Content revision 4e771eaf0390cc87b6c7c6fd8469f3508f6ceeec7119472e6c1ccf17e2e1e5d2

## The Sea in My Early Hong Kong Years

Fragments
Source ID fragments:kennedy-town-seaside-hku-years
Original https://www.henryw.me/#/fragments#kennedy-town-seaside-hku-years

I have not been to Kennedy Town's waterfront much lately, which feels strange because it was much more present during my first years at HKU. I lived closer to that side of the city then, and the sea was somewhere I could reach without turning the visit into a plan.

I do not remember every walk clearly now. Much of the routine has probably settled into a general feeling. Hong Kong can be dense, fast, and pressed together, and walking toward the water changed the scale of the city. The buildings ended, the space opened, and the movement of the sea gave my attention somewhere else to go. Part of the familiarity may also have come from New Zealand, where time by the coast was already tied to my mother and family.

What I remember is not one dramatic view, but the irregular waves, the space beyond the buildings, and the relief of reaching something wide at the edge of a crowded city. I do not live the same student rhythm now, and I visit less often, but when I think of my early years in Hong Kong, the sea remains somewhere in the background.