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I spent my time in Vietnam constantly thinking about my Dad, and the past five days in Hong Kong I found myself doing the same, this time with my Mom. Hong Kong was where she was raised and begun her first and somewhat unknown life (to me atleast) before immigrating to the U.S. I pulled into port physically and mentally a bit drained from our fast past travels through Asia. Fortunately I came in knowing that I'd be well hosted. This also happens to be the only other country that I have already visited on our itinerary, so perhaps some pressure was off.
For those of you who don't know, I have a half brother named Jeff in Hong Kong. He's about 15 years older than me, and we met for the first time just two years ago during a month-long visit to Maryland back in 2007 (which was I think very helpful to prepare for this visit!). And so for 5 days and four nights, I simply spent time with him exploring the city and spending time getting to know one another better. It's strange, I feel like I have known him for a long time.
It was very exciting to have Jeff be able to come on the ship and "see my life" here. It's quite hard to explain to people, so I was glad that he could come and experience the MV Explorer and meet many people from the shipboard community. I even had a chance to get him caught up with family pictures over the past two years. Some of my best moments in Hong Kong were simply getting to know Jeff better, learning about his life, as well as getting small glimpses and pieces learning more about Mom's life in Hong Kong. Again, I will certainly return home with many more questions for Mom, Dad, and many other friends as this voyage has afforded me the exposure to an increasing scope of understanding.
Anyway, during our time we walked all over the city (Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Lan Kwai Fong, and around Causeway Bay) and even spent a day up North near the China border doing some "hiking" around some lakes and hills. Jeff and I spent a lot of time together, just the two of us doing a lot of shopping (temple st, ladies market, and the golden computer center) and a lot of eating (wonton soup, chinese jiajang myun, pork ribs, peking duck, and of course xiao long bao!). We often took advantages of the times over meals or on buses to catch up and inquire about the various pieces of our past, present, and future. I also had a chance to meet and spend some time with his wife Yvonne which was something I was really looking forward to finally doing.
I met up with Nancy's good friends Grace and Dave in Central who had just moved to Hong Kong, visited Jacinta's bakery in LKF (also nancy's friend), and even had a chance to have dinner with two of Mom's childhood friends! (Auntie Sarah and Lia Ping). Maggie, one of my students crashed with me the first night and I got to walk around to some of the markets with her, which was fun.
Hong Kong to me felt like the NYC of the far east, except cleaner and obviously not as diverse. A lot of bright lights, hundreds of sky scrapers, millions of pedestrians, and constant movement. It had a lot to offer and seemed to have good character. I spent one night on the ship and I stayed the other three nights in the infamous Chungking Mansion which ironically also was home for both Mom and Jeff at various points in life.
After 5 days and four nights, I caught a flight to Shanghai to rejoin the ship. I left Hong Kong very much valuing my time with Jeff and a chance to see and get a feel for the city as an adult to better understand my roots and my Mom's life. Perhaps my most valued time in any country yet.
btw1...we docked right in Kowloon with a gorgeous view of the HK island skyline
btw2...i bought a copy of the movie "chungking express"...i'll tell you more later
btw3...while i felt very "american" i also somehow felt at home there
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