Air conditioning condensation dripping on my head ... from the photos it's clear that few of the buildings in the Kowloon area have central air, and the result is ... drip, drip, drip as you walk down the sidewalk.
Each time I exit a building, my eyeglasses become visibly distressed at the overwhelming humidity foisted on them.
And not-so-infrequently do I hear a voice in my head saying "what the hell is that?" when processing a previously unexperienced olfactory sensation.
But I love Hong Kong. It works.
I just got back from a walk. There's just so much going on, and so many people, and so many opportunities for "oops." There has to be a better cliche than the drinking-water-from-a-firehose schtick, but that's what it felt like, at least at first.
As an aside, the feeling I have walking around Hong Kong is exactly what I wanted and imagined last fall when things felt bleak: being caught in a cultural whirlpool of people and confusion and something immediate and tangible. An academic life can be one of abstractions and hand-waving, and it's at least one level of indirection removed from the immediate. Here, I take nothing for granted.
Still, I have to get used to the looks I get when I'm places where I'm not expected. Like on the subway today ... er, make that the MTR. Actually, the MTR is a subway, but so are pedestrian viaducts. It's really confusing. I looked carefully at the hundreds of people crammed into its cars: I was ... unique.
The subway signs, and street signs for that matter, employ the chinese character "tao" for "road" or "way." But as Lao Tse says, the tao that can be named is not the eternal tao.
Despite enjoying the confusion of the constant Cantonese and Mandarin chatter around me, it's nice to ease into the day at Starbucks watching people walking by. At home I drink green tea every morning religiously. In China I drink a tall cafe latte, decaf please.
After some morning sessions at the conference I was determined to see Wong Tai Sin temple, and to experience it. I've heard it called the "fortune teller's" temple ... not sure why. But from talking with a couple of people in a nearby mall, it appears to be some combination of Daoism and Buddhism and superstition. Outside the gate one can purchase "worship objects" (basically incense) to use as an offering (I suppose). I was ready to find someone to guide me through the full experience but the opportunity didn't quite present itself. Most worshippers were dutifully focused on their rituals and it felt not right to intrude.
Getting on the subway, I mean, the MTR again I headed for Hong Kong island to take the incline up to Victoria Peak for a spectacular view and a pleasant walk. Then back down and to the teaware museum ... oops, it's closed. Anyway, there was an adjacent tea house and I had some new Hangzhou longjing cha. Never has Chinese green tea been so deeply flavorful, yet light.
Getting back to the hotel I had just enough time for a conference social event with dragon dancing, acrobats, and a girl dancing with "many faces" (words aren't sufficient here).
While there I managed to meet a Japanese professor with his cadre of graduate students, whom he brought along. Looks like I'll be giving yet another talk, this time at his university in Nagoya. It was a kind offer that I happily accepted.
Though tired afterward, I had to get out for a walk in Hong Kong. I love it.
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