Hong Kong Park and The Peak

Family,
Here are some pictures from our adventures today. Hong Kong park through the green house and aviary and then to The Peak of the island where there are tourist shops and restaurants. A steep tram takes tourists to the top, but we took a taxi - much faster, cheaper and no lines. We had a great dinner at a restaurant overlooking the city below: German potatoe soup, tandoori salmon and tanfoori sea bass. Much pollution today which you can see from the photos taken at dusk. The view from The Peak actually improves at night because the lights of the cities cut through the smog.

In looking at the cities below, what you are seeing is Hong Kong from the south, at the peak of the island. Then there is a bay inbetween Hong Kong and Kowloon on the north. To the north of Kowloon, and not very visible in the photos is the area called New Territories. All three "cities" were controlled by the British until finally ceeded back to China in 1997. In ten years the place has thrived with the communist government pretty much leaving the capitalist system in place. Some hope this will be a good influence on mainland china - to influence their city mayors and managers to adopt the best of the system that has worked so well here.

I learned something yesterday that perhaps some of you already learned in school but I didn't. Hong Kong was just an empty island in the early 1800's but after the British fought with China over opium smuggling they were profiteering by (the Opium Wars - when Governer Linn of China destroyed all the opium on ships etc that could be found to attempt to stamp out the addiction of millions of Chinese to opium sold by British traders for Chinese silver) China ceded Hong Kong Island to the British to allow them a place to repair their ships and post personnel there for that purpose. But they used it also to continue their massive opium smuggling. Hong Kong grew as a place for trading, refiting ships and smuggling opium. In sum, Hong Kong has no natural resources except a harbor and lots of rocky island. It was founded and continues today solely for the purpose of trading and making money. Since most of the island is solid, steep rock, all housing and business is crammed on very little buildable space - hence the high density.

Many people here are very, very wealthy. You can get a picture of the vast wealth when you see the pictures of the high rise business buildings, but there is more in the elegant apartment buildings and houses that are crammed on the edges of the island. I will attempt to take some pictures of the more routine things that explain the daily way of life here. But Mark and Elaine, guests of the State Department, don't live a routine life. Fifteen years ago they lived in Windsor, not far from our house there, in a small house and struggled to make ends meet until he finally got word that he passed the foreign service exam and got hired. (He actually had passed the exam 10 years earlier, but that is another story). Now, after living all over the world and enjoying a reasonably comfortable salary, they live in a fancy high rise apartment that rents for $10,000 per month and rising. They drive a $150 Nissan but park it in the garage where I found mostly Mercedes and BMWs. An occasionally Porsche, etc. Most native people here live in much more cramped quarters and live modestly. But the super rich are super rich and there are lots and lots of them. Recently, an owner of a great house up at The Peak turned down an offer of $700 million for the house. Many people here have a home in Hong Kong and in Manhattan and in London. Such is life for some.

An interesting note on security. The Consulate General here is provided with a BMW. This would be expensive enough, but he needs special security, so BMW offers a special secure vehicle for persons of political importance. This one has glass 1 and 1/2 inch thick, armor all around, etc. and costs $250,000. There are many employees of the State Department here and Mark Johnsen's job is to manage the properties that house the offices and the homes and apartments the US owns. In Hong Kong, her manages property that tallies approximately $1 billion.

I thought of another thing that might interest you boys. There are no private airplanes in Hong Kong or Beijing. None. The only things in the air are commercial and military airliners and helicopters. I imagine someone might bring in a private Gulfstream or such a large jet airplane that can travel from another mainland but it can only land at the main, commercial international airports. Think of the relative freedom we enjoy compared to most of the world.

This morning Kaaren and Elaine went for a walk - about 7 miles - in the forest. I slept, read and wrote and dealt with business and family stuff by internet.

It has been a good day.

Any good news from home?

love,

Dad