Old Work

This is something i meant to finish just after my first trip to hong kong, which was over ages ago. i meant to submit it for melange, but since i never got around to finishing it, its wasting away in my computer. thought id post it just to get it out somewhere.

What lingers most in my mind about Hong Kong are the people. There are people everywhere. It's always crowded, and no matter what hour you decide to venture out into the streets, thousands of other like-minded individuals are out there with you. If a city is defined by where there are the most number of shops, or the most entertainment, then no matter where you are in Hong Kong, you are in the city. There's a Malay phrase I used to use a lot in my essays about villagers migrating from their hometown to the city, inescapably attracted by the neon lights. I never really understood that phrase, but I do now…the electric, almost too-vivid-to-be-true colours of the skyline of Hong Kong island are as alluring as they are garish. Waiting for the ferry in Kowloon, whipped by the salty, sea-smelling breeze of the tiny "trench" dividing the two sides of what is collectively known as Hong Kong, I could not envision life in this place - constantly moving, furiously rushing to keep up with the pace. Although, granted, I am not what you would call the most - active - of people. My idea of a hard day is when less than half of it is spent sitting down.
Shopping in Hong Kong was hardly what I had previously expected. Images of diving into my sea of purchases like Scrooge into his gold flew straight out the window after five minutes of perusing the street markets. Quite simply, the clothes were just not my style. If anyone here has known a typical "Hongky", they'll know what I mean. Plaid, oversized jeans and sweaters or excruciatingly tight little tops were everywhere, covered with zany designs or decals. Shawls, scarves and various other accessories also made an appearance - some of them were just strange. Blame it on my lack of adventurous spirit, but I bought almost no clothes in Hong Kong. A pity too, because clothes are cheap. Shop vendors are desperate to rid themselves of their wares, and it's almost a given that if you walk away after expressing an interest in something, they'll ask you to set your own price. However, this is offset by their aggressive, almost scary sales pitches - all you have to do is walk past, cast a glance at something, and they think they've got a buyer. Upon entering one of the stalls, they descend on you like hawks on their prey, and do not leave your side or stop giving you false but impatient and oft-repeated flattery until you either make a hasty escape, or buy. Push, push, push, is the extent of their clever sales strategies. Close encounters with traffic in Hong Kong seems to indicate that this is a mindset - cars snake through roads, their drivers determined not to let innocent pedestrians cross the road lest they waste another whole minute of their valuable time, while pedestrians themselves crowd the roadsides, pressing in on the line of cars as close as they can get without being hit, and cross wherever they spot an opportunity - a talent which I still have absolutely no hope of acquiring. Having being told dozens of times that drivers will spot you and slow down whether they like it or not, I still have to be yanked screaming across the road by native friends.

on retrospect, it sounded like it would have made a good article. unfortunately, with my barely-functioning memory, i dont think i can remember enough about the trip to finish it...sigh.