Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Ships Ahoy!

I signed up to work at Fenwick Pier several weeks ago. The AWA helps the Servicemen’s Guides Association staff an information booth that provides assistance to US fleet ships when they are in Hong Kong. The volunteers are there to answer questions the service men and women may have when they arrive in this wonderful, but large exotic city.

When I agreed to work I had no idea what type of vessel would be arriving. There were rumors that the carrier USS Carl Vinson would be here and I actually thought that was the ship we would be assisting. My American friends were abuzz thinking we could be helping the carrier that had dumped Bin Laden’s body. Then the South China Morning Post reported that the USS Hampton was requesting permission to dock along with its tender the USS Frank Cable. This was big news as China had not allowed a nuclear submarine in its port since 2008. They were granted permission and were expected in last Saturday. 

I arrived at Fenwick Pier Fleet Arcade for my 3 - 6 pm shift, presented my Servicemen’s Guides Association card along with my Hong Kong ID, opened my purse for inspection and walked through a metal detector. I was in. I found my way to a large information booth and put on my name tag. I was ready for action. My friend Kate happened to be working the same session. We were both excited about the thought of doing something to help our service men and women.

Kate and I were given a short briefing about what and where things were located in the arcade such as money changing, laundry, post office and internet. We were shown a Rolodex for quick answers to obscure questions and a computer for extremely slow answers to other questions. The rest we pull out of our own little brains. Now the funny part about this is that Kate and I have lived here only a few months. Both of us moved to Hong Kong in January, yet we do have something going for us. We’re adventurers. We find things we’re interested in and then go explore. Plus Kate lives in Kowloon and I live on the island so together we had the area covered geographically. We actually do know quite a bit. 

Unfortunately, although we had arrived ready to work the ship had not, therefore Kate and I would be greeting the initial onslaught of sailors. Eventually a group of servicemen called SLGs arrived. They are the Ship’s Liaison Group. Their purpose is watch over the sailors and make sure they follow the rules. They’re sort of the principals of the ship. I spent a good deal of time asking them questions about their jobs and lives while we waited for the water taxis of sailors.

And eventually they came. Men and quite a few women, many young though some much older, a few who had been to Hong Kong previously, yet most wide eyed and anxious to see the city. They were looking for bars, restaurants and hotels. We gave directions along with maps, city guides and cards with the MTR routes printed on one side and a map to Fenwick Pier plus the address written in Chinese on the other. We handed out free Girl Scout cookies (I have no idea where they came from), candy and dragon pins. We also dispensed our motherly advice: stay with your buddies; be careful in bars in Wan Chai; the meter in the taxi is for all of you and don’t pay more than what’s on it; and most importantly have fun, but use your head.

Some of the sailors really pulled on my heartstrings. Especially the young ones with glasses and peach fuzz who looked like they should be at prom not out to sea, the guys so excited to get to computers so they could Skype with their kids and the husbands meeting their wives for some shore time together. There were several instances when I talked to young men who reminded me of my own boys. I tried to give them the same attention and concern I would give to my sons. 

Kate and I extended our work session until 7 pm since more sailors kept arriving. As we headed out for the evening the two of us were bubbling about how much fun we had. This wasn’t work it was too enjoyable. And the best part? Knowing that we were going back to do more shifts later in the week. 


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Big Buddha photos




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Big Buddha

For some unknown reason after being in Hong Kong for three months I had still not visited the Big Buddha. The Giant Tian Tan Buddha (affectionately known in HK as Big Buddha) is listed as one of the top ten things to see in Hong Kong by most travel guide books. I almost felt guilty for not making the trek there so I recruited my friend Kate to accompany me on this outing.


We met up at the MTR for our ride to Tung Chung which is at the end of the orange line. From there we walked to the cable cars which would take us straight to Ngong Ping on Lantua island where the Buddha sits. I mean this literally. The Big Buddha is the largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world. He weighs more than 250 tons and is 30m. (98ft) tall.

The day was relatively clear for Hong Kong standards so the view from the cable car provided a nice picture of Lantua island and many others in the distance. The 5.7 km (3 ½ mile) cable car ride takes about 25 minutes which gives you ample opportunity for picture taking. As you approach Ngong Ping the sight of the Big Buddha sitting some 738m (2,421ft) above the island is striking. He is a rather serene, yet majestic figure dominating the island plateau. I was mentally preparing myself for a quiet and peaceful day.

As we disembarked the cable car I was struck by the fact that we had to walk through a gift shop to begin our visit. This isn’t very Buddhist like I thought. Big Buddha key chains, umbrellas and t-shirts were displayed. They even had photos of us that they had taken as we boarded the cable car! (It’s amazing what technology can do in 25 minutes.) This was feeling rather like an amusement park.

We made it through the shop and then it hit us. This wasn’t Disneyland. This was Buddhaland. We had stepped out into a perfectly darling Chinese village full of shops and restaurants. As we strolled along I couldn’t help but notice how everything was exactly that - too perfect. White buildings with green tile roofs and vibrant red and blue trim. Nothing is this clean and organized in Hong Kong. There were even some cute little cartoon like figures (not sure what they were) that you could take your picture with. We were surprised they didn’t charge for it.

I must admit that we did stop at a wonderful shop called the Chopstick Gallery which had hundreds of lovely sets of chopsticks for sale. Since chopsticks have become a regular part of our eating habits we couldn’t help but be taken by the beauty of the sets: some carved, some with silver or mother of pearl tops, some even made from colored pencils. We wandered through admiring them until we each found a set to be used for a special gift. Yes, we had succumbed to Buddhaland.

A wide path lined with warriors each representing one of the signs of the Chinese New Year symbols took us to the foot of the Buddha. My warrior, year of the boar, was very fierce looking. I wasn’t sure what was worse being born in the year of the pig or this scary guy.
The 260 steps leading up to the Buddha were lined with people making their way slowly to the top. Kate and I worked our way up thankful that we had gone on a weekday. I can’t even imagine what Sunday is like. The view of the countryside from the base of the Buddha is wonderful and the other bronze deities displayed are truly beautiful.

After our descent we headed back through Buddhaland and decided that maybe we had seen enough. We didn’t even stop for lunch. Somehow I thought the menu would include tofu Buddha burgers, enlightenment entrees and deity desserts. This just didn’t feel right.

We took the more expensive crystal cable car back to Tung Chung. The crystal cable car is nothing more than one with a glass bottom. Does seeing through the floor of the cable car make it more appealing and/or exciting? Not really. It’s ironic that Hong Kong Disneyland is also on Lantua island. In my mind “the happiest place on earth” never should include a big Buddha.