Hong Kong is by far one of the more exciting cities I’ve ever been too.  Electricity literally is pumping thorough this town at a rate I can’t imagine.  Everywhere you look is something blinking, glowing, or otherwise beckoning to you with eye candy.  Hong Kong is quite easy to get around, but you really have to concentrate to avoid being hypnotized by the massive amounts of visual noise on every available inch of space.  I kid you not, it is very easy to start reading a sign or watching a billboard only to find yourself walking right in front of a taxi barreling down the street.  Throughout Asia you must watch out for numerous holes, ditches, bottomless puddles, crazy drivers, etc., but HK likes to take it to the next level by adding distractions everywhere. 

The excitement confronts you visually the minute you arrive, but this is just the beginning.  Step by step as you begin your journey into the arteries of the city one nuance after another reveals itself, Asian mystery, English sophistication, cutting edge modern technology, flagrant displays of wealth, endless cubical apartments rising into the sky, an international population rivaling that of Manhattan, and of course the lights… everywhere lights. The sounds of the city are those of people and machines moving about quickly and with purpose.  The sense that anything could happen and nothing would be out of place here certainly gets your pulse going. 

A bustling metropolis amidst natural beauty is what elevates Hong Kong above the handful of other Asian cities that promise endless excitement.  While it may not unseat Rio or Havana as the most beautiful city I have been to, Hong Kong is a close rival.  The city is set amongst giant hillsides rising out of the sea.  Victoria Bay weaves itself between the high rises of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon as if purposefully trying to temp sailors with options. The skyscrapers wrap around the foot of these hills, but never reaching more than mid way up, as if the peacefulness of these high points is something not to be touched with concrete and steel.  Somehow the visual onslaught adds to the character and beauty of Hong Kong, typical tacky displays of neon in mainland china are replaced by a different neon aesthetic here and it somehow works.  The deafening sounds of horns, people yelling, and constant construction seem to be tempered with a restraint that hints at Hong Kong’s history and maturity. It gives the impression that the city prefers to do its constant remodeling in private waiting to reveal each new spectacle in a sort of grand opening. 

Arriving in Hong Kong was a welcome change for me.  I didn’t realize before arriving that my body and mind had secretly been craving the modern and more western trappings of a city like Hong Kong.  The secret was out as soon as the first 7 Eleven presented itself.  I headed directly towards it and didn’t give a second thought to crowding my way into the tiny shop with my big backpack and camera bag.  I wasn’t positive exactly what treat I was going to buy, my brain simply told me that all would be revealed once I put myself in front of the glass refrigerator doors housing an array of familiar sugary and caffeinated beverages.   I satisfied a guilty pleasure for cold chocolate milk, thinking the excitement of the city coupled with some caffeine might make my head explode.  My camera was starting to call to me louder and louder wanting to be let out and roam about the city. So next it was off to my accommodations at the YesInn (Asian use of English business names always makes me smile) to drop off my bags and take my camera out for a walk.

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