Hong Kong Day 4

I am not meant to live twelve hours ahead of my normal life. Already many complain that I am too far ahead of the curve on any given day… Now I am twelve hours even further ahead. I type as you sleep…It’s already the end of Day 5 for me. Your Day 5 hasn’t started. You haven’t even read my Day 4…
When I wake up on Day 4 I need to eat. NOW. Skipping dinner is not a good idea when you are training for a (half) ironman. I anxiously wait for the hotel restaurant to open its doors. There is a sign at Breakfast which reads that we are at a Typhoon Level 3. I have no idea if I should be concerned!
When Laurent leaves for work I make an effort to structure our day. First things first: research the internet about must do activities while visiting Hong Kong. I read up on places to hike, Disneyworld (no way), and all of the other activities we have managed to squeeze in already. There is a famous restaurant called Revolving 66… apparently the view is awesome. I head out to the concierge and ask him to make a reservation for this evening. The reviews say there are months and months of waiting time to get a reservation, but you know my motto: just DO it!
Concierge tells me it will be a pleasure to assist, that he will confirm the reservation in writing and that he will send me any updates during the day in case the Typhoon level increases to the point where the restaurant must close. Uh oh… And what level is that? Five. What’s the highest it can go? Eight. What level are we expecting with this tropical storm? Shrug of shoulders.
I clock in my 10k at 58h50 using my sister’s technique. One minute faster than yesterday…but I need to be at 55 minutes before I leave Hong Kong. I am starting to think the goal may be unrealistic. The problem with training for a (half) ironman for me is the food part. You literally have to eat every few hours. Good stuff. I either eat on schedule but eat the wrong foods, or eat too much at regular meals. And I do realize that my whining is pointless and my problems aren’t really problems… but I digress…
A huge meal later, I am off on a very long walk. My purpose today is to get all of my shopping out of the way….and considering I just ate for ten and am going out for dinner again tonight, I might as well go shopping by foot. I find my way back to Mongkok and peruse the street shopping stalls. I can’t find my sisters purse… I buy something close enough. I get gifts for the girls, a few trinkets for Matis… I bargain my way through 1km of street merchants and come out with an armful of bags. I figure I should go back to the hotel before it starts to pour… and true to myself, I head in the wrong direction. About an hour later, I reach the end of Kowloon… The wrong end!
The funny thing about this city is that you can be on a very fancy street one minute, and then walk one street over and wind up in a typical Chinese neighborhood; a cacophony of sights, smells and sounds that is wonderfully exotic but dizzying at the same time… Whenever I pass a lacquered duck I gag and look away… I hope Laurent never makes me watch him eat one!
The street crossings are specially designed for the hearing impaired. There is a loud slow beep when you can’t cross. The beep gets faster – goes on speed- when you can cross. People actually follow the rule and cross at the proper time. I love this city!!!! I am in a neighborhood where Tourists don’t go, yet no one looks at me. It’s tough to feel like a visible minority in a country where the people are too polite and discrete to even glance your way!
After all of these hours of walking I need a foot massage. And of course, there are dozens of places that offer such a thing a few minutes from the hotel. I need money so I find a bank with an ATM to withdraw some Hong Kong dollars. Note to all of you future Hong Kong travelers: Memorize your pin in numbers, not letters. The keyboard is not only upside down, but it doesn’t have any letters on it. I have been using the same pin (letters) for the last 18 years. Houston, we have a problem!!! However, there is a solution: I visualize the key board with the letters, draw it on a piece of paper, and figure it out after a few tries…
The foot massage is exquisite. It worries me some that to get to the massage I am guided up 10 floors in an apartment building by an elderly Chinese lady who leaves me alone in a small space with a man at the cash and a girl who serves me a cup of hot water, but I figure: what is life without risk? No one knows where I am…
I learn interesting things about my feet and reflexology points by examining a mock plastic foot while the masseuse does her work. The heels are a touch point for the Gonads. Interesting! The spot I most like massaged is connected to my lower abdomen. Wow, who knew?
I am back at the Hotel minutes before Laurent gets home from work. We get dressed to the nines to go to R66 restaurant and head out by metro using our Octopus cards to get there. We are still at level 3 Tropical storm warning, so the restaurant should be open.
We ride up the 66 floors with a young French couple, and pretend we only speak English. We get a window seat in the restaurant (the reservation was made under the name Dr. Garrigues – does that actually help?). The view is absolutely breath taking. Picture the Delta revolving hotel in Montreal or the Concorde in Quebec, only 66 stories high. The experience comes complete with the karaoke sounding Chinese singing duet. The food is similar to what you would find at the Delta however… I think the online reviewers exaggerated a bit. Coming from me, that’s funny! J
We spend a lovely evening revolving in the sky looking at the grandiose city below…