An Introduction to Asia

Where a land and its culture are completely new to an observer, to slip into the place by degrees, to slide ever so slowly into the differences, is very nice. In Looking for China, Judy Schultz titled her chapter about Hong Kong "The Land Between" and she was right: it's a place of neither here nor there, permanently lodged between the West and the East; and the perfect place to start a trip to Asia.

Arriving in Central, the business district, on that first morning, I couldn't have told you that this was Asia. There were people in suits, both dark- and light-skinned, hustling everywhere, crowding onto the metro, managing their Blackberrys. There were Starbucks storefronts with customers reading newspapers over expensive coffees. There was a polite voice announcing the stops on the subway. This could have been any city in North America, except that the subway voice spoke with a mild English accent and cars drove on the left side of the road.

Then I realized that all the signs had Chinese characters on them. Up the hill towards Queen Street and Hollywood Road, other signs of Asia appeared too. Narrow alleys replaced broad streets. Wide storefronts receded and stalls crammed with anything that could be sold filled the hole. Overhead walkways simply disappeared and the pedestrians fit themselves in where they could. Vendors leaped from piles of knick-knacks, jewelry and little red books - surprise! - to harangue the unsuspecting passer-by. Space was at a premium.

Even the smell changed. Gone was the sharp divide between pristine, air-conditioned office buildings and the urban odour of everywhere - engine exhaust and litter and industry. Here was the pungency of food for sale. The nosy-ness of fresh seafood flopping around in shallow water and of fishmongers cleaning a purchase right on the spot. The heavy waft of a natural medicine shop - dried birds nests available here! The sticky sweetness of a noodle stall.

I loved watching these pieces of a foreign world. They went right on with their day, a little China, as if the English never arrived. But the English did show up and I was glad. The western influence on Hong Kong gave me time to get comfortable with Asia; it also gave me access to the comforts of home and I made sure to get my fill. I even went to McDonald's before I caught the train from Kowloon's Hung Hom station.

After my hashbrown, I was ready for mainland China.