Back Home Again...in Indiana...

On my final day in Hong Kong this week, I decided to do the most touristy thing I could find. So I headed back over from the mainland at about 3:00pm, donning shorts, black socks, and a camera around my neck, and took the tram up the side of Victoria Peak. The tram has been in operation since 1888 and consists of a pair of rail cars that are slowly dragged up the side of the mountain at what is very near a 45 degree incline. Now for those of you that know me, you'll remember that I spent a great deal of my childhood on the floors of various glass enclosed elevators, praying for God to take me swiftly rather than screaming as the elevator was released from its tether. So for me to ride this tram was something of a challenge. Shown below is the view from the starting station in Hong Kong central. Notice the incline...
Here is a shot while ascending the peak. This gives some indication of the incline...My only concern while riding the tram was that I have been witness to some, shall we say, questionable Chinese engineering in the past couple of years. So putting my life in their hands did leave me somewhat jarred. I guess I slept soundly enough on the 21st floor of my hotel each night, so this shouldn't have bothered me.
After arriving at the peak, I was greeted by a number of shops, all featuring various tourist gifts and memoribilia. I quickly dashed past all these shops, as I planned to do some authentic shopping later in the evening. The peak features a Madame Tussauds wax museum which seemed somewhat fitting for a tourist trap. It was entertaining to watch plump Americans pose next to a Jackie Chan figure, looking more like they were ready for a toilet rather than a karate match. Another floor featured a fine Asian cuisine restaurant, with tables outside overlooking Hong Kong central. I ascended to the top of the tower, curious as to what shop or restaurant had been given the priviledge of the highest point in Hong Kong's most famous tourist attraction. What did I find?
Bubba Freaking Gump. Now don't get me wrong. I've eaten at Mr. Gump's establishment, and it provided a cornucopia of greasy seafood which treated me well (in a cleansing sort of way). But is this really the best that Hong Kong can do? All I can figure is Bubba's American ownership bid a Gump-load of cash for the location, outbidding all their Asian competitor's who figured, "Eh...we'll feed 'em when they get back to street level." I neglected to eat, instead heading out onto the viewing platform for some pictures of downtown. Here are some views downward towards Hong Kong's majestic skyline...



After my trip to Gump Towers, I took the Hong Kong subway back to Kowloon for a little shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui. Upon boarding the subway, I looked toward the back of the car. Now the picture is a little blurry, but you'll notice the only other face at my level is another Big Dumb White Dude.
I trotted around the TST (Tsim Sh...ok, you get the idea) for a couple of hours looking for gifts for Erin and Grant. One of the alleys lead me to a place where even my arts could be appreciated...

All in all it was another enjoyable trip to Hong Kong. My visits to China aren't bad, with the exception of the dreadfully long flights. On the return flight, as we pulled away from the terminal, the pilot made the following announcement:

"For this afternoon's flight, we'd like to take this opportunity to welcome the 50 children from the Rich Chinese Kids From Hong Kong Primary School aboard for their spring break trip to America."

You could almost feel the air being sucked from the plane as the businessmen in coach gasped. The kids were mostly well behaved. There were a couple of 10 year old Chinese boys that insisted on running from their seats at the front of coach to their friend's seats at the rear of coach every few minutes. But then again, every Asian guy under 40 that I've ever worked with runs from cubicle to cubicle around our building at work, so I guess they're just in training.

All in all, it feels great to be home with Grant and Erin. It was nice to flip on the radio this afternoon here in Indy and hear something that didn't resemble cats in chorus. While in Shenzhen, I heard a pop song on the radio in a cab which had adapted the melody from "What Child Is This?" This travesty was only out done by a Chinese dude slaughtering a Simon & Garfunkel classic. My boss nearly wet himself every time I burst into "Herro darkness my old friend...that's the sounds of sirence."