Where do you go to be alone in this city? I've tried to escape the crowd by foot, by bus, by ferry, by bicycle, by car...but the city remains one step ahead of me, luring me in with mirages of empty alley cafes and untouched nature trails, only to let me down when I discover that these oases are just as flooded with people--weary worker bees like me eager to find a corner of their own, no matter how temporary.
But Hong Kong forgot about me one day in April, when I went on a hike on Lantau Island with a couple of friends. It was supposed to take three hours but ended up lasting six, as we trekked for miles with nobody in sight, enjoyed a quiet picnic at the peak (accompanied by a rock that looked like a vase), stumbled through thorny bushes destroyed by wildfires, slid down treacherous slopes and yelled into the wind that carried our city anxiety away. We got lost for an hour in the mountains, and when you get lost there you really start to understand that nature can never completely be tamed. Google Maps couldn't save us now, but after countless trials we finally made it out and landed--I kid you not--in front of Disneyland.
This is how I should've grown up, I thought. This is how everyone in this city should've grown up. Limited instructions, no time limits, a will to explore and nature at our feet.
The few minutes of encountering the absolute unknown and the possibility
of being stuck on the same mountain all night made the final step back
out onto the highway so much more gratifying. For the Singaporean girl who knew that every test had an answer set and every report had a conclusion, this was more than enough adventure to last me awhile.
At the very least, I now know that in Hong Kong, all roads lead to Disneyland...
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