8-Balls and 7/11s
Hopping through Southeast Asia (again)
The first time I played pool with strangers was at C-Stone, a bar in College Park, Maryland. I used it to hide from dramatic characters and dancing during bad songs, but found calm in its focus. A month ago, a friend and I won in pool 8-ball doubles against the house favorites at Death Punch in Adams Morgan, and I felt like an established DMV-area player. But since then, I’ve taken a bit of an international beating.
A few days later than my college friends, I landed in Hong Kong. This was the next stop on our series of hometown visits, with all our senior-year housemates except for Samar (who was part of my first Southeast Asia trip last year, and is busy with her newly launched travel platform Embassee), plus a few more friends. I joined late primarily to attend my first-ever friend wedding, and secondarily to crash someone else’s college reunion, which I left promptly after losing a 2am pool game.
Landing bright and early at 6am, I went to Will’s apartment in southern Hong Kong, where his family had lived for most of his life. I hadn’t spent too much time beforehand reading up on Hong Kong, and was shocked by two persistent themes I saw through the metro windows: greenery and 7/11 convenience stores.
After being treated to a wonderful breakfast, the day started with my favorite way to beat jetlag: hiking. At the entrance of the Dragon’s Back Hike we met with the rest of our crew, which also included Edu, one of Thomas and Carlos’ high school friends. After hugs and hellos, we fell back into our usual personalities. Someone would go ahead without looking back. Someone forgot to put on enough sunscreen. Someone else was tired of hiking before it even began.
The next three days were spent exploring Hong Kong from two lenses. As tourists, we visited the spots with the most Google Reviews: taking the ferry up Victoria’s Peak, checking out Causeway Bay, and betting on Wednesday night horse races. As hometown visitors, we reminisced with borrowed memories: the tennis court where Will practiced for thousands of hours, the small bar which doled out free drinks from under a rug, the delicious home-cooked food which is always half the reason for coming back.
On the second night, we went to another hometown favorite: a pool bar called Scratch. I eagerly signed myself up, looking over every few minutes to see if it was my turn yet. When it was finally my chance, I didn’t even get to play – my opponent (a 40-something bar regular who only spoke Cantonese) got all the striped balls in one round. In the second game, the only ball I got in was by accident, which apparently doesn’t count. I sulked back to playing pong, chugging my 7/11 coffee to stay awake.
After saying goodbye to Hong Kong and Will, we continued onto Kuala Lumpur, a layover that turned into a three-day stay. While we visited tourist sites like the Petronas Towers and bird park, we spent more time indoors, playing pool in the lobby. My aim was still shaky after getting demolished at Scratch, and I barely won.
Our more notable excursions in Malaysia were religious. As it is a Muslim-majority country, we made a point to visit the National Mosque, but also stopped by the picturesque Batu Caves which house Hindu temples. It feels special to be part of a tradition so vast. However, its’ regionally diverse nature makes it a bit tricky to answer questions about how Hinduism is practiced.
The only item I really requested on our itinerary was a free evening to watch Man United take on Man City in the FA Cup final. Luckily, the game was being shown on every screen in Bukit Bintang, the pub street of Kuala Lumpur. Unluckily, United couldn’t stop City, who won the treble the following weekend. But the night went on, and I soon found myself at a warehouse party thinking about Gündoğan’s goals. (To read more about my love for United, check out my last post here).
Seven days after my journey began, our group was ready to disperse back to our own corners of the globe. To celebrate our last night (and to get a head start on jet lag), my friends wanted to stay up playing Coup, a card game that took up most of our free time and emotional energy in senior year. I took a quick nap to recharge for my next adventure, but still got a few games in.
With the cities as a backdrop to our adventures, my friends were mostly the same. The forgetful and lucky one lost his luggage at the airport and found it later. The one who gambles bet big on the horse races. The one who works too much had his laptop by the bar.
There’s a comfort in consistency, whether you’re at home or 12 time zones away. In such a different atmosphere, my mind found itself looking for signs of similarities: the 7/11s, the pool tables, the United watch parties, and even the Taco Bells we found at the Kuala Lumpur airport.
Luckily, my pool form improved in the second leg of my journey: Thailand (more on this later).
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Awesomely written!!! I'm already reminiscing about this trip a ton, couldn't have been with better company. Can't wait to read about Thailand!!