HK Day 17 (Sat Jul 14)

having slept not too much earlier than 6 am, i managed to rest until 1 pm. 7 hours! not bad, right? sleeping late (or early, depending on how u want to look at it) usually screws with my body/system a lot, but since i don't have the usual stresses of life, i've been pretty adaptable (i think).

after getting up, i gave Sifu Robin a call to see if he was still free to meet up. we decided to meet at 3 pm in Mong Kok. i took a quick shower and set off (takes me ~45 min to get from Anna's apartment to the Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok area). (for the record, i had wanted to enter the Day 16 blog entry before i left, but was short on time). after getting off the bus at Central, i had a funny moment where someone stopped me and asked me for directions in English to the H&M. i kind of actually knew where it was so (hopefully) pointed them in the right direction. made me wonder if i was starting to fit in a bit in my current environment, but the fact that i haven't picked up much Cantonese quickly deflated that notion.

Sifu Robin and i got dim sum (by my request). initially conversation was a bit slow, but i think it was 'cause we were both pretty exhausted still. things picked up a bit when we started talking about "the unavoidable subject" (as GM Leung Ting referred to our favorite topic when describing his tea time with the late GGM Yip Man). After "yum cha", we went to Sha Tin to meet with Robin's friend Queenie. We met her at the big indoor mall there. I had been there when i visited Mel a few years back on my first trip to Hong Kong. i didn't realize at the time how ginormous (now officially a word according to Merriam-Webster!) the place was. although i hesitate to admit this publically, one thing that is so cool about HK (or maybe just Asia) is all the Yoshi and Stitch stuff they have! good thing i'm on a budget otherwise i'd buy more than i could bring back.


we made our way to a Double-Star Cafe where we had some snacks and tea. i, naturally, got a 凍奶茶 (cold milk tea). although i still prefer 台灣 style, i think i'm getting more accustomed to the 香港 ones. we chatted for a while before the manager started signaling to Robin that we should be on our way. it was worked out alright since Queenie had somewhere she had to be. Robin and i proceeded to Causeway Bay, where we planned to get our "K" on that night.

since we were waiting for Mak Yu and Anna, i asked Robin to show me around the shops, since i hadn't spent much time at all in Causeway Bay yet. we walked around a bit and took in the scenery until Mak Yu was able to meet us. Anna had gone to Shenzhen with Colin and others, so was not expected back 'til after 10 pm, so the three of us proceeded to start off the singing-fest. We went to a place called CEO, which was, like most Karaoke places, much nicer than anything in the states. we had a buffet dinner with our package, as well as a private bathroom. the room could've easily sat 10 people, so it was quite spacious for just the three of us (and also spaciousness enough to comfortably do some chi/goh sau ;)).


Anna called around 10:30 or 11 and they were still on their way back. i wasn't sure if she'd make it in time. she called again later when she was back to her apartment and we were deciding what to do. since she wanted to Karaoke still, i asked Robin and Mak Yu if they were up for staying. the deal was if we paid the same rate again, we could've stayed there 'til 6 am so we decided to stay (just no more food at this point). we ended up singing the night away 'til about 3 am.

i was very beat, but Anna wanted to go to Privé again. although i was slightly tempted, i was 95% sure that it would be a bad idea for me to go. so i was set on going back. Anna initially decided to head back with me, but en route back to Kennedy Town, she got a text message that changed her mind. the taxi made a stop in LKF for Anna before dropping me off back at Anna's apartment. i was extremely happy to crawl into bed (where i still am with my laptop).

although i could save this for my last HK entry (or when i blog from back in Beijing), i just wanted to share how fortunate i feel to have had this chance to spend time here. that Anna was gracious in letting me crash at her place for 3 weeks. that Robin was so caring in watching out for me (making sure i got home, etc.), encouraging and guiding me in WingTsun, and trying to make sure i was entertained at all times. that the weather cleared up from being gloomy and rainy my first few days to becoming sunny and clear (though hotter). that i met many new interesting and diverse people, both within my greater WingTsun family and people in general. i think i at least partially achieved my goal of getting a feel for what it's like to live in HK, as well as get a sense of what life is like as a WingTsun practitioner here. i obviously could get to know the place much better, but am happy for the areas and bus routes i've become familiar with. i hope to have more chances in the future to revisit and enjoy 香港.