My Hong Kong

On top of Victoria Peak

At the beginning of our journey I would have thought that all the adventure, experiences and new discoveries would keep any longing for home at bay. Much to my surprise it has not. There are times I find myself craving something familiar, normal or as they say in Asia "Western".

So when our plane landed in Hong Kong from Mongolia I was excited to see Starbucks, Burger King and other "Western" looking retailers. I found humor in my excitement because back home I don't frequent Starbucks (Kaladi Bros. for me) or Burger King, I try to avoid them.
My emotions of excitement and gladness also surprised me when we passed several streets lined with high-end name brand retailers such as Coach, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Tiffany. Brands I don't shop or possess but yet they made me feel right at home, almost giddy in fact because if I didn't know any better I could be in NYC, Chicago, SFO or LA, USA - HOME.

Shopping Galore

English, everyone speaks very good English too. I didn't have to talk slow, make hand gestures, or draw pictures to be understood. They speak-a-my language! Oh and polite, everyone in Hong Kong was so polite. We figured it was the British influence of the past 100 years. Then we speculated what Hong Kong would be like in another 50 years now that China owns them. That was a fun conversation.

Don't get me wrong though, there are also plenty of places in Hong Kong that scream Asia. We wandered down a few of those streets for the experience. Each street or area of town is know for selling specific items. So if you desire to purchase colorful fish or any size for your fish tank you go to the Goldfish Market, which you can smell a mile away. If you desire to buy a new song bird you head to the Bird Garden Market that you can hear a mile away. How about fresh cut flowers? You guessed it, head to the flower market. That was a beautiful, wonderful smelling treat for the senses. If you crave shark fin soup and have a good recipe from Martha Stewart's Asian Edition you can buy shark fin along with other weird dried seafood items in the Seafood District.

Assortment of Dried Seafood

And that's not all there are also streets dedicated to selling fruits and veggies, ginseng, rice, spices and the clothing mentioned above. The whole concept of "one stop shopping" is foreign to them.

A Multitude of Spices

During another fun conversation Taylor shared he preferred the "one stop shopping" we do at home. I told him that I preferred the district style shopping Hong Kong had to offer. Then we both agreed that in Anchorage for many reasons that style of shopping would be difficult.

So here's to Hong Kong, a city with the perfect mix of East and West.

On a Crowded City Bus