Hong Kong (part 2/3)

St. John’s cathedral – After the Japanese attacked Hong Kong in 1941, they stripped this oldest historical building, including the stained-glass windows, and turned it into a Japanese club house.

This church is situated on the only freehold land in Hong Kong, meaning the owner of the property owns the premises completely, has no further payments to make, and has the right to use it for any purpose.

During this tour with Danny, I met Dominika and we became friends right away. Danny recommended a restaurant, and a museum, and we decided to try them out after the tour. The history Museum was just okay. It was too dark in there, probably because the lights would have damaged the artifacts, and the paintings.

On to the restaurant… Just in case you didn’t know, Dim Sum belongs to Hong Kong. So it’s a must try when you’re there. Pretty much, it’s good at most places. Dominika had never had it before, I wanted her to try it, and I also wanted to show it to my Cantonese friend in the U.S who started me on my Dim Sum journey. At the above restaurant, we basically used sign language to communicate because everyone was Cantonese.

Queen's Street Rest Garden in Sheung Wan. Danny talked about the history of Hong Kong, how Hong Kong came about, the British takeover, and later, the handover to China. There was a statue of Shennong, the father of Chinese medicine, and plants, used to make naturopathic medicine.

From there, we moved on to central midlevel escalator, world’s longest outdoor covered network of escalators, about 2624 foot long (800 meters). It starts in the central district and takes you uphill through residential neighborhoods, cafes, restaurants, liquor market, antique stores, art galleries, and other businesses. You also have the option of taking the stairs, specially if you want to stop by some of the shops and cafés.

Danny stopped by a popular Beer shop where Dominika and others got drinks. It was too early in the day for me to drink alcohol, so I opted for a latte. After Dominika finished her drink, we landed at a café. Danny gave us a 20-minute break after I complained to him that I needed my morning caffeine.

We looked through some of the art galleries. They had beautiful pieces.

Talk about crime, justice, and punishment where, there was no justice, but plenty of punishment to go around. In 2006, the police station, the Magistracy (courthouse) and the Victoria Gaol (prison) were converted to a public space – The police dormitory was changed into creative spaces, and the Magistracy was transformed into a group of restaurants. The police station buildings were remade into museums and used for art exhibits, and the prison courtyard is now a plaza with shops and cafés.

This dance was a complete surprise to everyone. No one knew that this couple was going to take the stage. But I was so glad that they did because my brain needed a break from information overload about history and culture.

Cinco de Mayo 2024

Cinco de Mayo is the day when Mexico won over France at the Battle of Puebla. The celebration is more popular in the U.S than in Mexico. The festivity I attended was off of Olvera Street in downtown L.A. I got there last Sunday around 1:30 p.m which was way too late. Google map took me to the Union Station parking where the attendant said that they were full, and directed me to the next street lot in a brown building. That was a big mistake because the upper-levels were taken, and I ended up going way down. There were no employees working, the elevator did not function, and the stairs, well, no one was taking them. I ended up climbing up along the same path as the exiting cars.

Once on the street, the choice was to walk under a dark eerie bridge or go across the street and ask how to get to Olvera Street. After much confusion, I went through the Union Station, exited the other end, and crossed the street to get to the festivities.

Do not let my pictures fool you. If you don’t like crowds, you will not like Cinco de Mayo in downtown L.A. See that railing in the video, that too was full of people behind it, waiting to get ice cream. I had to wait a longtime for the crowd to disperse for a split second before sneaking in a photo. No matter where I turned, I was in someone’s way. I ended up standing at a corner for thirty minutes to adjust to the crowd passing through, before figuring out what to do next.

After taking in a deep breath, and getting used to the locals, I began moving. You see, I was not prepared to be on a foreign soil because that's how it felt. I was expecting lots of shoving and pushing, but to my surprise, people were kind, patient, and accommodating. One interesting thing was that there were small food stalls in between retail booths.

I ended up buying the above handmade  bowl at a candle shop. I mean, I think it was handmade. That's what the vendor told me.

The lines to get food are long, but if there is just one or two of you, there is no wait time. You can sit at the bar.

The staff working at El Paseo de Los Angeles are super busy, and pretend that they can’t hear you when you ask a question. But eventually, they come around, and take your order. The cheese enchilada is yum, and can easily be shared or taken home.

 

The sound of music comes from everywhere – the food trucks, stalls, street singers, the performers on the stage, and on and on. It’s chaotic. When you first get there, you cannot hear a thing because each person is playing something different. I wanted to take a photo. The audience staring at the stage, and the dancing couples in the crowd, did not want to let me in, thinking I wanted to steal their spot. I squeezed in, took a short video, and left.

The DR. Pepper truck was giving away free Dr. Peppers.

Heading back once again through the Union Station.

Planning to go next year? It’s best to ignore the 12-6 time frame of Cinco de Mayo, and arrive as early as possible, perhaps around 10:00 or sooner, and look for street parking.

 

Whale watching with Ric O’Barry

My third book, The American Outsider, was inspired by Ric O’Barry's work with whales and dolphins. So, when I got an email about Captain Dave's Fundraiser with Ric O’Barry at Dana point, I was excited to sign up. I'm not sure how often they have this fundraiser, but here is the scoop in case anyone is interested.

I live about 1 ½ hours away from Dana Point, and I left three and a half hours early because of the unpredictable Los Angeles traffic, and because I wanted to check out a popular local café, and use a clean bathroom instead of the ones at the beach. Maison café market is known for their Dutch baby. It’s not healthy, but how often would I go back to Dana point? Probably never unless I have a reason to. I suggest sharing this with one or two friends, and skip the syrup. I was on my own, and left more than half of it there because it’s not something you can take home. Glad I tried it. It was good.

Left the café for a five-minute drive. Parking is scarce because there are a lot of families and surfers who want to get an early start, so show up an hour early (they tell you this in their instructions). If you have mobility issues, let them know ahead of time because you have to climb a bunch of stairs and sign in. Then you climb down again, and walk to a boarding area and wait about ten minutes before they take your ticket and you climb up a bunch of more stairs.

If you get motion sickness, take medicine for it because you will need it. Again, if you have mobility issues, it will be difficult for you to move around on this ship because it rocks back and forth with the waves. When we got moving, people were hanging to poles and anything they could grab so that they wouldn’t fall. Above photo: the gentleman in the beige cap is Ric and the one in the blue cap is captain Dave.

On the day of our excursion, there were not that many whales, and there was a horrible stench as the ship moved out of the harbor into the sea. Someone said that the smell was from the seals, sea lions, and seagulls pooping. I don’t understand why no one is talking about this. If you do a search on Dana point, no one tells you this. I have a sensitive nose and at times I wish I was anosmatic. I almost got sick. So, be forewarned, and perhaps wear two masks until you're out of the harbor.

Aboard, there were too many grownups sticking their camera lenses in front of you as though they had never seen or touched a whale before. I was looking outside to see if I can spot a whale, when this one woman rushes toward me, jumps on the seat next to me and stands with 75% of her body sticking outside the ship to take a picture of I don’t know what. I thought at any minute she was going to tip over.

 

 

Anyway, I did see some dolphins, but I can see them anywhere such as by simply sitting outside in Malibu at Duke’s. Seals are everywhere in Marina Del Rey minus the smell. And as for whales, there are smaller excursions where you can interact with them and not just watch from miles away.

Even so, I’m glad I signed up, and contributed to their fundraiser. I was happy to meet Ric, and chat with him for a few minutes. He is shy and may seems standoffish, to which I can relate. But, like me, once you start a conversation with him, he has no problem sharing his opinion on different issues. The people working with Ric were all friendly and helpful. There is a tipping jar if you want to tip. And they pass out brownies at the end.