Day 5

Day four here in HK (day 5 of travel) started a little rough due to some struggles with travel options. (We are still contemplating our travel options and have not decided how the trip will unfold after we leave Hong Kong.) But once we talked it out, things seemed to be in focus again. We went by subway to see a Taoist temple with so many worshippers and lots of incense burning. The air was really heavy with smoke. Then we hopped back on the subway and went to the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a very nice temple made of wood and constructed with neither nails nor screws. There were many golden Buddha statues and the altars are lovingly tended with orchids and fruit offerings. The landscaping was dotted with bonsai plants. We ate in a vegetarian restaurant today and seemed to have confused the waiter with our order because Dad did not get what he ordered. Anyway we found a place later that is like Subway, except instead of bread there are 6 different kinds of rice to choose from as the wrap and then you choose your fillings, up to 6 kinds—sour cabbage, gluten strips, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, etc. We often go to a grocery store nearby and get bread, bananas and oranges. We had a couple more ferry rides today.

Yesterday, we took a ferry to Hong Kong Island and walked around. We noticed hundreds of groups of up to a dozen women playing cards, eating or just chatting. As we walked further we encountered so many that they covered several blocks of public space. So we stopped and asked what’s going on and found they were ALL Filipinas. Apparently, every Sunday is their day off and this is how they spend their Sunday. They seemed to favor a particular church. There were hoards of them going to it. It was quite a spectacle to see so many of these women. There were probably a couple thousand of them, maybe more. We also visited a botanical garden complete with a jaguar and flamingos. There we had a snack of tomato flavored potato chips and bottles of soymilk. Soymilk is very popular here.

We had a very interesting tour of Hong Kong Island which is like a forest of sky scrapers. The lower levels are shops and the upper levels either businesses or residences. We took a tramway from one side of the city to the other. It and busses are great ways to see the city in contrast to the subway since you are traveling on the surface.

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Stayed at the Kowloon Hotel, dorms for HK$50. The first not was a real struggle to sleep. The office has been moved into the dorm area as the real office space is being remodeled. The night shift woman got into an argument with one of the helpers. She started shouting and the other woman who fled to the laundry area (the access is through the dorm). The angry woman ran after her screaming and slamming the door. I approached her and told her to be quiet as we are trying to sleep. She said sorry, but then lashed at me and said this is a shared area. If I want peace and quiet, I should rent the private room. Then she said that anyhow it is only 9 pm. At 11 pm is when it is quiet. The following day, Ole complained to the owner and also complained about people smoking in the dorm. She said she would take care of it and we never saw the screaming woman again.