I
must admit I misjudged Hongkong for a lot of reasons. The skyscrapers and modernized buildings
clearly registers on a tourists’ perspective.
While this may be true, there are streets and alleys that withstood time
and speaks of history and culture.
It
was my first time to stay at Kowloon and at Hunghom to be specific. The tall buildings where clothes hang on
terraces and façade gets close to dilapidation has a charm of its own.
One
midnight, we searched for hole in the wall restaurants and eateries and where
dining is on the side streets. Fortunately,
Sav Hotel, our home in Kowloon is accessible to nearby side street
eateries.
We
settled for street foods on sticks complemented by my favorite beer, Tsingtao.
Positioned on the sidewalks, it was a great time to people watch and
exchange the never-ending stories with my friends. Even at midnight, the local residents seem to
be in the mood for food trip. Most of
them I surmise are students living near the area.
Hunghom
is a residential area though mixed with some industrial buildings in the north. On subsequent days, we walked through its
narrow lanes and witness how commerce flourish in the area.
It
appears like a small town where the fusion of commerce and religion is
conspicuous. There are small temples on
each corner and surprisingly, we were lead to one of the important Chinese
temples in Hongkong, the Kwun Yum Temple.
The
Kwun Yum Temple has quite an interesting history. I went inside for curiosity and witnessed the
local residents’ rituals. The smell of
the incense penetrates the hall adorned by baskets of gifts laid down.
As I
do my research, I found out that in the year 1909 according to a website, a
road was constructed to connect Hung Hom with Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon
City. When workers were digging in the
hilly areas, red water spouted from the ground.
It was rumored that the vein of the dragon that inhabited in that area
had been ruptured as a result of the work.
The workers were frightened to continue with the road construction. Despite laboratory findings that the color of
the water was due to a mixture of underground deposits of sulphur and mercury,
the workers were still worried and donated money to renovate the temple in the
belief that Kwun Yum (Goddess of Mercy) would be able to help them to avert any
subsequent disaster.
Within
the area, local residents suggest that we visit a mall with the replica of a
ship as landmark and part of the façade.
But for time constraints, we aborted the plan and leave the neighborhood
for discovery of the Hongkong Island.
Hunghom
may not be a popular tourist destination but it would not be named the Yamashita District during the World War
II for nothing.
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