I've made minor corrections and added hyperlinks to the entries. Feel free to ask for clarification of any post by entering a comment and I will add more detail.
I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Hope the jokes didn't make you groan too much.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Trams of Hong Kong
As promised, here is a gallery of a few interesting trams of Hong Kong island. What I like about using trams for advertising is that they move so they don't ruin the scenery. If you don't like a particular advertisement, it will trundle off soon.
Tourism advertising for Korea.
And for Japan.
They can be quite closely spaced. BTW, Happy Valley is the racecourse.
Trams have to coexist with other traffic.
Another Japan Tourism tram advertising Nagano. The Winter Olympics were held there in back in 1998 but they are still promoting the city.
A tram of "interest".
One with a public message, and travelling along a segregated section of the track.
Colourful Hainan island. It's pretty big on the map. I wonder what's there to see. Now I'm curious. Their advertising is working.
Advertising luxury apartments I think.
Advertising a mall.
Italian shoes, not a type of pasta.
Old Town is a brand of instant coffee premix, I believe. I have some and they are surprisingly strong, though not subtle.
Hainan Island again, a place called Sanya there.
A few in a row.
Tsubaki is Japanese for camelia and Head Spa is apparently a hair conditioner which contains an extract. I think it's not related to Head Soup.
This one has a campaign message against sex trafficking.
Some people still prefer gold.
Leather accessories.
Rather mundane earphones ad.
Bank ad.
This bank is not going away.
Shoes again.
Skin care product.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The end of empire
I remember reading somewhere that Jan Morris booked her accommodation for the 1997 handback of Hong Kong years in advance. That's a credible story, because she started her reportage career not long after WWII and she would have been writing for about 50 years by then, so it was also a personal milestone. I think some pundit computed that after the handback, if some obscure posession, perhaps it was Diego Garcia, were taken into account, it might just be possible to still claim that the sun did not set on the empire. But the bare reality was that Britain was returning her last populous overseas territory. The Empire would fade into history.
Back then a local newspaper wrote that China was inheriting a First World city and speculated on what effect that might have on China or vice versa. They wouldn't write a line like that now. China now has other First World cities, owing nothing to Hong Kong, but just the same frenetic energy that drives all Chinese wherever they are able to wheel and deal.
2047 is a long time away, at the accelerating pace of human history. Hong Kong will be very different, China will be very different, and indeed the world will be very different. So, useless to speculate now what China will do to Hong Kong or vice versa.
But I think in that distant age you will still hear the plaint in Hong Kong: Haang fai dit la, wei!
Back then a local newspaper wrote that China was inheriting a First World city and speculated on what effect that might have on China or vice versa. They wouldn't write a line like that now. China now has other First World cities, owing nothing to Hong Kong, but just the same frenetic energy that drives all Chinese wherever they are able to wheel and deal.
2047 is a long time away, at the accelerating pace of human history. Hong Kong will be very different, China will be very different, and indeed the world will be very different. So, useless to speculate now what China will do to Hong Kong or vice versa.
But I think in that distant age you will still hear the plaint in Hong Kong: Haang fai dit la, wei!
The Peak
Only a few things left to do today: get a haircut, take a look out of the 43rd floor of the Bank of China, where there is supposed to have a good view, have yum cha at Maxim's at City Hall, go up the Peak, watch sunset there, then have dinner and catch the express to the airport.
On the way to the Bank of China, I came across these protest banners planted outside HSBC. On checking the Internet later I found that the protesters were retail investors who claimed to have been sold securities which were made worthless by the Global Fried Chicken. There were similar groups outside Standard Chartered and Bank of China.
The view is good, but there is only one bay of windows, on the west side. As with all visitors, I had to have my daypack X-rayed and register as a visitor to access that floor. They obviously expect visitors, there is a lift that only goes to that floor.
That phallic looking building is 2 IFC (International Finance Centre). Local wits call it Sir YK Pao's Errection, after the owner of the company that built it. It's supposed to have 88 stories, but is actually missing a couple due to unlucky Chinese numbers.
I had a hell of a time finding City Hall, it was a bit lost in the construction and land reclamation. The building dates from 1962 but the interior looks more like 70s or 80s as they have made renovations over time. Due to a misunderstanding of the phrasing in the guide book, I thought that Maxim's served dim sum every day, but it's only on weekends. So all that was available on this Monday was the a la carte menu. It's such a small place that I reckon people would have to stake a place in the yum cha queue early, so I never would have had a chance. They seated me, gave me the menu, and then nothing happened for a few minutes, nobody came to take my order. Maybe the restaurant staff are just as slack as public functionaries in this building. So I just walked out.
I decided to try another yum cha place, mentioned in the guide as a place where old men reading newspapers, extended families, and office groups lunch. It serves a la carte meals but there are yum cha trolleys. I had a vision of a busy but not overcrowded restaurant, where people gently enjoyed their food, with old furnishings, and maybe a canary in a cage in a corner. I should have known better, this was Hong Kong after all. It was crammed to the rafters. What's more whenever the trolleys emerged, customers would besiege them, clutching their score cards and wanting to know what was on offer. I had to follow suit. It was the first time that I had to chase dim sum instead of having it come to me. There are items you would not see in Sydney yum cha restaurants, such as pigs trotters. Still I did manage to score a couple of bamboo steamers worth of decent dim sum. I think what misled me was the bit about "reading newspapers". As you can see from the picture, customers did read newspapers, but in HK that has no connotation of a calm place.
Downstairs I bought a quartet of mini-mooncakes to munch on the run: lotus seed, red and green bean, and red date. So I did get my Moon Festival cakes after all.
I found the terminus of the Peak Tramway and took the tram. From there you have views over the island and Kowloon.
Not surprisingly, you have to pay extra to ascend to the viewing platform on the roof of the building. Also the whole station is a giant shopping and leisure centre. There is a second building nearby, the Galleria, which is also a retail centre. Still, it's not a bad thing because the restaurants can offer their customers great views while dining.
The tram goes up 400m which is not the top, a road goes higher to what must be very expensive houses. They didn't look that flash outside, but I suppose if you can afford the hundreds of millions they are worth, you can make the inside palatial.
There was still an hour or so to go before sunset, and I found that there is a walk girding Victoria Peak, formed by two roads, Harlech and Lugard, of about 3 km, or an hour's stroll. Great.
From the walk it is possible to see the south coast of HK island, and the Pok Fu Lam reservoir.
By this time, the heat had abated somewhat, a breeze had risen, and the light was turning golden, so it was quite pleasant.
Crowds were starting to arrive from the lowlands to enjoy the breezes and the evening view.
I didn't really want to leave; it was so refreshing, but it was time. The descending car was packed, but fortunately it had a large capacity.
Down at Central I found the recommended Vietnamese restaurant and ordered that signature Vietnamese dish: pork chop on broken rice. It didn't come with the ginger sauce I'm used to. It was alright, but not as good as the Vietnamese food in Australia and a bit of a struggle to finish, like the pizza the night before. I think a reason HK isn't so good for non-Chinese cuisine is the lack of a large number of native chefs and diners to maintain the quality. Also we have good fresh ingredients.
After dinner I bought some CDs I had my eye on in a shop just above the check-in counters in the city terminal, and then boarded the express for the airport. Just five minutes short of midnight, our flight took to the air, and that was essentially the end of my holiday.
That phallic looking building is 2 IFC (International Finance Centre). Local wits call it Sir YK Pao's Errection, after the owner of the company that built it. It's supposed to have 88 stories, but is actually missing a couple due to unlucky Chinese numbers.
I had a hell of a time finding City Hall, it was a bit lost in the construction and land reclamation. The building dates from 1962 but the interior looks more like 70s or 80s as they have made renovations over time. Due to a misunderstanding of the phrasing in the guide book, I thought that Maxim's served dim sum every day, but it's only on weekends. So all that was available on this Monday was the a la carte menu. It's such a small place that I reckon people would have to stake a place in the yum cha queue early, so I never would have had a chance. They seated me, gave me the menu, and then nothing happened for a few minutes, nobody came to take my order. Maybe the restaurant staff are just as slack as public functionaries in this building. So I just walked out.
Downstairs I bought a quartet of mini-mooncakes to munch on the run: lotus seed, red and green bean, and red date. So I did get my Moon Festival cakes after all.
There was still an hour or so to go before sunset, and I found that there is a walk girding Victoria Peak, formed by two roads, Harlech and Lugard, of about 3 km, or an hour's stroll. Great.
Down at Central I found the recommended Vietnamese restaurant and ordered that signature Vietnamese dish: pork chop on broken rice. It didn't come with the ginger sauce I'm used to. It was alright, but not as good as the Vietnamese food in Australia and a bit of a struggle to finish, like the pizza the night before. I think a reason HK isn't so good for non-Chinese cuisine is the lack of a large number of native chefs and diners to maintain the quality. Also we have good fresh ingredients.
After dinner I bought some CDs I had my eye on in a shop just above the check-in counters in the city terminal, and then boarded the express for the airport. Just five minutes short of midnight, our flight took to the air, and that was essentially the end of my holiday.
Things I liked about HK
I liked that the shirts and jeans I bought fitted me well. This is important. You will have to live with those clothes for a couple of years at least. It must be that they are made to fit Asian bodies. And they were cheap too.
I liked that the airport is so convenient to the city. It takes only 22 minutes by express train. And you can check in your luggage in the city terminal, saving you having to carry it yourself to the airport.
The Chinese food is of course good. Other cuisines I can only give it a pass, at least for the restaurants in my price class.
There are good CD and DVD shops where you can get some rare releases.
You can grab a computer gadget or two by making a visit to Sham Shui Po.
On the negative side, HK is cramped, but what do you expect? Anyway for a day or two, it's tolerable.
I'll have to seriously consider making HK a stopover on the way back from Europe for a shopping raid. One could arrive early on day one from Europe, leave the luggage at the hotel, go for yum cha and then shopping. Spend the evening relaxing. In the morning, have a leisurely breakfast, check in the luggage at the city terminal, then go for lunch, maybe even yum cha again, then finish the shopping and leave for the airport in the evening. There's a plan.
I liked that the airport is so convenient to the city. It takes only 22 minutes by express train. And you can check in your luggage in the city terminal, saving you having to carry it yourself to the airport.
The Chinese food is of course good. Other cuisines I can only give it a pass, at least for the restaurants in my price class.
There are good CD and DVD shops where you can get some rare releases.
You can grab a computer gadget or two by making a visit to Sham Shui Po.
On the negative side, HK is cramped, but what do you expect? Anyway for a day or two, it's tolerable.
I'll have to seriously consider making HK a stopover on the way back from Europe for a shopping raid. One could arrive early on day one from Europe, leave the luggage at the hotel, go for yum cha and then shopping. Spend the evening relaxing. In the morning, have a leisurely breakfast, check in the luggage at the city terminal, then go for lunch, maybe even yum cha again, then finish the shopping and leave for the airport in the evening. There's a plan.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Star Ferry
In Hokkaido it was a case of which bento box haven't I seen before. Here in Hong Kong the question is how to fit in all the foods that I am nostalgic for in this short visit. I found another porridge shop for breakfast, and also some radish and yam cakes. There are still some signs of the old hostess bar Wan Chai on Lockhart Road, but this area has gone upmarket.
I've decided to take a ride on a Star Ferry. They used to be the main mode of crossing between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Now they only run a few services, and one of them is Wan Chai to Hung Hom. There were few people at the terminal. It might have been because it was Sunday, but I think patronage is way way down also. The crossing was quite short, less than 15 minutes.
It was even quieter at the other end; there were some anglers at the waterfront and not much more. I wondered if I was still in Hong Kong. It felt like I had ended up in a forgotten village where there are only three bus services out per day.
A short walk found me at a luxury hotel which has an expensive waterfront view. However I saw a hotel courtesy shuttle so guests have to go elsewhere for excitement.
A bit further on and there were signs of civilisation, HK style, i.e. shopping centres. Looking for a cool drink, I discovered that KFC in HK also sell passable Portuguese tarts.
After having a lunch of wonton noodles at a food court, there wasn't much else in Hung Hom to detain me so I hopped onto a train. Hung Hom MTR station is fairly new, my 2009 guide didn't have it on the map. although it has been a rail station for a while. Because it is the terminus of two lines, you see people getting off and crossing the platform to the other line.
The carriages are fairly new too.
At Sham Shui Po I risked my sanity again to brave the crowds and bought a USB flash drive to burn up a bit more money. I had mistakenly keyed in 50% more when I got cash out of the ATM on arrival. Never mind, I spotted a CD shop yesterday. I can easily spend lots on jazz CDs.
I then headed for Causeway Bay (Tung Lo Wan, Copper Gong Bay). Don't be fooled by the name. You won't find picturesque bays at the places so named. In addition to urban sprawl, many "bays" are now inland due to land reclaimation. At this rate, maybe they won't need the cross-harbour tunnels years from now because they will have filled in the land between the island and Kowloon.
There really isn't much of interest in Causeway Bay other than fashion stores. You won't be too far wrong if you go by the premise that a lot of human behaviour is driven by the need to impress others. Most HK people can't afford big houses or cars (and those who can flaunt them) so the outlet for this drive is fashion and techno toys, e.g. mobiles and personal organisers.
And that was enough for the day, except for a serendipitous visit to Wan Chai markets. Even though it's an old-fashioned produce market, it's air-conditioned. On the way back I found the new age provision and coffee shop that is supposed to have yak cheescake but being Sunday, it was closed. And I don't think I will have the time to go there tomorrow. Oh well, have to leave something for the next visit.
For dinner I decided to try a pizza restaurant I spotted on the way back, for variety. This was an Asian chain serving the American pizza experience. The paper place mat had a corporate fable about how pizza came about. According to it, the south of Italy was often invaded by foreigners (ok so far). So the grannies had to cook simple nourishing food from basic ingredients for the fighters to keep up their morale. Hmm, my mind boggled. I pictured the eldest son returning with his followers from the day's battle:
"Nonna, not Margherita pizza again? It's been 8 days in a row."
"Mangiate!" commands the matriarch.
"Men, I promise you," says the leader in a resigned voice, "when we have beaten off the tourists, we'll emigrate to America where we can have any topping we want."
Anyway the 4 mushroom pizza was ok for the first couple of slices. I don't think shitake mushrooms are traditional Italian, but I have made shitake work in ragu so that wasn't too bad. But the crust was missing something. Somehow I managed to finish the 12 incher, with the help of a draft beer. I'm going to have a good Aussie Italian pizza when I get back. We're so lucky we have real Italian cuisine in Australia.
At Sham Shui Po I risked my sanity again to brave the crowds and bought a USB flash drive to burn up a bit more money. I had mistakenly keyed in 50% more when I got cash out of the ATM on arrival. Never mind, I spotted a CD shop yesterday. I can easily spend lots on jazz CDs.
There really isn't much of interest in Causeway Bay other than fashion stores. You won't be too far wrong if you go by the premise that a lot of human behaviour is driven by the need to impress others. Most HK people can't afford big houses or cars (and those who can flaunt them) so the outlet for this drive is fashion and techno toys, e.g. mobiles and personal organisers.
For dinner I decided to try a pizza restaurant I spotted on the way back, for variety. This was an Asian chain serving the American pizza experience. The paper place mat had a corporate fable about how pizza came about. According to it, the south of Italy was often invaded by foreigners (ok so far). So the grannies had to cook simple nourishing food from basic ingredients for the fighters to keep up their morale. Hmm, my mind boggled. I pictured the eldest son returning with his followers from the day's battle:
"Nonna, not Margherita pizza again? It's been 8 days in a row."
"Mangiate!" commands the matriarch.
"Men, I promise you," says the leader in a resigned voice, "when we have beaten off the tourists, we'll emigrate to America where we can have any topping we want."
Anyway the 4 mushroom pizza was ok for the first couple of slices. I don't think shitake mushrooms are traditional Italian, but I have made shitake work in ragu so that wasn't too bad. But the crust was missing something. Somehow I managed to finish the 12 incher, with the help of a draft beer. I'm going to have a good Aussie Italian pizza when I get back. We're so lucky we have real Italian cuisine in Australia.
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