The first thing Leo shared with me was that the “Central”
station on the Subway marked the historic town center but not the current town
center. Most of the local people consider the “Mong Kok” station to be the
actual center and that is where most of the cheap local restaurants are
located. A lot of the truly local restaurants are just kitchens with the
seating located outside.
We actually had dinner that night in the Night Market. Leo
ordered two dishes, one was beef and noodles and the other was eggplant stir
fry. Both came in hot skillets, which Leo explained was very traditional for
Hong Kong.
“So do people from Hong Kong consider themselves Chinese or
not?” I asked.
He thought for a little bit. “I think it depends on the
person. Hong Kong will be absorbed in to China in 2047. Most young people are
okay with that, but some older people are not. That is why they picked a date
that was over a generation away.”
“So what are people from Hong Kong called then?” I asked. “Like
I’m an American, people in China are Chinese…”
“Hong Kongers,” Leo explained.
We walked around the Mong Kok district. One of the cultural things
Leo pointed out to me were the number of neon billboards hanging over the
street. They were everywhere and stuck out form nearly every building. There
were also pop-up banner signs on street corners and people waving signs on the
curbs to call people in.
The billboards that were most interesting were the ones that
featured these stylish looking people in suits. They almost looked like
advertisements for American Idol or some
other celebrity TV show. Leo explained that they are actually ads for tutoring
services. If you can make it as a tutor in Hong Kong, you are seen as a local
celebrity and considered the upper echelon of society.
There are also these movie ticket vending machines. They are
kind of like the kiosks that most American theaters now feature for movie tickets,
but they are all over town and can be used to purchase tickets for any of the
theaters in Hong Kong.
As a historical treat, I got to see Hong Kong’s first ice
cream man. He drives a truck around town selling vanilla soft serve out a
window, as he has for over 50 years. Leo bought me a cone of ice cream, and it
did taste really good.
“What do typical teenagers do in the US?” Leo asked.
“What do you mean by teenager?” I clarified.
“Like university students? What do they do on a Friday
night?”
“I think it depends,” I said. “I mean a lot of people get
together with their friends. They might have dinner or go to the movies or hang
out at a restaurant or bar.” I never was a good “teenager” so I’m not sure I’m the
most qualified person to ask.
“Is very different than what we do in Hong Kong,” Leo said. “We
start with dinner with friends. Then you cannot stay at that restaurant all night,
so you will move to another restaurant maybe for some dessert. After that, you
might go to the cinema. After that, you would hang out with your friends at
someone’s house. The key thing for Hong Kong people is that you need to have
time with your friends. The conversations and sharing about your lives are what
are important.”
Honestly, that sounds like the way I spend most Friday
nights.
Now there were a few odd things I observed walking around the
Mong Kok area. For one, prostitution is very illegal in both China and Hong
Kong, but Leo pointed out that the brothels that do exist are not exactly subtle.
Women hanging out in alleys between sketchy dark buildings are pretty much the
giveaway. Also a lot of private practice doctors have offices on the street level
around Mong Kok. They have neon signs with their names in both Chinese and
English. I noticed none of the English names had an “MD” after them.
After walking around for a few hours, Leo and I said
goodbye. It was nice having a private “tour guide” and great to catch up with
an old friend. 
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