29-31/5/1999 Rambling in Hong Kong
the 1st day
We, three members of The Society of British Culture, met at Hong Kong international airport. Then we went to the Central area in Hong Kong island by bus. Amongst the Japanese, Hong Kong's air-conditioners are famous for making the air too cold. I certainly realized it on the bus.
Our first sightseeing place was the Hillside Escalator. Generally speaking, it is known as the world's longest escalator(800m long), but for us, it was special as the location of the movie "Chungking Express".
After strolling around other areas, we went to Lan Kwai Fon; an other location of "Chungking Express". There was the take-away restaurant "Midnight Express" in the corner. Hong Kong's "Diva" Faye Wong appeared in the movie as a waitress in this shop. When I ordered a drink at the shop, the real waitress who was friendly but did not look like Faye, said to me, "You from Japan? Did you see the movie?"
There was the pub "California", also. It was the place where Tony Leon as the police 633 arranged to meet Faye in the movie.
the 2nd day
We had Dim Sum for breakfast, and strolled around the Central area and the Causeway Bay. I saw many Japanese CDs in HMV, for instance Kyoko Fukada, Hikaru Utada, Koji Tamaki, etc. I felt that Japanese CDs in Hong Kong were more popular than Hong Kong CDs in Japan.Also I saw some Japanese comics that were translated into Cantonese, "Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo", "Monster", etc., and many Japanese women's fashion magazine that were not translated into Cantonese,"non-no", "Can Cam", etc., at news stands.
And we got bad news about our return flight. A newspaper said "Many of Cathay Pacific Airlines' pilots are on strike, therefore many flights have been cancelled". There was a picture caption saying, "5,000 Japanese tourists were held up due to Cathay's cancellation in the Hong Kong Airport lobby."
Then, we went to the Kowloon area from North Point by ferry. I explained about Kowloon City for the other members at the waiting area.
We went for a walk in the Kowloon Walled City Park, the former Kowloon Walled City. It is a early Xing period type park.
Exploring some shops was an exciting experience. They were very crowded with Hong Kong people and full of heat. For example, a building where many PC Shops had gathered, and a underground shopping centre for young people(CDs, star's goods, models, etc) were particularly hot and crowded.
Chungking Mansions is very famous for its squalid shops, but it has some foreign exchange shops with favorable exchange rates, too.
Taking a rest at the shore of the mainland, we could see the neon signs of Hong Kong Island gradually light-up.
To appreciate one of the world's famous night views, we got into a peaktram, however we couldn't see brilliant buildings only white mist.
Drinking at this pub at Lan Kwai Fon, we enjoyed a band's performance of for example, Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn", Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time", and Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing", etc.
the 3rd day
The last day had come soon. We had a good time at a Chinese diner in Stanley Street, near an entrance of the Hillside Escalator. The diner served us rice gruel that had a light, good taste. But it was not the only reason I remembered Stanley Street. Another reason related to the movie "Chungking Express". In the movie, Policeman 633 had lunch in the street.
Then, we went to the mainland to have a pleasureble foot and body massage. The massage took an hour and cost HK$280 (about JPY4,500 or US$37). Actually, it was the highest price that we had spent during this Hong Kong trip.
And we were left with the biggest problem, too. Cathay Pacific's strike went on. So we went to the airport ahead of time. The lobby in front of Cathay's counter was crowded with many Japanese, but we managed to get Japan Airlines' tickets instead of Cathay's.
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