HONG KONG

The whole street seemed to be full of screaming ‘pick me! pick me!’ florescent signs.

Harbour

Sandra was one of Ammon’s closest friends, though he often refused to admit he had any. We learned quickly how friendly and positive Sandra was – the kind of person who celebrates her birthday by buying you lunch.

The daily markets crammed between tiny alleys bursting with goods of all kinds amazed me, but we were being set free now, underway with all sails set, strong winds blowing, and a whole world of possibilities opening up to us.

“You can come out now,” Bree laughed, demonstrating how safe it was with a big gulp of seemingly harmless air.

We eagerly followed our bubbly new friend around the city as the days raced by, on foot and riding the occasional water ferry and double-decker city buses.

When we had completed her four-day, introductory crash course to the marvels of Sandra’s birth city, the five of us said goodbye at the front entrance to the subway station.

The subway was nearly empty when we got on, but it got busier and busier as we passed more stops. What else did I expect in the most populous country in the world – 1.3 billion people had to get where they were going somehow, obviously!?

Throughout the nearly forty-hour flight to Hong Kong, I had expected to hear myself screaming hysterically at any moment – Get me out of here. Get me off this plane now!

Star Ferry

Hong Kong by night.

It was as small as the closet under the stairs in “Harry Potter.” It contained nothing more than a bed, which was all that could physically fit in the space. My eyes widened involuntarily as I took in the sad sight. So, this is my new life.