#45 Dim Sum and Dr. Seuss

September 21, 2006
Pulling into Hong Kong harbor early this morning was a feast for the eyes.

And to follow the feast for our eyes, we disembarked and made our way straight to a feast for the mouth – a dim sum brunch. Dim sum (Chinese Petit Fours or savouries) is one of the great unheralded Chinese inventions, ranking with gunpowder and paper. We joined Erika, Sally and Mark for brunch and while we are not exactly sure what we were eating, these are among the menu items we did not order:

Stewed Chicken Feet w/ Spot Limpet
Pig’s Bone w/ Dried Vegetable Congee
Congee w/ Ginkgo and Beancurd Stick
Snow Fungus w/ Ginkgo
Black Glutinous Rice w/ Red Bean Cream
Pig’s Blood w/ Leek
Chilled Sea Blubber

We continued our quest for the Dr. Seuss book, Oh The Places You’ll Go, and found the empty slot on the shelf at the fabulous, 10-story, 3-year-old Hong Kong Central Library where the book would reside were it not checked out. Call numbers in English are just way too easy.

Our library treks not only teach us how to find our way around the library, but also our way around the city. With advice from a local, we took two subways, through a tunnel under Hong Kong harbor, and across Victoria Park, where we watched locals play basketball on the way to the library. The subway system (both here and in Japan) is phenomenal and one that the US should copy.

Having had the British in Hong Kong for so long makes it easier for us to navigate the city since most of the signs are in English. And, of course, having Kelly – the human navigator – makes it easy for me since I just follow him (as do the other passengers.)

Believe it or not, the highlight of the day may not have been the library visit. Each night at 8:00, Hong Kong harbor shows itself off with a spectacular 15-minute laser light show choreographed with music. We were invited to a deck on the top of a nearby hotel managed by the father of one of our students. From there, we experienced a spine-tingling, eyes-tearing experience as the lights emphasized one of Earth’s largest cities.

Yours in falling in love with Hong Kong on day one,
Mary