hong kong sling

Hong Kong is completely, utterly intoxicating in every way – the scents, the neon, the energy of the people. The whole place vibrates with a mood that induces a woozy, weak-in-the-knees feeling in me. They say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but they obviously haven’t ever been to Hong Kong. Where else can you grab dinner, amble down the street, and go shopping, along with thousands of your friends, at midnight on a Monday? Hong Kong.

The city has changed since I last lived here. They’ve cleaned it up – sort of the Singaporification of Hong Kong. Swept away are the hawkers, old men selling foodstuffs from pushcarts on the streets. My friend, Victor, assures me that all the old men either retired or found other employment. He also points out that the influx of rich visitors from the Mainland has reduced the bargaining culture of Hong Kong. The Mainlanders have so much cash to throw around, they have no need to bargain. This, too, is a marked change from before. Previously, Mainlanders were easy to spot. They wandered about the city like country bumpkins, gawking at everything. The men wore state-factory produced slacks, which only seemed to come in size small, medium, and large, leading thin men to cinch their trousers with belts and plump men to leave their pants unbuttoned and half-unzipped – just held closed with belts. The ladies loved to wear knee-high stockings, rolled down to their ankles, with sandals. These were the telltale signs of a Mainlander. Now, they look like American tourists, wearing Crocs, khaki shorts, and Disneyland t-shirts. The main distinguishing characteristic of these nouveau riche Chinese is their girth. They, like their American brethren, are overweight. And, they are also disgustingly nouveau riche. At high tea at the Peninsula Hotel, we observed a family of Mainlanders, with their one child and plastic footwear, ordering expensive items from the menu and poking, sniffing, and scoffing at it when it arrived – completely unsure of what it was or how to eat it, knowing only that it was expensive. And, boy, are they loud!

And yet, the city consumes my heart and soul, with each corner I turn and each glint of neon. Despite the loss of hawkers, the reduction of bargaining culture, and the pedestrian overpasses and subways that prevent one from being jabbed by old ladies’ elbows while crossing streets, I am still completely in love with this city.