What continues to amaze me is that a planned outing takes the time allotted and does not turn into a long, drawn-out agonizing adventure. Hong Kong is the place for someone who likes the new and exotic, but without the pain.
Here's the latest evidence: Monday afternoon I planned to take the 3:00 ferry to Mui Wo, buy my boy a bicycle and take the 4:45 ferry back. I'd been told the name of the bike shop and knew it was around the corner from where it was before. We found it, tried out 5 bikes, bought one and a lock, took it for a spin along the beach path, bought supper groceries, got some ferry snacks for the way home and sat waiting, watching the ferry come into the bay to pick us up. You know that would have been inconceivable in Turkey.
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In Ankara, you would catch the service bus to ASTI then dolmus to Ulus. Walk through the windy smelly busy market lanes, looking for the shop which you won't find the first day even if you ask 10 people. They'll all want to take you to a shop but it won't be the one and they won't even sell bicycles.Eventually, Gregory will find an old bike leaning against the fence and try to make it work. Oh, and it took you all day to not get the bike! Gotta love old Ankara though!
In fact, one Christmas we took the bus to Sihhiye, but got off at (former) Maltepe market chasing an elusive bike shop. We asked four people and gradually got to Ulus where a lottery ticket-seller found us the one shop. We bought a bike, taxiied it to Sihhiye and then on the bus back to Bilkent. But the gears would never work without the chain falling off and a kid got hit by a taxi while riding it on campus. But I miss Ankara still.
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