HONG KONG 2010 trip

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Great read, and nice pics, Teak!

[Bus]

glad ya'll had fun. appreciate the pic and wish i could have gone

[venomsfreak]

Glad everyone got home safely. Teako I'm really enjoying your journal, can't wait for part 2.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Yeah T, your report is great. I'm looking forward to reading more.

How are you feeling? Have you recovered from any jet lag and time zone change weirdness?

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Bey talks about your visit on his AnD blog....

http://www.alivenotdead.com/beylogan/blog.html

[KUNG FU BOB]

Originally Posted by TibetanWhiteCrane

Bey talks about your visit on his AnD blog....

http://www.alivenotdead.com/beylogan/blog.html

Ah, Bey is such a nice guy. Loved what he said about Linn, and getting Gordon (another super nice chap) to sign his autograph for Monica. He comes through for the fans once again!

[Jesse Smooth]

Originally Posted by KUNG FU BOB

Ah, Bey is such a nice guy. Loved what he said about Linn, and getting Gordon (another super nice chap) to sign his autograph for Monica. He comes through for the fans once again!

Bey is awesome. I have to upload me doing the Hung Gar forms with him and his Sifu. Granted, I botched them up very badly, (and trust me, it is one heck of a workout just doing the forms) but it was cool of him to invite us to practice with him. When I have the time, I would love to train in a kung fu style. Problem is, there is a lot of bad kung fu and tai chi out there (as well as bad karate and taekwondo these days).

[teako170]

DAY TWO

Tuesday, Jan 26. Jesse had flown in the previous night and we ran into him at the hotel buffet breakfast - which we wound up eating every morning. (Good to have a belly full of decent food before heading out.) This time we were a little more settled as we started to get acclimated to our surroundings. I had CC’s cemetery name in Chinese but unfortunately Google pointed me to the wrong location. Thinking yesterday’s location was incorrect, I logged onto the net Monday evening and it showed me a site in Chai Wan (opposite end of HK Isle where we were staying). We took the MTR and grabbed a taxi to the site but as we learned yesterday, nothing in HK is simple ..... wrong cemetery! (Thanks Google maps!!) I tired to get a taxi to take us to the site where we were yesterday but all the cabbie kept saying was, "Kowloon side. This Hong Kong side." Our exchange turned into a clip right out of an Abbott & Costello film in which I kept pointing at the map and making a steering wheel motion. "You (pointing at him) drive (steering wheel motion) us (pointing at us) here (pointing at map). And him repeating back : "Kowloon side. This Hong Kong side." Glad the folks in the back seat were having a good laugh.

Anyhow, after hitting KFC for lunch (hmm, was that really chicken we just ate?) we got back on the train and cabbed it to the site. Cabs are great way to get around btw. They’re quite cheap and everywhere you look. Anyhow, the cabbie drove up several steep hills to the entrance of the cemetery and dropped us off but the main office was nowhere to be found (big surprise there). So off we went, hoofing it for another 20 minutes - up even more hills - to the office. But man-oh-man, what a spectacular view! Right off Junk Bay, the Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery was hauntingly beautiful. The main office building was rather large and easy to find but once we got there - more problems (yeeeah!!) The office personnel told us that the Chinese name for Chang Cheh was incorrect. Maybe we were missing a character, I dunno. "Foiled once again," I thought to myself as three or four men conversed in Cantonese looking over the computers for what seemed a year and a day.

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Monica overlooking Junk Bay .............................. Chang Cheh / Rest In Peace ........................ Tseung Kwan O

Finally, one of them asked us to follow him and we got on an elevator to the ground floor. Exiting, we rounded a corner and there he was – Chang Cheh! I don’t know about the others but it was a feeling of euphoria - sort of a quest for the Holy Grail - when we finally saw CC’s photo amongst the others. It was beginning to look like this part of the trip would not come to fruition but alas there he was.

Notice the flowers next to his picture? Those were left there by Ti Lung. According to a worker we met, Ti visits every few months and leaves flowers. I’m hoping the photos we left behind are still there the next time he visits. (I'll upload those pix tomorrow).

For those looking to pay their respects:

Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery
Tseung Kwan O Columbarium
Ground Floor, North Wing
Room #11 - Plot #0024
Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong

Take the MTR Tseung Kwan O Line and get off at Yau Tong station (Kwun Tong district). From there, best bet is to get a cab for the uphill drive. When you reach the Columbarium (again, its quite large and on the right side of the road) you enter the main lobby. Office is to the right and elevators to the left. Take the elevator to the ground floor (I believe the main entrance is actually on the third floor). Upon exiting the elevator, turn to your left. Room #11 is only several feet away - on the left. Upon entering the room, CC’s photo is on the left side.

We spent about 45 minutes there and then we were off to our next destination .... Shaw Brothers Studio!

Of course, despite having the name (and address!) in Chinese the cab driver was still confused where we were going. We were at a red light on Clear Water Bay Road wondering which direction to proceed when Brian spotted the famous sign out the corner of his eye. We exited quickly and began to snap our photos. Brian did his best to convince the staff to let us in but it was a no go. This site hit Monica the hardest as it was a fantasy of Linn’s to visit the studio and here she was living the dream for him. She had brought a vial of ashes containing some of Linn’s belongings and dumped them on the hallowed ground. She also brought a photo of Linn which we left behind at the scene. We might not have been able to enter the gates but Linn will forever be at Shaw.

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Hanging with Bey Logan ......................... Shaw Studio @ Clear Water Bay .................... Linn Haynes RIP

After Shaws we returned to our hotel to prepare for our next meeting - Bey Logan. Once again, despite having the name and address in Chinese, the cabbie had to ask directions though this time it was a hard spot to find. The Cafe Lavande, a tiny cafe in the Central district, was nestled on a hill where cars could not venture. Bey arrived at the cafe shortly after us and it was like meeting an old friend. He was charming and affable and very pleased to meet us. He spoke of his adventures in HK and those he had worked with over the years. Bey attempted to have Lau Kar Leung come join the party but unfortunately Master Lau was hospitalized with pneumonia. We all hope for a swift and strong recovery.

I brought along a CD of 400+ scanned Southern Screen photos and a copy of HKMN as gifts for the Laus. Immediately, Bey whipped out his phone and called Lau Kar Fei - who happen to live just around the corner! Again, fate was not on our side as Gordon was over in China working but there was still a chance to meet him by week’s end (fingers crossed!) Bey had also brought along some gifts (a huge box of Dragon Dynasty discs) which he handed out and autographed for us. Again, a terrific guy who made some time for us despite his chaotic workload.

DAY THREE

Wednesday, Jan 27. Today was a tourist day. A few us hopped the tram car outside our hotel and ventured further into HK Isle. The tram car was quite a bargain (only 25 cents) and covers the entire island. We mingled amongst the locals at some shops and grabbed a quick bite of lunch before heading back to the Ramada.

Our tour bus picked us up at the hotel around 1PM and we proceeded to Lantau Island where we were dropped off at the Ngong Ping Cable Car lift. This cable car ride is several miles in length and gave us a 360° panoramic view of Lantau Island including Tian Tan Big Buddha, the flora and fauna of North Lantau Country Park, Tung Chung Bay and the Hong Kong International Airport.

Once we arrived the cloud cover, which seemed to have enveloped HK the majority of the time we were there, dispersed to give us some short breaks of sunshine. The first thing we noticed in the distance is the huge Buddha looming over the horizon. Our first stop though was the Ngong Ping Tea House where they gave us a demonstration on the ancient tradition of tea serving.

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Monica & Big Buddha / Lantau Isle ............................ Ngong Ping Cable Car .......................... At the base of the Big Buddah

Next up was the Po Lin Monastery. A huge cauldron of burning incense filled the air as we broke from our tour guide and explored the decorative monastery. About an hour later, we took the bus up to the giant bronze statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha. A most impressive site in photos, this Big Buddha is 10 stories high and made up of 202 individual pieces of bronze. Johnny, our guide, told us while most Buddhas face south, this one faces north (towards Beijing) as a symbolic gesture to the mainland as it was China who helped finance the building of the statue. Japan had offered funds to finance the project but the HK govt. refused their aid.

Tai O Fishing Village was our next stop. Known as the "Venice of the East" it was once the largest inhabited settlement on Lantau Island. The village's stilt houses on the waterfront offer a glimpse into HK's past but as the economy of HK has changed, these types of fishing villages are almost extinct. We wandered aimlessly through the little village and snapped our photos. I soon put away my camera though as I began to truly understand my surroundings. This was no tourist spot. These dilapidated shanties were people's homes and I felt it was an insult to these humble people by taking pictures.

While the rest of our group had gone in one direction, I choose the path less traveled - and got lost. I wound up in someone's house by accident (everything is wide open so its easy to do) and then got accosted by three dogs. Feral dogs and cats roamed freely in the village and this round-eye must have looked like a nice snack to my feline friends. Luckily a fisherman came out of nowhere to my rescue and the dogs fled. Eventually, I met up with Monica and took a quick peek at General Kwan's temple (which was closed) and then had a nice chat with an elderly Chinese man (called himself the Reverend) who spoke broken English.

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Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Isle ........................... Monica and her new friend ......................Tai O Fishing Village / Lantau Isle

Getting back on the tour bus (late) we all headed back to HK Isle. It was our intention to hit the Jumbo Floating Restaurant for dinner but this day (like the others) was exhausting. Instead we opted for a nice meal at Outback (yes, again) in Wan Chai. This was Brian & his wife’s final night in HK and despite some wacky service (think we had 5 different servers??) it was a relaxing way to end the day.

DAY FOUR

Thursday, Jan 28. Today we started out by visiting the HK library in Central. We felt pretty comfortable with the subway system and tram car by now and were less dependent on taxis. We arrived at the library at 11 but they opened up at noon. As we were on a schedule, this normally would have annoyed the crap out of me but now I began to understand Hong Kong. The simplest things, such as getting a note transcribed, ordering a cup of coffee, etc., all seemed to become complicated. Best just to learn how to smile, shrug it off and move forward.

Since the library was closed, we hopped onto the MTR for the offices of IFD. Just a few blocks from the MTR, we entered the Vigor Building - an industrial building in which we really looked like fish out of water. We took the lift to their "heavily fortified" office and was greeted by a woman who must have thought we were all crazy. Jesse eventually got a business card from the woman and we were off again. This time - to the world famous Victoria's Peak!

A trolley car ride, on a very steep incline, took us to the highest point in Hong Kong. At the top was the observatory, a few dozen Westernized shops & restaurants and a huge outdoor area that gave us some breathtaking views (even with the heavy clouds and fog). This was certainly a tourist trap though as we heard languages from all over the world - even some English!

After a few hours of sightseeing (Jesse and I) and shopping (Monica) we headed down the mount to our next destination - the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery in the New Territories. As fate would have it, while walking to the MTR from the Point, I spotted two monks who were happy (well, one was) to take some pix with us. Moving forward... we took the train to the NT and made our way to the monastery. A little rain had fallen and heavy humidity added to the brutal (yes brutal) ascent up the 400 steps. Along the way, Buddhas of all facial expressions lined both sides of the steps. We eventually got to the top and the three of us looked like Balboa the first time he climbed the museum steps in Rocky 1; soaked in sweat and short of breath. Atop the mount was the temple, a restaurant, a large pagoda, incense burning urns, and several workers constructing even more Buddhas. At last count, they had over 13,000! Think it might be time for a name change?

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View from Victoria's Peak ............................ 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. .................... Man them steps are a *bleep*

The place was near closing time and we were the only ones there - other than the workers. We left the temple down another series of steps which were more hazardous than the ones going up. Moisture made the stone steps slick and it was a formidable act to get down them; think Jesse wiped out once. Half way down the descent, Monica was joined by a monkey who came out of the jungle and started walking with her. He seemed friendly enough and I think it was Monica’s intention to pet the damn thing (or maybe try out his monkey fist) but the monkey had other ideas who made an abrupt motion at her letting her know to back off.

We finally got to the bottom and dragged our soaked selves back to the train. My feet had multiple blisters and were swollen. Day over (thank God!)

A side note on the stairs .... the steps in HK (all stairs not just the temple) are much different than what we are use to in the West. They are shorter (in height) and make it awkward to ascend/ descend. We couldn’t figure why our legs were hurting at first but then realized it was the damn steps. I think I tripped over a dozen times. I will continue tomorrow with the final installment....

[magicpoe]

Thoughts on Hong Kong

or

Why one lone security guard kept 5 Americans out of what was once South East Asia's largest film studio.

So to start this let me say if you ever decide to take a trip to Hong Kong, please resign yourself to the fact that you will most likely spend 15 to 17 hours getting there by plane. That is, of course, if you leave from the United States. If you've never been trapped in a plane for 15 and a half hours, like myself, then you can't appreciate the expression, "like a bird trapped in a cage." Up to that point I had been on 4 flight to Europe with the longest of those 4 being only 8 hours. After 10 hours of getting up and down I finally decided to remain standing for the rest of the flight.

Once we arrived and made our way through customs, which I should mention was the easiest experience with any countries customs officials I'd ever had, we found the MTR from Hong Kong airport to Hong Kong Island. MTR=subway. Clean and orderly transportation. No trash in the stations and no panhandlers asking for money. The panhandlers are conveniently located outside the MTR station. But they are the least pushy panhandlers I've every encountered. In contrast, in Paris once, I was ganged up on by two old drunk men looking for money. To disperse them, I threw a 10 Franc coin up in the air and ran for my life. But I'm straying from the point.

My wife and I had a day before the rest of the gang showed up in Hong Kong. We spent the day walking the streets. If you want to see how regular people make their way in a big city, just walk the streets and keep your eyes open. I saw two men reduce a large animal to component parts. I couldn't tell you what the animal once was but in little time they had it parted out. I guess when you have a big animal to butcher you need a big room to do it in, in their case they had 15 feet of a sidewalk. After that, we went to the Hong Kong Zoo/Botanical Garden.

Primates



A flower, gripping isn't it.


It was free and I saw the world biggest raccoons, at least 3 times larger than any raccoon I'd seen dead on the side of the road or in the woods. Wish I had a picture. After that we took a walk to the Hong Kong Park. Also free. Had a tea museum. I know that sounds dull, but it was really interesting. Called it day after that.

Teako170 and Monica arrived late Sunday night and we met them for breakfast Monday morning. After breakfast we met up with Mike Leeder. Mike has a wealth of information about Hong Kong cinema, past and present, and actually makes a living doing what many of us dream of, working in the Hong Kong film industry.

Mike Leeder


He willingly offered his time to meet with us and we talked for an hour and half or so. Mike posts from time to time here on the forum and his user name is, oddly enough, Mike Leeder. He had many kind words to say about Linn as he and Linn had collaborated on ideas for extras on DVD releases, among other things.

Me and Mike


We had hoped that he would be able to go with us to visit the burial site of Fu Sheng and Chang Cheh but unfortunately prior commitments kept him from doing so.

The wife, Mike, myself



Part 2 tomorrow

[odioustrident]

I have to admit I've been checking this thread religiously for updates. This travelogue really is appreciated guys. Thanks.