Kow-LUNACY

Most Hong Kong transplants spend the bulk of their time on the Island. I’m guilty of this myself. It’s just so easy. The Central Business District is located there, so the majority of us work nearby. The city’s most popular dining and nightlife zones are, logically, just around the corner.   

So from a practical point of view, it just makes more sense for us to live on Hong Kong Island as well. That way, we never have to worry about dreaded cross-harbor traffic. Morning commutes are a breeze. From apartment to office is, at worst, a short taxi ride, but a web of bus routes, tram tracks and the recently-extended Island Line of the MTR mean even this is usually not necessary. Most of my colleagues, in fact, walk to work.

Expat life can be a picture of convenience, and after a taste of this laid-back lifestyle, you begin to take it for granted. 

Hong Kong Island is the heart of my Hong Kong. A place where east meets west, where history and heritage intercede with the glorious present, where expats from every corner of the globe co-mingle with proud locals delighted to share their city with us.

But Kowloon, or the Dark Side, as its jokingly referred to, is a mesmerizing place all its own. Bursts of neon, jumbles of bamboo, a maze of streets, venerable temples, masses of people coming from every direction.

It’s a crowded mess of colors and sounds, and it’s a place where you can ogle at the archetypal Hong Kong you probably always envisioned.

It’s in Kowloon that you can still glimpse bits of old China: elderly men carrying their caged birds to the local park, women roasting chestnuts or quail eggs under bridges, teens meeting for milk tea in cafés that haven’t had a makeover in decades; locals buying their food and clothing at vibrant street markets bustling by day and by night.

This past Saturday was a full-on Dark Side day for yours truly.

With the Hong Kong Film Festival starting today (and continuing for the next two weeks), it was my last chance to renew my CineFan membership in time for the big event. The office, located in Ngau Tau Kok near Kwun Tong, is only open from 9:30am to noon on Saturdays. 

And later that night, my friend Myles was having friends over to his estate in Choi Hung. He broke a bone in his foot and dislocated another while hiking just before Chinese New Year. Finally able to hobble downstairs, he wanted to get us all together for a communal meal. 

Instead of crossing the harbor back and forth and back and forth again, I opted to just spend the whole day over there, and it was a great mix of old Dark Side favorites and new adventures getting lost wandering around streets I've still left unexplored.

Even the night before, I had zipped over on the Star Ferry after work because I had a ticket to see Gustavo Dudamel conducting the LA Philharmonic in a program of Adams and Dvorak as part of the 40^th Annual Hong Kong Arts Festival. But on Saturday, my goal wasn’t touristy Tsim Sha Tsui but the less explored wilds of Kowloon.

I wandered a lot. And took far too many photos. A few turns off familiar streets and I found myself in completely new surroundings. Old tenements with barred windows, fruit vendors, mahjong aficionados immersed in their games.

And every now and then, beside the run-down façades with their peeling paint would emerged a gorgeous, old world structure.

Sarah joined for a stroll around Prince Edward, near her old apartment. Now living on Lamma Island, far from the hustle and bustle of the big city, she was eager to wander the streets that she once called home, those crazy markets and crowded roads she took for granted when she was situated in the heart of things.

And we made our way to one of my favorite local spots, Mido Café in Yau Ma Tei. It's another find I first discovered in the pages of my Frommer's guide, and I love visiting alone or with friends for solid Chinese comfort food in a very retro setting.

After she left, it was off to Choi Hung for dinner with Myles and company. A delicious meal, great friends, plentiful beer, and a final tab of HK$130 per person. Who could ask for anything more?

Every time I venture over, I wonder why I don't spend more time in Kowloon. And returning home after each visit, I promise myself I'll make a better effort to cross the harbor on a more regular basis. So stay tuned, and hopefully this blog will soon be filled with another installment of my adventures on the Dark Side.