Mong Kok, a neighborhood within a neighborhood
Even being a neighborhood, Kowloon would give so many days of entertainment as we would like to dedicate Located on the peninsula facing Hong Kong Island, there was a time when it was all about the neighborhood most densely populated in the world . A cover letter that, if it weren't for the fact that the data deny , we would believe we can apply today.
Even today, when you walk through its noisy streets, -a veritable swarm full of life that never rests-, the feeling of burden persists. Thousands of people walk continuously at an accelerated pace, they pass each other without looking at each other, always in an organized chaos, making up a human anthill in which novices like us will not know how to do anything other than get carried away.
But let's go back to what we were: we want to go into Kowloon to get to know each of its corners, the tourist ones and the secrets . Our intention is to discover its charms as a local plus. See, from the border, how a Hong Kong in this little piece of town.
Kowloon never stops
For that, I meet very early with lorraine , a young Uruguayan woman who, after traveling 10,000 kilometers through China, arrived in this megacity where she learns something new every day about her culture and way of life. Excited and fascinated by the city, she founded in 2015 Live Hong Kong , a small company with which she has opted to show and share that other side of the city with travelers from all over the world.
Taking note of my hostess, I bet on starting the morning as Hong Kong dictates: with a typical breakfast. The queue of Hong Kongers at the gate Kam Wah Cafe It leads me to intuit that yes, this place is going to be the most authentic. The fact that none of the waitresses speak a word of English , confirms it. Served at lightning speed, they immediately find us a place at a shared table.
A yuanyang -mixture of tea and coffee with condensed milk- and a pineapple bun with butter -which, by the way, among its ingredients does not have a hint of pineapple - are enough to satisfy my hunger for almost the whole day. Calories everywhere… this is pure happiness !
The pineapple buns do not have any pineapple
Opposite the premises of this bar-cafeteria-restaurant we come across a large number of shops whose doors hang dozens of small plastic bags with water . Inside, fishes of all sizes, shapes and colors. We are in the heart of Goldfish Market , what a surprise!
Lorena then tells me about Feng Shui, that spiritual doctrine so present in everyday life and in every little aspect of life in Hong Kong. Here, the fish are symbolic of wealth and attract the energy of abundance. Entering one of the stores, we discover a world of tanks and fish tanks with lights fluorescent that the best clubs in Ibiza already wanted, she listens.
This area is known as Mong Kok . And yes, we could describe it as a neighborhood within another neighborhood. Also here, a little further north, we come to another of the markets that arouses the most interest in us: the Bird Market , which is located in a small park next to the Flower Market. They come to him every day old men with cages in which they walk their little birds. Because if! It turns out that these also attract the good luck.
Kowloon never sleeps
So while the grandparents chat, their pets get some fresh air. To finish off the plan –and because in this city any excuse is a good one to set up a business - In the park there are many stalls where you can buy more birds , traditional cages, food – from crickets to worms or live grasshopper - and all kinds of gadgets whose usefulness, sometimes, is a bit in the air.
And it is that to spend It is the most widespread activity among Hong Kongers. One of the neuralgic centers to rehearse such a successful practice is in Nathan Road, an elongated avenue that, with its thousands of neon signs and shops, its chaos and its traffic, is the true reflection of what we all imagine when we think of a asian city.
But if ours is the bargaining , let's stop the nonsense and go to the hard core of shopping. easy to find improvised markets in almost any corner, but two take the cake. We start by taking a walk around the Ladies Market: paradise for lovers do you copy of big brands.
Neon chaos on Nathan Road
Here you can find from a bag gucci still rolex or, why not, a curious machine for making massages of those announced by the Teletienda. Yes, all of imitation . Although, in most cases, it costs the same life distinguish between copy and original.
At nightfall, however, the meeting will be a little further south, in Yau Mai Tei. Temple Street Market It is a real hubbub in which the ingredients are the most varied. A good handful of street stalls, a dose of food -also street-, a pinch of clairvoyants and the icing on the cake: outdoor karaoke . Fun is assured.
But let's go back to daylight, we still have a lot to see in Kowloon. Lorena now proposes to me to change the subject: we are approaching a real oasis of peace, no longer in the neighborhood, but throughout the city.
Go through the gates that lead to Chi Lin Nunnery , one of the most beautiful monasteries I have ever seen, is like entering another dimension. Insulating panels eliminate noise from neighboring roads, leaving you free to enjoy your Nian Lan garden , its ponds and its golden pagoda with nothing to spoil it.
"Chi Lin Nunnery, one of the most beautiful monasteries I have ever seen"
Gardening professionals pamper every inch of their trees while we have no choice but to contemplate our surroundings in awe. The monastery, inhabited by buddhist nuns, was raised at the beginning of 20th century although completely rebuilt in 1998. Completely lined with wood and built without using a single nail, it's a beauty.
To continue feeding our most spiritual side, Lorena suggests that we go to the temple of Wong Tai Sin, dedicated to the monk of the same name, where I receive a master class on taoism, professed religion, but also on buddhism Y Confucianism : here is room for all three.
Surrounded by buildings of impossible heights, it is as crowded or more than the markets we just visited. My hostess explains some details to me: for example, that on the corners of the roofs of the temples you can see a series of figures in a row: the lanterns . The number will indicate the importance From the temple. The more figures, the more important. Wong Tai Sin It has seven of them.
At Wong Tai Sin Temple everyone has something to do
red lanterns, those so typically Chinese, hang everywhere while believers of all sexes, ages and professions wander from one side to another eager to meet and ask. There are those who light incense sticks for your prayers; also those who shake cans with bamboo sticks who predict fortune. The number of the one that falls first to the ground will later be interpreted by the fortune tellers who wait patiently in the galleries of the temple.
The precepts of feng shui are, of course, also present here through the five geomantic elements. Lorena explains it to me slowly, stopping at each of them: the bronze pavilion represents the metal Hall of Archives , timber; the Yuk Yik Font, Water; the Yue Heung Shrine, the fire; and finally the earth wall, the earth. Having decided that our particular feng shui is absolutely in order, we hit the road. And we are clear: the time has come to to eat.
But we are in luck: there is no city in the world with a variety in its culinary proposals broader than Hong Kong. We get a little exquisite and we go to Tim Ho Wan , the one they say is the restaurant with Michelin star plus cheap of the world.
A couple of dim sun dishes, some noodles, some bake barbacue pork buns -His p star side - and an hour and a half later, I have it clear: in Hong Kong, gastronomy is full stop. Will I be able to get into my Cowboys back to Spain? The bill, by the way, is just over the equivalent of ten euros.
But yes, oddly enough, Kowloon continues to store many more proposals in its streets and buildings. In the Waterfront Podium Garden, with views of the Central district that catch you even if you don't want to, is the Garden of Stars, a kind of “Walk of Fame” in the Hong Kong style.
The important development of to film industry of the last century in the city ended up turning it into the closest thing to Asia's Hollywood, and to honor all those who made it possible – Bruce Lee and Anita Very among them-, dozens of sculptures related to the cinema throughout this park.
Bruce Lee, guest of honor at the Garden of Stars
After nightfall and alone, I advance to the area of Victoria Harbor to enjoy, once again, another of the highlights of the city: the Symphony of the Lights , a light show projected on the facades of the universe of infinite skyscrapers that populate the north shore of Hong Kong Island. Absolutely unmissable.
At this point, I can sit down with Calm down and observe the boats that come and go from one of the benches next to the old clock tower , or I can cheer up and decide to enjoy the night hong kong from the heights Did you also like the second option better? Well here we go...
At 100 Nathan Road, on the 20th floor of the mall TheOne, I find the perfect corner to spend the best of evenings: Coffee Deco . Sitting on its small terrace, I am unable to take my eyes off the incredible sight before me: the thousands of buildings that surround me, some closer, others beyond imagining, shine like authentic diamonds in the dark.
And so with a Daisy flower between my hands and Hong Kong at my feet, I tell him good night to the city. The same one that will continue to boil throughout the nights and days. Without a rest. Without truce. Because, you know: this little corner of the world has no intention of stop .
Kowloon at night is even more spectacular