An unexpected trip to Hong Kong

I had originally planned on going to a debate about globalization and a hip hop/slam poetry performance on Saturday, and a translation slam on Sunday evening. But I am in Hong Kong, so it is a touch inconvenient for me to participate in those Beijing-based activities.

If you had asked me on Friday morning on my way to work "Joe, will you leave Mainland China this weekend?" I likely would have laughed. [I expect some god of fate and messed up plans is gazing down on me with a smirk, saying "Look who's laughing now"] Although the company I work for, American House, is supposed to take care of my visa stuff, some combination of a lack of communication within the company and plain old ignorance means that American House apparently didn't notice that my visa was set to expire on March 13th. One way or another, they dropped the ball. I was told on Friday morning that there was a possibility that I would need to leave Beijing in order to renew my visa, and I was told on Friday afternoon that I would have to leave for Hong Kong.

American House is paying for the flight and the visa, but all other costs are to be paid by me. One could look at it as a vacation with free airfare. However, I kind of want to save money for Spain this summer, so I am less than thrilled about a forced some-expenses-paid business trip to Hong Kong. This is gonna put a dent in my budget for the month, since a meal that costs 8 RMB in Beijing costs 25 Hong Kong Dollars in Hong Kong. Lodging is a huge expense, eating up over 200 HK$ a night. If I already had enough money saved up for my trip to Spain this summer, then I would probably treat this a little more like a vacation and less like a weekend in exile, but I still want to save up some more cash before leaving Beijing this summer.

Anyway, back to Hong Kong: I got out of the airport at 9:00pm on Saturday night, I found a hostel at around 11:00pm, and went straight to bed. They put me in a dorm room, which was not what I was planning or expecting. I woke up early in the morning (naturally), and switched hostels immediately the next morning to get a single room. With no visa business that I could take care of on Sunday, I put a book and a camera into my backpack and hit the streets.

Sunday morning was fairly uneventful. I mostly just wandered the streets. I visited the Hong Kong Flower show in Victoria Park (which is right next to my hostel). There were some interesting exhibits and pavilions, but the different flower arrangements could only hold my attention for so long, so I soon wandered off to some streets a little more inland from Victoria Park.

After lunch, I had 21 HK$ in my pocket, and I was desperate for an ATM. I wandered for at least an hour before I managed to find a an ATM. I tried 7-11s, fancy hotels, and random streets, but I couldn't find an ATM or a bank for the life of me. I used the last of my money to order noodles at a little restaurant on a small street. I very proudly used the few Cantonese phrases that I had learned from CantonesePod.com and Lingopal Lite app that I downloaded. Fortunately, the owner also spoke a bit of English and a bit of Mandarin, because I all I can say in Cantonese is "hello," "thank you," and "sorry, I don't speak Cantonese."

After lunch I decided to look at the rest of Victoria park. The biggest thing that struck me about Victoria park was how many South East Asian (Thai and Malaysian) looking women and girls were sitting around on plastic sheets, wearing head scarves. I wonder if there was an enormous women's-only tour group from somewhere in Hong Kong that day, or if perhaps there ladies were all locals and they just hung out in the part. I hadn't expected to see so many (people who from their clothing I assume are) Muslims in Hong Kong, nor had I expected to many South East Asian looking people. A very small minority of the people I saw on the street looked 'Chinese' like most people in Beijing or most other mainland cities.

While strolling though the park I saw a group of Chinese men and one forienger playing push hands, a Tai Chi exercise. After I had sat and watched for a few minutes, a Chinese guy came up to me and asked me (in English) if I wanted to play tai chi with him. I told him (in a mixture of Mandarin and English) that I hadn't done it before, but if he would teach me I would be happy to learn. I ended up playing push hands with this fellow for a while, and then with a few other guys. The guy that spoke to me in English had a really psychotic laugh, but it helped me to laugh as well and relieve the tension that I find naturally builds up in situations that I perceive as confrontational. Doing tai chi it helped me to relax and not tense up too much or focus too hard. Nonetheless, I got some scratches on my arms from the times where people moved quickly and strongly. Undoubtedly, although I hadn't really trained in push hands before, my other marital arts experiences, as well as my general physical awareness, clearly helped me. After just a few minutes one old Chinese guy asked me "how many years have you been practicing taichi?" Later on, another guy asked me "what style do you do?" All my cross-training sure has had benefits, because I can honestly tell them that I have never trained in tai chi, and they respond with amazement, as though I am some kind of natural kung fu savant. There was also a white guy there named Dimitri who seemed very interesting. He said that he trained a lot, and he has also done aikido in the past. I enjoyed pushing hands with him, and I enjoyed talking to him about tai chi a lot as well. As the hours wore on though, I did get fairly tired, so I eventually thanked my teachers and bid them adieu.

As I continued to wander through the park, I saw a group of Hong Kong kids, probably teenagers, just hanging out. One or two of them was attempting some simple hip hop and break dance moves. I was looking for an excuse to do something a bit more entertaining and interactive than just walk around (which I had been doing all day), so I walked over and (through body language) asked if they could breakdance. They couldn't, so I showed them how to do a simple baby freeze (for which I got a HUGE round of applause), a CC and a helicopter. It only lasted a few minutes, as those kids didn't have the strength to actually do the moves. It is interested to reflect on my physical background and how it differentiates me: I could do these moves within five minutes of seeing them. As long as the steps were broken down for me, my body was able to perform the motions. For these kids though, no matter how slowly I did it, they just didn't have the body control to perform the actions.

After grabbing some cheap dinner (cheap by Hong Kong standards is apparently HK$30!) I got a converter for HK$15 so that I could plug in and recharge my computer and iPod, and headed home for an early night to get me rested for taking care of visa stuff the next morning.

Waking up on Monday, I went straight to the China Travel Agency which is less than a five minute walk from my hostel room. I paid for a rush visa, and was told that I could pick it up at 7:30 the same night. The passed uneventfully. I walked along more roads, through more parks, and in and out of more restaurants. Hong Kong Park was very nice, and I spent some time browsing through the selection at a couple English-language bookstores. I also got multiple servings of the delicious Hong Kong-style waffle (like a regular waffle, but covered in sugary honey and peanut butter), although my tummy could have done without the disgusting McDonald's which I settled for for dinner.

In the evening I picked up the visa, and immediately booked a plane ticket back to Beijing for the next morning. An evening which combined various online readings and the documentary film Inside Job left my asleep early and well-rested enough to wake up early for a flight at 8:30. Although I almost didn't find the bus stop to get me to the airport on Tuesday morning, I ended up getting to the airport in time. In fact, the Hong Kong airport was the cleanest and most efficient airport I have ever seen. I wouldn't mind having that airport as my home base.

I still get a great vibe from Hong Kong, and I would be very open to living int he city for a while. I really which that I didn't have to go down there that weekend, though.