Excursion
"The colony of Macau is probably the best excursion. It's like Hong
Kong, but instead of the British taking over, it was the
Portuguese, so Macau has a very European flavor. There are temples
and casinos and museums and great restaurants. It's like going to
an old city in
Europe - only an hour by boat from Hong Kong."
Outdoors
"Hong Kong is an island, but there are mountains. It's not grand
mountains like the
Rockies, but sharp little mountains, very steep.
Sometimes, I walk or run Repulse Bay, which is an area with nice
trails. There are trails that go up to Victoria Peak. You can
actually walk all the way up and down the peak on these paths. Hong
Kong also has the MacLehose Trail in the New Territories, which
hosts an annual 100-kilometer race. You go in teams of four. It
took me 23 hours with my team. I think the record is like 13 or
something, and that was by Gurkha soldiers. It's hellish. I cried
at the end. At Clearwater Bay, there are both hiking trails and
beaches. Stanley Beach is nice as well."
ONE SPECIAL DAY
"One day when I was 7, my dad, who had never taken me on an outing
before, told me we were going on a trip. Excited, I ran and changed
into my best outfit: a cowboy costume, complete with 10-gallon hat
and plastic six-shooters. I'd never been down to the lower city
before, though I'd seen it from Victoria Peak. We boarded the ferry
for Kowloon. When I asked where we were going, my dad said,
"Somewhere special." On the ferry, I watched the skyline
approaching, holding my cowboy hat tight against my head with one
hand. The ride across the bay is a short one, and minutes after
we'd left, we were told to prepare to land in Kowloon. Even though
it was still early, I'd already decided this was the best day of my
entire life. Kowloon was dirtier and more crowded and louder than
anything I'd ever seen in my life, and I loved it. I'd never seen
so many people. Everyone had a purpose - heading to work after a
long night's sleep or home after a long night's play. What, I
wondered, was our purpose? My head spun with curiosity, but my
father was determined to move on, and I was dragged along in his
wake. Finally, one last turn brought us onto a street lined with
tenements whose windows were dark and shuttered. "Here we are," he
said. The sign before us identified the building as the Beijing
Opera Academy, a name that told me nothing at the time, but meant
everything for my future as an
actor. My father had just taken me
to my new school."