Summer Travel 2023 #8: Hong Kong July 24-27

My final stop on my summer solo trip was in Hong Kong. I stayed in the Silka Sea View Hotel in Kowloon. The room was small but had a nice view of the park next door and the hotel was located near some nice landmarks.

I arrived at around 3pm but on my first day there I just slept off as much of my jetlag as possible.   I fell asleep around 6 or 7pm and woke up at 2am. 

Since I was mighty restless at 2am I decided to take a walk to the sea.  It was only about a 20 minute walk each way. On my way back to my hotel I found someone selling some overpriced "fun green stuff".  I won't be too specific here but I did end up getting some of the overpriced stuff which I took back to my hotel room and prepared for consumption.

By the time I had finished preparing my smokables the sun was cresting the horizon.  I took a walk in Kings Park and indulged a bit.

I found the experience of daytime indulgence to be a bit too paranoia inducing.  Even tucked away in the foliage of this park I was too worried about getting caught so from that point on I only enjoyed this at night.  The experience was reminiscent of my teen years in the US prior to widespread medical and recreational legalization and decriminalization.  While it might seem strange to many teens today, consuming this stuff when I was in high school was very risky.  Hiding in the woods with your head on a swivel is no way to enjoy the experience. 

Later that day I went to the Sai Wan Swimming Shed, but was disappointed that the water access had been locked up for safety reasons.  I was so drenched in sweat by the time I got back to my hotel that it felt like I had gone for a swim in the ocean anyway. 

When late evening rolled around I was prepared to join one of the many local Hash House Harrier chapters for a run but was unable to catch a cab in time and therefore ended up changing my plans.  I ended up having some drinks with some fellow club members, one of which I knew from Shenzhen, at some bars near Wan Chai. 

We started at Misty's Bar and then moved on to Banana Joes.  I lost track of my friend Ed but continued to hang out with Erin.  I had switched to water by this point because I was sufficiently drunk.  We went to a couple other bars that night.  Erin got sloppy drunk, and despite having only just met her, I had to babysit her and help her get back to Ed's place before retiring myself.  I could not in good conscious let her try to get home on her own.  We wandered around Wan Chai a little bit trying to figure out Ed's address until finally I took her phone from her, scrolled through her messages, and found his address.  Then I hailed a cab.  We both hopped in.  Ed met us at the intersection near his place and escorted Erin away.  I walked back to my hotel.  It was a fun night but I was generally uncomfortable with having to babysit a drunk stranger who was not respecting my boundaries. 

On Wednesday I woke up early.  I was pretty hung over but I got a light breakfast at the hotel and spent some time messaging Faye.  She was not too happy about the events of the night prior.  This would become a long drawn out conversation about respect and boundaries but we eventually resolved things.

In the afternoon I went to Little Indian for a late lunch, then I went to the Yau Ma Tei Temple before walking through Kowloon Park to visit the HK Space Museum.  

That night I walked around a lot.  I visited the Temple Street Night Market and the Jade Hawker's Bazaar.  I also replenished my stash with another overpriced baggie and indulged once more while I could.  

Thursday morning I checked out of my hotel and boarded the ferry at Sheung Wan.  I was home before 1pm. 

This whole trip lasted 35 days and included tons of adventure.  Following my return to Shenzhen I collapsed in my bed and slept for 12hrs.