Rainy Days

Hi everyone, Lizzie here. Yesterday was a rainy day here in Hong Kong so Ingrid and I decided there is no better day than a rainy one to take in the Museum of Art which has been running an exhibition on the influence of Chinese art/antiquity in Paris over the past 200 years. Right up our alley! Rainy and windy days here are incredible because it remains warm despite the sky turning dark and deeply overcast, dramatically framing the already impressive skyline. Fortunately I have appreciation for this weather because we are in for a lot of it as we enter the rainy season which puts the city in a daily state of showers over the next three months culminating with August’s typhoon season. Wow! ….we only had monsoons back in the deserts of Arizona.




To reach Kowloon Ingrid and I take the Star Ferry which has been running for over 100 years. It is an actual piece of history here in Hong Kong, the type of history that one can be a part of. And for a city that bulldozes historical charm in favor of its version of modern, the Star Ferry remains by far the greatest treasure on the city’s proverbial charm bracelet. The price of a ferry ride across Victoria Harbour will run you a mere 25 cents, even less if you sit by the engines on the boat’s bottom deck! A Star Ferry journey makes you feel like you’re in a 1970’s James Bond film, and with the greying sky Ing and I felt like secret agents on a mission to see Chinese antiquity. Oh how the imagination wanders when you spend most of your waking hours with an 8 month old!

The ferry docks in Tsim Tsa Tsui on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour, a short walk to the museum. The boardwalk along the waterfront is known as the “Walk of Stars” where Hong Kong’s movie stars are honored with their own engraved star in the pavement, a la Hollywood. There was a temporary exhibit ongoing showcasing animation characters. Asia is crazy about its animation. One statue after another of fictitious characters adorned the promenade and the nearby mall where 10 ft. high drawings of more cartoons lined the walls. It was weirdly cool and my favorite statue was Tiger Wong of "Oriental Heroes" 1970. The caption read, "Righteous and kind in nature, Tiger Wong is a master in Kung Fu. He is tough and has a mission of confronting evil forces in Hong Kong. He is a great hero of all Hong Kong people."

I knew that we had reached the pinnacle of all action heroes when we got to Mr. Bruce Lee. A crowd had formed around Bruce and pictures were being snapped of people hilariously mimicking his kung fu stance. I took my eyes off Ingrid for just a moment to inspect the statue's likeness and when I turned back to her she had been surrounded by a pack of Mainland Chinese tourists eager to make her acquaintance. I even think that the stroller had been rolled a few feet further away from me so that more people could encircle her. It was marvelous. I am getting more used to people enjoying her look as I do. But this struck me funny since we were in the presence of greatness. Suddenly, it was ‘Bruce Who?’