Daily Times

Ages ago, when I lived in Karachi, I saw a movie called ‘Hong Kong’s Hot Harbour’. It was a thriller with a boat combat. A year or two later I found myself in Hong Kong while in transit to San Francisco on PanAm. It was an overnight stop and there was not much time to tour. But I had seen enough to want to return.

That happened a few decades later. I fell in love with the place. Yet I was unable to locate the harbour.

I came back a few more times. On one trip, I was standing on the upstairs, open-air patio of the iconic Peninsula Hotel with a friend at a reception. I told him about the movie. Of course, he had seen it. I asked, “Where is the harbour located?”

Pointing to the bay that lay a few blocks in front of us, he said, “You are looking at it.”

He told me that it had shrunk in size as large chunks of the bay had been filled up with land to accommodate the rising population. What was in front of my eyes bore no resemblance to the place where the action sequences in the thriller had taken place.

Last December I was in Hong Kong again. This time we stayed near the bay and spent a good bit of time around walking around it. It turned out that the actual harbour lay about a half mile to the right. It was obscured by some high rise building.

Two big cruise ships were docked at the harbour. The merchant vessels were docked a few miles away, near the airport. On a prior trip, I had also spotted ships of the United States Navy in that area, including an aircraft carrier.

When the sun went down and daylight gave way to darkness, the high rises on the Hong Kong side lit up with dynamic beams of coloured lights that were shot across the bay. The night sky lit up with a rainbow of colours for some 15 minutes

On this trip, we bought a couple of tickets to tour the bay on that classic shipping vessel which is curiously called a Junk. We had the option of taking a night time cruise or a daytime cruise. During the night time tours, the Junk was lit up in red.

We opted for the daytime tour since it offered fantastic views. On one side was Hong Kong Island with its Manhattan skyline. On the other side was the Kowloon peninsula where we were staying. A cluster of high rises gave way to a whole bunch of midrise apartment buildings on the peninsula. In particular, the Junk went past a very expensive cluster called Laguna Verde. I had walked through that area once. It offered amazing views of the water.

On the Hong Kong side there was an enormous Ferris wheel which reminded me of the one in North Sydney. The London Eye was bigger.

On the Kowloon side there were enormous shopping malls and hotels and parks and massive crowds of tourists, many from mainland China. They had made Hong Kong the world’s number one tourist destination.

A grand promenade ran along the waterfront. There were restaurants offering international cuisine, a place for open air concerts, an opera house, a theatre and a place where newly-weds were having their portraits taken. It was thronged by tourists brimming with smiles and excitement.

When the sun went down and daylight gave way to darkness, the high rises on the Hong Kong side lit up with dynamic beams of coloured lights that were shot across the bay. The night sky lit up with a rainbow of colours for some 15 minutes. This sound-and-light show was similar to the show we had seen at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

The next day we went to check out the endless escalators on Hong Kong Island. Something seemed odd as we boarded the first escalator. But I could not pin my finger on it. The mystery resolved itself after we were done with the fourth escalator. The tour came to an unexpected end. The rest of the escalators were down for maintenance.

That was a bummer. Not much could be done. So we strolled around the street, checked out the shops, and had tea at a Starbucks, the ubiquitous brand from Seattle, Washington.

Later we hailed a cab and headed to Sydney beach. Along the way, we went past a Sikh Gurdwara and a large horse racing track. The beach had an endless stream of shops and eateries selling pizza, ice cream and much else. We had thought we would walk along the beach and check out the small harbour but it was very windy and blustery.

We took a taxi back to our hotel which was on Nathan Avenue and decided to stretch our legs. Just about at every street corner salesmen were trying to bring you to a custom tailor down the side alleys. On a prior visit, I had succumbed to the temptation and had three bespoke suits and a sports coat made for me. The shop featured a picture of former US president Bill Clinton presumably wearing one of their suits. The suits fit me perfectly and I was pleased with the service and the price. But on this trip, I resisted the temptation to get any more suits made.

Camera shops were also prevalent along Nathan Avenue. But we had done our camera and lens shopping on a prior visit and just walked past them. Window shopping was dangerous because a magnetic force would pull you in. Before you knew it, your credit card was coming out and you were parting with your hard-earned earnings.

The camera and lens prices were higher than what you would pay for them on Amazon. When I had pointed that out to a camera salesman, he had countered by saying that he was selling the genuine merchandise and Amazon was selling fake merchandise. There was no point in seeking to refute his argument.

Further along the avenue, we went past the large Islamic Centre. It was located at the base of a large park. It was frequented regularly by worshippers several of whom were attired in shalwar kamiz. The centre was undergoing a major renovation.

Walking back to the hotel, we stopped for a massage. That was followed by an Asian dinner. Every type of cuisine is available in Hong Kong, including South Asian dishes.

When we got home, we read that a new Pakistani restaurant had opened in Hong Kong, the new Punjab Club. It has won a star by Michelin and promises to being back “colonial delights” to those with a discerning palate. It’s on the list for next time.

The writer can be reached at ahmadfaruqui@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, January 20^th 2019.