Today is going to sound like a lot, but the reality is that a lot of my "sights" are brief visits along my main route. First, I had to address a critical error I made yesterday evening. The hotel charges a boatload for laundry service, and I didn't want to try to navigate the laundromat situation here, but I only brought clothes for half the trip. I did bring some detergent so I could do a quick sink/tub wash, but I was a little too optimistic on how long it would take my clothes to hang dry. I woke up this morning to unwearable dampness, so the hotel hairdryer and I had some fun for awhile until I at least had one outfit to wear today. With that settled, I had some breakfast at the hotel (this new hotel's buffet is even better than the last one, with a view of the skyline!) and jumped on the subway. My route today takes me from one side of the city all the way to the other end, with small things to see along the way. First up was the "Monster Building," or Yick Fat building, famous for its super-dense apartments and visual appeal, and they filmed a scene in the Transformers movie there apparently. I was a little bummed to find that parts of it were covered in scaffolding, but I think I still may have grabbed some shots I'll be happy with. Oh yeah, they use bamboo for their scaffolding here, sometimes insanely high up, but I guess it must work and it is sustainable. That was the most Easterly start of my day, from there everything would keep going West until I reached the waterline of Kennedy Town. Next up was the Mid-Level Escalators, the "longest escalator" in the world. It is actually a series of 18 escalators that run downhill in the morning for people going to work, and then at 10am switch to going uphill for the rest of the day. It went through and past alleys with local shops and eateries, locals apartments, and coffee shops. As with several of today's activities, it is kind of a box to check, nonetheless it was easy and relaxing. But what goes up must come down. I was counting the stairs as I descended and lost track at 600. On the way down I detoured to the Graham Street Wet Market. I was expecting vats of eels and raw meat that could be the origin of the next pandemic, but instead was surprised to find it was mostly fresh vegetables and fruits, with some raw fish for sale. I also had to find the Ser Wong Fun Restaurant, operating for four generations, and is known for it's snake soup. I found it mildly alarming that I was the only person inside of there, granted it was 11am. The soup was… interesting. There's four kinds of snake cooked up in a semi gelatinous broth. I would say it's very similar to chicken soup in flavor; however, the texture of the different snake bits is definitely an acquired taste. Some pieces tasted like shredded chicken, while others tasted like undercooked calamari. I finished the bowl, but I'm not sure I need to order that again in life; I've never needed to floss more in my life... Having made my way back down to the beginning of the escalators, I jumped on the subway to the last westward stop at Kennedy Town. From what I had read, I was expecting it to be more like a village or suburb, and I guess it is in comparison to downtown Hong Kong, but there were still plenty of high-rise apartment buildings and it is still very urban, but at least it all is adjacent to the waterfront. I stopped in at the small Lo Pan Temple to get my incense fix, then proceeded to the Forbes Street retaining wall famous for its banyan trees growing straight out the side of it. To head back home for the day, I finally got to board one of the "ding-dings" that I've been seeing. These are the equivalent of the red double-decker bus in London, except these are on railway tracks down the center of the main streets. They're not the most efficient way to move compared to the subway, but sitting on the top floor you get a nice slow perspective to enjoy the scenery as it passes by. Their namesake comes from the dinging noise that they make as they approach intersections and stops. I went back to the room and actually got to sit down and start editing some of my photos for the first time this trip, but after a couple hours of that, it was time to head back out and catch my booking for the Aqua Luna boat. There are two of these old Chinese junk boats, made from wood with large red sails, that are iconic as they cross between the Hong Kong side and Kowloon side for an hour long excursion. I came into the trip knowing that I wanted to try to get some interesting photos of them, but after seeing them in person, I decided I wanted to take the opportunity to ride on one as well, and I wasn't disappointed. They were bumping music with a good beat while they sailed along the colorful skyscrapers lit up at dusk. Knowing that the conditions were not good for trying to get any quality photos, I tried to just sit there, sip on my beer, and really appreciate how lucky I felt to be taking in this city and opportunity. The Aqua Luna disembarked on the opposite side from my hotel so I took the famous Star Ferry to get back. I went from feeling like I was captaining my own pirate ship to riding on the lower decks of the Titanic. The Star Ferry is a workhorse, designed to move in both directions, without turning around, it just goes back-and-forth all day long from Hong Kong to Kowloon ferrying the masses. Still, it gets the job done and was better than having to walk and find the subway to get me home. I have one more full day of Hong Kong adventure tomorrow before I reposition to Osaka, Japan and eventually head back home.
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