hong kong? sure. it wasn’t what i expected.

i was there and honestly i didn’t really expect much. sure i’d heard the skyscrapers were crazy tall but i didn’t think i’d spend entire days dodging umbrellas in the rain or crying over the smell of cooking pork at 5am. it’s 19.58 degrees right now and feels like being hugged by a sauna. humidity’s 77% and i’m sweating through my hoodie. hope you like that. honestly. i’m pretty sure this is what hallucination feels like if you’re not hallucinating.

so the map thing is silly but here it is.

. if you zoom in you can see the river flowing into the harbour but mostly it just makes me realize i’m way too inpatient.

the weather part? i just checked and it’s raining. lightly. which is annoying because everyone’s running around with umbrellas in the 77% humidity. my bag is soaked. i’m annoyed. not the kind of rainy that’s cozy or whatever. just the type that makes you question all life choices.

i tried ascending victoria peak early. i don’t regret it. the view was okay but also kinda underwhelming? i expected more. i expected neon signs and exploding fireworks but instead i got a bunch of rocks and old people yelling at kids. which i guess is the point. but hey. i took a photo and it wasn’t bad. the sunset was decent. maybe. i uploaded it somewhere. it’s the third one. the skyline at night. you can see it clearly there.

if you get bored shenzhen is like 30 minutes across the river. i didn’t go but someone told me their beaver meat dumplings are the real deal. i’m not sure i trust them. maybe go. maybe don’t. macau is another option. it’s 60 km away. which sounds like a lot but in car terms it’s like 45 minutes. i might check it out if i don’t die of heatstroke here first.

the food stuff is decent. i ate egg tarts and they were good. not amazing. but the guy who sold them had a tattoo of a tiger. respect. the street food market was a mess. vendors shouting, kids running, smells everywhere. it’s like a sensory overload. i tried some dim sum but it was cold. i think it was from last week. getting old there’s no question.

oh and the people. huge crowd. like 7.5 million of them packed into 1100 square kilometers. i walked past a street vendor and accidentally knocked over their cart. no one cared. which is weirdly liberating but also made me question my humanity. the culture is chaotic. it’s like if asia and america had a baby and the baby grew up in a tiny apartment. you speak english or cantonese. they speak english or cantonese. it’s 24/7. everything’s open. even the shops that look like they only open on tuesdays.

the history blurts in no one’s face. i tripped into a colonial building and the air conditioning smelled like old trust. the skyline is insane. all those glass towers reflecting the sea. the weather made it worse. clouds were low. the sea looked like a fog machine exploded in the distance. i took another photo. that’s the one with the boulder at the bottom. the one that almost got me.

i kept hearing about yao ming but i didn’t see him. maybe he’s a ghost. bruce lee was at a museum. i didn’t go. way too tired. someone told me the museum had a replica of his martial arts outfit. i’m sure it does. i just didn’t care enough to check. the crowds were too much.

keys to survival: octopus card. don’t question why it’s called that. buy one. use it for everything. beers cost way too much. like 120 HKD for a can. this place is built for rich people or people who don’t mind paying. i didn’t. i drank tap water and prayed it didn’t kill me. it didn’t. i think.

the night magic was something i didn’t plan. the symphony of lights at victoria harbour. i didn’t know it was a thing. i was there for the rain and it turned into something weirdly beautiful. the boats are so small. the reflection of the buildings in the water is trippy. i’m still not sure if i liked it. the humidity made me delirious.

something happend. i got lost in the new territories. real uptown area. no signs. just hills and confusion. i asked a local in mandarin and he just laughed. pointed me randomly. weirdly i found a temple. it was empty. perfect. i sat there for hours. maybe too long. when i left it started raining again. classic.

i’m supposed to go back tomorrow. i don’t want to. i’m too sweaty. too chaotic. too much. but also i did see some cool stuff. the big buddha statue on lantau was huge. got up close once. it felt sacred but also i was sweating through my clothes. the cliffside was steep. i could’ve fallen. i probably could’ve.

this place is a wildcard. it’s efficient. the mtr never breaks down. the people move like they’ve practiced for a lifetime. but also it’s packed. so packed. you don’t have space to breathe. you don’t have space to think. you just move. which is both terrifying and impressive.

got to wrap up. i’m tired. i’m also dirty. and the image of the night skyline? i took it. it’s the second one. you can see all the lights. not as good as victoria but still. anyway. no more. i’m going home. probably before it kills me again.

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• https://topiclo.com/post/soweto-diary-messy-wanderings
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• https://topiclo.com/post/chicago-where-the-wind-slaps-you-sideways-and-history-whispers