Uh, where am I?

On my way to the airport in Hong Kong this morning I noticed signs to Disney Land. And now that I'm in Shanghai it's clear: Hong Kong not only has a Disney Land, it is the Disney Land of Asia. Hong Kong is a tourist and businessman's destination. Shanghai is real, or at least more real.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong I was greeted at the airport by a Sheraton attendant and escorted to hotel transportation. And when I arrived there the staff were always around, almost underfoot, ready and willing to help with any question, like with the sim card thing.

If I hadn't met a young Taiwanese woman on the flight to Shanghai, I'm not sure I would have made it here to Tongji University. I didn't have the address of the Guest House, and at the curb the taxi attendant just couldn't understand when I said "Tongji." Fortunately she explained and got me into a cab and sent me on my way.

We drove for what must have been over an hour ... we zoomed along at 130 kmh around and between trucks that didn't stay in their lanes. There's an excessive amount of nudging, jockeying for position, and horn tooting. "Shanghai driving" works for Shanghainese, but I doubt whether I could master it. Eventually we hit rush hour traffic which was complete gridlock and yet somehow my taxi driver was navigating through it, inching in, squeezing by, and prompting more honks.

I tried to reach some of my Tongji contacts with my cell phone as we drove, thinking I might get some help and have someone meet me. But, alas, my Hong Kong sim card just wasn't working ... it successfully registered itself on some Chinese mobile network but I kept getting some kind of recording that began with "dui bu qi" and then it was all downhill from there.

But eventually we arrived "somewhere" (where the hell am I?) and my non-English-speaking driver opened my door and placed my luggage on the sidewalk. "Ni hui shuo Ying Wen ma?" (Do you speak English?) He didn't answer, but pointed in the direction of what I assumed was Tongji. A student and his girlfriend noticed me and helped out and got me to the Guest House. He spoke English well, was from Mongolia, and studying surveying at the university.

Arriving here wasn't like arriving at the Sheraton, and the staff here speak very little English. But they're all friendly and they try to help. Unfortunately, there's no internet access here and there's a charge for using the local phone, so I decided another (local) pre-paid sim card was the way to go.

So I ventured out tonight, again making sure not to get lost, and came on a little "phone card" stand in front of some shops and got a card and number for 100 RMB. The girl at the stand couldn't speak English, but when I pulled out my phone and opened the back cover she knew what kind of card I needed, and she let me put it in to make sure it worked before I left.

So I continued walking in the excessively hot and muggy night air of Shanghai and came upon a larger-than-average store with bright fluorescent lights and people heading into it. So I followed inside and saw the store's name in English characters: "Wu Mart: Hypermarket". It was fun to look at all the Chinese variations of groceries, appliances, and other goods ... I did notice however, that in the tea section there were more boxes of Lipton (not marked as such, but I recognized the packaging) than of traditional Chinese teas. Hmm.

I left the store with a cold Sprite and a can of Pringles and headed back for the Guest House. Along the way I was stopped by an older woman and what must have been her husband, and she began talking to me (imploring me?) in Chinese. I assured her I couldn't speak Chinese and that I was American. "Wo bo hui shuo pu tong hua. Wo shih mei guo ren." But the more I repeated myself the more emphatic she became. Finally, I turned and walked away.

I made it back, hot, tired, and ready to fall into bed. My bed? The only firmer surface I've slept on is a floor. But I like it enough that a thought ran through my head: "I wonder if I can get one shipped to Raleigh?"

Walking along Nathan Road

Tropical Storm Jelawat gave us some heavy rain this morning which made local transportation (i.e., walking along sidewalks and dodging umbrellas and copy-watch salesmen) all the more challenging. My conference is now over, my presentation done, and my time in Hong Kong coming to a close. I already miss this place and all the bustle and the surprises around every (street) corner.

After sessions were over the rain let up and did a little more exploring, seeing both Kowloon Park and Tin Hau Temple, the one we spotted yesterday.

Apparently, the temple is dedicated to the goddess Tin Hau, queen of the heavens and patroness of seafarers. I entered very slowly, not seeing anyone coming and going and not seeing any signs saying "welcome, come on in." Like a lot that I've experienced here, I haven't really known what I can do and what I shouldn't do, but I stood at the threshold of the temple and eased my way inside, and noticed one or two people standing around and a woman sweeping away ashes from burning incense.

I then saw a sign in English saying "no photos allowed" which was the closest I could find to something saying it's okay for me to be here. But I really wanted to take photos of all the really unusual (bizarre?) statues and trinkets and I-don't-know-what. The smoke from the burning incense was overwhelming.

And then I saw this sign, so I paused, sat at a table, and copied it onto the back of a business card:

SPIRAL INCENSE

LONG TERM OFFERING TO THE GODS / LASTS FOR TEN DAYS / WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY / GOOD LUCK GOOD HEALTH / AND GOOD FORTUNE

RED HK$ 160

YELLOW HK$130

After finishing there, I walked along Temple Street, off Nathan Road, which is a little quieter: smaller shops, slower pace, very pleasant if somewhat run-down. As I was rounding a corner in that neighborhood, there were rising voices and people gathering around some sort of confrontation between an old man and a couple of policemen, with some woman standing beside the man (his wife?). He was obviously upset about something but the police were handling it. I stood with the rest of the onlookers, and whispered to a young man if he spoke English and if he knew what was happening. His answers were yes and no. I wanted to take a photo but also be discreet, not knowing how the police might respond to my inquisitiveness. My hand started raising with my camera in it and I thought "no problem" ... until I snapped the photo and realized I hadn't disabled the flash. Oops. Got a few looks, though none by the police, so I casually slipped the camera in my pocket and headed on my way.

Heading back to the hotel I had to stop at Starbucks for a decaf cafe latte and cinnamon roll. There's one (a Starbucks) on every corner (practically).

My final brief thought on "east" and "west" which I'll more fully comment on later, has to do with religion: Christianity here appears to be mainstream and accepted, the influence of the British I suppose. And it's practiced seriously here I would guess, as it is elsewhere. In Hong Kong, there appear not to be substantial practical alternatives of any seriousness, as far as I can see.

Tomorrow morning I take the airport shuttle ... I'm a little sad. But Shanghai is next.

Deng nai

I'm updating this at about 2:00 am local time ... went to bed early last night, and tired. Good tired, not bad tired. All the walking has been great, even if it's hot, even if it's humid. I still like it, and I still like exploring. But the combination of the heat and few easy vegetarian options has resulted in somewhat of a reduction of my calorie intake. But I'm getting by okay.

This afternoon, in fact, I was treated to deng nai by my former PhD student Edna, a professor at Singapore Polytechnic, and her husband. Deng nai is literally "steamed milk", a dessert that's pudding-like in texture and in any of various flavors or just plain. We had it at Yee Shun Milk Company on Nathan Road, although there are probably a half dozen of these little dessert cafes around Hong Kong. Edna ordered plain, chocolate, and coffee, and allowed me to sample each ... very smooth, creamy ... a cool treat.

On our way back she managed to spot the temple that the conceirge had thought existed, though it was closed by the time we made it there. It's directly behind the Public Square area where I had previously watched gentlemen playing Go. I'll try again tomorrow (that's today, really) and also consider exploring Kowloon park.

My more pressing concern is the session I'm chairing at the conference today, and also my presentation. It's okay, I still have a few hours to prepare. There's nothing like a little time pressure to get one's attention focused. My topic? Achieving asynchrony in global parallel genetic algorithms using dataflow scheduling. It's all here, all in my head.

Kowloon and Victoria Peak

Air conditioning condensation dripping on my head ... from the photos it's clear that few of the buildings in the Kowloon area have central air, and the result is ... drip, drip, drip as you walk down the sidewalk.

Each time I exit a building, my eyeglasses become visibly distressed at the overwhelming humidity foisted on them.

And not-so-infrequently do I hear a voice in my head saying "what the hell is that?" when processing a previously unexperienced olfactory sensation.

But I love Hong Kong. It works.

I just got back from a walk. There's just so much going on, and so many people, and so many opportunities for "oops." There has to be a better cliche than the drinking-water-from-a-firehose schtick, but that's what it felt like, at least at first.

As an aside, the feeling I have walking around Hong Kong is exactly what I wanted and imagined last fall when things felt bleak: being caught in a cultural whirlpool of people and confusion and something immediate and tangible. An academic life can be one of abstractions and hand-waving, and it's at least one level of indirection removed from the immediate. Here, I take nothing for granted.

Still, I have to get used to the looks I get when I'm places where I'm not expected. Like on the subway today ... er, make that the MTR. Actually, the MTR is a subway, but so are pedestrian viaducts. It's really confusing. I looked carefully at the hundreds of people crammed into its cars: I was ... unique.

The subway signs, and street signs for that matter, employ the chinese character "tao" for "road" or "way." But as Lao Tse says, the tao that can be named is not the eternal tao.

Despite enjoying the confusion of the constant Cantonese and Mandarin chatter around me, it's nice to ease into the day at Starbucks watching people walking by. At home I drink green tea every morning religiously. In China I drink a tall cafe latte, decaf please.

After some morning sessions at the conference I was determined to see Wong Tai Sin temple, and to experience it. I've heard it called the "fortune teller's" temple ... not sure why. But from talking with a couple of people in a nearby mall, it appears to be some combination of Daoism and Buddhism and superstition. Outside the gate one can purchase "worship objects" (basically incense) to use as an offering (I suppose). I was ready to find someone to guide me through the full experience but the opportunity didn't quite present itself. Most worshippers were dutifully focused on their rituals and it felt not right to intrude.

Getting on the subway, I mean, the MTR again I headed for Hong Kong island to take the incline up to Victoria Peak for a spectacular view and a pleasant walk. Then back down and to the teaware museum ... oops, it's closed. Anyway, there was an adjacent tea house and I had some new Hangzhou longjing cha. Never has Chinese green tea been so deeply flavorful, yet light.

Getting back to the hotel I had just enough time for a conference social event with dragon dancing, acrobats, and a girl dancing with "many faces" (words aren't sufficient here).

While there I managed to meet a Japanese professor with his cadre of graduate students, whom he brought along. Looks like I'll be giving yet another talk, this time at his university in Nagoya. It was a kind offer that I happily accepted.

Though tired afterward, I had to get out for a walk in Hong Kong. I love it.

Zen in China

Three hours sleep last night ... midnight to 3:00 am. Stared at the ceiling. Finally got up at 6:00, got ready, and headed to Starbucks. Closed, so I wandered around a bit until it opened, and in the process found "Zen" in China ... in the form of beauty, massage, and nails (see photos).

Turns out my day was bookended by references to Buddhism. Late tonight, while walking along the harbor waterfront I watched couples strolling and lovers embrace ... until I noticed four crimson-clad monks walking in my direction. We passed each other and I kept walking, but the thought of talking to them turned me around and, after catching up, I approached one and tried my best Mandarin: "dui bu qi ... ni hui shuo ying wen ma?" The response in English was clear: "what are you trying to ask me?"

"Oh," I said, "you speak English?" And thus began a pleasant but brief exchange with what turned out to be Tibetan monks from Nepal, the birthplace of Buddhism or, at least, the historical Buddha.

I didn't catch their names, but told them mine, asked for a picture, and gave them a business card. I knew leaving my camera in the hotel room was a mistake, but I had my cell phone, and one monk kindly offered to take a photo of me with the others, which turned out to be a little dark. But alas, I botched storing it in my cell phone and now it's gone the way of a sand mandala. Impermanence. It seems somehow fitting.

I had already been getting some attention as I strolled along the waterfront, as had the monks. And in talking with them I was caught in the moment. But as we parted I realized that others didn't quite know what to make of "laowei" and the Tibetan monks warmly greeting each other and exchanging pleasantries.

Between the bookends: In addition to spending some time at the conference today, I saw a collection of scroll paintings at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. As I rode up the elevator to the exhibit floors I was greeted by Guanyin herself. My favorite scrolls? Those by Yang Shanshen, who is identified with the Lingnan school "founded" by Gao Jianfu who advocated a synthesis of Eastern and Western styles. I loved "Bamboo and Plum Blossoms" which I inadequately photographed ... no prints were available. I never tire of seeing bamboo, whether painted or in real life. Why is that?

My other larger than life question concerns beer, at least by way of analogy. At one point in my life, over several years, I sampled beers with systematic precision to find what I truly enjoyed. And now I routinely drink my favorite, Guinness.

But how and where to live? I've tried to imagine what it would be like to live an urban lifestyle and perhaps even in Asia. Finding what's "best" won't be as easy as sampling beer.

Getting oriented

I slept a little while flying and a little last night, maybe 4 or 5 hours. After snapping a few more photos from the window in my room I got ready and went downstairs.

I asked the conceirge here at the Sheraton three questions this morning.

1) places for breakfast? Starbucks, just around the corner.

2) a sim card for my cell phone? The 7-11, just across the street.

3) a temple within walking distance? Did I say, uh, a tem ... ple? After repeating the word to himself several times he was finally certain ... temple ... I had asked for directions to a ... a temple.

When the conceirge said 7-11, I processed it, but didn't think it was in any way "our" kind of 7-11. It must be a type of cell phone shop in China. Well, after crossing the street, I saw the familiar sign and thought, oh, yeah, 7-11. When I told the clerk I wanted something for both Hong Kong and Shanghai she pulled back the original cards she offered and gave me a "Peoples" card for $60 (same dollar symbol, but it means "Hong Kong" dollars ... about 8 bucks American). Local calls are HK$0.25 per minute, which is about 3 cents.

With sim card in hand I headed to Starbucks. It's an overused phrase, but people here really are friendly. Starbucks was crowded yet still pleasant. After gathering my decaf latte and cinnamon roll I managed to find a small table that had just been cleared. As I unwrapped and fiddled with my card and phone, a young woman sat at my table and started reading a paper. She left before telling me her name, but we had a pleasant exchange anyway.

Later in the day I was ready to venture out. After asking around, the conceirge did sort of think that maybe there was a chance that there might be a temple north on Nathan Road, so I started walking. I was mainly interested in looking around and seeing if I would come across anything unexpected, and trying not to get lost.

There is a lot of shopping that can be had here, as everyone says. Designer clothes, jewelry, electronic gadgets, cigarettes, food, other stuff. No surprises. I wanted to want to go into some shop but after walking around for hours didn't find one of interest. And I never found a temple, just a few churches and a rather promiment Muslim center.

On my walk back I came across the Public Square Street Rest Garden, which I noticed because of its traditional chinese architectural elements, and found some gentlemen sitting on benches who seemed surprised by my presence. Several were paired-off and playing something that looked like Go. After a game finished I asked a bystander if he spoke English and, because I had a camera in hand, he made a picture-taking gesture to let me know it would be okay if I snapped one. I took it quickly, said xie xie ni, and continued back.

Any surprises? Everyone wanted to sell me something by putting cards and flyers in front of me as I walked by. "Copy" watches, personally tailored clothes, and other things I didn't understand were offered to me at least every 10 or 15 feet. I declined with a subtle shake of the head and not pausing.

I observed that I received more offers and interest than others around me. Well, I looked different. Noticeably Western. I didn't know that Hong Kong is pretty ethnically homogeneous.

Despite being in Hong Kong, I did ask a shop clerk (in Mandarin) if she spoke English ... she understood but shook her head no.

My surroundings here in Kowloon: many buildings have a drab quality (to my eyes), and some have extensive balconies built of bamboo ... on the upper floors. Gulp. Bamboo in other places, for scaffolding and such, didn't really come as a surprise, since I've seen it in Chinese movies. But it was interesting to see firsthand.

Overall, the only real surprise was that there were no real surprises on my first full day in Hong Kong.

Tomorrow, my conference begins.

Arriving in Hong Kong

I'm starting this blog to give family and friends an idea about where I am and what I'm doing on my trip to Asia this summer. I'm spending some time in China and Japan for both professional and personal reasons: a week at a professional conference in Hong Kong, a week of meetings at Tongji University in Shanghai, and a couple of weeks of travel in Japan just for fun.

Here's the web site for the conference:

http://www2.informs.org/Conf/Hongkong06/

and likewise for Tongji University:

http://www.tongji.edu.cn/english/inc/index.asp

The following entries will likely be meandering and nonlinear. I have too many thoughts to collect coherently and summarize at this point.

I arrived in Hong Kong via Chicago and Tokyo: after more than 24 hours of planes, layovers, and airport shuttles I arrived at my room at the Sheraton bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ... after midnight.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyI...

What a nice hotel and a great room. It's been a while since I've felt so pampered at a place I'm staying. The only difficulty: figuring out that the hotel card has to be placed in a little slot just inside the door ... if you don't the lights in the room won't work.

Although I'm in Hong Kong now, my first cultural suprise happened on a layover at Tokyo's Narita airport. While changing terminals to make my connection, I found the Japanese attendants there so helpful: around every corner (literally) there were two or three young women eager to guide me through the right turnstiles and checkpoints. Security screeners were warm and friendly. Wow. Likewise for the attendants on my Japan Air flight to Hong Kong.