Midnight charm.

Hong Kong is an acquired taste. It starts off messy, chaotic, sometimes down-right ugly, smelly, even scary. 

Gone are the tranquility of the open spaces on Vancouver, the clean streets and carpeted houses, the easiness of driving everywhere and parking somewhat close enough to your destination, the simplicity of not having to carry around the entire day's agenda on your backpack as you wander from one area of town to another running errands. In Hong Kong, "going down to get some milk" can be a bit of a chore. Quite a lot of time is spend traveling around the city. Quite a lot of time spent on your feet and feeling like you wish "home" isn't still several MTR changes away all the time. 

A few days into this trip returning to a city so deeply ingrained in my heart, and perhaps influenced by some of the negativity and sadness I have seen so far, I started to wonder if I still hold the ambition of one day consider moving back to live in this vibrant but challenging city. 

To some extend, I know I have been completely spoiled by my many years in Canada. Things have been too easy, too tame. You feel more protected. You have more privacy. 

You don't feel like you really need to strengthen yourself in an otherwise dog-eat-dog world like it feels like in Hong Kong sometimes. 

But slowly, even after a few days when I finally had some time to myself and found myself sitting alone under the Christmas decorations at Causeway Bay's Time Square one night, Hong Kong revealed its charm to me. 

Its charm, it appears, is best felt at nighttime. 

Although many people think of New York as the "city that never sleeps", my Asian roots has me feeling that Hong Kong isn't far off either. The later the night, it seems that the more people flood to the streets (don't these people have to get up early for work in the morning???). The streets are always lively, always bright, and the shopping is probably the most inspired then. Street food, street venders, everyone comes out and roam the city. Across the Victoria Harbor at Tsim Sha Tsui, one glance at the city lights spreading across Hong Kong Island tells you that this city likes to be looked at at night. She knows she's hot and isn't afraid to show it. 

It is at times like this that I most miss growing up in Hong Kong. To me it is different, seeing the city lights as a visitor versus seeing it as a backdrop to a city I live in. I think the satisfaction isn't quite complete no matter how many times and how often I come back and visit. I will always wonder what it would be like to truly live here. 

Maybe I will keep this thought after all. Like my approach with so many things in life, I may well try to keep the best of both world. There is little doubt that in the near future I will likely continue to practice medicine in Canada (I do believe that I am maladapted to working as a doctor in Hong Kong, even if they let me), but perhaps I may still consider little prolonged excursions in this city. Maybe I can take a course here one day, or further my training in a particular area, or do exchange for a month.

Who says I need to be in a monogamous relationship with both Cities I love.