Once Upon Hong Kong

The plane landed late at night, with city lights gleaming below. Our Uber driver dropped us off at our hotel in Mong Kok, north of Kowloon, and we went straight to sleep. When we woke up, we could see Hong Kong in the distance, so we rushed our morning routines to head out as soon as possible. We started by taking the metro to Central, which has great views of the city skyline and which is easy to navigate. The next couple of days, we strolled around the city, up and down hills, along dark alleys and bright overpasses, in search of the essence of this legendary place.

Speaking of the essence of Hong Kong, can we start with the dumplings? It seems like as good a place to start as any. We were making our way up the hill from Central district. The Central–Mid-Levels escalator and walkway system is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. This series of escalators goes through different neighborhoods and never seems to end. It's a great way to get lost for a few hours. At one point, we saw a noodle restaurant and stepped off the escalator. The place looked great and the menu was mouth-watering. Unfortunately, their broth was made with meat and they had no vegetarian option for me, so we were out of luck and starving. Across the street was a real hole in the wall that advertised dumplings. We gave it a try and it was the most delicious meal we had during our whole time in Hong Kong. It was so good, we went back for more the next day. The people who ran the place reminded us of New Yorkers: gruff, but friendly.

With a belly full of fresh, homemade dumplings and time on your hands, Hong Kong is a wonderful place to explore. It's big enough that you can't see everything in one trip, but small enough that you can't really get lost. It's by far the densest city I've ever seen, with clusters of skyscrapers stretching up, almost touching, to vertiginous heights. It's also a perfect blend of old England and new Asia. It feels familiar, yet exotic, wearing its identity loosely, like a comfortable suit. When Britain handed back sovereignty of the city-state to China in the 90's, Hong Kong retained a significant measure of independence, often testing the boundaries of this relative freedom, pushing the Chinese state to see how far it will go. There is also a very real concern that China is interfering too much in the affairs of Hong Kong, bringing with it corruption and repression that don't sit well with the sophisticated citizens of this cosmopolitan city.

We try to remind ourselves to enjoy the places we visit as much as possible, because there's no guarantee that they will continue on their present trajectories. While China is growing at breakneck speed right now, we don't know what the future holds. The same goes for many other countries that are developing and lifting their people out of poverty. I hope the future is bright for everyone and all societies, but I want to make sure I fully enjoy places like Hong Kong in their present incarnations. And Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities in the world, make no mistake.

I love the remarkable adaptability and resilience of the inhabitants. I admire their drive and ambition, forever pushing forward into the future. I'm impressed by the effortless elegance of the people who are constantly on the move, diving in and out of tall, glass buildings. There is serious money in Hong Kong, but it doesn't feel ostentatious. It feels like the quiet confidence of the well-heeled one percent. Luxurious, but not tacky.

In other words, it's the opposite of Macao, a place I had wanted to visit for years. On my last trip to Hong Kong, I didn't have time to include it on my itinerary, but this time Jona and I were both determined to go. We were intrigued by the mix of colonial Portuguese and modern Asian architecture, as well as the island's reputation as gambling nirvana. We hopped on a speed ferry that took about an hour to reach Macao. From our first steps, we knew we'd made a mistake coming ashore on the weekend. The place was heaving. In fact, it was so busy that it would be hard for me to do the scene justice. The main streets of the city were jammed with Chinese tourists in town to gamble.

Full disclosure: we're not gamblers. This makes visits to cities like Macao and Las Vegas sometimes challenging, but always interesting. Casinos are microcosms where epic dramas and victories take place. While they're morally ambiguous at the best of times, gaming meccas are painfully clear on a social level: you're either a winner or a loser. We walked around the floors watching these plays unfold, feeling slightly dirty for our voyeurism, but captivated by the raw emotions. However, we could only last so long before we needed normal oxygen levels again.

Macao has beautiful old, colonial buildings, carefully restored and painted with vivid colors, but it was hard to appreciate the sites, due to the large masses of people. In particular, we struggled at the stunning ruins of St. Paul, Macao's most recognizable landmark. The church burned down in 1835, but the façade and stone stairs remain. They are every bit as impressive in real life as they are in photos, but the stairs were crawling with people taking and retaking selfies. It was hard to stay above the fray and just enjoy the moment, but we did our best. A quick climb up to the citadel above the ruins helped, as there were far fewer visitors and a great view. From up above, the city was impressive and quiet. For a short while, we found ourselves in the Macao of our dreams after all.

Unfortunately, the sensation was short-lived because we visited the Venetian, the largest casino in the world. It was like Vegas on steroids and packed to the gills with gamblers trying their luck. The whole strip of casinos was also full of luxury shops which are of no use to use on this trip. We have a running joke that we could afford to buy expensive watches, but that we would have to cut our trip short. Each to their own. Gambling centers like Vegas and Macao are not our thing. At least, now we know.

Before we had time to think about it too much, it was back to the ferry and back to Hong Kong, where we were welcomed by the sight of city lights—one of the best skylines in the world. While Hong Kong may be overwhelming for some, it was a lovely little oasis for us. We can't wait to go back!