We return to Hong Kong. It is the day after the solstice and we have been busy: My and our return to HK has a feeling of familiarity (which in itself is a strange thing to say... I never imagined that I would be returning to this city, much less Asia and China so frequently.) The LONG plane ride was punctuated by a lovely but too short visit with cousin Sue in Seattle, and then 14 hours watching movies, taking cat naps as we sped halfway around the globe. (Somehow, I always forget how long and exhausting the flight is, but perhaps that is a good thing).
We arrive and even our 'hotel/hostel is familiar, since I stayed here for a conference on Dance/Movement Therapy and Creative Arts Therapies last year. We are in a lovely but not too fancy hostel, with friendly desk folks and in a large (especially for HK) , clean quiet, comfortable room, with a view of a small pocket park where elders stretch, move and exercise each morning. We also can watch several English language news channels, including Al Jazeera and Deutsche Weil. It is close to two metro stops and in a very lively neighborhood filled with families, elders and, at time large groups of uniform-clothed school children filling the streets. There is even an evening market and street with lots of small ethnic eateries near-by. Who could ask for more?? Even thought the temperatures have been around 60 degrees (F)- balmy for us, most local folks are bundled up in coats, scarves and hats.
 |
| Christmas Decorations at the Night Market |
Christmas is in full swing here, although the warm climate reminds me of LA Christmases. Everywhere giant profusely decorated Christmas trees are plopped in the middle of open park areas. As Christmas eve and day, drew closer, the streets became filled with people wearing bring red Santa Claus hats, small groups of carollers singing Christmas songs (in Cantonese- of course), little girls in fancy frilly party dresses and of course shopping galore. (In my humble opinion- shopping and finances are possibly the unofficial religion of Hong Kong. Getting the best deal for the least cost is a frequent topic of conversation. Hmm- perhaps they are related to one of the lost tribes of my Jewish people.) I am actually teaching on Christmas day, so I will leave it to Bruce to talk about his multiple church experiences. But it is interesting because some of my students are Christian (not all however) and we have had some interesting conversations about why they are in the class on a major Christian holiday, rather than spending time with family or in church.
The first few days we have spent exploring and taking side trips around Hong Kong. Just 10 minutes by bus up the road from our hostel is the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir. It is a beautiful tree filled area between several mountains with walking paths and filled with Macaque monkeys. (see photo of Bruce with one of them). These monkeys are actually a bit scary, since they assume people have food and they are quite agressive about claiming anything possibly edible from anyone. Several children walking with their mom's were terrified of the, and so was I.. having seen them bare their teeth and attack anyone who came to close or didnt immediately offer up whatever food they were eating We also had a fun conversation with several small boys who were excited to try out their English by shouting 'hello- how are you?" over and over again. We got a sense of their school English curriculum as we discussed our favorite, season, color and exchanged names. Meanwhile the moms stayed in the background while smiling proudly at their sons.
That there are such lovely almost wild green spaces in a city with such a huge population is almost miraculous. So many other green areas are much more manicured and controlled- trees are intentionally planted, hillsides are covered with some sort of concrete covering (possibly to control run off during the rainy season). Because we were at the reservoir on a work day, it was relatively empty. But, having visited there during a weekend last October, I know that it get extremely crowded on non-work days.
 |
| Bruce at Repulse Bay.Hong Kong |
 |
| Dinner with Candy a HK Dance/Movement Therapist friend |
We spent one morning on Hong Kong Island (where tall sky scrapers fill more and more of the limited space., to take a 'free" Hong Kong walking tour. This tour, a newer enterprise in the city, focused on the political hisory of Hong Kong in response to its political relationship with China. For those unfamiliar with the details, When Great Britain ended is colonial rule of Hong Kong (1997) there was a plan in place for a slow transition to integrate Hong Kong with mainland China. This has not gone well and there have been a series of protests and other actions by many here who want to remain more autonomous. Coincidentally, of the several times I have been here recently, the protest has heated up, so I have a particular interest in understanding it more. The tour was a wonderful way to learn more about the protests.
 |
| Repulse Bay with a group of people at the water's edge |
Follwing that we took a city bus to the other side of Hong Kong Island to visit Repulse Bay (so named because the British supposedly triumphed over pirates who were hiding nearby. Today it is a beautiful beach surrounded by pricey and exclusive buildings. (I was later told by a student that this area is the most expensive in all Hong Kong, which is already one of the most expensive cities on the planet.) we wandered, sat for a while
on the edge of the pier and just observed the people who were walking pets or enjoying the last bit of afternoon sun. It was calm, beautiful and painfully expensive. Later we meet with a dance/movement therapy (DMT) friend, had dinner (Vietnamese) and then I (Barbara) got to meet with the local DMT community members. It was fund to meet current and future DMT's in Hong Kong and I loved hearing their stories and hopes for the future and also it was great to dance with them too.
 |
| Macao Casinos.. with lots of bling |
The next day we hopped a turbo ferry for a short, one hour ride to Macao, a completely separate protectorate with its own government, money and language. Most signage in Macao, as former Portugese colony, has signage in both Chinese and Portuguese. All of a sudden, I could read signs again...and sometimes be able to guess at what that sign might mean (from my very limited Spanish and French). While we didn't hear anyone actually speaking Portugese, there were also enough folks who spoke enough English too, so we could get around.
On landing at the pier-our first discovery is that seniors over 65 as well as people with handicaps get a special fast lane to go through customs ('elderly' in Portuguese is 'idosos'-which sounds alot like 'idiot's in English...hmmm).From there a free hotel shuttle bus took us toward town and we were dropped off in the middle of the casino district (a major source of income in Macao). Imagine Las Vegas on steroids, imagine architecturally impossible buildings, imagine more gold and shiny glitz than seems possible..and then double it and that will give you an idea of what this area of town looked like. Inside, lots of people gambling, hosted by approriately uniforms staff- the women dressed in bring red tulle skirts, fake fur hats and wishing everyone 'Merry Christmas'. Quite the scene.
 |
| Christmas Tree- Macao Old Central Square |
 |
| Ruins of St. Paul in Macao |
From there we wandered toward the old part of the city, an international heritage site. This part of town is filled with shorter white and yellow colored buildings, that reflect the Portugese heritage of the city. Churches statues and creche figures look European and often wore somewhat western clothing. The day we visited was an additional holiday..the day before Christmas eve day. I was told by various people (students and local Macao folks) that it was either a solstice holiday or that it was an additional non-work day added on the Christmas.). Meanwhile the central square was filled with decorations, abstract trees, families and children wandering, shopping and eating the traditional almond cookies being handed out to by-passers. (Another typical food looked like shiny mahagony slabs of dried pork or beef which people were also purchasing.) As we like to do, we wandered the streets. Peeking into churches, some quite tiny but also some with beautiful painted ceilings (angels, clouds, heavenly themes) we say people kneeling in prayer as visitors wandered the aisles clicking photos. We also saw the 'ruins of St. Paul', the remanants of a church which had been connected to an old Christian school. Because of the holiday, the steps to the church were swarming with people taking photos, plus a group of young students offering free hugs to all (and a chocolate candy for your 'love' if you got a hug.). Of course I got hugs from all of them and they responded with excitiement and appreciation. In general people seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the city. We also wandered some neighborhoods, discovering parks with small children playing, being watched by vigilant moms and grand moms, and groups of older men playing 'go' on permanent park 'go board' table. Then back to the ferry and we are home by about 8 pm.
 |
| Men Playing Go in a local park Macao |
More details late, but I am going down for breakfast and then off to teach my class. Hoping all of you are enjoying the season and that the growing light will bring more equality, justice and enlightenment to the world. To be continued.
The first few days we have spent exploring and taking side trips around Hong Kong. Just 10 minutes by bus up the road from our hostel is the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir. It is a beautiful tree filled area between several mountains with walking paths and filled with Macaque monkeys. (see photo of Bruce with one of them). These monkeys are actually a bit scary, since they assume people have food and they are quite agressive about claiming anything possibly edible from anyone. Several children walking with their mom's were terrified of the, and so was I.. having seen them bare their teeth and attack anyone who came to close or didnt immediately offer up whatever food they were eating We also had a fun conversation with several small boys who were excited to try out their English by shouting 'hello- how are you?" over and over again. We got a sense of their school English curriculum as we discussed our favorite, season, color and exchanged names. Meanwhile the moms stayed in the background while smiling proudly at their sons.
Comments
Post a Comment