(Tip: Click on photos to see a larger version, or go to: www.ronalddunlapphotography.com.)
The alarm went off at 5 a.m., and I swung my legs out of bed and planted my feet on the cold hardwood floor of our bedroom. It had been warm, almost hot, in Los Angeles the past couple of weeks, but the forecast was calling for a cold spell with intermittent rain, so I was glad to be leaving town.
I was leaving for Hong Kong in a few hours, so I'd gotten up early to make sure I had enough time to be properly prepared for the inevitable eventualities.
I jumped into an extra-hot shower and washed thoroughly, knowing I was going to be in my travel clothes for at least the next 26 hours. I spent extra time in the bathroom trying to empty myself as much as possible so I'd be more comfortable on the plane. I finished my toiletry by waxing my mustache and staring into the mirror wondering how I'd gotten so old. I'd turned 64 five days before, and I still couldn't believe I was this old.
Back in the bedroom I dressed in all natural fabrics (as is my habit on days I fly) — Levi's 501s, Jockey boxer briefs, Dickies black pocket t-shirt, Smart-Wool hiking socks, and Domke photo-vest — and pulled on my Timberlands, leaving them loosely tied. I double-checked to make sure I had money, credit cards, passport, and a printout of my travel documents.
After a very small breakfast, I took my pills and vitamins and assembled my bags: one to check (under 50 pounds), plus my camera and computer bags, which I intended to carry aboard.
The Super Shuttle arrived at 7:15. I kissed Lynda and the dogs goodbye and stepped out into the overcast morning. I was the first pick-up, and as usual the driver seemed tired (the life of an independent contractor can be trying). He opened the side door, and I selected the last bench seat and climbed in. From past experience, I knew that because I was flying Delta, I'd be the last one out. Delta is in Terminals 5 and 6, which are on the far side of the horseshoe that is LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). The tired, blue Super Shuttle van made two more pick-ups, and then we were heading south on the 110.
My bags and I hit the sidewalk just after 9 a.m., right on schedule. I wheeled them across the drop-off lane and into Terminal 5. It was still early, and there were only a few other passengers ahead of me in the "drop bag" line. It took another 10 minutes until I was up at the counter showing my travel printouts and passport. Yesterday I had gotten an email from Delta saying it was time to check in and print out my boarding passes; which I had considerable trouble doing. The Delta representative disregarded my printouts and issued me new boarding cards (I'll know better than to follow instructions next time).
My plane was leaving from Terminal 6, which Continental Airlines shares with Delta. The security screening was uncrowded and I was able to take my time unpacking, scanning, and repacking my stuff. This is one of the benefits of being early.
Inside the gate area I located a money-changing service and got in line. (INFO: Like Jesus said, you can't trust money changers, and the airport is no exception; it is a total rip-off. There's a service fee and their exchange rate is always much lower than the official rate). Because my flight was arriving so late, I didn't want to take the chance of being stuck with no usable money, so I reluctantly pulled out a 100 dollar bill and bent over.
Around 11:30 a.m. we started boarding. I was in Zone 4, so I'd be one of the last to get onboard, which always makes me nervous. I worry that there won't be any overhead space left by the time I get there. Luckily, the bin above 41H was empty, and I was able to get both my carry-ons up and my hat placed (so it wouldn't get crushed) on top of them and then relax while I waited for my seatmates to arrive.
Delta Flight 283 backed away from Gate 89B right on time and taxied into position to head skyward. It's always a relief (for me) to feel the thrust of the engines finally moving the plane. I especially like the little "bump" sound, when the plane's wheels lose contact with the runway and I know we are committed.
Thirty minutes after we reached cruising altitude, they began serving dinner. I selected the chicken with green beans and sweet-potato mush, served with cocktail shrimp as an appetizer and a brownie for dessert. I used the Diet Coke to wash down half a Xanax. After the dinner dishes were collected, I put my seat back and retrieved my iPod from my computer bag. The entertainment system on the plane was really old-fashioned: a bulkhead screen with projected movies that needed badly to be color-corrected. I put on the ear buds and selected a play list that I hoped would let me sleep. I needed to get three or four hours’ worth, then stay awake until I was at the hotel. I was hoping this strategy would help me avoid jet-lag.
It was a 12-hour (11 hrs. 50 min.) flight to Tokyo, where I'd have to change planes for the flight to Hong Kong. Once off the plane, you have to go through another security screening, but it isn't too bad. You don't have to remove your shoes, which always makes it easier for me. From the arrival level, you take an escalator down to departures. Flight 639 was leaving from Gate 22 at 7:05 p.m. I found a seat in the waiting area and stared out at the planes being readied for their coming labors.
After a five-hour flight we arrived at HGK. It took a little while, but I was finally relieved to see my bag appear on the baggage carousel. I grabbed a baggage cart and made my way to customs, where I presented my passport. For most visitors, you don't need a visa for a stay of 30 days or less. As I pushed through the double doors out into the arrival hall, I began to look for transportation into Hong Kong or, more correctly, Kowloon, where my hotel was. I could have taken the train, but I'd still have to find my hotel, and it was after midnight, so I selected the Airport Hotelink Limousine service; which is really a direct bus service to your hotel. I handed over 130 Hong Kong Dollars(under 20 U.S. bucks) and was told to take a seat in the waiting section. We were escorted to the bus in the reverse order of our hotels’ distance from the airport. This way, luggage for the closest hotel is put in last and is in the correct order to be first off when we get there.
This was the last bus of the night (service stops between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.). The full-size bus only had a few passengers for the half-hour trip to Kowloon. Everyone looked worn-out. It doesn't matter where you're coming from, it's a long way to Hong Kong.
It was a cold and dreary night, with a light rain falling through fog. They use a kind of street light that casts a golden pall over the fog-bound landscape as we went speeding by. I was unhappy that I brought the inclement weather with me.
I was the next-to-last passenger left on the bus when we pulled up to the Holiday Inn Golden Mile. I had gone onto Google Earth maps and done the street view of the hotel and this didn't look like it, but the driver assured me that it was. He pulled my bag out of the storage compartment and wished me a good stay.
The hotel was mostly dark as I pulled my bag across the vehicle reception area to the triple doors. The door man got up from behind a desk and opened the door for me. At the registration desk, two different parties were checking in, and I lined up behind them, but as soon as I'd queued-up an another desk person appeared from the back and motioned me to the counter. I handed my passport across the black marble counter and he punched my info into the hotel's computer system. Everything lined up and the room was prepaid so I was copacetic, but they did require a swipe of my AmEx for miscellaneous charges. He tried to get me to upgrade my room to the executive floors (18 and 19) for an extra HKD 800 per day (that would be an extra US$102.56, doubling the overall cost of my stay) but being the frugal traveler I am, I declined. We finished the check-in and he handed over two card keys and directed me to the elevators and up to the 12th floor. I was surprised there wasn't someone to take my bags and escort me to my room. I think this is the first time that's happened in the last five years of traveling.
I had selected this hotel because of its location and moderate price. From the review I'd read, the place was supposed to be a little iffy and in need of a serious make-over, especially the fifth and sixth floors, which because I'd booked through Priceline I was expecting to get, but I was pleasantly surprised. Room 1209 was very neat and clean, with everything I needed for my 10-day stay.
I used the facilities and dressed in my black hooded sweatshirt and pants, which I sleep in. I'd started this habit while I was on a mixed-gender dig in the Sudan. You always want to be prepared for the unexpected.
Fell asleep around 1:30 and woke at 5:30 a.m. I pulled the blackout curtains back to gaze out at an overcast morning. I went back to bed, slept another two hours, and got up at 7:30. I turned on the TV, switching the channel to the BBC weather, who said that Hong Kong should clear up. I looked into the mirror; my mustache was still perfect, so I just did a horror's bath in the sink. I was eager to get out on the street, finish a few logistical things, and start shooting.
I wedged my 13-inch apple book into the room’s safe along with an extra 85mm lens I didn't want to carry around. I put on some fresh clothes, grabbed my jacket and camera bag, and put on my black fedora.
I pushed the elevator button and waited. One of the six call lights lighted and the doors opened to an empty, mirrored car.
Down in the lobby, I headed east through the hotel's small shopping mall and out onto Nathan Road (sort of Kowloon's main street). To the south of the Holiday Inn is the infamous Chungking Mansions, and to the North is Mody Road and an entrance to the subway. I made my way down the stairs. (INFO: Most subway stations have stairs to descend but have escalators to help you on the way out.) Once down, I got on the people-mover and glided into the heart of the station. I had to walk around a little, but finally I found a "Customer Service" window and got in line. Up at the window, I told the attendant that I wanted to purchase an Octopus card.
I plunked down HKD 700 (there's a HKD 50 deposit and then you can add additional HKDs up to 1000) and my card (serial number 42876033[4]) was loaded and I walked away smiling. I tried to retrace my path out of the underground, but when I finally got above ground again, I found that I was lost. I studied maps of the area, but with no reference point (Nathan Road) it took me an hour to figure out where I was.
Once I'd triangulated my position, I turned south towards the bay. Past the Space and Art museums, I located Kowloon's Promenade, or the Walk of Stars (the name depends on which section of the walkway you're on). The Walk of Stars is patterned after the one in Hollywood; it has some of the same corny touches. I smiled as I watched a young couple having their wedding photos taken against Hong Kong's skyline and overcast skies.
I kept on walking until I ran into the Star Ferry complex. I used my Octopus card to trip the turnstile and walked into the waiting area. There's a boat every 10 or 15 minutes. There are two decks; the upper is a little more expensive and usually frequented by visitors to the city, and the lower is cheaper and a little more utilitarian.
The Hong Kong skyline was diminished by overhanging clouds, and my first crossing on the Star Ferry was not as spectacular as advertised. There was no "Susie Wong" to verbally spar with, no teaming masses to push my way through, and no sense of passing over a demarcation line. The legendary ferry is mostly a tourist attraction these days. The dock on the Hong Kong side was moved 10 years back, making it impractical for the majority of commuters who had formerly used it. Today, the ferry company runs at a deficit and is cutting services to areas other than the main "tourist" line, Kowloon to Central. But all in all, you still get a great gander of the towers dedicated to global avarice.
On Hong Kong Island I was looking for the "Big Bus" tour's starting point. In one of the travels guides, I'd read that these double-decked buses were a good way to get grounded as to where and what the different parts of Hong Kong were. The buses’ shills were there to confront passengers as we exited the ferry house. I learned that the next bus left in 20 minutes and cost HKD 180 [USD 23.09]. I handed over two one-hundred Hong Kong dollar bills and got my ticket and change. There was a 7-11 convenience store back in the ferry house complex, so I wondered back and purchased a Diet Coke and bag of Lay's BBQ potato chips (using my Octopus Card). I devoured this exhilarating breakfast as I sat on one of the waterfront benches, watching to make sure the bus didn't leave without me.
A guy wanted to take my picture. I said ok if I could take his picture, too (a plan was born). He did and I did.
It was chilly and the wind was beginning to blow when I boarded the bus. The upper deck is topless so you can get unobstructed views, but you are also completely exposed to the elements. Luckily the vehicle was sparsely populated, so if worse came to worse I could use the spiral stairs to descend to the lower level. This tour bus is one of those with start and stop services. It makes 20 or so stops and you are free to get on or off, just remember to take along your head phones and your ticket receipt and that it only stops at defined bus stops and only passes by every 30 minutes or so.
The full tour took about an hour and forty-five minutes and at the end of it I was frozen. I should have gotten off at the Peak station and taken the tram up to the top, but the weather was so shitty I didn't have much hope of getting even a so-so photograph; even at ISO 6400 and the lens wide open my images were still shaky from a slow shutter speed.
Observation: Hong Kong is an interesting place. Like most of the world, it's progressed mightily in the past decades, so most of my preconceptions were outdated. It's much more cosmopolitan and brand-obsessive than I would have thought possible. Business people view success by your personal accoutrements. So if you aren't wearing the correct shoes and watch (especially the watch), etc., forget about doing business here.
It was getting dark as I took the ferry back across the bay. This time, I went on the lower deck and found the vantage point much more to my liking. Back in Kowloon, I walked back to the hotel. I only had the Diet Coke and chips so far today, so I decided to splurge and stop at the hotel's coffee shop for dinner. I ordered my traditional spaghetti Bolognese and Diet Coke. The meal was passable but not up to the HKD 240 price tag. I decided that I would be eating fast food or out of the 7-11, as my budget wouldn't hold up to hotel meals.
I slid the key card into the slot, and the door to 1209 opened and I flopped onto the bed.
After 10 or 15 minutes, I got the PowerBook out of the safe and hooked it up to my 2TB hard drive and started transfer of today’s photographic take. It was 9:30 when it finished, and I was dead. Hoping the weather would be better tomorrow, I closed the room's blackout curtains and my eyes.
