The China Journal - Day 48-54

We arrive in Hong Kong, where one of the first things we see is a protest being staged by a group of Filipina maids and nannies claiming unfair treatment and wages from their employers.

God, it's good to see a protest again. It's the first real sign that we're not in China anymore. Or are we? In reality, Hong Kong is apart of China and it's not, and it's difficult to see how this vibrant city will continue to function and exist in the same way once it is eventually brought fully into the fold and streamlined with the policies of the rest of the country.

While the sights in Hong Kong are a little underwhelming (with very few exceptions, the guidebook should be tossed aside), the city is crackling with buzz and energy. While similarities could certainly be drawn to Singapore, it seems to me that while Singapore is very much a "planned" state with some shadow committee making decisions about which American fast food chains can operate in the city and how many Starbucks locations are allowed within the space of ten cubic metres, Hong Kong was allowed to grow more organically. As a result, there's certainly more of a sense of individuality and diversity in the kinds of neighbourhoods and businesses that make up this dense and over-populated city or nation or SAR or what-have-you.

On another note, the notion that an island nation should have easy access to the beach seems pretty obvious, but something Singapore failed to pick up on. If anything, this is what really sets Hong Kong apart (as well as the pizza that tastes like pizza should and the reasonably priced - and I dare say cheap - alcohol). Several beaches can be found scattered along the southern coast of Hong Kong island itself, as well as on the numerous outlying islands that comprise the Hong Kong territories. It is on Lamma Island, just south of Hong Kong, where Laura and I spend two days soaking up the ocean breeze, enjoying the fresh seafood, and avoiding at all costs doing anything at all.

And does it ever feel good to just relax. As is often said about these trips, it's almost as if we really need a vacation from the vacation. Certainly, two months of constantly moving from one place to the next, long bus rides and even longer train journeys, days on end where eating noodles and tofu were the only choices for food and wondering what, exactly, the dining car is for if it doesn't serve food, being chased out of towns by the police and having tour guides stop their groups to point out the two foreigners passing by, could, when combined, warrant some quality time apart from the rest of humanity. But that being said, this is China, moles and all, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.