Club Play--where the models come out to play

The one thing that I hate about Hong Kong is how fake and all about appearances it is. It makes you feel sick to walk through the markets looking at all the fake designer shoes, bags, bracelets, belts, etc. that have been mass-produced. Just the sheer fact that everything is completely 100 percent fake, yet you have business men and women haggling with the shopkeepers for fake goods. The question then becomes, why buy fake designer goods? You know they are fake, and when I see someone in Hong Kong wearing or carrying a designer item I immediately assume that its fake. The amount of materialism in this country is somewhat sickening especially when you consider that shopping is their religion. No question about it, even the religious statues, the big Buddha for example, are tourist attractions that generate revenue. I'm not saying that its bad for them to generate revenue, but at the same time nothing seems to be sacred anymore in this world. Emerging economies are buying into this everywhere. Nothing is real its all fake.

Now to diverge from my observation on materialism and selling one's soul for fake christian louboutin shoes. (I have to add in that I am not saying that some consumerism is bad, but just the sheer amount that I've seen here is overwhelming and causing me to rethink my priorities and values a bit).

Last night I went to a place in Lan Kwai Fong called Club Play. Its a members only club and I'm not quite sure how we got in...either someone knew someone or sending in our names via email actually got us on the list, I have no idea. Anyway a large group of us got into this place which was filled with rich businessmen drinking bottles upon bottles of moet and models in their stilettos swaying to music. Somehow me and my friend ended up receiving shots from one of the male models while waiting for the bar. At the time I had no idea they were models and just thought they were tall Europeans. Later in the night a local man who spoke no English kept handing drinks to me and two of my friends, first a mixed drink and then a glass of moet. While dancing around, dangerously near a pole, and sometimes on the pole, a few guys approached me to ask if I was a model. The first few times I said no, until I thought about how fun it could be to stretch the truth a bit. The next time I replied "yes". He asked which label I worked for I said gucci, it was a bit out there, but I couldn't think that quickly about which label would be appropriate for my look/body type, or what would even seem plausible. The guy ate it up. Then he killed the whole fun of it by saying "I have to be honest, I want to fuck you". Yea...definitely killed it. I told him I had a Swedish boyfriend. He said he couldn't compete and then asked if I was into Asian guys. I just said I wasn't going to cheat and then swiftly made a move for the bathroom. On the way one of the male models caught my arm and asked me what I was doing. I replied, "Going to the bathroom. What are you doing?" His response, "I'm with this girl right here" motioning to the skinny tall blonde model with an asymmetrical haircut in front of him pressed against the bar. I deftly made my escape. I know that I am enjoying my time in Hong Kong a lot, but if I were to stay here for more than 5 months, I wonder what would happen to my soul amid the consumerism and idolization of fame, beauty, and money.