My Travels in Asia: Remembering Hong Kong (Part 1 of 5)
December 1, 2008 by dr. lam
I spent close to 5 straight months in Asia partly out of recreation and partly for my education in cosmetic surgery of the Asian face. My true travelogue came in the form of a published book (Cosmetic Surgery of the Asian Face, Thieme Medical Publishers) and about 10 published papers from my time over there. The series of blogs this week will be an informal and admittedly non-scientific remembrance of things past.
I wanted to start this week with my favorite Asian city of all, my hometown where I was born, Hong Kong. I have been back to Hong Kong on multiple trips starting in my childhood with my last trip just the past year when I lectured to YPO/WPO (Young President’s Organization/World President’s Organization). When I returned to HK as a child and adolescent I had a tremendous time with all my extended family and relatives. Little by little that number dwindled due to an en masse emigration prior to 1997, the year that the British returned their crown colony to the PRC. Fear of that transaction and any ensuing economic instability compelled many of my relatives to depart their hometown for the Occident.
My childhood remembrances were always centered around Kowloon. For the uninitiated to HK geography, the city is divided principally into the continental half, Kowloon, and Hong Kong island. Kowloon is suburbia but features such glorious landmarks like the Peninsula hotel, where I had my lavish 1-year-old birthday party decked out with a puppy dog birthday cake, as far as I recall from my mom’s recounting and worn photos.
It was my last two trips (including my extended stay in HK for one month during the 5 months of my Asia trip) that I would like to focus on. During those trips, I was able to see the insular HK side in much greater detail and really enjoyed the bustling urban scape that was different from Kowloon. “Central” is the name of the area that is the core of the HK side where the height of opulent commercialism is in full display: Armani, Loro Piana, etc. The nightlife in Lan Kwai Fong, the cobbled and terraced bar district, offers the insomniac their own Xanadu. Of course, the food in HK is nothing short of what I would consider divine ambrosia. It didn’t hurt that my best friend Timmy with whom I grew up stayed in a palatial residence overlooking the harbor and who permitted me to stay with him during my trip. This past year when I was lecturing in HK I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental (the original) and can remember fondly and vividly all of the grandeur of my stay: my daily ritual consisted of working out with the Kinesis system (if you haven’t tried this, you have to find one) overlooking the harbor, then going downstairs to sate myself on an entirely freshly made breakfast (preserves, eggs, coffee, wow!). My nights were spent with my cousins and friends who lavished on us expensive, elaborate repasts that would rival the feasts of kings.
If you can ever make it to my hometown, I would highly recommend it. In fact, Emina, my hair-transplant coordinator, just got back from multiple cities in the Orient and intentionally only saw little of Hong Kong so that she would have an excuse to go back to what she called her favorite city. I understand and concur. Tomorrow we travel to Tokyo!
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that is a very nice skyline of hong kong!!! my hometown too.. : )