Sensory Overload

Last night, I invited a new guy here from the UK (Dave) to come to church with me. He just arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago, and had not yet left the New Territories (NT) where we live. Just as a side note - We always refer to going out of the NT, and into Kowloon or HK Island, as ‘going to the city.’ This doesn’t mean where we live is rural farmland, middle of nowhere. We have plenty of high rise apartments and shopping centres, but overall the NT tends to be less developed than ‘the city’ where trees and greenery are non-existent, the sidewalks and streets are swollen with people and vehicles, neon signs are everywhere, and noise and balanced chaos invade your ears at every turn. In the NT, there are still people and businesses, but it tends to be more like a suburb to the city. Life is a bit quieter and calmer here.

So I collected Dave and we boarded the 962 bus to the city, crowded as always on a Sunday, and had an uneventful 40 minute ride into Central, on HK Island. Getting on the bus in the NT, life is calm and quiet… but disembarking into Central is loud, crowded, and chaotic, particularly on a weekend.

It was interesting to me to see this through the eyes of a newcomer to HK. It’s really a sensory overload. So many people, vehicles, signs, sounds, and smells. People handing you leaflets to purchase a new phone plan. Knots of Filipino women chattering in high pitched voices, taking over the stairwells. Exhaust from bus after bus puffing in your face if you’re not careful. Tourists stopping abruptly in front of you to snap a photo of a nearby skyscraper or the view over Connaught Road. There is just so much going on.

We crossed the road via the elevated walkway, weaving through the masses of people. Then we headed down onto the other side of the road, and descended again into the MTR station to head three stops over to Jordan, on the mainland in Kowloon. I had to top up my Octopus card (my public transit card), so we snaked through the station to the ‘Add Value’ machine, Dave trailing behind me, taking in all the people and shops bustling about us. Then we passed through the turnstile, through the station, and down another escalator to the Tsuen Wan red line to take us to Jordan. Once we boarded our train, Dave looked at me and said, “I would be so lost and confused if you weren’t here.” I guess I just take for granted this weekly routine I have of travelling so effortlessly through the confusion of the city. I’ve just done it so many times, and wandered around the city so much on my own in this past year, that I’ve learned so much about how to get around this place, and I actually really love being in such a busy environment.

We exited the Jordan station, and headed over to the church. He laughed as we approached, because off this crazy busy road (Nathan Road), tucked away is a traditional, red brick church … just not what you’d expect.

After church, we walked down Nathan Road, and he took in the big, bright signs everywhere (giant, neon Chinese characters for different shops and buildings), the Chinese chatter all around, the people crawling everywhere, and long crosswalks spanning these lively streets. We ended at the Temple Street Night Market, where he remarked again on the sensory overload. Stall upon stall lined up with every type of ‘traditional’ Chinese souvenir you could ever want, fake Gucci and Prada bags, pirated DVDs, cheap t-shirts and keychains, and many other things. People crowd in to look at the wares, and we joined them, Dave trying his hand at bargaining with the vendors.
Afterward, we met up with some friends to take the mini bus home, racing along the highway, the speedometer beeping as our driver exceeded 105 km/h.

It was so interesting to me to see Hong Kong through the eyes of a new person. I tried to remember what it was like when I first came here, and I know I too experienced a bit of a sensory overload myself. But I actually really love it. I love my church, and that’s why I go at night (since the service is in the evening) but I also have to admit I am glad to be in the city in the evening because the lights and the noise are amazing. I love the feel of a big, crazy city. I’m so grateful I get to live here, and experience this place. It will definitely be a change to go back to the (in comparison) quieter city of San Antonio.