Old Friends, New Friends and a Super Typhoon

It's been an eventful month here in Hong Kong, and as September draws to an end, I've been thinking a lot about the four weeks that have flown by since I returned from my grand summer adventure in the United States and England. 

Life has just been full of reunions with old friends who've returned to their old stomping grounds, new friends who've come out of thin air to imbue the month with indelible memories, beautiful weather, delicious food, sensational parties, and, last but certainly not least, the typhoon of the decade, Mangkhut, which ripped through the city in dramatic fashion while all this was happening. 

As the year enters its end stage, I'd feel amiss if I didn't pause to gather these recollections and recount some of my September stories for posterity. 

Every year, the Hong Kong Jockey Club resumes its racing schedule after an approximately six week long summer holiday. I mentioned at the tail end of my last post that I coordinated my return to Hong Kong to coincide with the season opener at Sha Tin Racecourse, in the New Territories. I could have lingered one extra day in England and flown back on Monday morning just in time for work, but I preferred to cut my trip short by twenty-four hours so that I could cheer on the Thoroughbreds on opening day. 

Of course, that also meant that a few days later, mid-week races recommenced at Hong Kong's more famous racetrack, Happy Valley, around the corner from my apartment. What more perfect venue to meet my two first new September friends, Alyssa and Jennifer? When I arrived at the track that evening, my perpetual racing buddy Matt was already engaged in conversation with the duo, from Pennsylvania and Texas, respectively, and we hit it off quick. We wound up out in Wan Chai that night, with a stop at Devil's Advocate, a Thai street food dinner and late night dancing to the live band at Dusk Till Dawn. 

I invited the gang over for Friday night rooftop drinks, as I learned more about their life. They are both married to members of the US Armed Forces, and they are currently stationed in South Korea. Due to visa requirements, they are not allowed to work while there, so they compensate by exploring as much of Asia as possible. Peppered among our cocktails, dinners and dances were fantastic conversations about travelling, and, as I'm sure you can imagine, tales of our lives back in the good old US of A. 

Afterwards, Matt, Ana and I took our new pals to Lan Kwai Fong, first to Hard Rock Cafe, where one of the city's most amazing live bands wows crowds night after night. I must admit, I think the Hard Rock lacks the atmosphere of some of the other bars this town has to offer, but in terms of quality of the music, it simply cannot be beat.

Once Matt and Ana had gone home, I stayed out with Alyssa and Jen, showing them an assortment of some of my favorite spots in town. After a few too many drinks, we wound up at a hidden Nepalese restaurant just off the main strip. Over delicious momos, we wound up befriending a trio of local partygoers, and the six of us wound up tramming it to Wan Chai for further revelry.

Suffice it to say, I arrived back to my flat around noon, but I wouldn't have changed the trajectory of the "night" for anything.

And a few hours later, we were back out again. After a gluttonous Indian dinner at Aladin Mess in Causeway Bay, we walked to Wan Chai, where we situated ourselves at Mexican favorite Coyote, polishing off two pitchers of spicy margaritas, made with a house-infused chili tequila. 

We finished this second consecutive evening on the town—or, more accurately, I cut short my participation in this second consecutive evening on the town, since Alyssa and Jen stayed out after my departure—in Amazonia, one of Wan Chai's most atmospheric joints. And I promised them both before doing so that I'll soon be paying them a visit in South Korea.

Less than a week later, several old pals were heading my way, and a typhoon was a-brewing. My dear friends Chun and Amelie—who moved to Germany almost two years ago—were due to arrive back on Saturday afternoon. And newlyweds Alex and Hannah—whose wedding I attended in England only a few weeks earlier—where capping off their Southeast Asian honeymoon with a three day stop in town. Alex and Hannah were initially schedule to land close to midnight, but they fortuitously rescheduled their flight so that they'd arrive earlier in the evening, so as to avoid coinciding with the arrival of Mangkhut. 

Delighted at the confluence of so many friends being in town at the same time, I gathered everybody together at Crystal Jade, where we veritably went to town over-ordering dumplings, dan dan noodles, sweet and sour chicken, minced pigeon, whole steamed fish and other delicious dishes. And plenty of Tsing Tao. And it was so nice to have a large group to sample so many varied favorites. 

Another big night was in our collective future, and by the time Alex, Hannah and I finally called it a day, it was pushing 5am.

We all had grand plans for Sunday. Chun and Amelie were supposed to fly to Japan for vacation, and Alex was keen to show off his beloved city to his new bride, who was visiting for the first time. And I was excited to be a part of this introduction. But Mother Nature had other ideas, as we instead awoke that morning to the dangerous winds of a Super Typhoon. I'll never forget watching from the windows of my apartment as trees fell, air conditioning units were torn from windows and a satellite dish from the roof of my own building tumbled to the small landing outside my bedroom window. 

Eventually, I decided to meet Alex and Hannah in the basement bar of their hotel, the Excelsior in Causeway Bay. It surely wasn't the safest choice I've ever made—as I had to walk the whole way during the storm—but it's such a rare opportunity to spend time with these guys that I had no intention of squandering it. We spent the afternoon and evening catching up, playing games and drinking pints of local craft beer. There's not much more we could have done, and I'll never forget my experience during Mangkhut! (And don't worry, Chun and Amelie managed to reschedule their flight for later in the week!)

I met Alex and Hannah for dim sum on Monday at Maxim's Palace in City Hall. After an afternoon meeting, I was with them again on Temple Street for an enormous al fresco dinner in the atmospheric market. 

Tuesday, I actually took the whole day off from work to spend with my friends, since they'd be flying home on Wednesday morning. Huge fans of dim sum, they actually requested a repeat of the previous day's lunch at a similar venue. So we selected Fu Sing, where we feasted on even more fantastic dumplings, capping it all off with gold-dusted charcoal buns stuffed with creamy egg custard. They were so good, we ordered a second basket! 

That afternoon, our trio headed up the Peak via taxi, to show off the city in all its incredible glory. And on the ride, I really started to get a sense as to how much damage Mangkhut did to our city. I knew trees had been knocked down—heck, I even watched some fall—but I never realized the extent of the destruction. Even as we walked around the circular trail, we often had to climb over limbs and branches to continue on our way. The vista was still beautiful, but there was something undeniably sad about seeing so much havoc. 

Alex's original plan was to hike from the Peak to Repulse Bay, but a few steps into the trail, we had to rethink things. We opted to taxi to Stanley instead, but even that journey turned out to be impossible. In the end, we simply returned to the Excelsior to quaff a bottle of champagne on the hotel's stunning rooftop terrace. And we finished off the short-but-sweet visit with one last overstuffed dinner at Peking Garden, and a few last drinks in Lan Kwai Fong.

Luckily, although Alex and Hannah departed that next day, I still had trusty Chun and Amelie to join me for Wednesday night Wan Chai fun. Linking up with our other pal, Myles, we had yet another great night on the town. I truly love these guys, and although I still get to hang out with Myles frequently, I really miss having Chun and Amelie in my daily life. You better believe I savored as much time with them as I could.

Chun, Myles and I are bona fide Sichuan fiends, and we absolutely adore spicy Chinese food more than just about any other cuisine. So we put together a Friday night feast at Chuan Po Po in Tsim Sha Tsui with a nice little group, capping off Chun and Amelie's all-too-brief time in Hong Kong. They headed off to Japan the next day, and I'm not sure when I'll see them again, but I cross my fingers that it's sooner rather than later.

Of course, this time of the year is also known for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we had a public holiday on Tuesday of this week to celebrate. Unfortunately, due to the wrath of Mangkhut, many of the city's beaches were not in proper condition to welcome nighttime picnickers. Similarly, there seem to be far fewer lanterns than I remember, though there were a few noteworthy exceptions.

Instead, I spent the public holiday celebrating my friend Yvonne's twenty-ninth birthday over incredible Portuguese food and bottomless sangria in Casa Lisboa, and then exploring the restored Policy Station on Hollywood Road and further imbibing. Not a bad compromise, eh?

Every time I put together one of these posts, I'm reminded of the closing line of the old television show, The Naked City, where the narrator reminds the audience that "There are eight million stories in the naked city; this has been one of them." So much has gone on in Hong Kong over the past month, and even my own collection is too big to document everything. But the tales I've just recounted have surely contributed to making this jam-packed string of weeks an obvious highlight of the year. So thanks Alyssa, Jen, Chun, Amelie, Alex, Hannah, and—in some strange way—Mangkhut, for making this September such an unforgettable month!