2578 Diana and the Kowloon Park Sign.
2582 The Kowloon Park McDonald’s Kiosk Hat Squad. Could have been Texas.
2621 Diana and Lioyaun Huo the leader of the Handicapped Warriors, who fight evil wherever they find it.
2641 Diana and Din-dong and his cat. This cartoon has to be the most idiotic idea ever, but then it’s popular in China so who knows what their lives must be like.
2682 A t-shirt stand on Tempe Street. Go Disney!!
Oct 24 – Hong Kong, China. Today we are setting off on our own to take a peek at Kowloon. We left the ship at about 8:30 and headed out through the maze of the Harbor City Shopping Mall. When we got out on the street we took a left turn away from the Star Ferry Terminal, past a high-rise building and down to Canton Road. There we turned left and headed toward Kowloon Park. The street is lined with high end stores. It turned out that we are walking past all three of the connected Malls, Harbor City, Ocean Central and Gateway. When we come back and we’re tired and hot we’ll walk inside the malls.
When we got to Haiphong Street we turned right and turned into the park about a half block later. Kowloon Park is on a hillside so from the south end were we entered it’s uphill all the way to the other end of the park. The park is a little oasis in bustling downtown Tsim Sha Tsui. Situated between Canton Road, Nathan Street, Haiphong Avenue and Austin Street, it’s surrounded by very busy, upscale streets and businesses. About one-third of the way to the other end of the park we came upon a McDonald’s in a kiosk. That’s a first for me. It must be a universal syndrome because there were older men with hats sitting at a table drinking coffee. At home I call them the Hat Squad. It seems that where ever there’s a McDonald’s there will be old men in hats drinking coffee and talking. I should mention that the fine for smoking in the park is $5,000HK (about $900US). That’s for smoking outside in a park. I think its working. I didn’t see anyone lighting.
My goal is to find the area where the people meet to practice and learn Tai Chi. Early in the morning there would be large groups of then but at 9AM most people are on their way elsewhere. The area where we used to find them is now a city owned swimming pool. Perseverance pays, we found them on a patio behind the public services building. There was one group of about 20 practicing together. They had a master at the side and at the front so no matter which way the form had you turn there was someone to watch. Further down the space there was a small group of about 7 practicing Tai Chi with swords. Master Ahn used to demonstrate that discipline for us. He was about 75 years old but was limber and agile. One man was getting a private one-on-one lesson at a very advanced level. As much as I like doing Tai Chi I like watching it just as much.
We sat and watched the Tai Chi as long as they were working out. The large class broke up and we decided to leave as well. I spoke with the Master and she said that they were learning a form that’s an extension of the Hong Kong 24 that I know, except that theirs has 36 steps instead of 24 and some of the steps are very advanced.
We decided to try to visit Saint Andrew’s Church but the front of the church was obscured by construction equipment and scaffolding. We couldn’t get in so we headed up to Austin Street. When we were here last time Diana wasn’t feeling well and I toured around a lot on my own. I had found the Hong Kong Walk of Cartoon Stars and I realized it was just a little way from where we were so I took Diana to see it. Rather than just a star in the sidewalk, here they have large fiberglass models of the stars with a plaque giving the artists name, which movies or TV shows the cartoon has appeared in, and a brief synopsis of the character’s personality.
The characters range from the serious to the totally frivolous. For example, Din-dong is a cartoon about the illustrator’s cat. The cat has a pet cat. Now really!! I think someone needs a life. Then there’s Liaoyuan Huo, the leader of the Handicapped Warriors. He fights evil wherever he finds it. Now that I can get behind.
Diana wanted to go to Austin Road so we cut across the park to get there. Austin Road took us to Temple Street home to the famous Night Market. Even in the daylight the area is a maze of shops and curbside booths. If you can’t find it here they don’t have it in China. In 2002 I came down to the night market and it was packed. The sea of humanity had an ebb and flow like the ocean. I really hadn’t thought about buying anything but I decided to price some backpacks. The price was so good I didn’t believe the product could be any good but I bought one anyway. That backpack is on this trip with me. It’s been in over 100 countries and is still in perfect condition. All the zippers still work and there are no tears or defects in the seams or the fabric. The price, $15US. Also this is where I bought my first frigie. I had never had the slightest desire to have a refrigerator magnet but they had these tiny dim sum steamer baskets with tiny vegetables and other items in them that I just had to get one. The rest, as they say, is history.
The booths are very colorful. I can tell you that the Disney Princesses are just as big here as they are anywhere else. Many cartoons are represented; there were characters from Cars, the Incredibles, Thomas the Tank Engine and others.
Most of the market was not open yet as their big business starts at about 7PM. But it was a nice walk and Diana wanted to take a look at the Jade Market. I didn’t think we’d ever find it but just when I was about to give up, there it was across the street. Diana shopped a bit but I wasn’t with her. I found a stall selling the natural clay teapots they use in all the tea shops when they do a tasting. I’ve wanted one for a while and this lady had plenty of them. Her prices seemed reasonable and I really wasn’t going to bargain very hard. As I vacillated in deciding which one to get, I hadn’t told her I was getting one I just kept looking at three different ones, she started dropping the price. I guess she thought that was my bargaining method. I held up my hand to say wait a minute I’m looking and she dropped the price again. I know it’s stupid but I started to feel weird. I mean, I’m not saying anything just looking. When the price got down to half I just said sold. I really hate bargaining but if this silent technique worked everywhere I might be able to get into it.
Diana bought a couple of nice pieces of jewelry for not much money. They’re green and white but I’m sure they’re not jade at that price. But they are pretty and Diana likes them so that’s what counts.
We’re heading back to the ship but decided to take a different route. We just happened to hit on the local food market. Fruit, vegetables, meat, baked goods and sea food all along one narrow street lined with booths. At the back of the booths on the other side of the sidewalk there were drug stores, Chinese medicine that is, and restaurants. We walked through one restaurant that served stir-fry and were a little surprised to see the chef and his helper wearing nothing but shorts and flip-flops. It was hot and working over that wok all day would be sweaty work but still.
Once we got back to the ship it was into the shower and then up to dinner. We left at 8:30am and didn’t get back until about 3:30pm. Except for sitting to watch Tai Chi we were on the move all day and my dogs were barking.
Our entertainer this evening was Lee Bradley and operatic tenor. His voice was very good and his show was well received by the audience. He didn’t do all opera; he did one Elvis song that everyone liked.
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