Get Thee To A Nunnery

Right in the heart of Kowloon is the famous Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden.  Here too many photos of it, because it is a calm, peaceful, beautiful place in the heart of the city.

No nails are used in the construction

 of this timber building.

Bonsai.

Inside the nunnery's temples.

These represent sea dragons. 

A sacred stone.

A good look at the beautiful courtyard.

Seems like you are in the middle of nowhere,

and then the skyscrapers loom.

A worker trimming the bonsai just so.  He

 would walk to a certain point, stare at the

tree, and then decisively trim a small part.

A view of the Nan Lian Gardens.

The iconic Chinese structure

in the park.

The ponds, fountains, and waterfalls

in Hong Kong are impressive.

A Typical Neighborhood Shrine

Our next stop was at a small neighborhood shrine.  It was being tended by two older women, as one was lighting incense and spiffing things up a bit.  They didn't mind us taking pictures.

The shrine is at the sight of a banyan tree, which brings good feng shui.  Bill explained that these shrines are all over China, in neighborhoods and small towns (Bill, if there is anything I'm messing up, don't hesitate to let me know -- no #FakeNews here!).

When people move, they leave these behind in the neighborhood shrine.  I'm not sure if that's because you are supposed to get new ones when you move, or that these guys (not sure of the word for it) can't leave the local area.  Either way, it makes for an unusual sight to stumble upon (well, we didn't stumble upon it -- Bill brought us by on purpose.

The old lady and the shrine.

Red faces means they have something to do

with war.  And by war I don't mean advanced

baseball statistics!

Neat design for a random door.

Beautiful public swimming pool.

The iconic Flame of the Forest flowers.

The Hong Kong orchid tree.  Somehow I 

am reminded of Stephen Strasburg.

After the shrine, we walked through more of the neighborhood, including past a mahjong room -- a little hall in the wall nook.  Alas, no one was playing right then.  We saw men with birdcages eating in restaurants (that might have before the shrine).  Bill is quite taken with them -- they take their birds in cages to the park, hang them up, shoot the breeze about birds, play cards, then take their birds to restaurants, and the birds hang out in the cages whilst the men eat.  

Ladies, it is a guy thing -- you wouldn't understand.  Heck, I don't understand, but it is cool to see.

We also passed by a huge public pool with slides and built-in water guns, and other family fun (there is also a lap pool.  Beautiful facility.  It was empty for a Saturday, but I'm guessing that's because the air temperature was low 70s even with the high humidity.

All in all, a very cool tour so far.

A Random Stroll Down Through The Streets of Kowloon

There is something that is always fascinating to us about foreign markets.  Bill called them "wet markets" -- a term I hadn't heard.  It's much simpler than it sounds -- a "wet market" is called thus because, in watering the fruit and vegetables often, the ground is. . .wet!  (Thus endeth your lesson for today)!

We weaved through one just past the Instagram court, and I was furiously snapping pictures.  Three things go through my mind in markets:

1.  "This is cool and never gets old."
2.  "There are great pictures everywhere you turn."
and, last but not least
3.  "The health rules here are pretty loosey goosey!

It's what's for dinner.

Dumpling heaven.

The fruit and vegetables here are huge and

look perfect.  Puts Whole Foods to shaje

Guy cutting meat -- always a market photo staple.

The fish, the scale -- what else

does a shopkeeper need?

Now that corn on the cob is impressive -- and it's not even August!

Another butcher shop.

The guy looks like he's using

the meat for camouflage.

A typical restaurant, with a well-established

squatter house up top.

One thing Carol and I quickly realized is that we would not have found these places on our own.  Our decision to hire Bill paid off big-time, as we wound through markets and backstreets that are not in the guide books.

We stopped at one point in a small family owned cafe.  Bill asked if we want the best French toast in the world.  Seemed like a boast -- after all, most French toast is bread that is done French-style -- ergo you've had one, you get the idea.  I will say that Carol's French toast is still the best, but Hong Kong-style French toast is pretty darn good.

(For those saying I'm overselling Carol's French toast, first of all, it is really good.  Secondly, it never hurts to apply some Mark Twain in your life -- "There are only three kinds of people susceptible to flattery -- men, women, and children.").

The restaurant is a little place, and was jammed with a handful of families having lunch.  The French Toast is served as a stack of three, with two layers of peanut butter connecting the three slices.  Bill then poured honey on top. 

As someone who is not a huge fan of honey, I had my doubts.  The first bite was okay as I got used to it, but each additional bite was fabulous.  Carol is going to try this at home -- you all are welcome to come by and see for yourself!  (I have to keep her off-balance -- after being nice, I then have to blow her mind with open invitation of breakfast for 300 or so readers).

Sorry, I'm not one to take photos of my food (I am sure you can comb the blog and find some, but not many).  But I do wish I had -- Hong Kong-style French Toast is a very simple pleasure in life.

The part that threw me was when we arrived and sat, the waitress put three glasses of water down.  Except the water was steaming hot.  Sorry, with the exception of hot chocolate two-three times per winter, I don't drink hot drinks.  Not tea, not coffee, certainly not steaming water.  Bill had them bring me a cup of water with ice.  

Apparently it is a health thing -- ying and yang of health is that the body should not be too hot nor too cold.  And, usually hot water is seen as healthier than cold water.  I'm not an expert in Eastern medical thought (or, for the matter, Western medical thought), but I do like my water cold.  After all, Jennifer Minnis, I'm NOT British!  (To be fair to the Brits, which you no longer have to do in Hong Kong, they like their water room temperature, while this was probably too hot for them!).

Into the Heart of Kowloon

The bus wound its way through Kowloon, leaving the busy harbor area and winding its way back into the neighborhoods where people live in huge housing estates.  Fully 35% of Hong Kong residents live in public housing -- clean, but cramped apartments that rise to the sky.

(So, what are residents of Hong Kong called?  Hong Kongites?  Hong Kongians? Hong Kongonians?  Well, beats me, so I will stick with "residents of Hong Kong.")

We hopped off the bus outside of one estate, and we walked through it.  Bill marveled at the lack of crime, graffiti, and how each one has its own small markets. There is laundry hanging out to dry of many windows, and we went through markets, with little shops, restaurants, and even hardware stores.  One of the more interesting little shops is one that sells clothes and good made solely out of paper.  The purpose of the paper goods is to be burned at a funeral -- there's little cars, houses, furniture, sneakers, etc.  It was a tradition I had never heard of!

Anyhow, as we snaked our way through the estate, past shops and little restaurants, Carol and I noted to each other that there is no way we would have done this on our own.  Bill provided a great deal of context for us (I won't repeat it all here. . .suffice it to say it was interesting and if you want to know more, come to Hong Kong and hire Bill!).

Then Bill took us to an unusual spot.  The top deck of a parking garage that had basketball courts and had become an Instagram hangout spot. Apparently it is a chic place to Instagram from, as many young Asians were there taking pictures with the colorful apartment buildings in the background.  It's a bit strange that this has caught on!

Sorry the photos are a bit washed out.  Not the best sky for photos this first day, and I don't have a photo editor on this burner laptop.

Massive Banyan tree.

Clothing hung out to dry.

Apparently you can live in public housing

and still own expensive cars.

Paper goods to burn at a funeral.

Alas, shark fins.

Trendy Instagram spot.

More apartment building up the hill.

Tours By A Local

I had arranged for a tour of Hong Kong on our first full day through "Tours By Locals," which is an excellent resource for hiring  local guides.  I had used the website in Cordoba, and we felt we were well-served.

So, a while back, I had hired Bill Seviers as our guide.  Bill is an interesting character who has lived all over the world.  He had spent a great deal of time working in Manhattan as a lawyer.  He also had worked on the Hill and had fond memories of living in Washington, DC.  Born in Japan, his father did a lot of business in Hong Kong, so Bill had been here often.  After working a stint in London and then Central Europe, Bill jumped at the chance to move back to Asia.

During the financial implosion of 2008, Bill got fed up with investment banking, lawyering,and like, and became a guide.  He's an enthusiastic guy, weaving stories about Hong Kong and China from hundreds of years ago with observations on how Hong Kong is changing today.  It's clear to us that the whole China dynamic has Hong Kong a bit on edge. 

Bill walked us down to the Harbor, through the Peninsula Hotel -- the most expensive hotel in the city.  He noted that the Peninsula tries to retain the old British colonial feel, and he pointed out one of a fleet of Rolls Royces that will pick guests up at the airport and whisk them back.  The Peninsula is famous for its High Tea.

Along the Harbor wall, we stopped for a while as Bill talked about the history of Hong Kong, weaving together pirates and Portugal, the British and the Chinese.  Then, we veered off a bit, talking about American politics.  He is clearly a voracious reader of American current events.

Sculpture at the Harbor

The convention center on Hong Kong island

being crossed by a dredging ship.

Alas it was a cloudy day.  We didn't

even try to go up Victoria Peak,

as we couldn't see it.  No views.

After a while, we hopped on a doubledecker bus to get us a tour of Kowloon, including many places most tours do not go.

A Walk In The Park

We were meeting our guide at 10 am at the hotel.  We were up early, had breakfast, and had some time to kill.  I was getting antsy, so we went for a walk through Kowloon Park, which was right outside our 12th story floor.  (The hotel not only skips floor 13, but also 14 -- I wonder what the superstition is involved with that!)

So we walked around the park early Saturday morning, watching various groups of people doing Tai Chi.  The park has fountains, and birds, and a beautiful sculpture garden.  It was a nice relaxing way to start the trip, especially after last night's drama!

Saturday in the park.  It wasn't the Fourth of July.

They don't mess around with their

fountains.  Notice how high the

water goes.

One of the characters on comic book row.

Another, with our hotel in the background.

Well, It Didn't Take Long For This To Become An Adventure

Getting through immigration was relatively quick and painless.  Our bags were on the carousel as we came into baggage claim.  We wheeled our luggage through the airport, groggy and thrown by the cacophony in the arrival hall.

Once inside the cab, we raced off.  I was reading Twitter about the UVA game (and the upcoming Duke-VA Tech game), and checking email.  Carol was texting with her brother Dave and her sister-in-law Benancia, both of whom had been taking care of her ill mother.

As we get close, suddenly an email pops up from our hotel.  Since they had not heard from us, they cancelled our room and gave it to someone else!  I was furious, not realizing that a hotel could just cancel a reservation.

Our friend John Passacantando likes to say, "it's not an adventure until the first thing goes wrong."  Wow -- that didn't take long.  Here we were in this massive city without a hotel.  I was shaken, not stirred.  I called, and they were not that sympathetic.  I think they know they had done wrong, but didn't care.

Some of the screw-up was my fault.  I had booked the room starting on the 28th, which is the day we fly.  I had a brain fart and didn't take into account that we were not landing until the 29th because of the International Date Lane.  Since we didn't show on the 28th, they felt they could give away our room.  Yikes.

As the cabbie idled on a side street on Hong Kong island, Carol took command.  She got on the phone, threaten the hotel (the Mira Moon) with bad Yelp and Trip Adviser reviews.  They booked us a suite on the club level at their sister property, the Mira Hotel, for regular price.

After checking in late on the club floor, greeted with a complimentary glass of wine, we ordered room service and then went to bed.  It was late, and we had lucked out. . .our hotel location in Kowloon put us right in the thick of the city.

Not a strategy I would recommend to anyone, but it all worked out in the end.

Somewhere High Above Russia

Our route to Hong Kong took us up over Greenland, the North Pole, and the then down across the globe above Russia and China. 

Around 2 am EDT, I woke up, got up, and tracked down a flight attendant.  He promised to get me the information, even though he clearly had no idea what I was asking about.

A little while later, he finds me, and shows me a piece of paper -- Virginia had beaten Oregon 53-49!  They were on to the Elite Eight.  From the score, it clearly wasn't the prettiest of games (I correctly surmised that Kyle Guy's cold shooting had continued), but, hey, Virginia won.

For more mundane details, on the 16 hour flight, along with five hours of sleep, I also watched "A Star is Born" and "The Green Book" (recommend both, btw) and read "Bad Blood," which is the WSJ reporter's book on the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos scandal.