Weekend 1 Wanderings

Udai and I just wrapped up our first weekend together in Hong Kong! So far it's been culture shock to the MAXIMUM. With the exception of a short conference in Seoul in 2015, this is my first time since I was 19 visiting a country I haven’t been to before...and I guess I live here now! Hong Kong is unlike any place I have been, and also different from what I expected. I was prepared for towering buildings and high population density, but it also has a certain coziness and walkability to it that I wasn’t expecting. Between the tall buildings boasting (bougie) international brands there is a local any-type-of-establishment-could-pop-out-of-here energy to the streets that reminds me of Mumbai, but everything is SO clean. The sense of anonymity (the good kind, like no one is gonna get in your business) reminds me of New York. And the rest, I’ll have to keep getting to know better and better!

We started Saturday with breakfast at Elephant Grounds and a tour from Udai of his neighborhood (Hollywood Road), including the beautiful and historic Man Mo temple, which we basically just stumbled upon! 

After winding in and out of the streets we strolled to Central where I needed to visit an optical shop to get my glasses adjusted. In the process we explored the network of malls in Central, sampling (delicious) coffee at a few choice spots.

Then we settled in for a Thai lunch at Mak Mak, which we both concluded was "not bad but not good." After quarantine eats, anything tastes like a Michelin to me. 

We followed lunch with a post-prandial stroll back through a (now very sunny) Central. In the evening, I got my nails done, which felt more like a tooth extraction than a beauty service (actually, I had a tooth extraction last week and it was pretty uneventful and comfy; check out my oral surgeon). But back to the manicure: as she clawed at my cuticles, taking literal centimeters of skin off, I felt like I had wronged her in some way and she was getting back at me…when she took out the foot-razor and started switching the blade I almost ran out of the parlor. After an hour of suspense (horror movie style), my nails do look admittedly great. 

Udai and I both had a pit in our stomach by 6:30 and were STARVING so I grabbed Indian groceries quickly and limped home. On the way something SNAPPED in my right leg (the one with the ankle injury) behind the knee and I felt like my leg was gonna snap in two! Still, dinner at Bedu was a 6-minute walk away and I figured I could brave it. But when we got there and they had no bookings, we continued to walk…and walk…until we were halfway to Central and I was convinced that my husband is a billy goat and I am 82 instead of 28. But we made it to Amalfitana and the vibes and the carbs were WORTH IT! Over aperol spritzes we chatted about some of our favorite cities in the world and tried to guess the ages of various (ahem, Gen-Z) people in the restaurant. After an episode of Alchemy of Souls and catching up on some hydration, I legit passed out for the evening, my body utterly shocked at the jump from an average of 745 steps a day (in quarantine) to yesterday’s 17,000. (Seeking orthopedists now.)

The highlight of my Sunday was when Joshi ji, who cooks Indian food for Udai once a week, came by and made us lunch!! In the time it took me to unpack one of my suitcases he had made daal, bhindi, aloo gobi, and lauki that I told Udai was so delicious that it comprised the highlight of my time in HK so far.

We spent the bulk of the day checking out new apartments, since we'll be looking to move out of Udai's studio soon. It was a cool way to check out different parts of the city, from Mid-Levels to Sheung Wan.

After 3 hours of apartment-hunting we celebrated at a rooftop called Popinjays where we watched the sun go down. I'm looking forward to my first day of in-person work tomorrow, and to meet the rest of the team at PathFinders!