Day 82: Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong Central Library, and Sense 99

After I woke up the next day at 11am feeling tired and groggy, I remembered why I don't often go to events like pub crawls. There was a moderately heavy rain coming down when I left the hostel, and one of my first orders of business was to buy an umbrella. A nearby store was selling good quality umbrellas for 100 HKD, and after buying one I stopped at a Chinese restaurant that looked like its menu had enough photos of food on it for me to order something I wanted to eat. When I entered, there was an unfamiliar instrument playing a song over the PA system. It took me a while to realize the song was actually "Yesterday" by The Beatles. It must have been a Chinese instrument performing, but the rapid pizzicato of the stringed instrument made the piece seem more fitting for a mafia film. A bit incongruous atmosphere, but the food was good.

I decided today would be a good day to visit the cinemas, and slowly made my way towards Elements, a fancy mall to the northeast with a 1,600 seat "grand cinema" and ice rink.

Because of construction, I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to get further than the west half of Canton Rd. on foot. For no reason at all, I was disinclined to take a bus there. At some point during the search I decided I didn't want to see a movie at the cinema after all, and sat down with a coffee in the China Ferry Terminal building. Recaffienated, I took the MTR to Hong Kong Central Library -- Hong Kong's largest public library -- because my feet were just about done walking for the day.

The library is basic as far as interior architecture goes, but there are plenty of places to sit, read, use a public computer, or work at a desk within the 12-story building. Until I left the library that evening and visited some of the higher floors the next day, I didn't fully realize how unique the library location and surrounding areas are.

A soccer field and track adjacent to the library

Walkway on the other side of the soccer field

Nearby Victoria Park

Leaving the park

Outside nearby Tin Hau MTR station

After I got back to the hostel I was exhausted, but my WVU/logger friend convinced me to come to a jazz bar called "Sense 99" across Victoria Harbour for a "jam session thing". One other girl from the hostel whom my friend had met that day came with us. When we got there around 10pm, it took us another 20 minutes to actually find the bar.

We only had a partial address to go off of (we knew it was at 99 Wellington St. and that there was a sign at its location, "99 Sense = $1", but not that it occupied the 2nd and 3rd floors of the F building of 99 Wellington St. and the sign was in reality just a sticker on the door buzzer). After an odd-side-of-the-street vs. even-side-of-the-street building number mix up, we eventually found the bar and climbed up its narrow stairs to the 2nd floor.

The 2nd floor has a bar area with seating and a clavinova in the corner. If you go upstairs to the 3rd floor there's lounge seating and a rostrum-less stage with a drum set, keyboard, and speakers against the back wall and a top-floor balcony opposing it.

Time for a jazz session

Despite the informality of the whole thing, I was blown away by the talent of the pianist, the bassist, and even my WVU/logger friend on the drums. Two minutes into their first piece I managed to pick my jaw up off the floor enough to record their playing.

The rest of the night's performances continued unabated in quality -- in spite of the pianists fondness for hydrating during solos with long swigs of beer and new drummers switching in and out every few pieces. The garret progressively filled with a strongly balanced mix of expats, travelers, students, and Hong Kongers until by midnight it was close to standing room only.

The back half of the room again, a bit less than half of the audience

In addition to the fantastic music and perfectly snug quarters, the decor jibed well with the funkiness of a hidden jazz oasis in the heart of Hong Kong. An armless, painted mannequin torso lay behind the bassist. A plastic wrapped dragon head rested atop the pianists speakers.

I

wish

I

had talent

was scrawled in black sharpie on a back panel to the left of the drums. Acoustic foam dotted the mural-covered walls and ceiling haphazardly.

Is that an old crate of French wine they keep their sheets on? Really???

These obscenely avant-garde photos felt entirely in tune with the rest of the room.
Like, seriously, who decorated this place???

We danced to Chick Corea's "Spain", experienced the cool night breeze on the balcony, sucked down bottles of Tsingtao, and a bearded German spent 10 minutes trying to convince me to visit Ethiopia. Past one in the morning we caught a cab back to the hostel and said our adieus for the night. It was one of the best experiences I've had during my travels to date!