Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
She's got herself a universe gone quickly
For the call of thunder threatens everyone

And I feel like I just got home
And I feel

Faster than the speeding light she's flying
Trying to remember where it all began
She's got herself a little piece of heaven
Waiting for the time when Earth shall be as one

And I feel
Quicker than a ray of light
Then gone for
Someone else shall be there
Through the endless years

Dear Kathryn,

Here's some of my HK memories that may be worth checking out. Not necessarily amazing things, just some little details and things I miss for one reason or another.

Let's see:

HONG KONG ISLAND
Take a double-decker bus from Central district to Kennedy Town. Sit upstairs and in front if possible. You will almost touch the amazing neon signs that cover the whole street. Try doing this at night.

I love Kennedy Town. It's a very trashy neighbourhood where you can see a bit of the local reality. I remember buying broccoli from old ladies on the sidewalk; eating at night on street restaurants and checking the windows of the many Chinese medicine shops. I was staying in a Youth Hostel on top of Mt. Davis (amazing view) just after Kennedy Town, so this was sort of my neighbourhood.

Try visiting the Tai-Chi court on Hong Kong Park (Central). The park is minuscule and very hilly and there's always several brides taking marriage pictures there. From the tower Tai-Chi court you have a very beautiful view. Nice place to be at sunset.

There are 14 escalators that are used as public transport and connect Central to the Mid-Levels (uphill). The escalators go down in the morning and up in the evening. You can step in or out at every street intersection between each of the escalators. It's free.

The central district has two bizarre moments: 1. Middle of the night, when all the sidewalks are used by hundreds of night workers assembling next day's newspapers and 2. late-morning on Sundays when all the Phillipino maids are free and they meet and picnic all over the place (especially nice under the big corporate buildings). All due to the lack of space.

The core nightlife area used to be the Lan Kwae Fong, also in Central. I used to go to a cafe-restaurant called Post 97. It was in 1994. Around it several clubs and bars. Nothing really trashy. I remember thinking that everything was very 80's like.

STAR FERRY
Crossing the bay with the star ferry is one of the things I miss the most (?!?). The view is amazing, the passengers too. It was very old fashioned and noisy, and there were 'do not spit' signs everywhere.

You can also cross the bay with the metro and with a taxi using the tunnel (crossing the tunnel adds an extra fee to the normal taxi rates)

KOWLOON
Do not miss walking into Chung King Mansions, the big vertical slum-like building and commercial centre just opposite the Tsimshatsui metro station. If you've seen the film Chung King express you know what I am talking about. In there you'll find loads of picturesque and strange things, from laundries to porn books to food stores that make you think you're in a very strange planet (I was told that the best Indian restaurants of Hong Kong are inside Chung King Mansions). Above the shopping area there are four tower buildings with hundreds of micro-guesthouses; these are probably the cheapest accommodation in the city.

The Kowloon park was nothing really special - except for the swimming pool, huge and very good. The showers were labelled with several options of water temperature (?). Also in the Kowloon Park is the Hong Kong City Historical Museum that was sort of interesting.

There were many little restaurants and pubs in that area, I tried as many as I could but have not one address to mention.

Basic sightseeing I never did: the Victoria Peak and a visit to Macau (30 mins. away by ferry).

I can't think of anything else right now... plus things must be really changed. Let me know what you think when you're back, ja?

groet,

rog

I remember where I came from
There were burning buildings and a fiery red sea
I remember all my lovers
I remember how they held me
World without end
remember me.

East. The edge of the world.
West. Those who came before me.

When my father died we put him in the ground
When my father died it was like a whole library
Had burned down.
World without end
remember me.