Here is a link to my pictures. The password is: italia.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Chronicles – The Long Journey Home
I have reached home. The flight home was shorter than the flight there. The layover in San Fran was longer.
I left the sunshine of Hong Kong to the rain and fall weather of Seattle. Many leaves have fallen and most of them are in beautiful fall colors.
I forgot to mention that Alice has two cats. An older female named Usagi, which is Japanese for rabbit, and a younger male named Michiro, which is Japanese for lucky child. She actually is getting a third.
Here are some pictures. Michiro is the cat in the outfit.
Hong Kong Chronicles – Homebound NO!
Yesterday, I did nothing during the day but read. It felt nice.
I met Alice at her job and we took the ferry to Hong Island Island. We took the tram (the locals call it ding ding) down to Causeway Bay. We walked around their Times Square and some of the backstreets. We went to this yummy Japanese restaurant for dinner.
Well friends, my plane leaves in three hours to head home. I bought three smutty romance novels to tide me over. I just didn’t let myself do the conversion to USD. I am not allowed to purchase romance novels at full price no matter how tempting ;). I will share my secret shame of two baskets of romance novels hiding in my closet with you. SHHHH, don’t tell anyone. LOL!
I don’t really want to go. Can one just abandon their life? Tempting thought but alas not very realistic. Though one day maybe I just won’t come back. Well back to collect my stuff ;). Ireland felt like home to me. Maybe I should have just stayed there. WAHHHHHHH. I’ll be off the ledge when I get back and reality slaps me back into the here and now.
Oh well. Ready or not here I come.
Another summer day has come and gone a way in Paris and Rome but I DON’T want to go home.
Hong Kong Chronicles
I found myself in the New Kowloon area again yesterday. I took the subway to the Lok Fu station. I decided I wanted to see the Kowloon Walled City Park. I have seen plenty of parks this vacation, but the history of this one intrigued me. The area around New Kowloon seems a little depressed. It’s not as vibrant as the areas around Prince Edward, Mong Kok or Yau Ma Tei.
The park used to be in a fortress in 1847. Apparently a legal oversight left the park in Chinese control after the British leased the New Territories. During WWII, it was leveled and a ghetto called the Walled City was built up. It was a draw to triads, drug dealers, heroin addicts, pornographers, and large rats (allegedly the size of small dogs). In 1992, it was torn down and replaced with a park. It still has a sketchy feel to it, which isn’t surprising with all that history.
Since it was near, I also went to the Hau Wong Temple. It was built in 1737 during the Qing Dynasty and has had renovations done sporadically between 1822 and 1988. It was built to honor the emperor Ping’s most loyal advisor.
I then took the subway back a few spots to Mong Kok and walked around that area again. I saw the Gold Fish Market, which I hadn’t seen. It was pretty crowded when I went.
Alice and I will go to Hong Kong Island tonight for dinner since we didn’t go last night.
I woke up and got organized. Ready or not, I leave tomorrow. Funny, I was longing for home when I left, and now I am not ready to go back. I guess it’s always like this. It’s nice having nothing to do. I wake up each day and decide then what to do. At home comes responsibility.
I have a good life. At times during the trip, I felt like I was one of the “privileged.” It’s not really a comfortable feeling for me. No way am I in the top 1% being battled at home, but in the overall scheme of life in the universal family of humans, I have it good.
Hong Kong Chronicles
Last night, Alice and I went to the ladies market. I had been to the market during the day, and I must say I enjoyed the experience at night more. It felt like there were more people, and the energy was pretty cool. I also like that area a lot. It feels like I imagined Hong Kong would feel.
It’s about 1:30, and I am trying to motivate myself to leave and do something. Tomorrow is my last full day. I fly out Friday late morning. Since the museum is free today, I feel like that is where I should head. But, alas, I don’t really feel like doing anything. Tonight, we are going to take the ferry to Hong Kong Island for dinner and sightseeing.
Must leave building. LOL!
Hong Kong Chronicles – Yum Yum Dim Sum
I met Alice for lunch for Dim Sum. Her friends Aster, Hilda, and Lavender joined us. I was so excited to have dim sum in Hong Kong. The place we went to was Jade Garden, which made me laugh because that is the name of the place I mostly go to in Seattle for dim sum. I can’t wait to share this with my coworkers. The food was good. Before I left, I found out that the dim sum items in Seattle are frozen, not fresh. So it felt good having some “fresh” dim sum. It was also nice meting some of Alice’s friends.
I decided to come back here and finish blogging. Tonight, we will go to the Ladies’ Market if the weather holds. It looks like it might start pouring down any second. I feel like I need to accomplish one thing a day and dim sum was on my list of things I wanted to do.
Hong Kong Chronicles
Yesterday, I slept in and was engrossed in a book. I finally left the hotel around one-ish. I took the subway to the Diamond Hill stop in the New Kowloon area to visit the Chi Lin Nunnery, which was quite beautiful. Allegedly no nails were used to build it. There were different openings with statues including one that was a Sakyamuni Buddhist. I don’t know much about the Buddhist faith. I noticed a lot of bowing and incense burning. There was a tape of chanting playing in the background. The nunnery is a replica of a house of worship from the Tang Dynasty, which was from 619-907. It opened in 2000. To get into it you enter a Lotus Pond Garden, which I loved. It was a very peaceful square. There was also another nice park adjacent called Hamma Hill Park. Across the street (and connected by a bridge) was the Nan Lian Garden, which was quite nice. I’ve seen quite a few nice parks this visit. It’s nice to get away from the concrete jungle and enter into the serenity of parks.
I then took the subway back one stop and went to the Wong Tai Sin Temple. There were a lot of people there praying and burning incense, so it was quite smoky. It opened in 1921 and is named for a person who was originally called Huang Chuping who was born in 328. He was said to be able to see the future and make wishes come true. According to my guidebook, worshippers from Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism visit. Again, not sure what the tenets of belief are for any of them. There are a lot of fortunetellers around the area. There was a very nice garden in the temple area.
It was hotter yesterday than it has been. I walked around New Kowloon some, but I didn’t find it as inspiring or interesting as the area around the Prince Edward, Mong Kok, or Yau Ma Tei subway stops, which has been my favorite areas so far. I did catch some glimpses at Lion Rock, which basically does look like a sitting lion. No attempt was even made to even think about climbing it.
Came back to the hotel and read some. Then I had dinner with Alice and then read some more.
This morning, I got up and read and then got ready. I am meeting Alice for dim sum for lunch. Yay! Today, I’m not sure what I will do. I might just come back to the room and read after lunch. Or, I could just hop on the subway and see where it takes me. Tomorrow is Wednesday, and I plan to go to another museum. Thursday, I will certainly take it easy. Friday, I fly home. Ready or not.
Hong Kong Chronicles, # 18, 19, 20
It is currently Sunday evening in Hong Kong.
On Friday, I took the ferry to Hong Kong Island and walked around. The first thing I did was walk along the waterfront. There are a lot of ferries that go to the outlaying islands. My next visit, I will stay longer and visit some of them. I’m learning not to try to do it all in one trip. I visited St. John’s Cathedral, which was very peaceful. It was built in 1849 and is the second oldest building in Hong Kong. When the Japanese occupied Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, it was changed into a club and much of the original fittings were taken out. I spent some time walking around Hong Kong Park. I was going to take the tram back up to the peak for the day picture, but the line was too long. I didn’t feel like waiting! In my time here, I have learned that the best way to cross busy streets is by using the subway and was able to navigate around without getting turned around.
While I was walking through Exchange Square, I came across a bunch of men glued to a TV. It turned out that they were watching the Australian rugby team play. It was unexpected and funny to hear them groan and cheer. I have since learned the rugby world cup is going on right now.
As I venture in this area, I realize that there are some cultural differences at play. People don’t cover their mouths when they cough, and I find myself pursing my lips and nose all the time. My sister used to do this, and I hated it. I feel like yelling cover your freaking mouth. Yuck, yuck, and yuck! People also freely pick their nose. I don’t mean the flick across, I mean digging for gold, which wouldn’t be so bad if a tissue was used. Also, the concept of personal space seems to be missing. A few times, I wanted to elbow folks in the stomach. Seriously, get off me. LOL. The concept of forming an orderly line seems to be lost and people try to cut. They then get offended when called out. They don’t understand or didn’t know were already there. Um, no. Get to the back of the line. Finally, there is a lot of spitting, which is so gross. Oh, and a lot of smoking. Double gross.
When I was in the park, I was thinking about this trip and how I didn’t plan anything. Normally, I have everything I want to see outlined with cost and notes like days closed. For a long time, I contemplated going to some island and being a vegetable. It would be great to take two vacations. One vacation that is all planned and outlined, and I do my running around and one that is just a sit on the beach vacation. I’ve also been thinking about life balance and trying to determine what it is exactly. I keep trying to figure out what having it all looks like. How do you balance family, career, etc? Everything has a cost and I guess how much cost am I willing to sacrifice to have it all especially seeing as I have no idea of what it means.
I keep meaning to mention the gambling ship that is docked near my hotel. The ship goes to international waters and people gamble in high stakes. Alice said that a lot of the Chinese think that life is a gamble so why not. There is also this really nice hotel called the Peninsula Hotel. I think Alice said it starts at $10,000 HK a night. It’s an 8 to 1 ratio HK/USA so even with the conversion it’s pretty pricey!
After Alice got off work, we caught the ferry to Macau. It’s about an hour away. Macau is 200 years older than Hong Kong. In the 1500s it became the first European enclave in China. It was under Portuguese rule for 450 years until being give back to China in 1999.
The fist thing we did was eat at a restaurant that was Portuguese / Macanese. I love the Portuguese buns. Yummy. We walked around the casino area near the Wynn and MGM. There are so many lights. The weather is warmer in Macau.
We stayed at the flat owned by Alice’s family.
Saturday, we did some sightseeing. We went to Senade Square. St. Dominic Church, the Ruins of St. Paul’s, and Museum in Monte Fortress. St. Paul’s was built by Jesuits who arrived in Macau around the 16th century. The church was built between 1602 to 1640. In the 18th century the Jesuits were forced out of Macau. The building was turned into barracks, and it was destroyed by fire in 1835. The only part that is left is the façade. The church was originally called Church of Mater Dei (Mother of God). Next to it is the Na Tcha Temple, which was built in 1901. It was supposed to illustrate the harmony amongst faiths as east and west met. We also walked around some side streets with Alice’s Uncle George. I felt like I saw where real people lived and shopped. Oh, and we had some more yummy buns for breakfast. I had two. One warm with just butter, which I think is the best way, and one warm with butter and Spam.
We also went to a Buddhist Temple for a ceremony for Alice’s nanny who was also her great aunt. Alice’s mom and brother met us and her uncle. I had never seen the service before. The priest said a prayer, and they prayed and offered food for her and some other stuff. I felt privileged to witness the ceremony.
I also got my first glance at China because it was across the river. I didn’t realize it was so close to Macau. The region in China I saw was the Pearl River Delta.
I loved the long bridges that connected the difference parts.
We also went to the City of Dreams Casino and saw a pretty cool dragon show called Dragon’s Treasure. It was well done and felt very real. There were times when it felt like a dragon was looking right t me. There were also times when it felt like we were moving down or up depending on the direction. I allowed myself $20 HK dollars to gamble, which is less than $3 USD. I played twice. Once before the show and won $2+ HKD and then after the show and lost it all. Between this and Vegas, I am down $11. I don’t believe in playing big, but I think it’s fun to play the slot machines.
Today, Sunday, we went to Shenzhen, which is located in China’s Guandong province. We took the rail. The ride was around 40 minutes.
I was offered watches, purses, jewelry, clothes, electronics, etc. People called us “missy” as they tried to get us in their stores. Some were aggressive, and it’s like no.
I did see the funniest pair of undergarments for men. They were basically designed like an elephant and the penis goes in the trunk part. It was just too funny not to mention.
People were like spitting in the mall and smoking in the mall. Gross. It was good first glance at China. There is still more I want to see. I’ve always wanted to see the Great Wall. My visa is multi entry and good until September 2012 so who knows what could happen in the next year.
Also, China was country number twenty that I’ve been too. Some coworkers and I are all trying to reach the goal of visiting 100 countries. My preference is to spend at least a few nights (3 is ideal) in each place. I would rather spend quality time in each place than go for quantity.
My passport has gotten a lot of action as I have been in and out of Hong Kong several times.
Hong Kong Chronicles
At the airport in San Fran, I was asking myself why I was traveling 14 hours away for vacation to a place in a different time zone. In case we haven’t met, the answer is simple. I want to see as much as the world as I can. My desire to travel is huge. While I have the time, money, and resources, I will go. When I retire, I may end up being on a fixed income or my ability to be mobile might decline. I don’t know. What I do know is that I must “work while it is day…the night cometh.” Okay, that was a paraphrase.
Plus, I can completely unplug from the Matrix!
I was thinking about my life. I am very grateful and thankful. I have made some bad choices, and those choices could have ended up worst than they did. I was thinking how different life could be if I hadn’t made those choices. But the truth is choices good and bad make us who we are. I have to belief I am who I am supposed to be.
I should tell you a little more about Canton Road and the mall. Any name brand you can think of has a store. Dior. Prada. Chanel. You name it; there is a store. It’s quite overwhelming. As you walk down the street people are offering you foot massage services and tailoring services. It’s hectic.
I ended up taking the subway from Tsim Sha Tsui to the Prince Edward Station. Every time I hear “Please mind the gap,” I smile. My goal was to get to Boundary Street and walk down Nathan Street to get back home. I would venture off to other streets to see things along the way. When I exited onto Nathan Street at the Prince Edward Station, I was in Hong Kong. Not the Hong Kong of Tsim Sha Tsui, but the real Hong Kong. I thought to myself, you are not in Kansas anymore. I forgot my water, and I had to get some water and the teller told me the amount in Chinese. It made me smile.
Anyway, I started at Boundary Street and made my way back. This street marked the border between British Hong Kong and China from 1860 to 1898. In 1898 the border was moved to include the New Territories for a 99-year lease that ended in 1997. It was of interest to see. Nothing earth shattering, but interesting. I may sign up for a day tour up to the New Territories.
I walked through the Flower Market to get to the Bird Garden, which was kind of sad to see all those birds in cages. It wasn’t quite what I expected. The guidebook said that locals take their birds there for fresh air. So, I was thinking of a park where people take their pets for air. It seemed to me that it was a place that mostly sold birds, but the guidebook made it sound like that was a small part of the novelty of the place. The birds were confined but singing so prettily. It reminded me of the sad song of Sirens. It was interesting to see the free birds there eating food from the edges of the cages.
I then walked back through the Flower Market and gave it some attention. It reminded me that I need to start buying flowers once a week for myself. There were some very pretty flowers. I then walked down Nathan Street and took in the sights and went down side streets that looked interesting. I took a lot of pictures of buildings that looked interesting. I realize that I take lots of building pictures when I travel, but they do tell a story. People’s lives are often displayed in their laundry and open windows. It’s hard to resist peaking in. Buildings also have character. Even ones that are seemingly in decay have a poetic sense of survival.
I walked through the Fa Yuen Street Market, which is part of the Ladies Market. There were streets of vendors selling things from fruits, vegetables, meat, clothes, etc. I love taking pictures of the stalls, but try to be mindful that the vendors might now want to be in my photos so I try to aim for their goods.
I then cut over to Shanghai Street and walked through some of the Reclamation Street Markets, which had a lot of foodstuff. One of the markets was called Yau Ma Tei Market. I also went to the Jade Market. Basically, there were a lot of markets. It was fun to watch people haggle prices and go about their lives. Having suffered through the tourist at the Market at home, I try to be mindful of things that bother me. Like stopping in the middle of the sidewalk oblivious to the fact that people have things to do.
What I noticed was around Jordan Street, I moved from Hong Kong Hong Kong to tourist Hong Kong. It was disappointing to once again see all the tourist trap stores. Funny how the guidebook had the Golden Mile as the number one thing to do in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon. Basically, it’s a bunch of stores for tourist to shop in, which I get. Tourism brings big money to cities.
I then spent some time in Kowloon Park, which was quite beautiful. There was a Chinese Garden, some sculptures, a bird sanctuary, tennis courts, a swimming pool, which I guess is a big cruising spot, and more. I totally love the Banyan Trees. Their trunks are so big and firm and their roots are firmly grounded. I did a lot yesterday and more than made up for the two days when I chill-axed.
I then returned to the hotel and read before going to dinner with Alice. We went to this Canton restaurant. Went home and read and then went to sleep.
Got up, read and then got ready and am now on the Internet. We leave for Macau tonight, and we will stay the night there. I am trying to figure out what I will do today before meeting Alice after work.
Hong Kong Chronicles
Yesterday, after I blogged, I headed to the art museum. Two of the galleries were closed for repairs, which was a bummer. Wednesday is free admission day so I couldn’t really grumble over that fact.
In case you don’t know, I favor oil paints and marble sculptures. I am deeply drawn to sculptures of the (male) human form. Amazing that someone can take an empty canvas if you will and create such powerful forms out of it. One of my favorite pieces is an uncompleted work by Michelangelo called The Prisoners. There is just so much strength in the muscles of the men struggling for release. It’s quite powerful and breathtakingly beautiful. There wasn’t much of that at the museum, at least the floors that were opened.
There was a room dedicated to calligraphy, which was interesting. There were also some etchings and lithographs. They also had a lot of artifacts. In fact there was some pottery from the Neolithic Period that was dated from 3600 to 3000 BC, which is quite old. In truth, I don’t always pay attention to artifacts. It’s only when I take the time to think about the people who used them that they become of interest. Unfortunately, they tend to be displayed in ways that I find overwhelming because I can’t quite focus on one piece. If I can focus my mind, I appreciate them. I also appreciate them when someone I know in history used them.
One thing that is clear is that humans have been pretty consistent over the years. I was chuckling at the B.C. purses, bracelet, earrings, etc. Women have always adorned themselves with pretty things.
There were also some paintings. Two that stood out were an oil painting of a storm on a river and an oil painting of a Tonka boatwoman. There was also porcelain from different dynasties like Ming, Yuan, etc.
After the museum, I sat and enjoyed the sun before taking a short walk. I was going to Kowloon Park, which I still haven’t gotten to yet when I went to the hotel and read until time to meet Alice. I just wanted to relax. If I accomplish one thing each day, I’m good. LOL!
We took the ferry to other side and met her mom for dinner. Alice’s mother likes me a lot because she said I was always happy and smiling. Okay, you can stop laughing now. Alice’s mom is very sweet and has only seen me in small doses. I think two or three days at the most when I stayed with them in Vancouver. Her parents live in the mid-level of Hong Kong. Along the way, Alice pointed out the U.S. Embassy, go USA. Hee-hee. We went to this really great vegetarian restaurant. Her parents live in the same area that she grew up in before moving to Vancouver. She pointed out two other places that they had lived.
We went back to the bottom of the hill and took the tram to the peak. It was an amazing view. I loved all the lights looking into the harbor. I’m trying to decide if I will go back during the day. It would have to be timed for the setting of the sun otherwise the pictures will have reflections. Plus, with the pollution, the pictures could end up hazy anyway. We had ice cream and walked around the area that was filled with tourists.
Today, I will head out in a few. I’m still trying to decide what I want to do. I might walk around Kowloon, or I might take the ferry to Hong Kong Island and walk around. Decisions, decisions!
LaTonja Brown 