Sai Kung and Mong Kok

Today I went out to visit my friend Eve's neighborhood in an area called Sai Kung. Sai Kung is quite far from Kowloon and I swear that when I got near the city centre of Sai Kung, I saw a fleet of cows using a cross walk....all by themselves.

Anyhow, I got there early and poked around Sai Kung on my own for a bit before my friend showed up. Sai Kung is a fishing village and so people go there to do fishing, swimming, eating, and sightseeing. Best of all are the locals who sell exotic seafood from there boats. They go out into the ocean, then come back and sell crabs, prawns, clams, fish, and things I can't even describe.

I really wonder how long this market has been going on for?

Soon after my friend arrived and she took me out by ferry to an island beach. It was quite crowded, but we managed to find a spot for ourselves.

We sat and munched on instant noodles, potato chips, roast chicken leg, and a couple of "stabilizers" (read: Carlesberg). We enjoyed the breeze and the freedom of being away from the city. As we enjoyed our perch we chatted about our separate lives over the last six years and the people we met in between.

As we traded stories and reminisced about times gone by, I was glad to hear how her life really picked up and that all of her old fears and set backs had at last been overcome. But somehow I felt a little sad about something I couldn't put my finger on.

We left Sai Kung after some Durian Shakes and parted company in Mong Kok. I wandered around the night market and up and down the streets. To some extent I was enjoying the colourful variety of characters and products to be found in Mong Kok, but really I was just wandering about lost in thought.

So I stopped into a typical restaurant and got myself some dinner. I thought it was perfect to have Won Ton Noodles, Chive Dumplings (damplings), and soy bean milk in Hong Kong.

Afterwards I continued my stream of consciousness walk through Mong Kok and found myself wandering into a street that seemed to have a lot of seedy looking hotels. You really got to question who would want a room for 2 hours in a ruddy old building. I guess if the guy splurges on a whole night's stay he is definitely enjoying his "guest".

Anyways, I made my way back to the station and it occured to me why I felt a little sad about my visit with Eve today. I was so happy about the good things in her life, but at the same time I realized that so much of it happened in my absence. That six years passed by so quickly that I was mostly oblivious of the majour events in my friend's life. All of the ups and downs had already passed by and now I was just hearing the highlights. That's the nature of having people come and go from your life. At least sometimes they come back.

Well, it's a melancholy thing isn't it? The secret to a happy life is knowing when you are actually experiencing the best moments in your life. So I am happy and thoughtful this evening. I guess it was just One Night in Mong Kok.