Hong Kong Reflections
Manila was cooking when we left for Hong Kong last week. I assumed that Hong Kong would be just a tad cooler but every bit as sunny. Hong Kong was indeed cooler but, on our second and third days, it was rainy as hell.
I got an invitation to talk to some young adults about the Mindanao conflicts. I grabbed at the chance and took Pom with me as it meant one promise kept.
Our host was the Li Po Chun United World College. It boasts of being one of the top finishing schools in the world and many of its graduates eventually would be awarded places in the Ivy Leagues. That meant that in whatever room I was in I’d be in rarefied atmosphere with smart young people.
The school is located in just about the farthest township they could find to build a school—Ma On Shan District. We needed to take at least three trains to get to the island or the ever popular Mong Kok shopping district. Had it been in our plan to go juvenile and visit Disneyland on Lantau Island the school would even be farther away. But no such plans for us, except for the possibility of trying those cable cars near the spanking airport.
Aside from having the smartest kids and faculty, our host school could not be better located. Most of its rooms and dormitories overlook a small bay with white sand and ringed with greenery. We saw boats and we knew that the students made good use of them on some days. In all my years being hosted by hundreds of colleges and universities as a student and teacher leader I have never been to such a lovely little school as Li Po Chun. Even their cafeteria food is far from lousy. But the best meal we had in the school was prepared for us by Nitu and Magan Savant with their Filipina help Venus from Malaybalay.
It was very nice to see all of the students we had as volunteers last month. We felt bad for not being able to attend their Rainbow Café (a cross-dressing student party) and Art Exhibition that featured Brazil’s Ted Gola as one of its featured student artists. But we considered ourselves lucky enough to catch the last bus from the island to the school as it were.
In this trip I got to know and love Hong Kong even more. Ma On Shan, for example, is a township that is by itself a world class city. It is serviced by efficient trains, buses and cabs that run on schedules you can set your mobile phone clock on. It has those ubiquitous tall apartment buildings complete with malls in their first few floors. You are never far from a 7/11 and some good restaurants in Hong Kong. It has parks and sports complexes and hills so verdant and accessible on winding footpaths and stairs.
If in the future I get to win the lottery I’d rent an apartment in the area for a year and live in an efficient cosmopolitan city, for a change.
But our trip was not all dandy. On our second day and our first time out it rained heavily. We only managed to visit the only Ikea store I know of in Hong Kong (although I’m aware there are several). Then we had a very delicious beef noodle meal at a restaurant Ron Papag and I discovered four years ago. As I was tucking in the divine beef slices, beef balls and crunchy vegetables I remembered Ina Silverio and her aversion to MSG. I slurped the last drops of the broth in her honor. All the while it was raining cats and dogs outside.
We took the tram back to Central District because that was where we knew we could get a bus back to the New Territories. But stupid me could not find it and so we, drenched to the bone while lugging a heavy camera, spent about an hour running in circles. We asked so many locals where we could catch bus 681 but no one could tell us anything. Just when I was ready to give up and suggest that we flag a cab instead a police officer appeared where we were taking a shelter. All he did was to get on the radio and we were given good instructions on where to find the darned bus stop. It turned out it was on the ground floor where the Philippine Consulate is holding office. I knew there must be a reason why it was so hard to find help when we needed one.
Last Sunday, I spent most of the day lecturing. There was one Filipina among the audience. I had a good time. I could not exactly recall the last time I delivered such a talk to students.
While I was lecturing Pom was collected by dear friend Rey Asis and she was introduced to the thousands of domestic helps who made it a habit to congregate at the Blackman Square every Sunday. One DH celebrated her birthday that day and fed Pom, Rey and others so much delicious food. Pom had a grand time with Rey and another Guilder Fely Rose Torres who was also her colleague at Gabriela. Pom then went back to the school to collect me at about four in the afternoon.
We traveled back to the island and took the Peak Tram. What do you know? We only saw a wall of gray when we reached the top. I felt bad because it could have been a good photo op for Pom (who had command of our camera). There was about twenty seconds though when the fog lifted and we were able to see a suggestion of how beautiful the view could have been on a clear night.
Determined to give my wife a better time, we hurried back to catch the Star Ferry to Kowloon for the HK skyline light show. What do you know again? Just as the peak tram left its platform, the lights came out in their full glory. But how can one enjoy such a view when we were travelling down backwards? Was it worth the crick in the neck to catch what we missed in our two hours or so on Victoria Peak?
There were no foul-ups on our way across the harbor however as our timing was spot on. We caught the ferry just as soon as one was about to leave. It was still a bit hazy but the better for Pom to snap pictures of buildings with their top floors bathed in eerie halos. This was one of the reasons we came to HK for. The ferry docked in Kowloon a few minutes before the show started. Pom saw it all through the lens, not wanting to miss a good shot at all. Just as soon as I sensed that it was winding down I told Pom we should be going back as I have been told that the last bus leaves Central at nine o’clock. We made it to the stop in time to catch the one we thought was the last bus back to Ma On Shan. To cap the night, we ate some more beef noodles and dim sum on the side at Ma On Shan’s Sunshine Mall before hailing a cab back to the campus.
In all, it was a fun day of us. But I could not help but feel very sorry for the many Filipinas we saw as we hurried about Central District. As it was raining, hundreds of them huddled in groups inside muggy pedestrian underpasses or under building awnings. We heard much laughter as they played bingo and card games, ate and tried selling stuff to each other. But as soon as they saw our camera they covered their faces. I wanted so much to take more pictures of them but I could not bring myself to stop and compose a good shot to show their misery. I was afraid of offending them. I feel as bad when I take pictures of greater misery in the Philippines but something in the looks they gave me told me to not to reveal their circumstance. How dare Tsip Chao look down on these people who only suffer this ignominious condition because of poverty? How dare the Philippine government applaud at more Filipinos going abroad when it knows perfectly well many are bound to suffer this isolation?
We got to talk to some of them on the bus and trams. The ones we chatted with were all averse to admitting they were domestic helps. One even joked that she was a tourist like us—albeit one who has a 10-year working visa. I wanted to tell them there should be no shame in doing that work, as I loved my father more when I learned he worked as a janitor to support himself while studying, but what’s the use when you have guys like Chao who think they own Hong Kong and the entire South China Sea as well?
On Monday, we again took the train and the bus back to the island. Fely Rose informed me on Facebook that the forecast was thunderstorms for the day. But I promised some friends to buy some things for them and damned if I don’t go visit Mong Kok when I’m in Hong Kong! But we had to meet some more friends at Jordan first. There, we saw friends who seemed happy to see us as well. We were asked to bring home some items for some of their other friends. Then off to Mong Kok we went, graciously escorted by Rey.We checked out photo gears for friends and it was fun. I imagined we were shopping for ourselves. I saw so many lenses I wanted so much to have. Alas, we have no money for such purchases. I was happy to find a camera battery grip for Boy Bagwis and was even able to haggle for an even better price for it. Alas again, when I asked the seller to test it, one of the buttons did not work. I also looked around for second-hand fish-eye lenses for Ferdie Mendoza but they had none. We tried all the second-hand camera stores Rey knew of, even inside seedy buildings where they sell so many porn videos, to no avail.
On our way back to the MTR station, we tried to look for some things we could afford. We made a couple of small purchases but that was it. The rest of their merchandise could be had in Manila at much cheaper prices. Besides, our former volunteers wanted to have tea with us and it would probably be the last time I get to see these friends. Some of them were graduating and are off to uni in a few months time. We took three trains all the way to the school. We packed our bags and went off to see the students. There was no tea but there was much laughter. Pom and I had a great time but it had to end very quickly.
We left for the airport an hour later than planned. We had to wait for the next bus nearly an hour before we boarded it. We planned on buying some more other stuff at the airport but, as soon as we checked in, we were informed we had to hurry. So we spent our last minutes in Hong Kong running like crazy. We boarded the plane with no minute to spare. We were still panting like we ran a marathon when the plane started to taxi on the runway.
We had so little time and even less resources on this trip. But we were resolved to come back as soon as we can. Hopefully, things will be better next time. Not just for us but for all the Filipinos we’ve seen and met in Hong Kong.
