Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 560

Feels Like Home
St. Paul's Co-Educational College, Tam, Tiffany – 16
It’s hot; almost unbearably so. The sunlight scorches the skin mercilessly, and I hastily wipe the beads of
sweat forming on my brow, adjusting the sunhat on my head although it’s futile. Behind me, I can hear the
murmur of tourists complaining in dissent and moaning from the heat, so I quicken my pace, hoping to
reach the air-conditioned mall before somebody falls from a heat stroke. They wouldn’t be the first one
anyway.
“Let’s move along to the mall, now,” I call, but my throat is parched and my voice comes out croaked. I
automatically reach for my bottle before I remember I had foolishly forgotten to refill my water bottle and
now it sits, disappointingly empty, at the bottom of my bag. I clear my throat and swallow again, licking my
lips. “We’ll reach the mall soon, and then we can have some lunch and do some shopping.”
The prospect of lunch and air-conditioning seems to revive some of the tourists, and we start shuffling
along. There’s a collective sigh of relief when we finally step into the mall, greeted by a blast of cold air. The
mall is busy and extremely crowded, and it sounds more like a market than a mall. There are frantic
shoppers weaving in between luxury boutiques and hungry customers lining up at restaurants impatiently. It
resembles a battlefield.
“Alright, would everyone be fine meeting back here after two hours?” I ask. Much to my relief, the tourists
seem to be fine with the arrangement, and I head off in search for my own lunch, my stomach growling.
Unfortunately, my favorite restaurant with delicious Guangdong cuisine is filled to the brim, and the sheer
amount of people makes me wince and turn away. After much struggle, I find a smaller restaurant selling
specialty Portuguese food from Macau, which isn’t rare to find in Guangzhou nowadays.
“Excuse me, I’d like to order a plate of fried codfish cakes and a bifana sandwich.” I call for a waiter in
Cantonese, who repeats and confirms my order rapidly before taking off. Not long after, the steaming hot
dishes are placed in front of me and I quickly polish them off. There’s still a while to go before the
scheduled meeting time, so I take out my schedule for the rest of the tour. There’s the visiting of the
Canton Tower, then to the Opera House nearby before finishing off with a trip to the night market. I have
a busy day ahead of me.
I take a look at the time and prepare to head over to the entrance. There’s a small group waiting, and I can
judge from the armloads of bags that they’ve had a fruitful trip exploring the mall. I spot one still stuffing
himself full with crumbly egg tarts and another struggling to bite into a large fish ball. I bite back a smile;
traditional Hong Kong snacks are usually very popular among tourists.
When everyone’s arrived, we head off via tour bus towards the Canton Tower. On the way, I talk more
about the attraction itself. “We are currently heading towards the Haizhu District to visit the Canton
Tower. The Canton Tower is the tallest tower in the Greater Bay Area, and it’s the second tallest skyscraper
in all of China. It stands at 604 meters tall and it has nearly 40 floors. Completed in 2010, it hosted the 16 th
Asian Games right after its opening.”
Looking out the window, I point to the tall building towering and dwarfing its nearby companions. In the
distance, its metal spire shines and glints under the sun. There are various sounds of cameras clicking as
everyone scrambles to take a photo of the majestic tower.
The tour bus stops and we get off. Up close, the Canton Tower is much more daunting. I look up, shielding
my eyes against the sun. No matter how many times I come, it still steals my breath away.
Upon entry, it’s already packed with people scrambling to take the lifts up to the higher levels. A long wait
later, we finally reach the top of the tower, which overlooks Guangzhou’s bustling central and the Pearl
River. The stunning scenic view is truly marvelous, and I also take the chance to take a few more photos.
The tourists spend a while roaming the levels and taking pictures before leaving for the next attraction.