April 7th: I began my Google search for the Bruce Lee statue in Hong Kong while eating breakfast. It took about 5 seconds to find out everything I needed. On Wikipedia, I read "Hong Kong gave honour to "Chinese film's brightest star of the century", when it unveiled a statue of the martial artist Bruce Lee."
"The Hong Kong memorial was made possible by fans of the actor, who died on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32. The Hong Kong-based Bruce Lee Club raised the $US100,000 for the statue after pleas to the government to honor the icon failed to produce anything. The 8-foot-2-inch (2.5 metre) bronze statue was erected, along the Avenue of Stars attraction near the waterfront at Tsim Sha Tsui. It shows a classic Lee poise, ready to strike, as in the 1972 hit movie Fist of Fury. "We want people to know about the legend of Bruce Lee." said Hew Kuan-yau, a member of the Bruce Lee club committee. The statue was unveiled by Bruce Lee's brother Robert on November 27, 2005 the 65th anniversary of Lee's birth." I looked at the shot of that statue, towering over the waterfront on the Avenue of Stars, and determined I would find it before my short Hong Kong visit ended. However, I had some requests for jade from people back home, so I did a search for "cheapest place to buy jade in Hong Kong." Thus I found the famous Jade Market. (Gosh, I love Google. What did we do pre-Google? Suffer, I guess.) The description, by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, read:
"A visit to the Jade Market in Yau Ma Tei will provide an insight into something very important to Chinese people - Jade. The written character for jade means a combination of beauty and purity. The stone, in all its many hues and colours, is associated with long life and good health. It is smooth and cooling to the touch. Many people wear a jade bracelet to ward off all sorts of health hazards. Grandmothers routinely buy a piece of jade for newborns.Located on Kansu and Battery streets, the Jade Market is a collection of around 400 stalls selling a wide range of jade pendants, rings, bracelets, carvings and ornaments. Open from 10am to 5pm, the market is also the main gathering place for buyers of this fine stone who today still communicate with secret hand signals when making a purchase.Nearby is Jade Street, located on Canton Road between Kansu Street and Jordan Road, where shops operate from every Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. A giant jade stone weighing three tons has been placed at the junction of Canton Road and Jordan Road as a landmark. "
I also read up on what jade was the very best (I saw none of it at the jade market), and decided to go there first, so that I could have the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the grandeur of the Bruce Lee statue. I rode the elevator down to the lobby and asked the desk clerk for another little instruction card to hand the cab driver. I saw that I needn't have worried about finding the best place for jade. It was one of the check boxes on the card.
It was cloudy, windy, and raining as I left the hotel, so I brought the umbrella that Fumi-san had thoughtfully loaned me. I looked out the taxi window at the imposing tree-filled mountains, ringed with heavy clouds, and wondered if it was ever sunny in Hong Kong. Apparently it was, sometimes, since it was sunny in one of the photos of the Bruce Lee statue. But the weather I saw was more like that in Picture 1, above. What happened to the 75 degree temperatures predicted for my stay?
The cab driver dropped me off at the jade market, and I walked in. Except for the items sold, it looked a lot like a flea market I had visited in Florida, U.S. The Jade Market consists of row after row of tiny stalls, manned by the owner of the items offered. I went up to the first stall and began looking at the bracelets, statues, and necklaces he had for sale, to see if they fit the bill. He immediately started packing up everything I showed an interest in or had even picked up to examine. I told him no; I wanted to look at all the stalls before I bought.
He grabbed his calculator and showed me the price. When I said "No, I want to look around," he marked it down. I wondered why he was so intent on getting me to buy from him at that moment, but I soon found out that every one of the over 400 stalls had pretty much the same things for sale. He knew if he didn't grab me the first time, the odds of me making it back to his stall through all the other equally aggressive sellers, was pretty slim.
Nevertheless, I moved on without a purchase, resolved to look at everything before I bought. That lasted four stalls. Each and every seller practically assaults you if they either catch your eye or, god forbid, you show an interest in any item they have for sale. By stall number four I had figured out the way of the Jade Market, and the seller (who was slightly less aggressive than the rest) had some pretty lilac-colored bracelets for sale which she claimed was purple jade. Who knows? Anyway, I got what I think was a good deal on 12 bracelets.
After walking down all the aisles in the market, I noticed there were more across the street. It seems I had gone into the smaller section of the market; across the street there was much, much more. I checked some of them out, even bartered with a few of the dealers. For example, one woman tried to sell me a bracelet, showing me "HK$350" (Hong Kong dollars) on her calculator (about $45 US). I said no, walking away, and she lowered it to HK$260, then HK$100 (or $13 US). So I either did an extraordinary job of negotiating, or everything there is vastly overpriced from the start. I don't know. Anyway, the prices were a lot better than I saw in jewelry or mall souvenir stores, so I was happy.
The cab driver dropped me off at the jade market, and I walked in. Except for the items sold, it looked a lot like a flea market I had visited in Florida, U.S. The Jade Market consists of row after row of tiny stalls, manned by the owner of the items offered. I went up to the first stall and began looking at the bracelets, statues, and necklaces he had for sale, to see if they fit the bill. He immediately started packing up everything I showed an interest in or had even picked up to examine. I told him no; I wanted to look at all the stalls before I bought.
He grabbed his calculator and showed me the price. When I said "No, I want to look around," he marked it down. I wondered why he was so intent on getting me to buy from him at that moment, but I soon found out that every one of the over 400 stalls had pretty much the same things for sale. He knew if he didn't grab me the first time, the odds of me making it back to his stall through all the other equally aggressive sellers, was pretty slim.
Nevertheless, I moved on without a purchase, resolved to look at everything before I bought. That lasted four stalls. Each and every seller practically assaults you if they either catch your eye or, god forbid, you show an interest in any item they have for sale. By stall number four I had figured out the way of the Jade Market, and the seller (who was slightly less aggressive than the rest) had some pretty lilac-colored bracelets for sale which she claimed was purple jade. Who knows? Anyway, I got what I think was a good deal on 12 bracelets.
After walking down all the aisles in the market, I noticed there were more across the street. It seems I had gone into the smaller section of the market; across the street there was much, much more. I checked some of them out, even bartered with a few of the dealers. For example, one woman tried to sell me a bracelet, showing me "HK$350" (Hong Kong dollars) on her calculator (about $45 US). I said no, walking away, and she lowered it to HK$260, then HK$100 (or $13 US). So I either did an extraordinary job of negotiating, or everything there is vastly overpriced from the start. I don't know. Anyway, the prices were a lot better than I saw in jewelry or mall souvenir stores, so I was happy.When I returned home, I wished I had bought more from the Jade Market, as everybody would like a jade bracelet, it seems. However, the aggressive style of the sellers repelled me. I would have bought a lot more if I'd been able to examine the items without the fear that my slightest interest would result in the item being bagged up for sale and a calculator shoved in my face. I do understand that most of the sellers did not speak English, and let's face it: With over 400 stalls, competition is fierce, and price is the only difference. That style just doesn't happen to work for me.
By the time I left I was "jaded out," so I hailed a cab and pointed to the instructions the desk clerk had written down for the Bruce Lee statue. (Can't believe it wasn't a check box on the card.) Turns out the statue, on the Avenue of Stars, was within walking distance of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre which I'd visited the day before.
The driver let me out a ways from the statue, indicating by gestures that from here, I'd have to walk as it was not accessible by car. I headed out on foot in the rain, walking in the direction he'd pointed me, looking out across the water and straining my eyes to see the statue. Surely I should be able to see it from here? But no.
The wind whipped across my face and I was concerned that my umbrella was going to poke me in the eyes the next time it flipped inside out. But there is no stopping a true devotee. At last, I saw it. Sure enough, it was a very life-like image. It was also close to life-size. (As I re-read this post, however, I see that selective perception was at work. The description of the statue I found on Google clearly says "8-foot 2-inch." Such mundane details completely escaped me as I read, it seems, and all I saw was the picture of the statue and how tiny the people in it looked by comparison. Plus my own bias that the statue of such a great man would be huge.)
Bruce Lee was a giant in many ways. Physically, however, he was only 5'7," one of the reasons he became my hero as I struggled with doubts about my own physical capabilities in karate class, fighting men twice my size. Seeing the statue, although a very good likeness, I was disappointed that it wasn't larger. And, not having a camera with me, I couldn't ask a passerby to take a picture of me next to it. Nor was I inclined to, as the inclement weather worsened and the rain began beating down in earnest.
I arrived at the promenade along the beach (aka Avenue of Stars), and saw a familiar sight; Starbucks. Naturally, I stopped for a cappuccino, and asked them for directions. They told me I was about two minutes away. As I enjoyed my drink, and the warmth, I kept looking across the horizon. I imagined the statue of someone so important would be very large. You know, something like the Statue of Liberty. Why couldn't I see it?? I just didn't get it.
The rain and wind continued, blowing my umbrella inside out a number of times. It didn't help that I had packed only clothes for warm weather and was now freezing. Nevertheless, I was reportedly within minutes of seeing the statue built in honor of my hero, and I was not going to stop no matter how physically uncomfortable I was.
The wind whipped across my face and I was concerned that my umbrella was going to poke me in the eyes the next time it flipped inside out. But there is no stopping a true devotee. At last, I saw it. Sure enough, it was a very life-like image. It was also close to life-size. (As I re-read this post, however, I see that selective perception was at work. The description of the statue I found on Google clearly says "8-foot 2-inch." Such mundane details completely escaped me as I read, it seems, and all I saw was the picture of the statue and how tiny the people in it looked by comparison. Plus my own bias that the statue of such a great man would be huge.) Wake up, Hong Kong! Why wouldn't you spend a million dollars building a staute to commemorate this favorite son who, 40 years after his death, is still viewed on YouTube millions of times? I happen to know there are people willing to travel to Hong Kong for the sole purpose of being close to the home of Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee was a giant in many ways. Physically, however, he was only 5'7," one of the reasons he became my hero as I struggled with doubts about my own physical capabilities in karate class, fighting men twice my size. Seeing the statue, although a very good likeness, I was disappointed that it wasn't larger. And, not having a camera with me, I couldn't ask a passerby to take a picture of me next to it. Nor was I inclined to, as the inclement weather worsened and the rain began beating down in earnest.Nevertheless, I'd completed my pilgrimage. I ran to the nearby mall I'd visited yesterday, to see if there was anything else I wanted to get for my daughter or myself at Uniqlo, then hopped in a cab and rode back to the hotel. After my workout, I consoled myself with another hour of reading Bruce Lee Lives! and watching my new DVD on Jeet Kune Do (featuring Bruce with one of his students), then packed to get ready for my departure at 6:30 a.m. the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment