In the moment, from Paris to Hong Kong 巴黎香港的城市探索
explore a city on bus or on foot, indulge in sunset 漫遊都市的夕陽之旅
This week I happen to read the paris dairies on Mind Mine by Isabel and watch the 2nd movie in the ‘Before’ Trilogy: ‘Before Sunset’ which illustrated the main characters walking through Paris and having thoughtful life conversations — these two events pulled back to 2021 November when I was navigating the streets of Paris on my own. I miss Paris.
The month I spent in Paris was the first time I lived in a city where I didn’t speak the language. I could walk on the streets, while not knowing anyone, which was a frequent experience to begin with, but also did not understand a single sound. It was healing almost. Thinking back, it’s a similar healing I felt while at a meditation retreat. You can be with your thoughts and observe it when all the distractions was removed. No eavesdropping allowed. Paris allowed me to truly introspect inwards while taking in its beauty, and getting my steps in. Being in a foreign land, you don’t need to respond to any labels, you can just be you. You can also notice the surroundings exactly as it is, with no expectations: the cobblestone streets, the crispy coldness in the air, the hue of the sky, and the smell of boulangeries (bakeries). With a right turn, you’ll suddenly arrive at the Sacré-Cœur — whilst you see all the tourists trying to get a glimpse of the glamorous church, you turn your head, and suddenly you see the Eiffel Tower shimmering with its might to remind you: it’s 7 pm now. Traveling makes one feel in the moment, almost instantly.
Little did I know, over the weekend I was brought on an adventure that mirrored the feeling of freely roaming around Paris alone, but in Hong Kong. It’s as simple as hopping on a bus that goes anywhere.
Rewind to Saturday evening, I was invited to my friend M’s home, and coincidentally the weather was perfect. We hung out and had snacks until M decided, “Let’s go for an adventure”. I was confused as it was 6 pm already, “where to?” I asked. And the next thing I know, we were on a bus towards Hong Kong International Airport. The bus is a typical Hong Kong double-decker bus, instinctively we got to the upper deck and snatched the front row seats. Usually, I like to glance outside the full window from these seats already, but today with the sky extra pretty, I find myself unable to take my eyes off of the bright colors in the sky at all. And of course, the sky started to turn a gentle pink hue: it was sunset time, and we had the perfect front-row seats.
And there we were, sitting in silence admiring the beauty of Hong Kong, through winding highways that curve in ways you don’t expect them to, and majestic bridges that are not just utilitarian (connecting multiple Hong Kong islands) but also beautiful with carefully designed light installations. We went all over Hong Kong, from the center of Kowloon to the southern tip, to the west, and all the way west past islands big and small. Without a word, and without using our phones other than snapping pics, we just observed the color difference over time, the scenery changing, the buildings evolving, and the roads connecting… all for 20 HKD (< 3 USD). You too can hop on any bus and see what your city has to offer.
I love that I still feel curious and excited after living in Hong Kong for 8 years and having the ability to feel in the moment with the city. Pearl of the East, indeed. 💛
這禮拜我莫名其妙的想起了巴黎，可能是因為看了 Isabel 的 Mind Mines 剛好敘寫了她在巴黎的遊記，或是因為我看了《愛在三部曲》的第二集《愛在巴黎黃昏時》，我好像瞬時回到二零二一年十一月在巴黎因工作短居一個月的時候。
巴黎的浪漫對我來說不是因為她是浪漫之都，而是因為她是我第一個居住的語言不通的城市。語言不通的時候有種浪漫感，或有種舒適感。我彷彿可以完全隱藏在這個城市的大街小巷裡面，走在路上可以沈浸於所有聽到的聲音裡面，也不會因為不小心聽到別人的對談而分心，畢竟我什麼都聽不懂。現在回想起來，好像跟去靜觀冥想營的感覺很像，聽不到人講話的聲音的時候才更容易練習向內探索自己的內心。而在探索內心的同時，又在巴黎美麗的大街小巷裡走來走去，真的是對心靈來說很療癒。很療癒的同時，我又以好奇心去大量的吸收巴黎的氛圍：十一月的空氣又乾又冷，小碎石的道路很可愛但有時候也蠻難走，天空每天的樣貌都有點不一樣（印象中那時候常常陰天），每走兩步路就可以聞到麵包店的香味。有天在市區散步的時候，拐個彎就到了「聖心殿」的腳邊，而在踏進教堂前，往後一看，剛好看到巴黎鐵塔與夕陽餘暉在遠方對看著自己。旅行就是如此，輕而易舉地讓你活在當下。
很幸運的，這週末我在香港也體會了類似的感覺。我竟然能在生活八年多的香港體會自由自在地穿梭於城市之中的感覺？！
讓我們回到這禮拜六，那天天氣非常的好，我受好友Ｍ的邀請到她家吃點心、閒聊。大約六點左右的時候Ｍ提議我們可以去一趟探險旅程。「去哪兒呢？」我嘴巴上問著，但內心想的是：六點了耶，可以去哪探險呢？一轉眼，我倆已搭上前往香港機場的雙層巴士。我們下意識往巴士的上層走，剛好第一排有位置，馬上就坐下來。在意料之外的非通勤時間搭上雙層巴士，又剛好在天空特別晴朗的一天，我們倆目不轉睛地盯著窗外的風景，看著巴士穿梭於高樓大廈之中，時而奔馳於蜿蜒曲直的高速公路裡，又一轉彎上了青馬大橋。
隨著日落的到來，我們不斷的驚嘆香港的美：香港不但有城市的高樓大廈，更有美麗的高山與島嶼（而這也不都是普遍的都市都有的嗎？沒有高山、島嶼，也會有河流、公園），在夕陽餘暉之中，都顯得格外美麗。我們就這樣慢慢地晃著從九龍半島的中間一路往南，又往西邊一路這樣晃呀晃著，才發現我們整趟旅途都沒有講超過兩句話，也沒忙於手機裡的大小事（倒是有拿手機出來拍幾張照啦），所有的專注力都在於窗外的風景。要在都市裡探險的方法既平價又容易，你也可以搭個巴士，去探索你的城市！
我很開心也很珍惜，即便在一個城市生活超過八年了，依然可以享受當下，認真的體會探索城市的感覺。共勉之❤️（私心推，香港真的是個東方明珠～）
this made me miss paris 🥹 gorgi, loved the photos too
beautiful and adored hearing your paris reflections as well here :)