a dim sum day

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Originally uploaded by Amie Oliver

Thank god for Starbucks... I know, I know. its evil. Its bad... but when one is far from the comforts of home it can be a beacon.

We walked to the ferry which transports people between Kowloon and Hong Kong proper... and at this point I truly felt like we were beginning our journey. Irene is intimate with narrow alleys and secrets of Hong Kong so we were free to gawk and take photographs as she led us into the bowels of the city. We climbed the stairs off an alley to a wonderful shop full of Chinese paper, paint and brushes. It was heaven... it was cheap... and they took credit cards. It was hard to say no to quality of the materials for the price... so I had to focus on my eventual return and the three weeks between...still... it was a blast selecting a number of brushes and papers. After our art adventure we found my bank and a contraband Starbucks. Did I mention the intensity of the heat here?

We met Po Chung in the elevator of the China Club. He is the founder of DHL and founding benefactor of Metasenta. It was an honor sharing a dim sum brunch with this worldly man of the arts, philanthropic and business worlds... plus I knew that whatever food we'd have on our journey into China and Tibet... it is unlikely anything could be compared to this amazing meal.

The photo is taken from the stairwell looking into the first floor foyer. Note the gold fish in the porcelain platter embedded with porcelain erotica (figurines). It was part David Lynch and Ang Lee. Exquisitely real.

We climbed the stairs to see three or four floors of the club's collection of post war and contemporary Chinese painting, sculpture and prints - all curated by Mr. Po. We wound on the upper balcony for a view of Hong Kong I didn't anticipate. Is this real or jet lag?