The first leg of the trip has been a good start. Four nights and three days in Hong Kong has been a good first step into Asia. Hong Kong means business. It’s a no-nonsense city – you get the sense that when they decide they’re going to do something, they decide to do it.

Need some place for people to live? Boom, huge HUGE highrises that are not only taller than all but the tallest buildings in Vancouver, but also three to four times as wide.

Want to build a shopping mall? Why not build the biggest one you can? And while you’re at it, why not build three or four of them. And actually, maybe add the same stores to the streets in case you can’t find your way to the mall and get lost on the street.

How about some place to worship Buddha? Let’s build a big Buddha. And not just a big Buddha, how about THE BIGGEST BUDDHA in the world!

It’s All in the Details

Transportation around the city works amazingly well for such a dense population. I don’t think I’d want to drive or bike in the city, but as a pedestrian taking transit, the whole system just works. The little details have all been thought through as well. Little things like deciding which side of the concourse to put the ticket gates, arrows on the ground to direct foot traffic, the digital signage in the trains – the details have all been thought through and it all makes sense.

Hong Kong is a very progressive city too. There’s no smoking in public spaces and hefty fines if you do, hefty fines as well for littering, which would explain the clean streets, virtually devoid of any litter whatsoever. You need your own plastic bag when you go to the market, mind you, they give you plastic bags for carrying your wet umbrella indoors – keeps the floors from getting slippery (and maybe avoids a few lawsuits in this mall-laden city).

We visited some of the tourist-heavy areas like the Peak and the Po Lin Monastery with the Big Buddha, and also spent our fair share of time in the many air-conditioned malls. As expected, we ate some tasty food – Chinese food, of course, but also a healthy dose of McDonald’s and, yes, I found it: White Spot!

Food: A Source of Good and Evil

All in all, I would actually say that our Chinese food in Vancouver is as good if not better than what we had in Hong Kong. I found the food to be a little too salty (which I’m partly blaming as the cause of my stomach cramps – high salt, combined with air-conditioned building after air-conditioned building, plus hours walking outside in high heat and humidity). I hate to say it, but I was impressed with McDonald’s. They have “McCafes” here, like a sidebar next to the main concession, where they serve premium coffees (good premium coffees).

Before we left Vancouver, I had looked into a few destinations of personal interest – rock climbing locations and White Spot. I found a climbing gym at the local YMCA. I never got around to trying it out, but if I ever go back, I’ll know where to go!

White Spot was also one of my pique destinations. On our first day out in the city we stumbled upon one near the Central station on Hong Kong island. We ended up eating at the White Spot in Kowloon, closer to our hotel. I had a rough idea of where it was – Googling it back home and then remembering roughly what area of town it was in, that was about all we had to go on. But follow your gut, and sure enough, we found it.

The White Spot in Kowloon is in a mall, Harbour City or Ocean Tower (not quite sure, there was a whole chain of buildings that all seemed to share the same name and blend into one gigantic mall). I ordered the Original Combo, the closest litmus test I could run (my standard test is a cup of clam chowder, legendary platter with fries and coleslaw and tomatoes and lettuce in the burger, a coke, water, and vinegar for the fries). The verdict? Buns were too big for the burger, the patty was a little too greasy, vegetables were too wet, and the red relish in the Triple-O sauce wasn’t quite right. Guess red relish isn’t the same the world over. Don’t get me wrong – it was still a good burger, and if you’re a fan of White Spot, I’d still recommend trying it out if you ever visit Hong Kong. But don’t expect the signature flavour and quality of a local BC made Triple-O burger.

Revelations

A few revelations for me to remember:

Revelation #1: There’s nothing quite like a literal gut-wrenching sickness with stomach cramps hitting you in the middle of the night and carrying on into a day of drowsiness, loss of appetite and general lethargy to remind you of how much you should appreciate being healthy. Waking up the next morning after fighting through the stomach cramps and fever, I felt completely renewed. Not the most pleasant way to feel rejuvenated, but rejuvenating nonetheless.

Revelation #2: I didn’t feel that out of place in Hong Kong, and if I worked in finance or big business, I’d consider living there for a year (but probably not much longer).

Revelation #3: We’re lucky to have such good food, air, and climate in Vancouver.

Revelation #4: Not really Hong-Kong specific, but a recurring thought in these first few days of traveling – it’s a great luxury to have the ability to travel like this, time traveling with my parents is time well-spent, and I’m fortunate to also have such a great life with friends, family, and personal goals all awaiting me back at home.

Now onto Indonesia.