I must say that I’ve been doing a pretty good Phil Connors impression over the past three days. Each day during that span I have eaten lunch at a friendly Irish pub named ‘Dan Ryan’s.’ The restaurant’s menu warns that they serve ‘American-Sized’ portions and it is blatantly obvious that they are trying to give off an American feel. I applaud the effort, but to be honest they come up a bit short. For instance, I think it is great that they have their TV’s tuned to an ESPN college basketball game. I’ll admit that it’s been nice to be able to watch a sporting event that I actually understand (as opposed to say cricket…which I was surprised to find is very popular here). The issue I have with this is that they have played the exact same Duke vs. Maryland match-up each time I’m there. Now, I see only two logical explanations for this. Either this game is poised to enter its 70th overtime period, or the restaurant owns a tape of ESPN programming that they play on loop. For argument’s sake let’s agree that it’s the latter and hope with all our might that no one inadvertently tapes over it with say the hit Chinese program ‘Red Cradle’ (an absolutely intolerable melodrama that tells the story of Mao Zedong’s early years…yep, it has subtitles).
I’ve ordered a hamburger, medium-well with a side of fries each time. I tend to appreciate consistency almost as much as taste when it comes to my diet. I nearly made it 4 full years eating the same turkey wrap sandwich from ‘Bits and Bites’ deli for lunch. Now, granted that’s a little extreme (was that an understatement?), but I think that there’s something to be said for being able to walk into an establishment, make eye contact with a staff member, and have exactly what you want handed to you. We’re not quite to that point yet with ‘Dan Ryan’s,’ but on day 3 the bartender passed me a smile and perfectly recited my order before I was even able to reach my seat at the bar.
It is by no means a busy place. I have occupied the same seat each time and have yet to have anyone sit directly next to me. However, each day, approximately 5 stools to my left has sat an elderly, weathered-looking British gentleman named John. I’d give John 75 years old and I swear that if you close your eyes and listened to him talk, you wouldn’t be able to tell him apart from Austin Powers. And the dude can put away some serious chardonnay too. He’s sucked down at least 3 glasses each time I’m there and I’ll bet he stays stapled to his barstool for hours after I depart. He seems to know the entire staff on a first name basis and the waitresses will all routinely stop for a bit of a chat whenever they have reason to pass his seat. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but i'll bet if I continue to patronize the bar each day that will happen sooner or later.
Today marked the first time that things actually started to come together. I finally have a good sense of where I am in relation to the rest of the city. And what better way to celebrate this milestone than to capture a full view of the city from the top of a mountain. Hong Kong offers this opportunity for anyone willing to ride what is called the “Peak Tram,” which carries passengers from center city directly to the mountain top. Once there you’re supposed to be able to look out on the entire area and see clear across the harbor into the far reaching parts of Kowloon Bay (famous, of course, for being the birthplace of Cassandra Wong). I had every intention of climbing the peak in this manner this afternoon; however, the line to board the train snaked down the street for blocks (see leading post picture). This must be a popular holiday activity for families here. Although I have all the time in the world this weekend to stand on lines, I don’t do particularly well with crowds and so I think we’ll try this another time.
Regardless, I now have my bearings…I know where I’m going…and I think I have a pretty good feel for how to get places. Now if I could only figure out what the hell to do with this damn terrapin I’ll be all set…
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