M-whY

So I did, and she mailed me back with her mobile number. We arranged to meet for lunch today, so at 12:30pm, I arrived at Kwun Tong MTR, on the lookout for Maxim's Cakes, the meeting point we had agreed on. She spotted me before I saw her.

"Mark?"

"Oh, hi Vivian!"

"Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, just a few seconds ago."

"Oh, good. I found out there are two Maxim Cakes around here, I was worried you might be waiting at the other. I'll bring you a Taiwanese restaurant, is that okay?"

That was fine with me, and she led me through a sparkly white shopping mall connected to the MTR station. We had to stand in queue for a table, but we had plenty to talk about while we waited.

"I really envy that you can travel around the world," she said at one point, a sentiment I've heard many times before. Though it's not like she wasn't a well traveled person herself. She had spent a full year working and touring Australia. Having just returned to Hong Kong in July, she found herself reminiscing a lot. I imagine I'll go through the same thing when I finally get home too.

I had a plate of spaghetti that looked and tasted more western than Taiwanese, and while eating, we chatted about a variety of topics. People we've met in our journeys, favorite places we've been, etc. Afterwards, she invited me to her home.

"It's a bit small," she apologized beforehand.

"It's okay." I didn't Hong Kong to have many spacious apartments anyways.

Living with Vivian were her mother, sister, and a cute rabbit that wouldn't let me pick her up. Also alarmed by my presence was Vivian's one year old niece, who cried whenever she looked at me.

"She was scared of me too when I first got back," said Vivian. I tried to get on her good side by offering her some food, but all she did was break into tears again.

For much of the afternoon, she showed me pictures she had taken down under. A year had given her enough time to explore all four corners of the continent, including the less visited west coast. My experiences paled in comparison. For example, I never got to live through what it's like working on a farm or FWDing through Frasier Island. According to her, Tasmania was still her favorite, so I felt better that I too also went under down under.

In the evening, I returned to Mong Kok to see the bright neon lights of restaurants, stores, and guesthouses offering hourly rates. I took a stroll through the Ladies Market, a street full of open air stalls peddling (among other things) clothes, cell phone accessories, and lingerie.

"Relax, will you?" I heard an exasperated woman say to her husband.

"I am relaxed," he replied, though it was obvious he wasn't pleased to be shopping. Fortunately, I had no one holding me back, and was able to get out of there pretty fast.

For dinner, I met up with Sing, a friend from Pittsburgh who had returned to Hong Kong to work, at Causeway Bay. He took me to a place where people from Hong Kong eat, and translated my order to Cantonese for the waiter. He, like many people, expressed amazement at what I was doing. I tried explaining to him that travelling is really easy.

"It's so easy to meet people. The guesthouses and hostels are full of people that are doing the same thing. See? There are even guesthouses here in Hong Kong."

"Uhh, I don't think these guesthouses have travellers. People come here to... you know..." he said, alluding to the hourly rates. I guess that made sense. Many young people still live with their family, and the small living quarters don't allow much privacy...

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked after we had finished eating.

"I don't know. Anything."

We considered going to the bars, but in the end, we went to play basketball JLo, with another friend from Pittsburgh who came back to Hong Kong on summer vacation. People familiar with my life before this trip know that I'm an avid player, sometimes spending several nights a week in the gym after work. Six months of inaction made me really rusty, and I could feel the burn in my thighs after just one game. Needless to say, I sucked.

"And I told them you were good," grinned JLo after I had been run ragged.

"I'm sorry. It's been a long time," was all I could manage in return.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!