Hong Kong is vibrant and amazing. Today, I went to Mass, Horse Racing, Victoria Peak, and had the best Indian cuisine I have ever tasted. Yesterday, I visited the Tian Tan Buddha, hiked up the peak of Lautan Island, explored for a club my professor swears exists, and had my experience of the biggest gay club in Hong Kong. I suppose I should begin with yesterday.
Buddha and the Mountain
Many of you know that I have little love for Eastern Religions. Their view of creation and of man's purpose within it is morally repellent to me; however, many practitioners have done great things, and the works of religious art and actions are certainly something to behold (there are no contradictions, but that conversation will have to wait for another time).
The Tian Tan Buddha is an enormous bronze statue of Buddha with a welcoming Swastika on the Buddha's chest (no really, it is a sign of welcome in Buddhism, Hitler totally stole it). He sits on his lotus throne with an arm for peace and another for welcome. The Po Lin Monastery sits not far away, and construction continues on the grounds of this Buddhist site. Anyway, the statue was quite impressive to behold, and I'm still trying to get a more complete grasp of Buddhist cosmology.
My real target, however, sat next to the Buddha, the peak of Lautan island. Hong Kong's islands are really giant dead volcanic mountains, and the city sits in its valleys, slowly growing up on the mountain (or just creating new land out into the ocean). I hadn't really climbed a mountain like this since I was in South Korea, which was quite some time ago (don't make me count right now).
My class began as a group, but, very soon, began to separate into different sets of people. I stuck with the Dean of the McIntire School, Dean Z. He moved with great zest for a person of 60, but even he had to rest for longer than I was willing. As soon as he let me skip ahead (I wasn't just going to abandon him), I made my way to the top. I was the third to reach it (because I don't abandon people). After getting there, everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) was talking about how that hike was the hardest thing that they had ever done, except me (okay, so not EVERYONE).
I didn't know how to communicate to them that I found the hike easy, that I was expecting more, and had done far more physically demanding things in my life. When I indicated a small bit of this to one of my classmates, I received a cheeky, "then why weren't you the first to the top". Not wanting to argue an obvious point, I allowed the comment to pass, and simply smile as my classmates hyperbolize.
The mountain was great, and we took a lift back down to Hong Kong island (which was really cool, you go from the top of one island, to the bottom of the other).
The Club
Later that night, Charlie and I decided to set out for a club that Professor Maxham had told us about. He told us that it was close to the Langham Hotel, and that it was several floors of different music and attractions. Charlie and I were both keen on seeing something like this as there are a few places like this in America, but seeing a Hong Kong version would only mean even more glitz and glamour.
It was not to be. We searched desperately and asked around to all the locals, but no one could think of a club that matched that description. So finally, Charlie acquiesced and we went off to Propaganda, the largest gay club in Hong Kong.
As we went, Charlie was clearly nervous, but after some alcohol and confirmation of the existence of pretty women in the club, he calmed down. Entering, we found that the pretty girls we talked to at the entrance were about the only ones that were going to show up that night. So, Charlie proceeded to run game on 3 girls at once, and before the club was even pumping, they were leaping all over him. I played a role quite well, deflecting any gay attention he might receive, winging slightly, and scanning the room for potential friends.
You know what gays need? Lots of things, but right now, I'm thinking about signs. I really would have liked a sign that read something like, "I have a boyfriend, I'm happy with him, and I would like to be friends and dance". I realize that sounds a little Dane Cook, "Fuck guys tonight and dance", but that was how I felt. Anyway, I tried to look for Kosher groups, and ended up with four very interesting tales.
The Dance
Before dancing, I had a creepy fat Asian guy come over and start to talk to me. Charlie and I were talking with the girls, and he moved over quickly to ask, "Are you guys here for the girls or what?", a clear indication that he wanted to know which of us was gay. I promptly informed him of Charlie's straightness and told him that I was here to protect him (thus indicating my correctness). The guy had spent a good bit of time in San Francisco, thus explaining the accent. It was quite clear that he was attempting to run game on me, but there are some people who are immune to these things. I might be nice, and I might lack sharp rudeness to cut things off, but I'm fiercely loyal and logical. After finally taking a hint, he moved away, though he would remain creepily in the shadows throughout the night.
I walked Charlie to the bathroom when he indicated his need to pee. He asked me why I bothered, and I explained that gay bathrooms in clubs can be dangerous locations. At the time, things looked pretty calm, and I was pleasantly surprised that eyes remains somewhat on their own business (if you catch my drift).
Moving onto the dance floor, Charlie quickly triple danced and I moved toward personal amusement. The music was great, there was tons of energy, and a smoke machine that would blow periodically. Sometimes, it would be so dense with smoke that you could not see someone two feet in front of you (you can imagine the gay escapades that likely happen there). I noticed two French guys dancing about. How did I know they were French? I didn't, but it was clearly a game of "European or Gay" and these people fit the inclusive quantifier of "or" (for you non-philosophical types, that means they were European AND Gay).
I moved to dance with them, thinking that a group mean I was safe and hopefully these two were boyfriends. Too quick for me to notice, one of the two moved away and I was left dancing with only one. The "dancing" that ensued after a point could no longer be called that except for pant-barriered frottage. I made several attempts to move away. I played ignorant appropriately, but was having difficulty avoiding his come-ons. So, I promptly excused myself to the bathroom to get some distance.
The Bathroom Strikes Back
Returning to the commode; however, at this point, things were getting a little less kosher. I went to a stall and attempted to shield myself from any potential onlookers. However, the guy next to me kept his eyes fixed. Peripheral vision only really sees motion, and there was clearly slow, long motions that meant if I looked over in his direction, a proposition involving taste testing was likely to occur. Again, as Todd taught me, ignorance is the best policy, and I quickly moved away. I think I managed to escape the bathroom without too much of an incident, but clearly I showed a great deal of discomfort.
Dance Floor II: The Chinese Trio
The Frenchman had clearly left the club. Maybe I broke his heart, maybe some creeper picked him up after I left. Oh well, I could dance by myself again and look for friends if it looked like someone might respect decent boundaries. Moving out to the dance floor, I was probably felt up four or five times, something you simply learn to ignore.
Near the same place I first danced, three Catonese Chinese lept on me. They seemed like a high energy fun group, so I tried to play along for awhile. However, copious hand movements over my abdomen and squeezing my arms made me uncomfortable (gee, whodathunkthat?). So, after enough dancing by myself and slow movements away, they finally left me alone.
The Aussie
Finally, I was alone, I could dance, and things were going well. Charlie approached me and told me that the girls were leaving and "dragging" him along (I'm pretty sure they would have done anything he wanted at that point). He asked if I wanted to come along or stay at the club. I opted for staying, even though I knew this was a dangerous proposition.
Several eyes could be felt as I was suddenly a loan gay man in a club with a boyfriend halfway around the world (technically the furthest way around the world he could be, given we fix one of our locations). However, salvation seemed to come in an Australian shaped package, but, remember, the devil has many faces.
A six foot tall Australian and a nearly as tall Chinese were dancing on the poles near the dance floor. The Chinese was buying the Australian several drinks and they seemed to be enjoying each other's company. Dancing about, the Australian gave me some eyes that suggested I should make friends, so I decided to make friends.
Now let's be clear, this Australian was HOT. His body was firm, his legs were shaped, and his face was excellent (a difficult feature to find in Asia actually). I might not have been looking for anything of a romantic sort, but adding another hot friend to my repertoire certainly wasn't going to hurt. And plus, he looked like he had a friend (you can already see where I'm going with this).
I moved up and started dancing, he pulled me up with him, and we had a good time. The dancing was typical gay, which is a little more riske than what straight people are use to. Everyone was laughing and things seemed to be going well. However, I noticed that the Asian friend wasn't coming around anymore, and a check toward the bar, I was a tall Chinese giving me a death stare. This was warning sign 1 for Jacob. However, please remember, I am a blonde. I honestly have a hard time telling when someone is attracted to me.
Dancing about, I felt something on my neck, and realized the Australian's face moving away from me. I figured I must have bumped him only to realize later that he was trying to give me a peck. This was sign 2, and an inkling was building that something wasn't quite right. Being that I had Mass in the morning, I knew I should leave by 3 and at time was fast approaching. I had myself an escape route if I got another sign that suggested there was more than friendship.
Sign 3 actually couldn't have come at a more opportune moment. I told the Aussie that I was going to have to leave, I had Mass in the morning. That tends to scare away most gays, but as I moved through the club, I felt a sharp tug and was pulled back toward the Aussie. He says, "I want to give you a present before you leave", and moves in for a kiss. Things were mostly a blur from there as I shouted, "I can't" and ran away. I probably hurt someone's feelings pretty bad, now that I think about it in reflection, but loyalty has to come before it all.
I had forgotten some cardinal rules of going to gay clubs. You have to be quite clear on your availability, because everyone assumes you're free, and you have to be very careful unless someone thinks that you are a "cock tease".
End of Yesterday, Beginning of Today: Mass
(Now would be a good time to take a break from this post. I will begin the intermission and you can go to the bathroom)
INTERMISSION
END INTERMISSION
I got up early today and set off to breakfast. I managed to get a group of five together to go to Mass. I found a 10:00 am Mass that wouldn't conflict with any other schedules. We made our way but there was no way to prepare for what I saw.
Filipinos...EVERYWHERE. And not just any Filipinos, women, all women. There were perhaps 20 men in a sea of people. I could barely understand until my mind began piling the pieces together like a Mentat (see Frank Herbert's Dune for the reference). These were all the Filipino women who came over to work for their families as domestic servants in the homes of middle and upper classes in Hong Kong. The Masses at the Church happened four times in the morning, twice in the evening. The morning masses were in English, the evening in Tagalog. The morning masses happened on the top of the hour every hour for four hours (again like I said). That meant rapid fire Catholic Church, all the operations had to be over in 45 minutes in order to give enough time for the next party to come in and for us to leave.
It was amazing, and the life in the Church was great. It's sad to think that these women have to work so far from their families, but it was great to see that the Church was there to try and help in its capacity. I really hope it's making the best effort that it can.
Horse Racing
Apparently, horse racing is a huge thing in Hong Kong. It happens twice a week, almost every week of the year. There is a huge track and the Hong Kong Jockey Club is among the wealthiest clubs in all of Hong Kong. After a short interim from Church, Claudelle and I headed out for the horse race.
We had quite a time getting there, but those details would be too difficult to write here. Instead, I want to give some quick impressions of the horse races.
The horses were beautiful, the amount of money bet on each particular race was ridiculous, and the overall races was enormous (millions of dollars for each race), and this happens biweekly mind you and there was nothing important going on that would make this day exceptional. The Chinese gamble, and they gamble hard.
Victoria Peak
After the horse races, several of us met up with Professor Maillet to go to the top of Victoria Peak, the highest point in all of Hong Kong. To get there, we took a cable car, which is pulled by a cable (yeah, it's an accurate name), all the way to the top. Most tourists buy a trip to the top of the cable and think they've hit Victoria Peak, but professor Maillet was no tourist. He had previously lived in a house on the Peak (very prestigious). He walked us around and showed us ungodly houses that were going for ungodly prices. The wealth amassed up there is truly astounding, but the view is even greater.
You can literally look out over all of Hong Kong. Clouds pass by you and you marvel. Looking at the city, it is amazing what a price system can coordinate, and you really begin noticing something of the Hayekian "spontaneous order" of Hong Kong. This is definitely a city that shows what free markets can do, even more so than Singapore. I'll sill say there's too much government, but this is a good place to start.
There and Back Again: A Jacob's Tale
I made my way back to the Hotel area, and joined a few friends at a local Indian restaurant. You have to get used to finding these out of the way places that have some of the greatest meals ever. I had the best Indian food I have ever had.
Finally, I made my way back here, and wrote all of this for you guys. I'm approaching the end of my time here, and I can't wait to see you all again, especially Danny. He owes me!
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