans were swapped for shorts and the boots swapped for Adidas.
P.S., if you're going to spend the whole day on your feet, do not do it in new shoes. They needed to be broken in and ended up cutting into my heels really badly. I'm not sure I'll ever get the blood stain out of that sock. Seriously.
Next I headed across Victoria Harbor to Hong Kong Island with the intention of doing another walking tour. I checked out a few temples then went to the Museum of Coastal Defense, which was terrific. It seems like a very specific subject, but it was housed in an old fort and had a great survey of the entire military history of Hong Kong. I think these sorts of esoteric museums can be excellent. Some people obviously cared a great deal about the topic and put a lot of effort into it. Plus, they had a tank. And they quoted my hero, William Tecumseh Sherman. Bam!
Wandering back towards the temple area, I stopped into a little restaurant and had an absolutely stellar beef yellow curry for about USD 5. I like Korean food, I really do, but it generally only contains one spice - red pepper - and variety is nice. Following this triumph, I made a ghastly error and got on one of the trams to head to the city center. The tram gets stuck in traffic, stops too often, goes on random detours, and there really isn't anything interesting to see on the route anyway. I suggest walking on your hands instead. You'll get there just as fast, and you might get a few tips from impressed onlookers. After an excruciating hour where I got about halfway to my destination, I gave up and took the subway the rest of the way.
At first I was upset as this scuttled my plans to visit The Peak on a high-incline tram. In retrospect, I'm glad I missed it. I found out later that "The Peak" contains such god-awful mass-produced tourist traps as Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant, a Hard Rock cafe merchandise store (not even a restaurant or casino!), and a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. If you ever see me in a wax museum, call the police because I've been kidnapped and I am there against my will. I cannot stress this enough. If I was given the choice of staring at creepy wax figures or participating in a live-ammunition re-enactment of the Battle of Guadalcanal, I would flip a coin and let fate decide.
I wandered around for a bit photographing the various skyscrapers, then headed to the IFC mall. I had one major objective: I needed a new carry-on bag. The unpacking-repacking incident at Incheon revealed the fact that I had way too much in my checked baggage and needed a more spacious carry-on. IFC mall was simply no help. It was spacious, gorgeous, and way out of my price range. Luggage isn't something you should skimp on, and I wasn't going to buy some no-name brand on the street, but I found myself longing for The Bon Marche . . . oh, sorry, MACY'S . . . where you can buy last year's model of a good brand for 40% off. needed the suitcase, but I wasn't about to drop $270 at the Samsonite store on a whim. Defeated, I returned to the subway and headed for home while forced to watch a young couple make out from the mall down through the station and on to the train. Yuck.
Back on Nathan Street I checked out a few more malls with little success. Just when I was about to give up and give my battered feet a break, I accidentally stumbled into Mecca. First of all, there was a HUGE soccer superstore. They didn't have Bolton (they did have our inbred arch rivals, Blackburn) but they had a Hong Kong national team jersey. I gave up trinkety crap souvenirs a long time ago but I always try to pick up a jersey from the places I travel. Across the hall was a Wenger Swiss Army luggage store where everything was 30% off. And below that was some deliciously greasy pepperoni pizza. I decided to call that a successful day and took a hot bath.
I have to say I was a bit disappointed with Hong Kong. There was some great shopping and some very cool architecture, but it wasn't for me. My favorite cities - Copenhagen, London, Florence for instance - are the places where history mingles with the present and you can't spit without hitting a beautiful old building, and equestrian statue or a plaque denoting some significant event. I didn't really experience that in Hong Kong, though it's always possible I missed it. That's not to say I would advise against visiting. Just come with friends to check out the restaurants and bars, and come with empty suitcases to take advantage of the deals.
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2593085&id=10712264&l=5b9d060ed5
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