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 “Alex, let me just give you the quick rundown, while you look out the window.” said Gavin. “Hong Kong is broken up into the original Hong Kong Island, Kowloon which is the mainland side where we’re staying, the New Territories which were claimed from China many years ago, and Lantau Island. There are a few other islands, none of which are big enough to thinkabout.”

Gavin paused, and nudged Alex to see if he was even paying attention. “Yeah, I’m listening,” Alex replied, obviously distracted by the scenery and uniqueness of the view.

“Well I hope this sinks in. We’re at the Sheraton in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon. We came from Lantau Island. Most people just think of Hong Kong and Kowloon as the real Hong Kong, and based on my experience, they are right. Also, everyone in Hong Kong is born with eight penises.”

“Yeah, that’s interesting,” said Alex.

“Okay. That’s it, you aren’t listening, are you?” asked Gavin rhetorically, giving up the narration in frustration. He figured he might as well admire the sights himself since Alex was lost to the charms of Hong Kong.

Soon the train had gone underground into a tunnel and Gavin repeated his narration quickly because the train ride wasn’t that long, just about twenty minutes from the Airport station to the Hong Kong station, with just two intermediate stops.

They got off the train, exited from the Airport Express station, and went up a level to the red Tsuen Wan line. It was quite a hike and they were exhausted. They stopped at a ticket machine, and Gavin fed it what looked like loads of the multicoloured Hong Kong money and out popped two plastic cards labelled Octopus.

“Here. Don’t lose this. Instead of a ticket, you just swipe this over the little yellow circle on the ticket barrier, and the gates open. When you exit, do the same thing and it’ll let you out. It deducts the fare from the total on the card. If we run out, we can add more.”

“It’s like Oyster in London, then?”

“Yeah. Pretty much, only Octopus was first.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“And you probably didn’t care,” offered Gavin thinking he was being a bore.

“Probably not,” said Alex with a frown before grinning and adding. “Actually, I’m a subway geek. I was just pulling your chain a bit.”

“A trainspotter?” asked Gavin rolling his eyes heavenward.

“No! Just a subway geek. Not the same thing,” said Alex a little defensively.

“It’s okay,” replied Gavin, who changed then the subject and resumed, “We’re in Central station. See here on the map?” asked Gavin pointing at the proper location on the map.  “The map is almost like the London tube map so you should have this figured out quickly. You’ve told me you’re very familiar with that.”

“Yeah. I am. Where are we going?” asked Alex, looking at the map labelled in both English and Chinese.

“Right here.,” Gavin pointed. “Two stops. That’s Nathan Road, and our hotel is just a couple of blocks from that.”

They got on the train that pulled in. The station was crowded, but not swamped as this was the first stop on the line.

“Stand just inside the door, luggage between your feet. The train is going to fill up at the next stop. Then everyone will get off after that. This is the fastest way under the water from Hong Kong to Kowloon, and lots of people ride just that one stop.”

“Isn’t it expensive?” asked Alex.

“Yes, but it’s Hong Kong. Everything here is mind-numbingly expensive. But most locals have weekly travel cards so it doesn’t matter. They pay a flat weekly rate to ride. Or, if you aren’t in a hurry, hop on the Star Ferry instead.”

Alex noticed that the map inside each door was illuminated and the stop they were at was lit up. A trail of lights showed the direction of each train, and additional lights showed which side of the train the doors would open on. He thought it was efficient and well thought out.

He looked around and realized the cars had no ends. They were open and shoved together so it looked like one really long eight car train. He could see all the way from one end of the train to the other.

The train rolled into Admiralty station, and as Gavin promised the train became jammed. Four minutes later, they entered Tism Sha Tsui station, where they exited, being pushed along in the crowd. Soon they were on the escalator, headed up to Nathan Road. They exited and moved off to the side, out of the bustling pedestrian traffic, while Alex just stared at his surroundings in wonder.

Alex had never seen anything quite like it. He’d never seen so many people so crammed together in one place, all moving quickly without too much jostling and fussing. It looked like a herd of lemmings, only people broke away and went into the shops and restaurants lining the street. There were lots of shops, many of them were tiny and others enormous. There were trinket shops, brand name shops, clothing shops, stores selling all manner of goods, apothecaries, and anything else you could want. There was neon everywhere, flashing even though it was still light out. Every sign was in Chinese, but many were also in English. A few were only in a single language, but even if the sign was only in Chinese, it was pretty obvious to Alex what those stores were offering, just based on the images on the signs.

“Done staring, my slack-jawed friend?”

Alex didn’t answer immediately, so awed was he by the dichotomous surroundings. It took him a moment to respond. “Yeah.” he finally said, still staring at the sights around him.

“Stay close to me. Ignore the people shilling fake Rolexes and bespoke suits. The Rolexes are pretty well made, but if you get caught with one it’s bad news. The suits are pretty good but I’m guessing you’re not in the market.”

“A very good guess.”

They proceeded slowly down the street, keeping off to the side because Alex just couldn’t help stopping and looking at the sights. Two blocks down he saw the Sheraton. He could see where Victoria Harbour should be, but because there were buildings blocking the view, he couldn’t see the water itself. The cacophony was astounding and distracting. They came to the door of the Sheraton and went in, immediately noticing how much quieter it was. There were two elevator doors as well as a pair of escalators, both of which said “Registration – second floor.”

Alex followed Gavin, who clearly knew where he was going, and a few moments later they were in the queue at the registration desk. Alex looked around the plush lobby where he could see a few gift shops, a newsstand, a coffee shop, and even a Morton’s Steakhouse.

Soon they were at the front of the line, and a Chinese woman with a flawless English accent asked them for their passports. Alex was amused at the face and the accent not matching, thinking it was a novelty.

This time, Alex was prepared for the request and handed his passport over at the same time as Gavin. The woman typed quickly and soon papers were printing.

“Mr. Michaels would you please sign where I’ve placed the red tick mark. Your room has been paid for already. We’ve given you a non-smoking room with a lovely view. We hope you’ll be happy with your room and enjoy your stay.”

Alex jumped in, “Aren’t there supposed to be two rooms?”

The woman furiously typed on her keyboard again. “Yes, sir. There were. But no payment was attached to the second reservation and we require a deposit of one night to hold the room. The hotel is overbooked as it is, and your reservation was cancelled and the room reassigned. I’m quite sorry but there’s nothing we can do.”

Gavin turned to Alex and quietly whispered. “Come on. It’s only a couple of nights. You can have the bed nearer to the window.” He then turned to the woman and said, “Thank you for trying, really. And, yes, that room will do nicely. Two keys please.”

She smiled, handed him the two plastic cards that served as keys and the paperwork, and gave him directions to the room, something that struck both boys as unnecessary. Even the dimmest person could find his way around most hotels. “Would you like help with your bags, sirs?”

“No, that’s fine. We can handle it, thank you. Can we order an 8am wake-up call please?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll put it in now. There’s also an alarm clock in the room as well.”

They thanked her, and headed to the hotel elevators. Soon they were on the 18th floor where there room was located. They found the room quickly, and Gavin inserted the key into the card slot.

When the door opened and they entered they both immediately made an exclamation, Gavin saying “Look at the view!” and Alex saying “Oh, fuck, there’s only one bed!”

“Calm down, Alex, I’ll call down in a second and straighten it out. Why not peek out the window while I take care of it. That’s a spectacular view of Victoria Harbour and Central. Surely, you must admit that.”

“I do. And don’t call me Shirley,” said Alex trying to keep his humour.

“Smartass. I’ll call now. Don’t get too comfortable.”

Gavin dialled downstairs and was told in no uncertain terms, by the clerk who answered, there were no other rooms available and the hotel was full and most rooms were occupied, so it wasn’t possible to switch around. The clerk said he’d put a request in and hopefully they could switch them to another room tomorrow, but for tonight they had no other choice. Gavin asked about a roll-away bed, but was informed they were all in use for this evening.

Gavin turned to relay the news to Alex, but it was obvious he had heard. Alex was looking pale, his eyes opened wide, and was obviously a bit nervous, though Gavin wasn’t entirely certain what would cause such a strong reaction over a simple thing.

Alex spoke, “It’s okay Gavin. I’ll just sleep on the floor.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You’ll sleep in the damned bed. It’s a king size bed. I promise nothing terrible will happen to you. What are you afraid of? I’m not going to hurt you. If you didn’t trust me in that regard, you’d not even have agreed to come.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor, really.”

“Let me explain it to you, then. If you sleep on the floor, I’m going to sleep on the floor and the bed will be empty. Or, if you get in the bed while I’m on the floor, I’m getting in the bed. We can both be comfortable or miserable – that’s your choice.”

“Okay. You win. I didn’t bring sleeping stuff, though. No pyjamas,” whined Alex.

“Then what were you going to sleep in? Oh! Never mind. I get it. Don’t worry. Just sleep in what you normally do. I’ll pretend I don’t notice.”

“Easy for you to say. I’ll wear underwear.”

“Suit yourself. Are you hungry? I’m famished. I thought we’d eat.”

“That is an absolutely spectacular idea! I’m starved too! The question is where?”

“I thought, to be honest, the café in the hotel would do for now. We can walk around afterwards if we’re up to it. My guess is we’ll be too tired.”

“Lead on, fine sir,” said Alex forgetting the predicament of the sleeping arrangement.

They arrived at the café, and were seated quickly. Gavin ordered a burger with a fried egg, in true English fashion. Alex ordered a club sandwich. They both ordered sodas. Soon the food was out, and they wolfed it down at a speed only a teenager could manage. Gavin just nursed his Coke slowly, but Alex got three refills. Gavin kept smirking, and when the check came, he let Alex take it.

“There must be a mistake, Gavin. This meal works out to nearly one hundred US dollars.”

“That’s not a mistake. Welcome to Hong Kong. You know, refills aren’t free here. In fact, that’s mostly a US custom.”

Alex looked at the bill. “$8 for a soda? I drank $32 worth of Coke?”

Gavin grinned and grabbed the check before Alex could do anything else. “I’m charging it to the room. Let Her Majesty pay for it. We’re working.”

“I owe you.” Alex realized there was no way he could afford this trip on his funds, and decided it would be best to accept Gavin’s generous offer.

“Not really, but if you feel that way we can work something out later,” said Gavin before realizing what he said. “Shit, Alex, I’m sorry. That comment wasn’t appropriate. I mean, I didn’t mean it as a double entendre. Usually I do, but not this time. It’s just sort of automatic with me sometimes.”

“It’s cool. It was funny. I can handle it. I know you weren’t serious.” Alex leaned forward and quietly asked Gavin, “What’s that in the bowl at the table next to us? It looks like eyeball soup.”

“Actually, I hate to tell you. That is exactly what it is. It’s fish eye soup and it’s considered a delicacy that is served for desert.”

Alex cringed and shuddered. “If you put that in your mouth, I can assure you, you will never kiss me on the lips.” Alex was trying to be humorous to show Gavin that he wasn’t as tense as he’d been acting

“Well, I’ll just have to make sure I never eat it, then,” said Gavin hoping Alex could handle the risqué comment.

Alex didn’t reply but was still smiling. “You were wrong earlier. I’m tired, but not too tired to take a walk.”

“Okay, then, we’ll take a stroll up and down Nathan Road.” Gavin signed the charge slip to the room and they left.

They went out and Gavin walked with Alex a few blocks up Nathan Road and back down the other side. Within an hour, they were back at the hotel and were both feeling exhausted.

They went up to the room, both boys yawning repeatedly. After a few more minutes of looking outside, they drew the curtains closed. The bright neon was glaring in the darkened sky.

“Well, Alex, it’s time for bed.”

“You go ahead. I shower before bed.”

“Okay. I’ll leave the lamp on. Shut it off when you come to bed.”

“Will do,” said Alex grabbing some of his things and heading into the shower as Gavin stripped down to his shorts, and jumped in bed.