“Oy! Did you see that? I saw a guy brushing his teeth in that apartment!”
Hong Kong has got to be one of the most dramatic of places to fly into. Our plane cut right through downtown, passing so close to the high-rises we could see in the windows. Once landed, we took a taxi to our room in the A block of the infamous Chung King mansions, a squalid firetrap really, the main benefit being low price in this expensive city. Families rent out spare rooms for extra income, then sleep in hallways. Our room is so small the door can’t open all the way without hitting the bed, which we clamber on to get inside, sleeping with our packs as pillows because there’s nowhere else to put them. The only other thing in the room is a TV mounted on the wall, which our landlord took great pride in pointing out. It doesn’t work. Somehow I’m not that surprised. I love it.
Hamish was taken aback by the place I could tell. “This is ghastly. Is this really where we are going to stay?”Hong Kong has got to be one of the most dramatic of places to fly into. Our plane cut right through downtown, passing so close to the high-rises we could see in the windows. Once landed, we took a taxi to our room in the A block of the infamous Chung King mansions, a squalid firetrap really, the main benefit being low price in this expensive city. Families rent out spare rooms for extra income, then sleep in hallways. Our room is so small the door can’t open all the way without hitting the bed, which we clamber on to get inside, sleeping with our packs as pillows because there’s nowhere else to put them. The only other thing in the room is a TV mounted on the wall, which our landlord took great pride in pointing out. It doesn’t work. Somehow I’m not that surprised. I love it.
“Of course we are. This is what travelling is all about, staying with the people, really seeing life as they live it. You know, not everyone in the world has the luxuries we do.”
“But we don’t have our own bathroom. Have you seen the bathroom here? The one we will be sharing with six others? There’s no hot water. Just a hose coming out of the wall. And the toilet is a hole in the floor.”
I shrugged. “I've seen just as bad in Aberdeen. Look, if you want to be with me you have to be prepared to travel and you have to be prepared to travel the way I do.”
“Ok don’t get your knickers in a twist. I intend to give it a go. It will just take a bit of getting used to that’s all.”
Poor guy, he is trying. I really should cut him some slack. After all, he’s only ever been on boys’ drinking holidays to Spain. It’s like I’m giving him a test. Pass or fail. In or out. Love or lost.
“Come on,” I said, trying to be reconciliatory, “let’s go out. I’ll buy you a beer.”
Despite the late hour of our arrival, Hong Kong was buzzing. It certainly is a bit of a culture shock. The streets are crossed overhead with neon lines and there are crowds of people shopping and eating on rickety tables set up in the streets, beside the cars and busses hurtling past. Above them squat crumbling buildings, verandahs covered in plants, laundry and people. The noise and hordes are considerable.
Although no one could ever consider me tall, here we both feel like giants wading through a throng. Hamish especially, with his lanky 6’2” frame, is like a mast on a ship I could see on the horizon of black haired humanity. I clutched the sail of his shirttail to avoid being swept away, afraid to lose him in the crowd. What am I saying? My biggest fear is losing him period. When he goes out anywhere on his own my old fears rise up, unbidden and unwelcome. It’s not that I’m afraid he’ll reject me but rather that he’ll get hit by a bus. Will I ever get over this – this wretched neurosis? It exasperates him I know. Always having to reassure me that he's not Andrew. And I know that, I really do, but my heart overthrows my head.
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