Kronka

Hong Kong

We touched down in Hong Kong early — too early — on a hazy Sunday morning, our brains desperately trying to figure out the time zone arithmetic associated with intercontinental air travel. The trip from the airport to the city was longer than I remembered — but we spent the ride grinning at each other, in awe that, by some miracle, we had pulled this off. We had said, “Let’s do it. Let’s go.” And then we had done, and gone. And here we were…

We stumbled our way to dim sum, passing the street markets setting up for the day, the old ladies exercising in the park, the food stalls steaming up the alleys. The bustle quickened as the city awakened, stretched, and yawned. Hong Kong woke up as we did.

We wandered through the street markets branching off Nathan Road, stopping for the snacks and drinks. Eric and Sonya got their fortunes told at Wong Tai Sin Temple, and we lazily walked through the temple gardens full of koi, turtles, and grumpy old men.

Dim sum in the mornings, sightseeing in the afternoons, shopping and eating in the evenings. We hung out in Lan Kwai Fong, enviously eyeing the foreign businessmen (and businesswomen) in their perfectly tailored suits, wondering if one day our lives could be like theirs, and wondering — probably as they did — if that life could be worth it. We took the Star Ferry across the harbor (multiple times!), craning our necks to look up at the spectacular skyline; then we rode the Peak Tram up to see it again from above.

It felt a little too familiar to me, yet, as always, a little too distant. I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Hong Kong — at first tagging along with my dad on his business trips, and now getting into various shenanigans with various friends — but when would I be here again? I hated that I’ll soon be giving up (for a good while, anyways) the feeling, the chance to say, “I could go, if I wanted to.”

We’ll see.

The above was excerpted (with gratuitous edits) from my travel journal and albums this summer. I am not actually in Hong Kong right now. Sorry. But I will endeavor to post bits from each location of the remainder of our trip.