I slept a little while flying and a little last night, maybe 4 or 5 hours. After snapping a few more photos from the window in my room I got ready and went downstairs.
I asked the conceirge here at the Sheraton three questions this morning.
1) places for breakfast? Starbucks, just around the corner.
2) a sim card for my cell phone? The 7-11, just across the street.
3) a temple within walking distance? Did I say, uh, a tem ... ple? After repeating the word to himself several times he was finally certain ... temple ... I had asked for directions to a ... a temple.
When the conceirge said 7-11, I processed it, but didn't think it was in any way "our" kind of 7-11. It must be a type of cell phone shop in China. Well, after crossing the street, I saw the familiar sign and thought, oh, yeah, 7-11. When I told the clerk I wanted something for both Hong Kong and Shanghai she pulled back the original cards she offered and gave me a "Peoples" card for $60 (same dollar symbol, but it means "Hong Kong" dollars ... about 8 bucks American). Local calls are HK$0.25 per minute, which is about 3 cents.
With sim card in hand I headed to Starbucks. It's an overused phrase, but people here really are friendly. Starbucks was crowded yet still pleasant. After gathering my decaf latte and cinnamon roll I managed to find a small table that had just been cleared. As I unwrapped and fiddled with my card and phone, a young woman sat at my table and started reading a paper. She left before telling me her name, but we had a pleasant exchange anyway.
Later in the day I was ready to venture out. After asking around, the conceirge did sort of think that maybe there was a chance that there might be a temple north on Nathan Road, so I started walking. I was mainly interested in looking around and seeing if I would come across anything unexpected, and trying not to get lost.
There is a lot of shopping that can be had here, as everyone says. Designer clothes, jewelry, electronic gadgets, cigarettes, food, other stuff. No surprises. I wanted to want to go into some shop but after walking around for hours didn't find one of interest. And I never found a temple, just a few churches and a rather promiment Muslim center.
On my walk back I came across the Public Square Street Rest Garden, which I noticed because of its traditional chinese architectural elements, and found some gentlemen sitting on benches who seemed surprised by my presence. Several were paired-off and playing something that looked like Go. After a game finished I asked a bystander if he spoke English and, because I had a camera in hand, he made a picture-taking gesture to let me know it would be okay if I snapped one. I took it quickly, said xie xie ni, and continued back.
Any surprises? Everyone wanted to sell me something by putting cards and flyers in front of me as I walked by. "Copy" watches, personally tailored clothes, and other things I didn't understand were offered to me at least every 10 or 15 feet. I declined with a subtle shake of the head and not pausing.
I observed that I received more offers and interest than others around me. Well, I looked different. Noticeably Western. I didn't know that Hong Kong is pretty ethnically homogeneous.
Despite being in Hong Kong, I did ask a shop clerk (in Mandarin) if she spoke English ... she understood but shook her head no.
My surroundings here in Kowloon: many buildings have a drab quality (to my eyes), and some have extensive balconies built of bamboo ... on the upper floors. Gulp. Bamboo in other places, for scaffolding and such, didn't really come as a surprise, since I've seen it in Chinese movies. But it was interesting to see firsthand.
Overall, the only real surprise was that there were no real surprises on my first full day in Hong Kong.
Tomorrow, my conference begins.
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