Ewens-Downing Adventures in Asia

One we arrived in “downtown” Kamakura Kenji led us down the street toward where the Daibutsu or Big Buddha was. It would have been pretty easy to find the way. Everyone else who got off the train seemed to be going the same direction. We poured into the narrow main street of the town. In the distance I could see our destination.

As you can see, the Big Buddha statue is quite impressive. It is the focal point of a large park area near the center of town in Kamakura. Though you can enter the park for free, to get to the Buddha you have to pay a modest admission fee. Once you pass through the gates a long stone path leads you to the Daibutsu courtyard.

As you approach the statue you get a feeling that the Japanese people hold it in high cultural significance. It has far more cultural meaning and reverence to them than just being a large, interesting statue. Even with the excruciating heat people were buzzing around, jockeying for position, trying to get photos of their friends in front of the statue. So of course we had to do that too.

On the right side of the Buddha was a passage that allowed you to go inside the statue. At the time it sounded like a fun thing to do. However, we forgot to factor-in the extreme heat and the fact that this 93-ton statue is made of metal! We wandered into the extremely tight entrance passage. It was obviously not designed for super-sized gaijin like us. There was a constant stream of people trying to get out as well as people trying to get in. We fumbled through, bumping and sumimasening (”Sorry!”) as best we could. Ron was ahead of me. Once I got inside the main part of the statue he said, “I gotta get out of here… I feel faint.” And for good reason. The inside of the big metal buddha was steamy hot! It was like walking into a big metal sauna! I took a few photos and then began my exit before the heat consumed me too. Getting out wasn’t easy. A swarm of Japanese school girls were screaming and giggling as they made there way up into the statue. Should I be polite and let them pass? I took up 80% of the narrow passage out of the statue. But I really needed to get out of there… So I’m afraid I took the initiative to get through and bumped a few of the girls moving through the dark passage. Their happy bantering turned into shrieks of horror and disgust as I side-swiped whole groups of them, causing them to nearly fall over. Well, better I get out than faint on top of them all, eh?

After our sauna experience in the Buddha we took a timeout to rehydrate and rest in the park. Once we felt up to it we went back down the main street to see what we could find for lunch. After some looking around we decided to eat at a nice family owned soba noodle restaurant. Soba noodles are often served cold. With the hot weather, this dish was just the thing for us. We relaxed in air-conditioned bliss.

We continued our way toward the train station again. Along the way I spied a woman preparing a traditional Japanese sweet in the front window of a little shop. I was just going to use it as a photo opportunity. But Kenji asked if we wanted to try it. Well, why not… We were on vacation after all. We went inside the shop and looked for someone behind the counter to help us.

Eventually the owner (I presume) emerged and asked us in Japanese if he could help us. Kenji ordered-up one of the sweets. We would share it since he said it was very rich. The sweet was pumpkin flavored and quite good. It was a traditional desert that had been made at this little shop for many years. What surprised Ron and I was that after we finished sharing the sweet the shop keeper served us all some hot tea to wash it down.

I’m very glad we stopped at this little shop. It was quite a fun experience to share with Kenji.

We got off the train at a more modern city area in Kamakura. Just near the station we found the main shopping district. Within minutes I zeroed-in on what appeared to be a Totoro and Studio Ghibli store. Totoro is my favorite Japanese animated film by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese Disney-like studio. So of course I had to do some shopping. As it turns-out, this was a flower shop that started selling Ghibli-ware to attract more customers. The shop was quite cramped and small. But it had some fun things. I made due, leaving with a full set of Totoro towels for home.

We continued our walk down the shopping district street. All of a sudden I spied something of interest in a clothing shop window. It was photos of black Shar-pei dogs just like our Jarra. We hadn’t seen any Shar-pei in Japan, so this was a surprise. I ran over and took some photos. One of the photos (on the right) really tugged at our heart strings. We were missing our little Pei quite a bit at that point. I went inside to see if there were any real life Pei to be seen. Kenji spoke with the shop keeper who smiled at our interest. She told Kenji she had three Shar-pei dogs waiting for her at home.

After strolling to the end of the shopping street, we made our way back again. Along the way I found this funny cat statue. I’m not sure what it was doing or what the sign said. But the pose made me smile. We got back to the station and took the next train back toward Yokohama.

At any time of the day the Hong Kong skyline is impressive and wondrous. Throughout our stay at the Peninsula I took many photos of it during day and night. I quickly realized that to do the night photos at all well I would need a tripod. Then I realized that even pushing the button of the camera would produce some image blur during these long night exposures. So we ventured out and found a remote firing cord for my digital SLR. I was in business.

I was lucky enough to be shooting night shots of the harbor from our room at the Peninsula Hotel when the Hong Kong harbor came alive with this light show. Apparently they do it “for the tourists” nightly. But we had never seen it until this night. A sound track is broadcast to all the hotels and around the harbor. All of the buildings, lasers and spotlights come to life, pulsing and modulating, all while staying in time with the music. It is quite a choreographed show rivaling something you might see at a Disney park.

Aside from the fact that I was shooting through a double-pane window, the photos turned out pretty nice for this first time light show photographer. Unfortunately Ron had decided to go to the hotel pool to relax while I took the nighttime skyline photos. When he returned I told him about the light show he had missed.

We had found our way to downtown and were on the way to The Peak. But our stomachs told us it was time to take a break. We started looking for someplace to have lunch. We found the Luk Yu Tea House. It turns out this place has been around a long time. And according to our Hong Kong friend Ernie, the people working there are even more ancient! The wait staff can be a bit surly. But our waiter was quite nice. He even took our picture.

After loading up on dim sum we headed off to the tram for The Peak. Near downtown there is a little station for the tram. After paying the fare everyone loads onto some fire engine red cars for the ride up the mountain side. We can tell from the other people that we’re in the right place. It’s the tourist’s first stop in Hong Kong.

The ride up was at times a very steap incline. We were standing-up in the car so we had to hold-on, all while juggling cameras and photo opportunities. The view at right is from my standing vantage point. The cars were pretty packed with people, all anxious to get to the height of Hong Kong tourist sightseeing.

Once we got to the Peak building the real trek started. We were first herded through a series of gift stores and shops. “Where’s the Peak??” we wondered. Next we found a series of escalators that took us past floor upon floor of gift shops, restaurants and attractions. But once we got to the roof, the view was worth it.

We took our photos from many different vantage points. And one fellow British tourist took a money shot of us for the blog. So we had done the Peak! Now it was time to go back down the escalator labyrinth. Oh boy! A Bubba Gump Shrimp Company! (NOT!)

We got back down the mountain and I shot off some people photos during our walk back through the city to the subway and our hotel in Kowloon.

If Hong Kong has one tourist destination it is “The Peak.” Like Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, it is a tourist mecca. So of course on our first day it made for a perfect destination in Hong Kong. As usual, getting there is half the fun. We needed to first get to Hong Kong Central.

A few blocks from our hotel was the ferry terminal from Kowloon going to downtown Hong Kong island. We got on the historic Star Ferry from, what else, the historic Star Ferry Terminal. Once we got to the other side we found our way to “Hong Kong Central”, the main business district of the city. What a bee-hive of activity, people, noise and traffic. It is quite unlike anything either Ron nor I have ever experienced. Remember the street imagery from the movie “Blade Runner”? Well, the future is now and it’s on the streets of Hong Kong.

While it might sounds like a description of any large city, Hong Kong is far more highly concentrated. Add the fact that the streets are smaller, there are overhead signs everywhere and there are people EVERYWHERE. You get the picture. It was quite an amazing experience to be a part of it. At times we felt like rocks in a stream, with people flowing around us as we focussed our cameras.