| Submitted by: Evelyn C. LeeperUnited States |
| Submission Date: 09 February 2005 |
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There is also a series
of panels depicting the ten hells awaiting sinners (shades of Dante)
(no pun intended). Mark noted that one of the hells was for the
purveyors of false medicine. I particularly liked 'The Pig and the
Rabbit' statues, based on a fairy tale about a pig and a rabbit who
fell in love, got married, and lived happily ever after, proving
that marriages are predestined. I particularly disliked the fact
that it was built more vertically than horizontally--I could have
done without all the climbing. But after hearing so much about the
place, I was glad to have seen it, even if the paint on the plaster
was chipped and peeling in spots.
Of course, since this is a tourist attraction, there were the
usual hawkers, including one woman who was selling a pack of post
cards for 'a dollar,' but when Mark offered her a Hong Kong dollar,
it turned out she meant a United States dollar. This hardly seemed
reasonable, but I guess she figures Americans can't deal with the
concept of Hong Kong dollars. We didn't buy the cards.
We left at the same time as two Canadians who had arrived with
us and rode the top of the double-decker with them. They were just
finishing four weeks in Singapore and Indonesia and recommended the
YMCA in Singapore.
On arriving back at the Bus Terminus, we took the Star Ferry
back to Kowloon. Then, since we enjoyed the ride and the view, we
decided to do it again, this time on the lower deck instead of the
upper (HK$1 instead of HK$1.20). This gave us a chance to 'peer
into the engine,' as one book said, but also a different view from a
different angle.
One difficulty in getting around in Hong Kong is that all the
buses, MTR, etc., require exact change (or rather, don't make
change--you can always pay the extra if you have to round up).
There are ways around this. On buses, if you're in a group, you can
pay for multiples of the fare (e.g., if the fare is HK$1.20 each,
Mark and I could drop in a HK$2 coin and two 20-cent pieces). Of
course, since we never knew what the bus fare was until the bus
arrived--they're all different--this required quick arithmetic for a
group of five. The LRT ticket machines gave change, but the MTR
ones merely leave a credit toward the next purchase in that machine.
So in a group you can benefit; an individual either has to buy a
second ticket for future use or give the next person along a bonus.
(Sort of like finding a parking meter with time on it, I guess.)
Returning to Kowloon, we ran some errands: changed money,
bought film, etc. Then we went to the Museum of History in Kowloon
Park, a rather small museum showing some of the items excavated from
around Hong Kong. It also had an exhibition of traditional
children's clothing, including an explanation of the various animals
and symbols seen on them (to bring fortune, to protect from evil
spirits, and so on).
We returned to the hotel about 5 PM. I washed my hair and then
fell asleep. When I woke up at 7:15 PM for dinner I felt chilled
and groggy. Luckily, it turned out to be from sleeping on wet hair
in an air-conditioned room rather than anything lasting.
Dinner was at the Golden City Chiu Chow Restaurant to sample
yet another cuisine. We had soyed goose, fried pigeon, cuttlefish,
and turtle soup. Throughout the meal we got the impression that
they were trying to rush us out, so we lingered over the soup (the
last course) for quite a while. But even after they had brought the
traditional small cups of Iron Buddha tea to close the meal, they
wouldn't bring the bill until it was asked for. It was interesting
to try these dishes, but I didn't actually like most of them--the
goose was very fatty (well, goose is, so it isn't the restaurant's
fault), the pigeon gamey, and the turtle in the soup difficult to
eat, being still attached to something resembling bones, though I
thought turtles didn't have bones. On the whole, I think the four
of us were dissatisfied with the Golden City Chiu Chow Restaurant
and recommend against it if you're ever in Hong Kong. (Barbara
wasn't hungry and hadn't joined us.)
October 9, 1990: Binayak had to go to pick up his Malaysian
visa (and recover his passport), and Barbara decided to pass on dim
sum, so Steve, Mark, and I went back to the Ocean Centre Restaurant.
The selection wasn't quite as varied as it had been on Saturday, but
quite acceptable. At first we seemed to get a cool reception, but
toward the end of the meal, the manager even came over to chat for a
few minutes. I think the fact that we tried almost everything--
including the chicken feet--and ate it all redeemed us somewhat from
being 'just American tourists.'
After breakfast we walked along the Promenade (where we had
walked the previous night to see the Hong Kong skyline by night).
Looking at the skyline got us to talking about 1997 and what would
happen then. The Chinese say they won't change Hong Kong, but they
also said that about Shanghai. Britain's decision to return Hong
Kong Island and Kowloon (which had been ceded to them rather than
just leased) in addition to the New Territories (which had only been
leased) is a problem. On the one hand, it keeps Hong Kong together
and the feeling was that neither part was self-sufficient and could
survive without the other. On the other hand, residents (citizens)
of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, who thought they were British
subjects forever, are now being told they will be Chinese citizens
and that they cannot even emigrate to other British countries or
colonies.
Walking up along the water we found ourselves back in Ya Ma
Tai, where we had gone to the night market a few nights ago. And
even during the day there's a market going, but a very different
sort of market. The daytime one has food and household goods for
real people, not jeans and electronics for tourists. And even the
foods were non-tourist: flattened-out chicken, dried fish of all
sorts (which you could smell down the block), live chickens and
pigeons, live crabs, live frogs, live snakes. They definitely
believe in freshness here. You could watch them kill and gut the
frogs or skin the snakes after beheading them. For some reason,
this doesn't draw a whole lot of tourists the way the night market
does.
Walking back to Nathan Road just emphasized the contrast.
Nathan Road is full of electronics shops and guys trying to sell you
fake Rolexes. They do this by flashing you a photo of some watches
and saying, 'Copy watch?' Next time I come I'm going to bring a
photo of some Casios and flash it back at them, saying, 'Real
Casio?'
We returned to the hotel and settled out bill, HK$1040 (US$125)
for four nights. Not bad for a downtown hotel, though we were
certainly not in a Hilton- or Sheraton-level facility. In fact, the
entrance, lift, and hallway were all fairly sleazy, even though the
guest house itself was quite clean. This sleazy look, combined with
the line of non-yuppie types waiting for the lift (it couldn't
handle peak loads well) would probably turn most people off it, even
considering the price.
Around 11:15 AM Binayak returned, having gotten his visa and
passport. They had asked him yesterday to leave it overnight; since
he had an afternoon flight they told him he had time in the morning
to get it. When he got there, they still hadn't done anything with
it and only when he asked for his passport and the clerk's name did
it get processed--on the spot. So why couldn't they have done this
when he went in yesterday? Who knows?
We left the hotel and took the airbus to the airport. When we
arrived, a woman in front of us asked me if this stop was for the
international departures. I thought a second and said, 'What other
kind are there?' (Yes, there could be service to parts of the New
Territories, I suppose, but why would people take an airbus from
Kowloon to use it?)
We changed our remaining Hong Kong dollars into Thai baht.
Now, when you change from one currency to another in the country of
the first currency you always get some odd change back because they
can't give you coins outside of the country of issue. (Well, if the
countries share a land border and you change in a border town this
doesn't always hold.) So I changed our money, handed the odd Hong
Kong dollars to Steve to add to his money to change, and so on.
We arrived in Bangkok on time, and made our transfer, only to
discover our original flight to Chiang Mai had been canceled and we
were on the next flight (an hour later). So we wouldn't get in
until after 8 PM.
On arriving we had to fill out new arrival cards--the ones they
gave us on the plane weren't in duplicate. While this was going on,
our luggage arrived--most of it. Mine was missing. We cleared
immigration and customs and I went off with a staff member to see
what was what with my suitcase (which of course I could have carried
on, but why bother, right?). Good news--they found my suitcase!
Bad news--they found it in Phuket! (Phuket is south of Bangkok;
Chiang Mai is north.) But they said it should arrive the next day
and to call back in the morning.
We then started calling hotels to find rooms, since at 9 PM all
the service desks in the airport are closed (including the money
changer--good thing we changed in Hong Kong). The first place we
called seemed to have doubled their rates from what the Lonely
Planet and Southeast Asia Handbook said. The second, however, had
rooms at only a slightly higher rate (10% or so).
All this time taxi drivers kept hanging around us, asking if we
needed a ride. Now we asked how much it would be to the Montri
Hotel (like we had a choice!) and started to barter over the 100-
baht fare. Hey, wait a minute--that's only US$4 for the five of us!
So we got into the taxi (no easy thing--I had to ride on Mark's lap
the whole way), got to the hotel, and checked in.
It was still early and we were awake, so we all went out
walking to the night market nearby. I figured if I saw a blouse
cheap I would pick it up so I'd have a change of clothes, but
couldn't find anything I liked. We did see a lot of handicrafts
from the hill tribes, some nice, some just tourist stuff. We didn't
buy anything but we did do a lot of browsing.
October 10, 1990: Breakfast was at the hotel 'coffee shop'
(actually a separate restaurant). This place served both Western
and Asian food so everyone could get what they wanted. Mark had
rice with squid; I had rice porridge with chicken. This came to 90B
(US$3.60) for the two of us, including beverages.
After breakfast I called the airport from our room (5B versus
1B at a public phone, but what the heck). My luggage was there. I
asked if it could be delivered to our hotel, but they said, no, I
had to clear customs with it. I decided to go out around noon
rather than spend the time when it was cooler.
We walked through town to the tourist office, changing money on
the way. In Thailand, travelers cheques get a better rate, but
there's a 5B handling fee and a 3B duty tax per cheque. Nothing
major, but useful to know when deciding what denominations to get.
The stores open during the day once again sold a different sort
of stuff than the night market, though Chiang Mai is so full of
tourists it might be Torremolinos East. (Mark says Tijuana, but
people don't stay over in Tijuana.) Student travelers, hippies, all
sorts come here because it's so cheap. |
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| Copyright © - "Evelyn C. Leeper" |
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