Quick outline – more detail later:
Central – MidLevels
Catholic Cathedreal
Hong Kong Zoological Park
Sheung Wan Chop Alley
Cafe de Coral – BBQ Pork Combo
Star Ferry – HKTA Info Center
HLS drink
Promenade – Walk of HK Stars
New World Centre – Burrberry in Sogo TST
YC on the phone
Wong Tai Sin
Festival Walk – Glacier Ice Rink, Hello Kitty
Laser Light Show in the Harbour
Passed out
We attempted an ambitious itinerary on Saturday.
Star Ferry
Weather: grey drizzle. Walked to the Star Ferry pier, took the lower level. It was HK$1.7 (that’s about US 25 cents) for a 7 minute ride similar to the Staten Island Ferry.
Dim Sum at Maxim’s Palace City Hall
City Hall is directly across from the Star Ferry pier on the HK side. We walked in, and proceeded to miss the sign for Maxim’s next to the stair. There’s another Maxim’s on the second floor that’s really for dinner; nobody was in there. The dim sum level was on the third floor with a huge room. Very good dim sum – especially with seafood. Waited for about 30 minutes, and then another 15 because we turned down a smoking table. Our ticket number was 0068, and they were in the forties. I have a goofball picture where I have the ticket turned around saying 8900 – very long wait! Ha chern and Ha gou was perfect; the dan tat (custard tarts) were fantastic. Recommended.
HSBC
Walked across the street through Statue Square to HSBC world headquarters. In New York, they are known just for their retail banking; in Hong Kong, they are one of the banks that actually print the money. On the ground floor, there was a photo display of pictures taken by HSBC staff members throughout the world – the first one was of Prospect Park in the fall. Two lion statues guard the bank from the harbour.
Pacific Place and Queensway
Bought: city atlas and coffee table book about Stanley. There was a hole in the plastic bag that we took away and the atlas fell out in the store. Thankfully, they were honest enough to give back the book. We got vials of this lemon C drink at grEAT supermarket in the basement of SOGO that counteracted the effects of hot/cold that we have been experiencing. Diet Coke is twice as expensive as regular ones, since they are imported from the UK. We picked up a couple of dog shirts from Cen.
Back to the hotel, where we took a breather, and P got to check out the ring in daylight. Way cool bling.
Chungking
We made a quick circle through the ground floor of Chungking Mansions so that P could say that we did it, kind of against my better judgment. It still looks very much like how it did in the movie, having that untamed rough West in the East feel. P’s curiousity was satisfied, and we hightailed it out of there.
Carnavaron Road
We walked up Carnavaron Road to find 3, the SIM card dealer. Instead we found a gelato stand were we got mango and berry gelato. Trying to trace our way back, we found a Hui Lau Shan and got more layered mango and berry drinks. The Hui Lau Shan was actually better then the gelato, and half the price. The SIM card dealer happened to be across the street — we couldn’t see it from the angle we were travelling.
We found a branch of the Todai sushi buffet place we went to in Hawaii, and made a reservation for Monday night (the place was booked solid today and Sunday).
Sham Shui Po
Golden Computer Center in Sham Shui Po. If it plugs into something, it’s here. It’s a lot more cleaned up than before – very little in the way of illicit software packages; much more hardware. Bought a laptop security chain and a couple of chinese linux books for the people at work.
We went back to the hotel, where I proceeded to pass out from jetlag, and P succeeded in making Skype calls.
More rain and more action tomorrow, or whatever day it is right now.
1 PM Thursday: general mayhem getting things packed; we leave.
T-2.5 hours: After 3 trains, get the right A train to JFK
T-1.5 hours: Get in time for CX check-in, wondering where is everybody. Apparently, everyone had already checked in 2 hours ago and were at the gate. But I had done on-line check-in, so it wasn’t a problem
T-1 hour: P wants ice cream, so we make a stop – she gets a vanilla-chocolate swirl which was more like chocolate with a swish of white and syrup. I get an Immunity smoothy. She also picks up a few magazines.
T-30 minutes: a family of 5 boards business class. Two of the kids are in this double stroller which looks a heck of a lot like a rickshaw.
T-0: We take off on time. Channel 54 on the CX non-stop is wing-cam – a video camera feed from directly behind the front landing gear. Every plane should have one – I can watch it all day.
T+1: Snack. Roasted peanuts, selection of drinks. My general policy is no alcohol in flight, because it gives me headaches and screws up my appreciation of the meal, but they had a selection of complementary scotches and sherry or wines.
T+1.5: The in-flight entertainment system, StudioCX, had some bizarre news video from some British show about the origin of the words idiot, imbilcile, and moron (apparently “moron” was invented in New Jersey, and “idiot” originally meant a selfish person).
T+3: “Lunch”, actually dinner. We opted with the beef with bok choy on white rice, smoked trout on apple celery salad, a square of “souffle” cheesecake, and Pepperidge Farms cookies. Very credible for airline food.
T+4.5: Brokeback Mountain was playing (saw it in the theater with Pei so didn’t bother). Also, Disney’s Pocahantas was on. Pocahantas was the first movie I saw in a Hong Kong theatre – I thought it was very interesting at the time, because the Native American/English encounters depicted in the movie provided an indirect analogy to the British/Chinese situation. Of course, Lea Solonga is always a good reason to listen to a movie.
T-6: Started a 6 hour game of Civilization IV. Finally had a decent score – in the 7100’s, aka Henry VIII.
T-12: “Breakfast” was served – Abalone and clam Congee, fruit salad, blueberry muffin. The congee was fantastic, and actually had three slices of abalone. The best – even P was impressed.
T-15: Landing at HKG. We were so sore that we were using the neck pillows that we brought as ring cushions to bring relief to our brokeback butts. Other than the seat comfort, Cathay Pacific shows what good in-flight service is all about.
T-16: Crossed customs, got onto the Airport Express to Kowloon Station.
T-17 (8:30 PM local time): Got on to a shuttle-bus to where we were staying.
9:30 PM: checked in. I’m trying to convince P to go somewhere, anywhere. Instead, she just wants to shower and go to sleep
10:00 PM: showered, trying to get the Internet working. Needs an account from downstairs.
10:30 PM: The hotel staff shows up with the password. We get it working, only to learn that Skype is screened out. Drat, will have to get a SIM card for my phone.
11:00 PM: Giving up on the romantic outdoor event and running out of the appointed 2 hour window, I settle for the harbor view from our room. I take out the ring and propose to P. And she says yes! Then she proceeds to put the ring on, and it’s too loose. But wait, she put it on her right hand. Switching to the left hand, the circle of platinium fits perfectly. Sigh of relief!
11:30 PM-1 AM Saturday (1 PM EDT): We get stuff at 7-Eleven, walk up Nathan Road, made a left at Jordan Road, swing by the place my dad’s old apartment was, walked the length of the Temple Street Market, then caught the last MTR train back to Tsim Sha Tsui.
Then, like Jack Bauer, we live happily ever after, until the next 24 hours.
We went for ramen with P’s friends last night at Men Kui Tei, across from Cooper Union. The ramen was Ok – P got the Men Kui Ramen, which is a kombu broth, and I got the tonkatsu (pork) broth. Her’s was too salty, and mine was not rich enough — 4 or 5 spoonfuls of her broth fixed mine. However, the quantity of food was nothing to complain about – it was huge. Another friend got the Sara Udon, which is really chop suey, and it could serve 4. The sides were pretty good – marinated skirt steak on rice, and curry on rice.
T-6 hours before the flight…. bringing my laptop on the plane.
Saturday, SSW came to see my minor role in a reenactment of the Rosenberg trial at a bar association conference. You can listen to it here if you have a spare hour (mp3). I play the court clerk/court reporter – I have 4 lines, 2 of which I get to read off of a piece of paper tape. The other two lines I pretty much wing. What I have to do is more physical – keeping track of boxes of Jello (yes, it was a pivotal part of the original trial), two sheets of paper, and a video clip (that the audio didn’t work), as well as type on a stenograph machine (I kind of figure out how it worked about 10 minutes before the beginning of the show). With all of these other things going on, it took a lot of effort to remember stuff like swearing in the witnesses. It was very well received – a lot better than your usual continuing education course. A radio station recorded the proceedings – perhaps we’ll hear it online soon.
Sunday, I rented a Ford Explorer from zipcar to move a dresser from P’s sister to home; P’s stuff to storage, and P’s mom and brother to their home. We make a quick trip to NJ to check on some other things and ask questions. We also checked out the new Red Hook Fairway (pretty good bargains if you look carefully, and the produce quality is great). The wind was really kicking up! Shopping carts were sliding across the parking lot.
T-3 to our trip. Got to take care of dry cleaning, as well as a few other things…
Hippies validated as they win Amazing Race 9 today. After losing their stuff twice by being last at non-elimination pitstops, they get it all together in the final round. Being able to speak Japanese enabled them to have fun performing the messenger task. They were neck and neck with the “frat boys” up to the last roadblock, where they had to order flags corresponding to their travel sequence, where the hippies were able to burst ahead. The other reason to be happy about the hippies is that they had good karma and treated the local people well, speaking in their native languages where possible. They were well-deserving.
P and I are going on the next leg of our journey together: Hong Kong. It’s her first time; it’s my 4th. We picked up a really cheap flight, probably because it’s typhoon season. A big one narrowly missed Hong Kong yesterday, slamming Fujian with 200 mph winds, but only ranking Signal 3 (the southwestern version of a N’oreaster – Katrina would be a 10) in Hong Kong itself. I’m also going to catch up with some friends, and see some of the more out of the way places. Of course, there will be plenty of blogging. The trip begins on May 25. Say “hi” if you happen to be in the vicinity.
Sorry for the non-blogging this week. It was the last week of finals. No, I didn’t actually have to take any. Yes, I had to proctor them. With a 8:30 am to 10 pm schedule, it really was grueling. I almost would have preferred to take 3 exams rather than to watch people suffer through 10.
Last Saturday was my godmother’s fundraising brunch for culinary scholarships. An extraordinary collection of chefs put together a fine feast – the hungry room barely made a dent in the buffet. See the spread yourself! I’m so glad that so many people have received her love over the years, and that they return that love to her.
Last Sunday was the CAPA Festival at Union Square. Our friend from Meniscus Zine was selling out for Mickey D’s at their huge blowup tent, complete with Asian Ronald. Koreans out in force with the best give-aways. And I won a ImaginAsian T-shirt!
NYU is having their 175th anniversary celebrations this week with alumni weekend. The alumni awards dinner was Friday. A couple of not-exactly-striking graduate TAs had a mini-flyer handout outside of the hotel, but were not really effective; they had thrown their remaining stack of flyers in the garbage when we left. One line acceptance speeches: Stateswoman Carol Bellamy (“learn to take the risk of failing”); the Tuskegee Airmen (“just ordinary people doing their best”); songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (“if you get caught between the Moon and New York City/the best that you can do/the best that you can do is fall in love”); real estate developers H. Dale Hemmerdinger (we can rebuild Camelot) and Daniel J. Brodsky (NYU is the family business) and mathematician Peter Lax (“they trust me as an expert in Hungarian literature”). NYU President John Sexton takes the pulpit as usual, and during the tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, he reveals that the number 42 in a circle that he has emblazoned on his academic gown is a tribute to Jackie Robinson, and not the answer to life, the universe, and everything.
No sleep til Brooklyn… really busy at work, getting there early and staying late. It’s been really crazy this week. It’s going to be really crazy for the next week.
Crazy Greenpoint Warehouses fire on Tuesday – probably arson. All of downtown smelled like barbecue through Wednesday and even through Thursday. The only good that came out of it was that it cut out the hay fever-causing pollen. Check out the play-by-play of the 10 alarm fire.
Check out my performance as a court clerk/stage manager on May 20 and get CLE credits – see http://www.napaba-ne.org.
On TV: what the hell is going on? On 24, POTUS is evil, on Amazing Race, the free love hippies are conniving (but get non-eliminated once again – I think they only thing they have left is their underwear), and on Lost, a whole bunch of people bite it.
Totally stressed out this week – this afternoon, I’ll be “gone fishing”. Hopefully, I’ll do “something brillant”.
Thursday, I had AS try out the SlingBox using the new PocketPC version of the viewer software from Taipei. After some fiddling, it seems to work just as well as the laptop version, but it fits in the palm of your hand. Rats, only one person can register their PocketPC with SlingBox to use it.
Friday, saw Man of the Heart, which I described on Thursday. Nominally, it is an attempt to bring back awareness of Bengali mystic Lalon Pkokir, who is an original source of Bengali culture, and have been used as a focus of a nonsectarian Indian way of life. However, the subtext is a conjoining of John Lennon’s utopian song “Imagine” and something of a gnostic Islamic-Hindu belief system (gnostic Christianity being more familiar to the public from the DaVinci Code and the Matrix movie series). The play takes a lot of getting your mind wrapped around. The singing is extraordinary, and it immediately brings the impressions and thoughts into feelings, even though it is sung in the Baoul caste style. (The projected supertitles help out, too). The work toured through Southern California, and will journey to India after this run.
Saturday was the 150 mile round trip journey to Mommonth, New Jersey for P-‘s friend’s wedding. Very simple – 15 minutes for the actual ceremony, where the groom’s brother managed to get ordained from some church to be able to preform the multidenominational wedding. The area was beautiful, and the DJ did his best to get Hava Nagila blended with Pulp Fiction and Motown.
Sunday we helped P-‘s other friend move to Long Island City. The place is really starting to take off, development wise. Afterwards, we went to the 25th annual Sakura Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which was sponsored by Inuyuama Council Member and Brooklyn son Anthony Bianchi. We visited him last year at this time, and the NY Times covered this year’s tour. To celebrate the anniversary, he brought a 60 person contingent of cultural performers, a calligraphy expert and an artisian tofu maker. Families who had recently sent their children to Inuyuama offered homestays to the Japanese visitors, completing the circle of cultural exchanges. Anthony wants to use his good offices to formalize these exchanges into a two year cycle between Brooklyn and Inuyuama, which are similarly situated to cities such as New York and Nagoya. He is up for re-election next year, and he looks like he has a good shot – he’s done all of the right things and brought transparency to the way government works in his area.
As 99% of my financial transactions are done electronically, I pretty much only use checks for the rent. However, I’ve finally used up all of my checks this month, so I had to order another box. When I went to my online banking to order them, the first screen said something like “the checks you previously ordered are no longer available. Here is our suggested alternative:”
Mind you, my previous checks were the ultra cheapo safety blue paper. I like Winnie the Pooh and Tiger Too as much as anybody (I had a Winnie teddy bear as a kid) but it just doesn’t give the desired feeling of financial responsibility and professionalism that one would want.
I went with the safety trio (blue, yellow, green) with the duplicate carbon register. And just one box, thank you.