In Maui and Beyond...

On Saturday, the 24th, I left Hong Kong at 11 A.M. and flew to Manila for about two hours. Later in the afternoon, I took another plane to Honolulu and then a puddle-jumper over to Maui where I was to hook up with my oldest daughter, Chimene, her husband, John and my two grandchildren, Jasper and Kiana. Because there's an 18 hour difference between Hong Kong and Maui, I actually arrived in Maui at the same exact time that I left Hong Kong: 11 A.M. on Saturday, the 24th. My grandkids did not know that I was going to be there so it was a huge surprise when I showed up at the baggage claim area. My daughter and her husband rented a stunningly beautiful one bedroom condo on the western beach just north of Kaanapali with an outstanding view of the islands of Molokai and Lanai. We're just a few yards from the water's edge. We all went to one of the obligatory Hawaiian luaus that they have around here. This particular one (the Royal Lahaina Resort)is so successful that it pulls in several hundred tourists a night...seven days a week. Lots of great foods, traditional dances, fire displays and great fun for everyone.
My friend Gino is still in the US and emailed that he will be flying from San Jose to LAX tomorrow evening so there's a chance that we'll be able to hook up in L.A., too. It's amazing that I've seen this guy in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hong Kong and now in Los Angeles. What a great new friendship we're forming!
Well, my friends, I'm going to be signing off for a while. I'll pick up the blog again when I get back on the road in another month or so. Hope that you've enjoyed hitchhiking along on my adventures.

The last party...

Steve and I took the MTR over to Lan Kwai Fong on Hong Kong Island. It's actually a one square block area that's been shut off to vehicular traffic. Along both sides of the streets, there are many dozens of bars and restaurants (mostly bars) that cater to both the locals and to the tourists. Since they are contiguous to each other, you can easily swagger (or stagger) from one bar to the next with no problem whatsoever. The Lan Kwai Fong area is on a hill, so you are required to either walk up or down the streets looking for...well, for whatever you want. I'm quite sure that everything that you're looking for can be found here.
Looking at them from the street, most of the bars are about 25 feet wide but they appear to be at least a hundred feet deep...maybe deeper. Lots of contrasting music blares out from each of these establishments and the entire atmosphere in this area is electric and even celebratory. Naturally, there are a lot of Westerners walking these streets and enjoying the in-your-face kind of ambiance. The street, itself, is only about 30 feet wide (remember, there are no cars) and so everyone uses it to freely wander between bars...both uphill and downhill. Additionally, there are many other notable bars which have rented rooms in the floors above the main streets so you have to also "think vertically." Yes, this place has to be experienced at night after 9 P.M. on a weekend to be fully believed. Lots of fun and very extraordinary. However, since I had to leave at 7 A.M. tomorrow, Steve and I had an early sushi dinner, a few beers with another friend (Tim and his girlfriend, Jessica,) and then we left for home so that I could begin to pack. Tomorrow, I'm off for Maui. More later...

Last day in Hong Kong...

Since today turned out to be an absolutely glorious day, Steve and I decided to take the ferry over to one of the outlying islands around Hong Kong. There are about 235 of these islands with Lantau (the home of Disneyland, their new international airport and the Giant Buddha statue) being the largest(about twice the size of Hong Kong Island.) We had both been to Lantau Island before and so we decided to go over to Cheung Chau, another much smaller island about one square mile in size. It's got a large expat population living here and the principle industry is tourism and fishing. The waterfront area has a lot of shops and restaurants that cater to the tourists and the energy here is very low-key and noticeably quite different from the frenetic energy that pulsates in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. Since this was my last night in HK, after a swim back at the apartment, Steve and I headed out to the local "party central" on HK Island...a small several block area known as Lan Kwai Fong. More later....

Jackie Chan....

Last night, (Wednesday) Lorraine, Steve and I went to Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill down near the Star Ferry station at Central. Very nice atmosphere and it reminded me of many of the great restaurants that I have been in around my home town of Chicago.
Thursday morning, Lorraine had to pack for her quick 4-day trip to California. She's leaving at 11 P.M. tonight and won't be returning to HK until Monday. This afternoon, though, she had to play host to the film star, Jackie Chan. Today, he was the Guest of Honor at the Design School (which Lorraine heads up) at Hong Kong Polytecnic University. This afternoon was their formal graduation for the year and, with Jackie Chan in attendence, the Hong Kong Press was out in full force. There must have been more than fifty reporters and cameramen present from every local TV station...all vying for Jackie's attention. He was incredibly patient and gracious with everyone and took the time to make sure that everyone had an opportunity to take photographs, etc. Jackie is considered to be a full Professor at the Design School and has always been one of its biggest supporters. In fact, he stated that he, himself, had designed the clothes that he was wearing today. Lorraine, Steve and I (along with the University President and a few important CEOs of Design around HK) greeted Jackie when he arrived at the University and Lorraine provided the general introductions. Before the ceremony, I got a great shot of Lorraine and Jackie together and, later, the Webmaster who handles Jackie's website asked me for a copy so that she could put it up on his website.
My time in Hong Kong is getting increasingly short, and I'm acutely aware that, 48 hours from now, I'm going to be somewhere out over the Pacific on my way back to the States. (Sigh.) Well, as we all know, whatever has a beginning, though, must also have an ending. More later. After all, there's still one more day to enjoy in this very fascinating city.

Victoria Peak

The Peak Tram (originally steam powered) starts its eight- minute scenic climb just across the street and around the corner from the American Consulate. It makes its way up to the summit of 1305 feet to a breath-taking view of the harbor below. The Peak is still the most fashionable place to live in Hong Kong and the real estate prices are astronomical. For example, the average rent here is around HK$50,000 a month or more. (That's about US$7000.00). The tram has been in operation since 1888 and has only stopped for typoons and during World War II.
Since Wednesday turned out to be fair and clear, I thought that it would be a good idea to take the tram up to the top again. As usual,I took the Star Ferry across the water in order to get over to HK Island, and then I hoofed it up to the bottom of the tram. I had been up to Victoria Peak twice before...once in 1988 and again in 1998...but the view there is so incredibly spectacular that I wanted to see it again. Everytime I go up there, there are more shops and attractions for the tourists. Now, for example, there's a new four level shopping center (the Peak Galleria) with many new shops and restaurants to attract the tourists. (Yes, even McDonalds is up there, too.)
After I took the MTR back to Kowloon, Steve and I went for a swim and a jacuzzi in the courtyard pool. Tomorrow, Lorraine's taking us to some kind of function over at HK Polytechnic University to meet Jackie Chan. Should be fun. More later...

Over to Macau...

Today dawned fairly clear and so I decided to head on over to Macau. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Macau was initially a Portugese colony (much like Goa was in India) and, in fact, they still accept their currency over there. Many of the signs posted around are also in Portugese as well as in Chinese and English. I took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island and walked a quarter mile to another terminal where I caught the turbojet catamaran to Macau, a trip lasting about an hour. Since you're leaving Hong Kong proper, you have to go through immigration to get your passport stamped in and out of both HK and Macau. When I was in Macau back in 1988, I think that they only had one or two casinos. Now, however, there are about 23 of them....including two huge ones currently being built by the MGM and by Steve Wynn...both of Las Vegas. They should be opened by the end of the summer. The boats run between Hong Kong Island and Macau every 15 minutes so there's no problem in getting a seat.
The money in Hong Kong is colorful but a bit confusing until you understand that the same denomination bills often look very different from each other...not because one is the newer version of the bill but because the official HK money is actually put out by different banks in the area. However, it's all considered to be legal tender.
Another thing that impresses me about HK is their incredible ability to move people from one place to another. Not only is their subway system second to none in the world, (my opinion) but they have also constructed miles and miles of well-lit walkways above the traffic that are used to funnel pedestrians away from street level by allowing them to walk for many many blocks without having to hassle with the street traffic below. For example, when I took the Star Ferry to HK Island a few days ago, I was able to walk all the way to Wan Chai on one of these walkways...almost a mile away...without ever going down to the street at all. It's incredibly convenient. They also have created an elaborate system of pedestrian tunnels to link subway stations and key points around HK. There are some new buildings on HK Island that are so beautiful that you just have to reach for your camera. Needless to say, I think that, on many levels, Hong Kong is a very impressive city. More later...

Lazy days in Hong Kong...

The Temple Street night market is a shoppers' paradise. Everything of interest to the tourist is offered here at the stalls that stretch down both sides of the street for about five blocks. There are, naturally, lots of Westerners, lots of noise and lots of heavy-duty body heat that's generated by the wall-to-wall crowds. At one end of Temple Street, there are also dozens of psychics and fortune tellers, etc. who will be happy to read your face, palms, tarot, astrology chart, etc. to predict your future. As modern as Hong Kong is, they still put great stock in mystical/magical traditions that border on superstition. For example, a few of the most modern buildings near the water here are constructed with large holes through the entire building. These holes might be several stories high and, perhaps, a hundred feet across and they're actually designed into the building in order to assure that the powerful Dragon (a very important symbol in Chinese lore) has direct access to the sea.
The weather in HK is still a bit overcast, and so I'm going to tentatively delay my trip to Macau until Wednesday. Also, I came down with a case of larangytis from the combination of super-cold air conditioning and cigar smoke that we had to endure a few days ago at "Joe Bananas." Consequently, I've decided to take it slow for a few days in order to rest up before taking the hydrofoil over to Macau on Wednesday. More later...

A room with a view...

Steve and Lorraine have graciously allowed me to stay with them during my remaining days in Hong Kong. They live with their daughter, Alexa, on the 43rd floor of a luxurious apartment building in Kowloon that's about six blocks from the water. Their apartment looks south across the half a mile of water that separates Kowloon from Hong Kong Island. Like the other rooms in the apartment, the bedroom where I am staying has an unobstructed view that is truly breathtaking. For those of you familiar with the area, we're directly across from the Convention Center on HK Island and about halfway between the two piers where the well-known Star Ferry has operated since 1888 between Kowloon and the Island. Across the water and to the right, we can see Victoria Peak and the tram. In the harbor below, there is always boat traffic with ships of every size (including the Star Ferry, of course) providing an ever-changing kaleidescope of activity out on the water. At night, the lights in the buildings across the water transform the entire panorama into something almost mystical and other-worldly...particularly if there's fog or low-lying clouds.
Yesterday, Steve and I went to see "The Omen" which turned out to be a re-make of the original 70's film with Gregory Peck. Not too bad, if you like that sort of thing. Last night, I took the Star ferry across the harbor to meet up with Cedrick in Wan Chai. This tourist/ex-pat area of the city, (filled with bars, pole-dancers, restaurants, bistros, etc.) became well-known as the backdrop of an old movie with William Holden called "The World of Susie Wong." Cedrick and I went to Joe Bananas, a popular hangout for ex-pats and watched a bit of the World Cup with Peri, one of his co-workers. Frankly, after traveling in southeast Asia for the past three months, I had not seen so many westerners gathered in one place. As you might expect on a Friday night, the HK "working girls" were out in full force in Wan Chai. Cedrick had to email some information that evening to Gino so he and Peri went on home around 11 P.M. while I continued to drift around until after midnight to sample more of the colorful ambiance of this fascinating area. The Star ferry stops working that late, so I took the MTR (subway) back to Lorraine's place. Like it is in Tokyo, the subway system in Hong Kong is clearly marked with directions/instructions in both Chinese and English. Consequently, it's very easy to travel through the maze of inter-connecting subway lines with a minimum of concern. Everything is very clean, bright and entirely safe. The crime rate in HK is amazingly quite low...especially considering that there are about 8 miliion people living here. The Triads, however, seem to exert a lot of control over the local businesses and even pressure the local merchants to pay protection money. Another oddity: although HK is a thoroughly modern city, they still use the traditional bamboo scaffolding in order to erect and maintain their high-rise buildings. After dinner tonight, we're all going to visit the Temple Street night market which is famous for offering a wide selection of very inexpensive items displayed for the shoppers in a maze of stalls. Cedrick and I are still planning to take a boat over to Macau tomorrow and Alexa is leaving for Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday. The weather in HK remains hot and humid. More later...