 Ground 0 Today: 2 Memorial Pools and 9/11 Museum |
 Central Park, New York |
October 13 Monday (Thanksgiving): Quebec City – Montreal – Mt Tremblant
Today, Bing flied to Toronto to take her return flight to Hong Kong while I spent most of the day on the road.
I brought a bus ticket ($48.29 with Club 60+ discount) and departed for Quebec City at 9:30am. Montreal is only 233km away and the bus arrived at the destination before 12:30pm. I find the scenery more interesting and picturesque with plenty of corn fields and foliage colours along the highway. The bus is cheaper, faster and better than the train.
My Canadian friends on the cruise have all suggested me visit the Laurentians Mountains to see fall colours. I decided to spend a night in Mt-Tremblant. A return ticket only costs $47.49 with senior discount. After leaving my suitcase in a nearby hotel, I set off at 1:30pm with a small backpack. I also brought a bus ticket to Boston for US$91. So everything’s set!
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I chose to stay in a hostel by Lake Moore about 4km from Mt-Tremblant. I reached Lake Mercier nearby before sunset but could not walk around it as it was getting dark. As I had not eaten since breakfast, I had a sumptuous dinner in a pub with escargot as starter, rack of lamb as the main course and a pint of beer. The lamb is better than those I had on the boat! I paid $50 for my wholesome dinner.
This YHA hostel is well-run and value-for-money. I shared a room with a Canadian girl. It was quiet: I had a wonderful sleep.
October 14 Tuesday: Mt-Tremblant – Montreal
I must be very tired: it was 8:20am when I woke up. By 9am, I was on my feet walking to Mt-Tremblant. The place was empty as people had gone back to the city after the Thanksgiving holiday.
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The weather forecast was not good: the sky was grey. The autumn scenery was enchanting with golden, orange, green and red leaves, bogs, wetland, river, waterfalls, ponds and colourful wooden houses.
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Following the paved winding road for an hour, I finally reached Lake Tremblant. I spotted a boat at the pier and asked the boatman where to get a ticket. He said the tourist season was over and there was no more lake cruise. This was a private boat for a group of Mainland China tourists. He offered to ask the Chinese tour guide whether I could take a ride. The Chinese guide rudely said ‘No’. It’s not a big deal for me but I am sad to find the manner and lack of consideration for an elderly and single traveller.
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I strolled along the lake shore and followed a trail in a wood for a couple of kilometres. The whole place was deserted with no hiker in sight. I was not scared as Canada is a safe country.
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It’s midday and I was hungry. But nothing appealed to me. As I had already put on weight, I skipped lunch and walked back to the hostel.
The sky started to brighten up when I stepped into the hostel. By 2pm, I found a blue sky with bright sunshine. I thought the lake and the golden colours would look impressive. Nonetheless, I was lazy and did not want to make my way back to Lake Tremblant or Lake Mercier: I had enough exercise for the day. Instead, I spent almost three hours preparing my travel notes.
I boarded the bus at 5:20pm and arrived in Montreal after 8:30pm. I was hungry but was in no mood to walk another three blocks to find a restaurant. I found a convenient shop next door and brought a cup noodle. The owner is a young man from Mainland China who is curious about the recent student protest in Hong Kong. I told him my views and feeling.
My stand is clear: rule of law, liberty, freedom and law and order are pillars of Hong Kong’s success and any action that ruins Hong Kong’s fundamental values and future is unacceptable. I deploy use of forces as displayed by students in occupying the main roads in Hong Kong. They are taking the innocent and hardworking people of Hong Kong hostage! The world has gone crazy!
October 15 Wednesday: Montreal, Canada – Boston, Massachusetts USA (403 km)
The bus for Boston set off at 8:15am. By 10am, I had already crossed the border into the States. The bus had too many stops (!) and I did not arrive at the South Station in Boston till 5:15pm.
Vermont
Anyway, it’s a scenic drive with some gorgeous foliage colours in Vermont. The best way to travel in this region to enjoy the fall colours would be to drive.
Teresa, the eldest daughter of my cousin Ricky met me on arrival. I almost could not recognise her: she is now a mother with an eight-month-old boy! While we were waiting for food in a Chinese take-away in Chinatown, I booked a tour to Mount Washington, the highest peak in New England the following day.
Cute 8-month-old Tyler
I finally reached Teresa’s new house at Needham after 7pm. Ricky who has retired, is now a full-time baby-sitter for Tyler, his first grandson. Both Teresa and Keith, her husband work extremely hard: they leave home before 6am and come back after 7pm the earliest. I am amazed at their energy: they only sleep for five to six hours. Americans live to work!
October 16 Thursday: Boston – Mt Washington – Boston (265km one way)
 View from Mt Washington in summer |
 View from Mt Washington in winter |
Mt Washington located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, is the highest summit (1,917m) in the northeastern US. It is famous for its cog railway and dangerously erratic weather. The world’s highest wind gust at 372km/h was recorded here on April 12, 1934.
The 4.8km-long cog railway, the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway invented and built by Sylvester Marsh of Littleton, New Hampshire, was opened on July 3, 1869. It is the second steepest rack railway after the Pilatus railway in Switzerland, with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.4%.
My dream train journey was sadly spoilt by foul weather. Teresa dropped me off in Chinatown at 6:30am. I met a couple from Singapore and three of us set off at 7am in a comfortable car with a young driver.
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The day started off with some sunshine. I had a nice 15-minute walk at The Basin with impressive rock carvings by running water. The fall colours were beautiful too.
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 The Basin |
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Unfortunately, the weather turned bad by the time we reached the Base Station at an elevation of 820m before midday. It was drizzling and freezing with poor visibility!
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The cog train takes some 45 minutes to reach the summit. I battled the gruesome rain and gust to reach the summit. It was wet, windy and bitterly cold and I could not stay more than 10 minutes outdoor. At 1:15pm, we were on board the train again.
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The weather got worse. At 3:30pm, the driver dropped us off in an outlet. I do not like shopping. What should I do in a dull mall? I found a quiet place, had a yogurt and read the Heart Sutra.
At 6pm, the driver picked us up and said the journey would only an hour. Suddenly, the sky cleared up with double rainbows! The traffic jam was so bad that the short journey took two and a half hours! What a day! I kept Teresa waiting for me for an hour. She should have gone home to spend time with Tyler.
Well, this is the worse day I had during my entire trip: I spent over $100 on the tour, $66 on the cog train and wasted over eight hours in a car.
October 17 – 21 Friday-Tuesday: 5 days in New York:
On October 17, Teresa gave me a lift to the South Station in Boston on her way to work. By 6:30am, I was already on a bus heading to New York. I had a fairly scenic and smooth ride covering 305km in four hours. I stayed in a friend’s flat in mid-town (on 47th Street) opposite the UN building with a great view of the East River.
 Skyscrapers at Columbus Circus |
 Getting ice-skating ring ready at Rockefeller Centre |
Memory Lane
New York is indisputably a dynamic and multi-cultural metropolitan and a world financial centre. Autumn, in my view, is the best season to enjoy the city.
I spent most of my time walking. I walked from the First Avenue (47th Street) to Time Square on 42nd Street; my former office on 54th Street and Lincoln Centre on 66th Street. I walked past the Metropolitan Museum on 82nd Street and spent an hour in the Central Park. I was in Chinatown several times to meet friends and eat. Time passed by quickly.
 Redevelopment in Downtown |
 New World Trade Centre |
I notice some changes since my last visit in 2008: the city looks more prosperous and energetic. New skyscrapers have gone up and many new buildings are under construction. Renovation work at the Columbus Circle has been completed. But the traffic has got worse; the subway is messy with poor indications and direction signs and the roads especially in downtown areas are bad.9/11 Memorial Museum
When I first moved to work in New York in June 2002, the city was still in a state of aftershock and in mourning for the victims of 9/11. Debris at Ground Zero had just been cleared. At that time, there were endless discussions on home land security, design and redevelopment of Ground Zero. By the time I left in March 2006, there was still a sorrowful big hole at Ground Zero.
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I still remember my first as well as my last visit to the World Trade Centre in 1980. I was in total shock and disbelief when the TV showed the plane crashing into the North Tower at 8:46am and the South Tower at 9:02am. (It was after midnight in the Gold Coast, Australia then). Gripped by agony, anger, grief and disbelief, I was glued to the TV for the next 24 hours watching the collapse of the South Tower and the North Tower at 9:58am and 10:28am respectively. I cried mourning for the victims and moved by the bravery and New Yorkers’ selfless efforts in the rescue work.
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My somber visit to the museum brought back depressing memories of one of the worst tragedies in recent history. The memorial officially opened to the public on September 12, 2011 and the museum on May 21, 2014.
- “Reflecting Absence”, designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, was chosen as the winning design in January 2004.
- Two Memorial pools (1-acre in size (4,000m²) each) with the largest manmade waterfalls in the country, symbolise the loss of life and the physical void left by the terrorist attacks.
- The names of 2,983 victims (2,977 victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Arlington, Virginia and Pennsylvania and six victims killed in the February 1993 World Trade Centre bombing are inscribed on 76 bronze plates attached to the parapet walls forming the edges of the pools.
- All the displays of the museum are underground. Exhibits in the museum include 23,000 images, 10,300 artifacts and nearly 2,000 oral histories of the dead provided by friends and families.
Show Time
New York is the world’s leading and most vibrant centre for culture and performing arts. I saw two operas and one musical.
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- Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875) at the Met on October 17- I have seen Carmen half a dozen times and find this performance most impressive in terms of the setting, acting, casting and singing. Anita Rachvelishvili from Georgia who played the title role of Carmen has brought this clever, beautiful, attractive, flirtatious and sexual character alive.
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- Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro (1786) at the Met on October 18- It is a profound humane comedy. I begin to follow the twists and turns and better appreciate the intrigued plots. James Levine the conductor is outstanding and the four leading singers (Amanda Majeski from USA, Marlis Petersen from Germany, Ildar Abdrazakov from Russia and Peter Mattei from Sweden) are young and brilliant. I really enjoy this superb performance.
- Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical on October 19 in Broadway- The stars of the show are a group of young kids who act, sing and dance even better than some adults! The theatre was filled with children. Anyway, it is not a show for me!
Forever Friends
I have been lucky to meet many nice people during my time in New York. I treasure their friendship and am glad that they have taken time to meet up with me.
- It is nice to catch up with Fong, Linda, Andrew, Seymour and Angie.
- I was extremely lucky to find Martha and Tian (an opera singer) at home and had a cup of tea before rushing to the Met for the matinee.
- I met Daisy again in New York when she came here to take a cruise with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson.
- Betty and Claudia took me to Chinese restaurants. The food in ‘Red Egg’ in Chinatown is very good.
- I had dinner with Henry who has devoted over 20 years in promoting dragon boat racing in New York. It’s nice to meet up with Anita. On both occasions, the linguine and clams were excellent.
- I cannot thank Evan and Raymond enough for letting me stay in their flat and treated with a most delicious dinner before I rushed off to JFK for my return flight to Hong Kong.
Epilogue (uploaded in Hong Kong on December 9, 2014)
I made this 46-day trip primarily in search of northern lights and fall colours. I have visited 13 cities (ten in Canada and three in the US) and several national parks. For the first time, I spent more than half of the time (i.e.56%) staying with friends and relatives. As a whole, I had a pleasant and comfortable but fairly uneventful trip.
33 days in Canada (September 12 – October 14)
This is my longest stay in Canada giving me a chance to discover Canada’s Atlantic Provinces known for their splendid natural scenery.
First, I finally saw an awesome display of Northern lights on September 18. I could have witnessed another excellent show on September 15 had I not gone to bed after 2am. Also if I stayed longer or postponed my date by a week, I would have had an exceptionally fantastic aurora viewing: between September 20 and 30, there were six nights with top rating at Level 5 and three nights at Level 4. But, aurora activities are unpredictable! I can only pray for more luck next time.
Second, I have been very lucky: I lost my mobile phone on Wasp Island on September 18 when picking berries. It’s a miracle that a guide found it a few days later. I am most grateful for their efforts to look for my phone. As promised, I shall return to Yellowknife for the third time one day.
Third, the foliage in the Algonquin Park is gorgeous and exceeds my expectations. I am fortunate to see it at its best. But the foliage colours in the Atlantic Provinces were disappointing. I was there at the wrong time!
Fourth, Ottawa is a nice surprise: small, green but elegant with history.
Fifth, Quebec is a real gem. Though it’s already my third visit, I still feel excited by its fall colours, culture and architecture. In my view, Quebec is the world’s most beautiful port of call.
Finally, I had a lovely time with Kong and Josephine in Vancouver, Karen and friends at Trout Rock Lodge, Katherine and Tony in Toronto and Bing’s niece and family in Ottawa. As I get older, I treasure my family and friends and love to spend time with them.
On this trip, I have also learnt more about my travel preference. Expedition trips and voyages with a small group of like-mind people are more enjoyable. I appreciate comfortable accommodation and delicious food but they are not essential. Value-for-money rather than the absolute amount is an important factor in determining the level of satisfaction.
A cruise ship with 2,000 passengers or more with emphasis on entertainment including dance, shows, music, casino etc. is not my cup of tea. I would in future only take a large ship if it offers an excellent itinerary and value that I cannot resist. My Alaska and Caribbean cruises for which I paid less than US$500 per trip are more enjoyable and value-for-money. This time, the 10-day cruise on an old 4.5-star ship cost almost US$3000pp. The room with a balcony is average by my humble standard. I even had to pay extra for mediocre wine with meals. This a rip-off: I am totally dissatisfied and shall unlikely choose Royal Caribbean again!
13 Days in USA
After having lived in New York for four and a half years, I am not a stranger in the States. I have added a side-trip to the US just to get most out of my long journey to North America. It has been nice to stay with Daisy in San Francisco and my cousin Ricky in Boston.
I have many good friends in New York and cannot thank Evangeline and Raymond enough for their generosity and hospitality. I stayed in their lovely flat and was honoured to join their first house-warming party before returning to Hong Kong. I appreciate my friends for taking their time to meet and have drink/lunch/dinner with me.
As a professional tourist, I have to see a few tourist attractions. This time, I went to the Yosemite National Park in California and the White Mountain National Park in New Hampshire. The former is too developed with good paved roads: there’s so much traffic that I was woken up by traffic noises at 5am! I miss the wilderness of national parks in South America and Africa. My day out to the White Mountain and ride on the cog railway was spoilt by foul rainy weather. Bad luck!
I am not a fan of American culture and have no aspiration for the America dream. USA is not on top of my list. But I know I shall return one day to visit several national parks on my bucket list including the Yellowstone National Park.
Hong Kong in Turmoil
I was watching unprecedented events unfolding in Hong Kong during this trip. Advocates for ‘Occupy Central’, a ’civil disobedience’ initiative in an attempt to change the framework for the 2017 election of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive had been mooted for some time. Events took a sudden move when students took charge and surrounded the government secretariat. Following the use of tear gas by the police to disperse the crowd on September 28, the protest escalated and protestors illegally occupied Admiralty, Mong Kok and Causeway Bay in an attempt to pressurized the Government and the Central Government to reverse the 8.31 decision taken at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress which set limits for the 2016 Legislative Council and 2017 Chief Executive elections.
I had not followed events closely as I did not have Wi-Fi connection all the time. Without my smartphone, I also did not get messages via WhatsApp or Wechat. The ensuing heated debates split the society. The media has lent overwhelming support for the movement and demonised the police. Some politicians, activists and legal professionals sadly twist facts and legal points to justify the illegal action/tactic.
Hong Kong is a civil society which prosperity and stability have been built upon rule of law and an efficient administration. In my view, the ‘civil disturbance’ strategy/tactic holds the society hostage, bringing disintegration and destroying Hong Kong’s values and systems.
Today, I am depressed by a divided Hong Kong with no sign of reconciliation.
- The protestors claim to act in the interest of Hong Kong and demand ‘genuine’ universal suffrage. But their tactics and actions are destructive, self-centred and uncompromising without respect for the law and order and regard to ‘public interest’. Man-in-the-street supports universal suffrage but totally disagrees with the so-called ‘civil disobedience’ approach.
- The protestors ask their voices be heard but they ignore the wish and demand of the majority. A kind of white horror is engulfing the city: the media is biased and activists and fanatic believers of democracy claiming high moral grounds have tried to silence people who hold different views. Before we can discuss politics peaceful and calmly. No more!
- Arguments put forth by some politicians, lawyers and students in support of their lawless actions are flaw. I am also deeply troubled by the violet and reckless behaviours and tactics adopted by some protestors and trouble-makers in the shopping district in Mong Kok since December 1.
While some including foreign press have been praising the students (whatever they do!), I think the unsung heroes are the silent majority and small businessmen who have been suffering but try to give the young and restless a chance to withdraw peacefully. We understand the aspirations and grievances of the young people and activists. But progress should come in a peaceful and orderly way and Hong Kong must uphold the rule of law and maintains stability.
Where is Hong Kong heading? I wonder.