Clouds Floating Over Kowloon

"Rosiness is not a worse windowpane than gloomy gray when viewing the world."
--Grace Paley, American writer and political activist

There's no better place in Hong Kong to be when the sun is setting than on the water or overlooking the harbor. Tonight these clouds were hanging in the skies over Kowloon as I sat on our deck and enjoyed the coolness of the evening. It's hot here in Hong Kong this week, and the only breath of relief comes when the sun sinks toward the horizon and an evening breeze comes in across the harbor.

This is only a partial view the Kowloon skyline, but it captures some of the recent additions to Hong Kong's fascinating collection of architecture. The tall thin building on the left is the new International Commerce Center, completed just last year and housing a new Ritz Carlton Hotel that starts on the 102nd Floor. It mirrors the magnificent International Finance Center building that towers over the harbor directly across from it on the Hong Kong Side. Between the two, they form an impressive gateway into Victoria Harbor, insuring Hong Kong's place in the international race for who can construct the world's tallest building. Currently the new International Commerce Center occupies an impressive No. 5 on the list of the world's tallest buildings, and it's sister building, the IFC, occupies No.10 - record-breaking, world class architecture right outside our windows here on the harbor!

The sun is glinting off of the new Harbor City Mall development that sits adjacent to the Ocean Liner docks, the long time port-of-call for Star Cruise Lines, a short-distance excursion company based out of Hong Kong, The ships and the entire recently refurbished port area remind us that Hong Kong is very much a destination city, still an exotic stop-over for world travelers and tourists from all over Asia. The Mall complex, although one of the largest, is just one of many malls and shopping complexes scattered throughout the city, making it no wonder Hong Kong is high on the world's list of international shopping destinations. But despite the many wonders inside, for tonight it's the outside of the Mall buildings, and how they're capturing and reflecting the light, that's caught my attention!

Kowloon is one of the top five most densely populated places on the planet, and it only takes one visit to the shopping areas up near Mongkok on a Saturday afternoon to understand this is no exaggeration. But if you can get away from the massive crowds in the most highly trafficked areas, the ancient, winding streets of Kowloon with their old tenement buildings and gated courtyards scream of intrigue and mystery. Kowloon is the Hong Kong you read about in adventure novels, the crowded neon-lit streets with back alleyways and hidden staircases leading to mysterious shops selling any number of exotic and foreign items. Once you leave the port areas, most of Kowloon is largely off-limits to foreigners, and Westerners often need a guide to navigate the crowded neighborhoods that stretch on endlessly toward Mainland China.

When we first visited Hong Kong, one of our favorite things to do was to ride the Star Ferry over to Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon's port area, and then take a taxi up to the Bird Garden and Flower Market. From there we would wander down through the crowded shopping areas where they sell everything from fish to clothes to electronics. It was always quite a journey, but always well worth the trip - we've seen nothing to compare with the markets in Kowloon and have spent many a weekend exhausting ourselves in the heat and crowds just trying to make a small dent in the massive maze of shops and vendors along Kowloon's busy streets.

But tonight the craziness and crowding of Kowloon is safely across the harbor, and I'm content to see it from afar. No matter how hectic the pace on the city streets, tonight there is nothing more peaceful than feeling the breeze off the water, hearing the sound of the boats and watching the clouds floating over Kowloon.