Tai Ping San Ha - with Typhoon Utor

By Dennis Su

Last week was my second trip this year to visit to HK and as usual, I stayed at the Hotel Metropole across from old Pui Ching. It's on the same site where Four Seas Bowling used to be long time ago. It's a three-star class with mostly vacationing mainlanders in groups, overseas Chinese, and a few low end European tour groups mixed in. It has coffee shop, a small bar, an excellent Chinese restaurant and rooftop swimming pool. Has free shuttle to subway station, TST, and the new airport. Feel really at home for me since I used to live in the condo next door in my last few years at Pui Ching. In fact, I met many Lighters at a after dinner gathering there during the Pui Ching 100th anniversary celebration back in 1991. So much for the hotel.

The main purpose for this trip was to check up on my uncle who is retired and living alone for years in Guilin. The family asked me to take on the task of making sure the factory is treating him right and so forth because my relatives thinks I speak putonghua. As many of Pui Ching survivors recall, we have not use mandarin since grade five after Madam Wang Chu Yue (Wong Kuk Yu) tough us the basics. It was only in the last few decades with so many Chinese immigrants I came into contact that I brushed up on the dialect again. Still, I am struggling with the Cantonese version of putonghua. By that I mean so many words sound identical in Cantonese but are totally different in mandarin. For example, the "wan" in literature and "min" in populace are the same "mun" in Cantonese. And then the "gin" in tendon and "gun" in root. And so forth. That explain the sometime puzzled look from the Chinese I was talking to. Anyway, I must have been in Guilin six seven times in the past ten years, so if any Lighter wants to know the "hows" to travel there, ask me. But not about all the scenic spots since I still have not visit many of them.

Of the few days I have in Hong Kong before and after that trip, two were pretty much screwed up by the typhoon of the week. This one called "Utor" is a scientific term and not a person's name. Nevertheless, I would like to share a few observations as a short term visitor. James Koo has been doing a fine job in covering the unique experience of living there. Have you Lighters notice his input to Tai Ping San Ha on July 8 was the longest ? He must be enjoying all the forced day-off time he mentioned.

Well, the sidewalks are still crowded in the 90 degree heat. And 90 is also the percentage of pedestrians under twenty five years old. Most folks my age I saw in public transportation are usually on welfare. I guess the senior citizens of HK are either staying indoor with air-conditioning or riding in Mercedes.

Then the media's coverage on "Sun O" short for "applying for the Olympic". It's a big event for the Chinese everywhere. Theres a heart-warming photo in many front pages on the Taiwan athletic delegation arriving in Beijing with Gei Jing (the Taiwan iron lady in the 60s) leading. I guess after watching the Tokyo Olympic in the 60's and the Seoul Olympic in the 80's, I can feel the pride or "face" that Asian countries need to be the host.

No one can escape the construction boom everywhere. May be is less so than pre-1997. But from the airport to central and from Shatin out to Fenling (via the electric railroad train), I noticed many construction sites on public and private development. From an architect's view, all the recent development was very well done, and extremely huge to us "mei charn". Yes, the price on condos is falling. Those who bought at the peak a few years back are known as negative asset holders - the market value is less than the mortgage. Certainly it's a problem.

Economy is down. Empty taxi are everywhere and no tips are necessary nowadays.

The phenomenon of the global village is more visible here, at least in pop culture. Witness the hottest HK TV program : "Who wants to be a millionaire" with local Chinese host and Cantonese questions, otherwise, its the same. The Cantonese questions are tough for us because all names of persons and places are translated into Chinese via putonghua pronunciation then read out in Cantonese. You know what I mean: like Bill Gates is "Bui Yee Coil Chi" - shell, you, cover, second. I heard "the weakest link" in coming later this summer. I wonder how the Chinese handle the face-loosing situation when voted out. Then the arts and cultural activities: there are concert of all kinds, live music entertainment of all kinds, stage play of all kinds, exhibitions of all kinds that happened one after another year round. The Broadway musical Miss Saigon is playing at the Arts Center. 

VCD and DVD. The latest Hollywood flicks are available at US$1.5 in Guilin and about US$4 in HK. Don't know if copyrighted or not. Older movies are cheaper. Just like the knock-off Polo shirts selling at US$8 in Temple Street at night, you know its phonies but who cares. A word about copyright infringement: these knock-offs keep many third world people employed while the Hollywood moguls and Ralph Lauren are not starving. 

One regret. I forgot to find time to visit the parks and gardens designed by our Fat Chicken. But while I browsed the book stores, I found an interesting book on "Kowloon City" with chapters that go back to the first historic record on the region to the South Sung King to Kai Tak airport and so forth. Incidentally, there is another book full of color photos on, in and about the real "Kowloon City" before its was turned into the garden by Fat Chicken. That one is titled " City of Darkness-Life in the walled Kowloon CIty" 

Please watch for part II.