I
booked the first flight to Hong Kong, Kowloon was my target city |the
second to last weekend of March 2007,
I
said to myself; Try to live, to make some memories. In the future,
all you're going to have left is memories, videos, pictures, text.
Make
the effort, I said to myself. So I did, and I arrived at Kowloon by
taking a taxi from the Hong Kong downtown area. The first weeks went
by quite smoothly, a little boring at first when I was getting used
to the feel of being in a new town. It sort of blended the capitalism
of the West and the raw feeling of living in China, with whatever
that brings to mind to my slightly more familiarized but utterly
Western mind . The food, everything was pretty
satisfactory, would you believe they had 7-11 stores in Hong Kong? It
is kind of a staple there as well. Beats me, a foreigner that didn't
even have that in his own country.
All
joking aside though, the diary is not about me getting to know the
special Asian flavors or anything detrimental like that. The thing is
that I managed to convince Klaudia Rusek to hop on the plane the following week, joining me here at my shabby place. (I keep saying HK)
At
first she was shy . We booked nearby rooms and she came to mine , I
went to hers etc for about a week. Then as I got to know the area a
little better, I used to take long walks after the sun had set, with
my camera and take pictures of the deserted metropolis. She stayed at home smoking weed. (dOOKIE)
I
love the roads when noone is around. I like seeing places that were
once bustling with life, empty. I also love nature, old buildings and the
juxtaposition of the two, especially when old vehicles have
"returned" to nature . When a place that was to become a
new block was scrapped instead,and only vines and old machines can be
seen; that's wonderful.
I
have this amalgam of pictures in my mind; Pictures of Asia, pictures
of the sea-scape images of me walking along roads with my camera
listening to Rei Harakami's music. Abandoned junkyards. Vehicles
used for construction, now dumped into a field with two cans of beer
and coke next to a carton of some Japanese company; left to the rain
and the wind.
I
have always harboured a desire to venture into Asia. Although never really
thought about actively seeking out the means to do so until later on .
I
didn't necessarily want it to be Japan that got my foot on for the
first time. Japan, particularly its language being the first "real"
experience I've had directly with Asia even if I don't particularly
like their POP culture to be honest (Anime etc bores me with minor
exceptions)
But
the thought of just the different sights that the Asian continent
held for me was something I kind of inherently had with me for years,
subconsciously.
I
think it may have a lot to do with the fact that it's just a whole
lot different to what I've been experiencing for the better part of
my life. Even a big escape plan if you will, a sort of childish
behaviour on my part, a desire to leave everything behind and start
anew. Whatever.
Places
like Kowloon's outer areas fascinate me. I just love the flats there,
I
love the narrow streets, just like Macau but at a lower scale.
The
broad squares, the monuments that no Westerner has ever set eyes on; The
places outside of the mainstream Western tourism. Picking a place on
google earth and becoming infatuated with it. Venturing into an
unknown country with really just your backpack and the album
"wasuremono" a fitting title for a place in the world,
forgotten by many.
This
ain't art by the way.
It's
just a projection of a feeling I have that makes Asia so alluring to
me Sorta like falling for a city. I booked the highest room available
and ordered a champagne. As I opened the window I heard the fanfare
of the city, at 17:00 sharp. Reminding people to stop working.
Klaudia had knocked on my door and the last rays of the sun reflected
on the venetian blinds overlooking Victoria Peaks, and the cascading
Metropolis with its post 80s architecture called for a mood that
required smooth jazz.
Putting
"Day's End' started what was going to be a very fun evening for
both of us.
"Knock
Knock!"
17:01
God,
I love the morning breeze. Let's go to the national park today, I
thought to myself.
