Summer trip 2019: Hong Kong & Tokyo

Well, more accurately, the 2nd summer trip, this time to Hong Kong and Tokyo—a quick trip as we were gone just over a week. Jade has been in Hong Kong this summer on an internship where she is developing a curriculum to teach disadvantaged Hong Kong kids how to code. (As a math/computer science social conscience Chinese-speaking person, this checks all of her boxes.). She’s had a great substantive summer and also has a great first-hand experience in how democracy should work (i.e. the importance of the right of assembly under the 1st Amendment). The first items the organizers hand the protesters are a mask (to defeat the excellent facial recognition software China has) and a bilingual sign asking the police to stay calm.

sign handed to protesters
bird’s eye view of protesters

It was all quite civilized and British until the Chinese raised the stakes. It still is very safe as long as you avoid the areas where the protesters are (which are generally published ahead of time—did I mention that this was all very civilized?). However, with 10,000 Chinese troops garrisoned in Hong Kong, there is a very real risk of all of this going sideways quite quickly. In fact, I kind of feel like Dr. Strange in Avengers: Infinity Wars when he says he’s looked at 14+ million futures and only sees 1 where Thanos is defeated. I can’t picture that many scenarios, of course, but I don’t see one where it ends well for Hong Kong.


That being said, we had a lovely several days wandering around Hong Kong, including a trip to Hong Kong Disney with the four of us.

Hong Kong Disney
Festival of the Lion King at Hong Kong Disney

There is nothing quite like Disney to restore one’s faith in human nature. Perhaps our family chronicles can be marked solely by meals, trips to a Disney park, and trips to Hawaii.


Tokyo was our next stop. This year is the 20th anniversary of the US-Japan Leadership Program and the last year of George Packard’s leadership of the US-Japan Foundation. The celebration was festive and filled with gratitude and appreciation. Jim and I saw people we hadn’t seen in years as people came from all around the globe to help celebrate this milestone. There were people from every year of the program in attendance. It truly was an amazing experience.

Tokyo
Tokyo with USJLP

Asia-Lite Summer Vacation

What we did on our summer vacation:  we visited Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Honolulu—what I laughingly call our Asia-lite trip (anytime you go to Asia and you can drink the tap water, it’s not a true Asia trip).

The weather was hot and humid in both Hong Kong and Tokyo, but they were really fun trips.  Here’s a view from our hotel in Hotel Kong:

view from the Island Shangri-la Hotel

view from the Island Shangri-la Hotel

Hong Kong Disney was a blast, and we were fortunate the day we went because there was some cloud cover and a slight breeze.  Then, in true Hong Kong fashion, it poured during one of the parades where the characters spray you with water guns.  As the kids said, “We didn’t get wet from the water guns at all!”

Hong Kong Disney parade

Hong Kong Disney parade

We also discovered the Museum of Coastal Defence in Hong Kong.  (I know, the British spelling can be most disconcerting.)  They used one of the actual bunkers to create the museum, which is very well done.  Once again, the only quibble I have is the commentary about modern times.  (“Reunification has brought about a new solidarity and brotherhood of common defence.”  Or something along those lines.)

Tokyo was just a brief stop in order to participate in the US-Japan Leadership Program’s weekend activities.  It was lovely to see a lot of people whom we hadn’t seen in a while and catch up.  It was also nice to meet the new delegates and discover what an impressive group they are.  We had a tour of the Diet (the Japanese Parliament building), walked around the fish market, and toured the Nezo Museum, which has a small but excellent collection of Chinese antique bronzes.  (They have several other items of interest, but we love Chinese bronzes.)

Our final stop was Honolulu where we stayed at the Halekulani, our favorite hotel there.

Waikiki

Waikiki

The kids took surfing lessons every day; we visited the Bishop Museum, the Honolulu Art Museum, and the Plantation Life Museum.  For a bit of kitsch, we went to the Dole Plantation, where we went through the maze and, most importantly, ate some Dole Whip.  (I mean, yes, you can get fresh pineapple there, too, but what would be the fun in that?)  We had some fabulous dinners at Alan Wong’s, Morimoto, Town, and Sushi Sasabune.  More about the meals later.  Their magnificence deserves their own blog entries.  We also weathered Tropical Storm Flossie, which fortunately for us, only lightly touched Oahu.  I’ve included some photos showing the imminent arrival of the storm (and the view from our hotel room).

view upon arrival

view upon arrival

Tropical Storm Flossie approaching

Tropical Storm Flossie approaching

Tropical Storm Flossie

Tropical Storm Flossie

after Tropical Storm Flossie

after Tropical Storm Flossie

It was a relaxing and fun break, and we look forward to our next trip there!

Beijing & Hong Kong 2012

We had a fabulous trip to Beijing and Hong Kong!  In Beijing, we finally got a chance to see the renovated National Museum.  Jim and I had last seen it in 1987, and the museum now has more than 5,000 square feet of exhibit space.  The Chinese government had hoped to have it open in time for the 2008 Olympics, but differences on how to cover the various political events delayed the opening until about two years ago.

The museum has two wings–the Hall of Rejuvenation and the Chinese antiquities wing.  The Hall of Rejuvenation covers the history of China starting with the Neolithic age.  The more recent the events, the more amusing the commentary.  (Did you know that Sun Yat-sen’s revolution overthrowing the Manchu Dynasty in 1911 was incomplete because it was not a workers’ revolution?  Neither did I.)  The Chinese antiquities wing has some stunning pieces.  In fact, the exhibits are so extensive that we did not have time to see them all.  (A return visit is on the list.)  One of the more stunning pieces is this large bronze vessel from the Shang Dynasty (16th – 11th century BC).

National Museum bronze

For more about what to see in Beijing, you can go to the Travel section of my webpage.

We then flew to Hong Kong.  After several hours there, our kids independently announced that while they couldn’t live in Beijing, they could live in Hong Kong without a problem.  And it’s quite easy to understand why.  Hong Kong is a unique blend of British and Chinese culture.  It has the order and cleanliness of Britain with an overlay of Chinese culture, language, and commerce.  It is an amazing city!

We went up to the Peak to see some stunning views of Hong Kong:

the Peak

But, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip was Hong Kong Disney.  It was interestingly unique to see Cinderella’s Castle amid the surrounding countryside (typically, Disney likes to have the parks be a world unto themselves, but space constraints made that infeasible here):

Hong Kong Disney

I’ll have my Hong Kong travel tome up in the next couple of days with more details of where to go and what to see.