I spent my final days in Calcutta at the Chandak residence, sans my buddy Ankit. His parents offered to host me, and upon finding out that most of the guesthouses wanted a ridiculous amount of money for me to stay there, I accepted (No matter how nice anybody ever is to me, I still find it hard to accept hospitality). After my sweet train ride from Darjeeling in First Class (It's a cultural experience, right? It was also the only seat that I could possibly get... Luxury out of necessity, you know?), I accompanied Ankit's Dad to Calcutta's version of Green Lake for a walk in the park. I'm pretty sure that nobody there had ever seen a white guy exercising in the morning before, which earned me a look or two. They helped me pass the day by feeding me excessively, making sure that there was no Indian style food that I had not tried. Finally, on the last day, Ankit's mom helped me gain access to a block printing 'factory,' upon learning of my obsession with fabric and art really...
I finished out my time in Calcutta by running last minute errands and doing my best to soak in the last bit of Indian culture I could before landing in Bangkok.
An aside: There is no better picture of a city than the one shown on the ride from the center of town to an airport out in the suburbs. India's is probably the most fascinating of any place in the world. The poverty, the smells, the colors, the construction, the living conditions, the massive amount of people, the old and the new--everything--just provides such stark contrast. One moment you're gawking at a brand new billion dollar high rise, and the next you realize that some kid is cupping his testicles in order to not crap on himself RIGHT NEXT TO THE SIDEWALK! How would you like to dodge traffic while you do your business in the morning? Anyway, sorry to be so graphic, but it's there, and it's something you should know about...
Anyway, I landed in Bangkok then made my way downtown to meet up with my girlfriend's other friend Katie, who lived in the most ridiculously sweet apartment 26 stories above downtown. Upon arrival we stormed out into the city and just soaked up everything possible--I had to, I only had about 24 hours before another flight to Hong Kong. Fried roaches were eaten, Durian fruit was tested (It is AWFUL, a combination of yogurt texture with a smell of piss and cardboard, plus a taste too terrifying to describe), and lady boys were turned down (I suggest you Google it...). The next day consisted of eating myself silly at the market, and neatly placing all unnecessary things in a corner of Katie's apartment before I flew to Hong Kong to meet my good buddy Jon Lee.
About three or four weeks ago, I found out that Jon would be in Hong Kong. I considered it a sign, and almost immediately made plans to fly round trip from Bangkok in order to make it to HK before he left. You see, I worked with Jon for a year doing student government stuff at UW, and he quickly became one of my best friends--I think we share the same pursuasive, sheister-like, characteristics at time. Regardless, it was on in Hong Kong.
As soon as I landed we stepped right off into the city and to its Beer Festival, which happened to conveniently be going on downtown. I was immediately shocked by how immaculately kept the city was, at how many incredibly tall buildings it has, and just how many people I saw at 8pm in the evening. It was like being in Bangkok with how clean it was, and like being in India with how many people there were... I guess you could say it made for a smooth transition.
Here you can see one of the many Hong Kong food stalls, conveniently placed in eateries known as food court. The orange stuff in the bottom of the picture is pig intestine on a stick. I had it, and it tastes exactly like a pig farm smells. Think about it...
After some reminiscing, conversing with some expats and other business folk in the area, and a little bit of eating, we went back to the Hong Kong projects (it's Jon's term) to sleep. When we woke up, we ate again--twice. The first time it was Dim Sum, the traditional Chinese brunch--an assortment of freshly made finger foods similar to the Spanish tapas in style, but incredibly dissimilar in taste, texture, and well, everything else. We felt it appropriate that I look at the menu and choose since I was the visitor. Being unable to read Cantonese, aside from thinking the symbols look like things, I picked at random. As a result, I was able to try about four things I would NEVER eat in the states... Below is myself eating the ultra savory chicken feet.
The eating continued: more chicken's feet, spare ribs, suckling pig, goose, duck, wonton noodle, tea, more tea, tripe, squid, coagulated pigs blood (below, it looks like ice cubes!), and so so so much more. Fortunately for me, Jon knew the city like the back of his hand--when the museums were free, where you could have the 10th best roasted goose in the world, how to know if the shrimp you were eating in the wontons was fresh... pretty much everything I cared about.
I think that I secretly realized I was growing up on my second night in Hong Kong, as cheesy music blared over the loud speakers in Kowloon Peninsula--one of three major parts of HK--as the light show went off across on the island of Hong Kong (All of the big business buildings have lights that go nuts during this thirty minute music show; think discotech). Maybe it's that the end of my trip is looming in the distance, or the fact that my friends are starting to get married, get jobs, and basically just settle down. For some reason, I think it's harder for me to accept because I've been gone while everything else moves forward for everyone else. Even though I'm constantly doing something, learning, changing, etc. it's kind of like time has stopped for me, while all of these things happen to my friends. Of course, inevitably, I'll go back, and like riding a bike, it will feel like I haven't missed a step.
The thought provoking light show of Hong Kong...
Over the final days we continued to explore the city--art museums, boat rides, trams, trollies, malls, more food courts, wwwwwwwaaaaayyyy more food, hard rain, markets, and the horse races. I wish I could explain more about it, but a kid's got to keep some things in store for once he returns home...
It was only appropriate that I talked Jon into trying to take an artsy photo while we were at the art museum. In his defense, the lighting was horrible...
The pig's blood tastes like iron... It's bottom right, on the same plate as the liver. This is a basic Chinese meal--the hot pot--where you cook everything in boiling water.
The incomparable Mr. Jonathan Lee and myself taking in the horse races...
From left to right: (L) Everyone in Asia, (R) Me... I only kid... sort of.
Finally, I've kind of wondered if people are nicer to strangers because of the opportunity to make a good first impression, and why comfort can be measured by the ability to make fun of someone to their face, or open up a refrigerator that isn't yours. What do you think?
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