Jumbo Floats Away from Hong Kong

Jumbo Floating Restaurant was opened in 1976

Remember Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Aberdeen? In its heyday it mimicked the look of an imperial palace, where visitors could dress up in royal robes and sit on the throne for a picture before tucking into a Chinese banquet-style dinner.

To me it was very kitsch and touristy, I didn't quite see the charm of the place, while other guests lapped up the idea of being an emperor or empress for a photo.

Later parts of Jumbo were rented out to restaurant groups who tried to turn the outdoor deck space into a hip area for drinks. But that didn't last long.

Mounting losses forced Jumbo to close in 2020

After years of losses, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the restaurant to shutter in March 2020.

It was donated to Ocean Park in hopes that it could revive the massive floating restaurant, but there were no restaurant operators interested in taking on an ageing and expensive place that cost several million to upkeep every year.

Now the vessel's license is set to expire next month and its owner, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises is searching for a proper docking space for this massive structure in order to carry out regular maintenance.

Since Hong Kong does not have such a space, Jumbo will have to leave the city after four decades. 

"As different sectors in Hong Kong have been hit by the fifth wave of infections, we foresee that the Jumbo Floating Restaurant cannot return to business in the near future," the company said.

In its heyday the restaurant catered to tourists

Therefore it will send out the floating restaurant somewhere for maintenance while it waits for a white knight to come... but who will?

Jumbo had an inauspicious start -- on October 30, 1971, a fire broke out on the restaurant which led to the deaths of 34 people and 42 injured. It was eventually reopened five years later by gambling tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun who had the floating restaurant decorated like an imperial palace. 

The chances of Jumbo have another life are pretty slim... its time and place have long gone. 

June 4 Erased from Hong Kong

The candlelight vigils in Victoria Park in HK are no more

The 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown is this Saturday. Earlier this year the Pillar of Shame, a statue dedicated to the victims of the June 4 massacre in Beijing was quietly taken down in the middle of the night in the University of Hong Kong, and last December, the Goddess of Democracy removed from Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

Days before the anniversary last year, the June 4th Museum in Mong Kok was forcibly shut down, its display items removed by the police, and the mass gathering in Victoria Park where participants shouted slogans, sang songs and lit white candles is no more.

This statue has been carted off into storage

The Hong Kong Alliance, organisers of the previously annual event were arrested and charged with being "foreign agents" over incitement to subversion.

Now because of fears of violating the national security law, churches in Hong Kong did not hold mass to commemorate the June 4 anniversary, ending the 33-year tradition.

"We find it very difficult under the current social atmosphere," said Reverend Martin Ip, chaplain of the Hong Kong Federation of Catholic Students, one of the organisers.

"Our bottom line is that we don't want to breach any law in Hong Kong," he said.

But luckily in Vancouver this past weekend, commemorations already began. 

At the University of British Columbia there is a Goddess of Democracy statue between the main study hall and the bus loop.

Materials from the June 4 Museum confiscated

"It's been happening in China for 33 years -- no one can say something about June 4," says Mabel Tung, of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement. 

"Right now, they say May 35 as representing June 4. Because they try to erase June 4. Young people in China, they don't know what happened June 4 because their parents didn't want them to know. They would be in trouble if they talk about that in Mainland China," she said.

The group will also hold a march and vigil in front of the Chinese consulate on June 4.

Tung says Beijing is afraid of June 4.

"They try to erase history," she said. "So they try to erase any image related to June 4 because Hong Kong is the one city in the world that still remembered June 4 every year with a candlelight vigil. Almost 200,000 people in the park... and now it's gone. So we have to keep the spirit here."

The Goddess of Democracy at UBC campus

Tung never thought the vigil would be banned in 2022 because Hong Kong was supposed to have 50 years of no change until 2047. 

But here we are. Reminders from statues to slogans painted on sidewalks and walls have pretty much been physically scrubbed away from the city, but the victims will forever be remembered in people's hearts and minds.

Political Cartoonist Exits Hong Kong

Political cartoonist Va Wong Sir has left Hong Kong

This morning I woke up to look on my Facebook feed to discover an acquaintance has moved to the UK with his family. 

The exodus continues with well known political cartoonist known as Va Wong Sir.

He posted on his Facebook a drawing perhaps of himself wearing a backpack and a suitcase next to him. Behind him is a petal of the bauhinia flower -- the symbol of Hong Kong -- that is red with a gold star, signifying the mainlandization of the city.

"I'm sorry," he begins his message, and says, "I promise myself with guilt, anger and shame to continue drawing for those who have been silenced."

In early April Va Wong Sir did an interview with independent news website FairPlanet, saying he was a target, though it is not clear if it involves the national security bureau or the Hong Kong police.

The visual arts and liberal studies secondary school teacher started drawing political cartoons in his spare time and the Education Bureau sent him warning letters, claiming his artworks contain "groundless allegations towards the police and government", and demonstrate "misconduct behaviour".

After the national security law was implemented at the end of June 2020, schools didn't even want him as a substitute teacher.

Va Wong Sir says after his teaching colleagues were arrested, he started suffering from panic attacks at night. When he tried to sleep he would imagine the police would ring his doorbell to arrest him. That fear was enough to keep him up most nights.

In January 2020, the Education Bureau sent a letter claiming it had received an anonymous complaint about one of his cartoons on his social media account and asked if it was his. A few months later the school Va Wong Sir worked at told that because of budget reasons his his contract would not be renewed. 

But that evening he saw that his position had been advertised in an online recruitment ad.

Then in April 2021 the Education Bureau sent him another letter for his "groundless allegation towards the police and government", while the third letter claimed Va Wong Sir was demonstrating "misconduct behaviour".

"A visual arts teacher drawing pictures in his spare time -- there's nothing wrong with it," he said, and added he never advocated Hong Kong independence, "but right now, it seems that if you oppose the government, that is tantamount to supporting Hong Kong independence. So the space for free speech is very narrow, there's not many things we can say."

While people have suggested to Va Wong Sir to shut down his social media account, he refuses, saying: "Many political cartoonists, like Zunzi and Ah To are still drawing. Why should I give up?"

But while he has given up on Hong Kong and left, we hope to see him continue drawing and reminding us we are all in this together.

Mr Lee Goes to Beijing

Lee and his wife Janet are flying to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping

 

Chief Executive-elect John Lee Ka-chiu flies to Beijing today on a four-day trip to receive the central government's blessing. Lee's wife Janet will come, along with his private secretary and press secretary.

Like everyone else, Lee and his entourage will have to undergo a strict quarantine for a few days with rigorous testing before they can meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Lee can't see anyone one not on the confirmed list of people.

Xi in HK for 20th anniversary in 2017

During his meeting with Xi, Lee will present his list of candidates to be included in his administration. It will be curious to see who is on it. Yesterday Food and Health Secretary Sophia Chan Siu-chee was asked by the media if she would continue in her role in the next administration but she did not reply.

Beijing still can't confirm if Xi will come down to Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary of the handover for fears of a sudden flare up in the number of Covid-19 cases, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. 

If Xi is so concerned about this, how about swearing in Lee now and he'll just take over from July 1? 

But if Xi does come to Hong Kong, it will be the first time in over two years that he has left China since the pandemic began in December 2019. He will also be very well protected with some 10,000 police officers will be deployed and with the national security law in place, the chances of any kind of protest are next to nil.

Lee was sole candidate in elections this month

The Hong Kong government meanwhile is trying to devise numerous scenarios and adjusting Xi's schedule to make it as short as possible in case he only wants to come to the city for a few hours.

It is quite the intense logistics exercise when your boss has numerous demands but you don't know exactly what he wants, and neither does he...

China Reserves Right to Tweak One Country, Two Systems

"One country, two systems" was agreed upon in 1984

With the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover fast approaching, a senior Chinese official is now saying that "One country, two systems" will need to be fine tuned.

Shen Chunyao is Beijing's top advisor on the Basic Law, and says this principle needs to be improved, but that Hong Kong's constitution won't change after 2047, when the 50-year mark is reached.

He said people should focus on the correct implementation of "one country, two systems", and understanding China's constitution and the basic law so that people's rights are protected as well as Hong Kong's prosperity.

Shen says the principle can be tweaked

"Fifty years is only a symbolic expression. This would not change even after 50 years. The first 50 years is: we cannot change, then after 50 years that would be that we need not change, as long as we believe in "one country, two systems". Its life, its vitality would be fully expressed," Shen said.

He also said "one country, two systems" would need to be improved or fine tuned to ensure Hong Kong moves steadily ahead.

"We should not adopt a straitjacket approach. We shouldn't think that once it's set nothing can be changed, because if we just simplistically say that we will resist on this without being able to improve it with time, then we will not be able to fully develop its potential."

When the Joint Declaration was signed in 1984 by then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and then Premier Zhao Ziyang, that agreement was set in stone. At the time leader Deng Xiaoping said Hong Kong would have 50 years of no change.

But now even before the halfway point Hong Kong has changed dramatically, with the strong opposition to the extradition bill that led to the protests and the punishment in the form of the national security law.

That coupled with the pandemic for over two years has crippled the city economically and thousands are sacrificing their good jobs and lives in the city and moving elsewhere to enjoy freedoms and rights that have disappeared in Hong Kong. And with that the city's vitality in terms of economic growth and prosperity has evaporated too, all in the name of security and dynamic zero Covid.

Protesters voiced opposition to extradition bill

So how can Shen say that "one country, two systems" will not change? This principle has already been thrown out the window and Hong Kong is fast becoming another mainland Chinese city.

The government has made no effort to entice residents to stay or generated jobs for them to take -- instead it has left the city and its residents floundering, dealing with the threat of violating the national security law, and social-distancing requirements, some of which have become absurd, like still demanding returning residents and visitors quarantine for seven days, and only four people can gather in public compared to eight to a table in a restaurant.

But logic doesn't exist much in Hong Kong these days. It's all about political rhetoric and Shen's message is a head scratcher that ensures living in a parallel universe. It's the only way to explain the contradictions.

A Crushing Teletubbies Drama

The shocking and expensive aftermath of breaking a toy

What a fiasco for a little boy and a store that had very expensive toys.

On Sunday evening a young family went into a toy store called KKPlus in Langham Place in Mongkok. It was quite crowded in there when the five-year-old boy knocked down a giant gold Teletubbies statue that crashed to the floor in pieces.

The father had stepped out of the store to take a call on his mobile when he heard a loud bang and turned to see his son and the broken statue.

The staff claimed the boy had kicked the statue -- which was not cordoned off or secured  -- and so the father immediately offered to pay for the damages, which amounted to HK$33,600 (US$4,280). Online it is priced at HK$52,800.

Before the statue broke

Needless to say he said on the way home his son was stunned by what had happened.

But later videos surfaced to show that the store was packed with people and the boy tried to get out of the way of others by leaning lightly on the statue. He had not kicked it at all.

In no time there was viral outrage against the store for claiming the boy had purposely damaged the 1.8-metre-tall Teletubbies statue, and that it should have done more to cordon off the giant toy. Others said the parents should watch their children more carefully.

To avoid further repercussions, KKPlus refunded the entire amount back to the father with an apology. Later on a social media post that was deleted soon after, the store said even though the statue had been there since last November, it "had not brought any inconvenience to customers." It added the company would "learn from this experience to prevent similar incidents from happening again."

Perhaps the most ironic thing about the whole incident is that the Teletubbies statue is covering its eyes as if knowing what was going to happen!

Vatican Caught in Bind with Cardinal Zen

Zen holding mass at Holy Church Cross in eastern Hong Kong

Hours after retired Cardinal Joseph Zen appeared in court to answer to the charge of not registering the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government, he held mass at the Holy Cross Church in Sai Wan Ho.

Many who came to see him dismissed the charge against him.

"We of course must respect the rule of law but wielding law as a weapon to oppress is by no means the goal of rule of law," a woman named Louise told AFP.

Zen along with four others pleaded not guilty

In his sermon, Zen again criticised a deal between China and the Vatican in 2018 which allows Beijing to nominate bishops for the pope's approval, calling it "unwise" despite being made with "good intentions".

The agreement was renewed in 2020 just as China was accused of suppressing Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Christian believers of underground churches.

At that time two years ago despite the pandemic, Zen traveled to Rome in the hopes of speaking to Pope Francis and persuade him not to renew the deal, but was not even granted an audience with the pope.

Vatican analyst and papal biographer Marco Politi says: "The Holy See does not want this thread of dialogue and communication [with China] to be broken. "It is clear that China is in a position of strength and the Vatican in a position of weakness."

After Zen's arrest on May 11, the Vatican has been relatively silent, and Pope Francis said he was "attentively" following the "often complex" life of Catholics in China without directly referencing Zen.

But up until this point, veteran Vatican commentator John L Allen said Zen had become "increasingly marginalised" in the Francis papacy.

Zen was rebuffed by Pope Francis in 2020

"Had China done nothing, Zen likely would have remained inconsequential," he wrote on the Catholic website Crux.com.

"Now, however, Francis can't afford to ignore Zen, because his arrest -- and whatever may come next in terms of a prosecution and even possible incarceration -- is destined to generate sympathy and activism on Zen's behalf all across the world."

Pope Francis may have wished he had granted Zen an audience, but it's too late now.

Either way he cannot ignore the seriousness of the situation Zen is in and pray that the rule of law will have mercy on him...

Cardinal Zen and Four Others Plead Not Guilty

Margaret Ng, Cardinal Zen, and Hui Po-keung arriving in court

Ninety-year-old retired Cardinal Joseph Zen raised his left fist as a sign he was fighting strong as he entered the courtroom this morning in Hong Kong to face charges of failing to register 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government. 

He had five others -- musician and singer Denise Ho Wan-see, barrister Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, academic Hui Po-keung, former lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan, and secretary Sze Ching-wee all pleaded not guilty and their cases will be heard September 19-23.

Their lawyer will dispute if the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund is a "society" under the Societies Ordinance, while prosecutor Laura Ng told the court it has 17 witnesses, 10 boxes of exhibits and eight hours of video recordings.

Denise Ho is also a 612 fund trustee facing charge

"I am not teaching the Department of Justice on how to make a case, but this is disproportionate for a summon case," said Robert Pang SC, on the amount of evidence.

Pang says this because the maximum fine for the offence is HK$10,000. but all five had to give up their passports.

Some law pundits are questioning if the DOJ is efficiently using its resources as well as those of the police and the courts... 

Meanwhile on the Covid-19 front, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor says there will unlikely be an reopening of the border between Hong Kong an the mainland before her tenure is up at the end of June.

Currently arrivals to Hong Kong must be fully vaccinated and take PCR tests 24 hours before arrival as well as after landing. Then they must complete seven days of hotel quarantine testing negative throughout.

Lam says border not opening before end of June

Various chambers of commerce have suggested to Lam and through the media that Hong Kong reopen its borders, particularly international ones to keep the city afloat as it is or was supposed to be a finance and trading hub.

But Lam told the media this morning this would not happen anytime in the near future.

"We have to be extremely careful in implementing the restrictions on border control. I would say that at this point in time, it is very unlikely that during my term there will be more relaxations on the border controls... in order to keep Hong Kong safe," she said.

While this continues to frustrate the business community, we'll only know if change will come from July 1 when her successor John Lee Ka-chiu takes over the reins of Hong Kong. Lam must be counting the days, minutes and seconds until her job ends...

CY Leung Wants to Cultivate Young Patriots

Leung wants to instil patriotism in university students, media

Former chief executive Leung Chun-ying continues to make himself newsworthy, this time saying patriotic groups need to be stronger in universities and the media.

He said even though Hong Kong has the national security law, and what he says is an improved electoral system, patriots need to continue working hard and suggested patriotism needed to be instilled among young people.

"We have to build up the ideological and organising powers of patriotic groups, those who govern have to break barriers with these groups, make them stronger. This includes the grooming of such political groups in universities," said Leung, who is vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

2015 football match HKers booed China anthem

"In education, in media, we have to raise the ability of patriotic groups in these important aspects in society. Of course we also need to form a consensus and widely promote the One Country, Two Systems principle."

He added it was a basic requirement that Hong Kong students become proud Chinese patriots.

To prove his point, he cited the example in 2015 when some Hong Kong students booed the Chinese national anthem during a football World Cup qualifying group match between China and Hong Kong at Chinese University.

Leung said he met with the university's management over the matter, but nothing was done.

Perhaps it was after that incident that he made sure every other vice chancellor was replaced with someone with a pro-Beijing bent?

Sounds like someone is still sore about the incident, or has been told to bring it up.

Leung Chai-yan has openly rebelled her parents

Either way demanding that young people become proud Chinese will be harder these days if he hasn't noticed what has happened in the last few years. 

Perhaps his fixation on indoctrinating young people comes from his inability to control his children, in particular daughter Leung Chai-yan who has had public spats with him?

Doesn't he know by now that the more you force kids to do something, the more they want to do the opposite?

Canada Second Most Desirable for Study for Hongkongers

After the UK, Canada more popular for higher education

Canada has beat the United States and Australia to become the second most popular destination for higher education after the United Kingdom.

Previously it was the UK followed by Australia, the US and then Canada.

But after the Canadian government last year announced new ways for Hongkongers to emigrate in Canada, 6,365 Hong Kong residents were granted student visas, just behind the 6,511 student visas issued by Britain.

Hongkongers looking for ways to leave the city

Canada used to be the least popular of the four countries for Hongkongers to study abroad. Only about 2,500 were granted Canadian student visas each year, from 2018 to 2020, making up about one-fifth of the total student visas issued by the four countries.

Australia was popular because geographically it was closer, and the United States for its quality education, but perhaps the racial attacks against Asians and the rise in gun violence may have played a role as well. 

This latest news will be a boon for the Canadian education sector from kindergarten to post secondary, as being a student who graduates in the last three years can be granted permanent residency; they can also gain residency after graduating from post-secondary school in Canada or abroad, and has one year's work experience in Canada.

Interest in these two new pathways grew as a result. Last year, nearly 2,300 Hong Kong residents gained permanent residency, a newly 50 percent increase compared with the pre-pandemic total of just over 1,500 permanent resident landings in 2019.

Growing interest in HKers to come to Canada

In addition, in 2021, 10,143 Hongkongers and those holding BNO passports obtained a Canadian work permit. This compares to only 931 people who got work permits in 2019.

It's good to see the Canadian government stepping up and offering opportunities for young Hongkongers -- and middle-aged ones too -- who need a fresh start and a good education to move ahead in their careers as they settle down in their new home.

 

HKJA's Chan Plans Overseas Study... Can He?

Chan plans to return to Hong Kong after his studies

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association will be taking part in the Reuters Institute's fellowship program at Oxford University in early October. Ronson Chan made the announcement on his Facebook on Thursday and has plans to return to the city afterwards and so he will be laying low, as the HKJA is under pressure from the national security bureau.

"I know many of my friends, citizens, and readers who care about me will hope that I know when to stay or leave, but to use a cliche, I [will] miss Hong Kong, and the program said that they hoped participants will return to their place of origin after the program ended," Chan wrote.

"Therefore, I will speak and act cautiously in the United Kingdom, and return to Hong Kong after half a year's study as planned."

Academic Hui Po-keung was arrested at airport

Since the 2019 protests and the enactment of the national security law, many civil society groups, as well as the HKJA have faced pressure from the authorities as well as criticism from pro-Beijing and state media.

But will Chan even be allowed to leave Hong Kong? He was also deputy assignment editor at the now defunct Stand News.

Earlier this month, Hui Po-keung, academic and trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport as he was on his way to Germany to take up visiting scholar post. And in March, Paul Harris, former head of the Bar Association was quizzed by the national security police and he left the city hours after.

However, Chan says he's not worried about being arrested at the airport.

"I don't want them to say that I'm absconding, if they want to arrest me they will... It's such a rare opportunity for people like us who only got 14 marks in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, [I] have to seize the opportunity. Of course I will go," he told an English-language media outlet.

When asked if he was planning to come back after his studies, Chan replied that he "never intended to leave", and that he was "only going for further studies."

Tang is putting pressure on the HKJA

The HKJA has been under attack by pro-establishment figures including Secretary for Security and former police chief Chris Tang Ping-keung who expressed doubt of HKJA's professionalism and alleged political bias. Tang had hinted that perhaps the government should be the one issuing press identification to weed out those producing fake news.

Is Chan playing with fire or will he really be allowed to leave?

Perhaps with such a public announcement he is hoping the national security police will back off, but who knows... they could pre-empt his departure in other ways...

Chan should try to take this opportunity to study abroad, and he is extremely brave to go for it.

All eyes will be on him in the days leading up to his departure... if there are any decent media outlets left by October...

Vancouver Moves from Pandemic, HK still Bickering

Chan says vaccine pass the only way to bump up jab rate

It's been one month since I came back to Vancouver and so far, so good. 

While the sixth wave of Covid-19 here apparently peaked last week, there is no urgent concern about it in the media -- in fact media outlets are tired of reporting on the pandemic and have now jumped on Monkey Pox, a very rare skin disease that was discovered in two patients so far in Quebec.

This is a stark contrast to Hong Kong, where health experts are verbally duelling with the Secretary for Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee about vaccinations. 

Cowling says vaccine pass can cause hesitancy

Two University of Hong Kong academics, epidemiologist Ben Cowling and assistant pharmacy professor Theo Chan Tak-kwong say the government should drop the vaccine pass, as it forces people to get jabs in order to go to work, and so it makes them even more hesitant to get inoculated.

However, Dr Sophia Chan wrote in an opinion piece in Ming Pao that the vaccine pass was still necessary to build the city's immunity against Covid-19 so that its residents can resume a relatively normal life as Hong Kong continues to strive for dynamic zero -- a goal many experts say is impossible to achieve.

She noted some people may not want to get vaccinated as they didn't see the benefits of it, and hinted they were being selfish instead of thinking of the greater public good. And so Chan said the authorities needed to build a strong immunity barrier to protect people who are high risk from the coronavirus, including the elderly and patients with chronic diseases.

HKers need jabs to dine out, go to movies, etc

But the elderly and those with chronic diseases are the ones who should be prioritised in getting jabbed -- even if it's with the Chinese-made vaccine Sinovac.

During her tenure as the Secretary for Health, less than 23 percent of people over 80 were vaccinated when the fifth wave hit, which resulted in just under 7,000 deaths in March alone.

But honestly it's quite shocking to hear people in Hong Kong only recently getting their second jab, when I am waiting to get my fourth in a few months' time.

Another infectious diseases expert, Yuen Kwok-yung, agreed with Chan, saying the vaccine pass was necessary to increase the number of vaccinations to prevent another wave of infections, unless 95 percent of the population was inoculated.

In British Columbia, it's quite surprising to hear that even though 84 percent of the population have had two doses, it drops down to 52.1 percent for the booster. Seems that many people here have pandemic fatigue and want to move on, while others, particularly the elderly are actively wearing masks on the street and in stores.

Over 84 percent British Columbians inoculated

Companies here are trying to entice their employees to come back to the office, but people are dragging their feet or demanding more days at home, while in Hong Kong it's pretty much expected people return to the office unless they are vaccinated -- another reason not to get jabbed.

And so the cycle continues...

Car Museum Revs up Excitement

Car fans will enjoy wandering Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was formerly a department store and converted into place to display the world's largest collection of cars.

It was founded in 1994 by Robert E Petersen who made his money in magazine publishing and his wife Margie. Seven years ago it had a facelift, including a stunning facade featuring a stainless steel series of ribbons wrapped around the building.

The first electric car in 1839 made in Scotland

Inside it's a car fanatic's dream, from those interested in automotive history to racing cars, vehicles featured in pop culture and movies to electric vehicles (failures and successes).

There's an original 1918 Ford Model T car, one of less than 10 in existence, and the first electric car built in 1839 by Scot Robert Anderson.

It was called Columbia and apparently the technology improved so rapidly that by 1900 electric cars exceeded both steam- and petroleum-powered cars in popularity. And wouldn't you know, the car was highly prized by taxi companies and the wealthy because the electric car was free from noise, vibration and noxious odours. How come it took us this long to figure that out?

There is a Japanese car called Fuji Cabin that has three wheels. It was built to provide cheap, economical cars to people after the war. The three-wheeler was built on readily available motor-scooter parts, and was powered by a one-cylinder engine with a kick start. It only had three forward speeds and reverse. However in the end only 85 of these cars were built.

The Fuji Cabin was made in post-war Japan

We had fun going down memory lane with a series of cars featured in movies. These included the DeLorean from Back to the Future. It looks so old now, but at the time the movie came out in 1985 it was considered quite cool. The Batmobile from Batman Returns starring Michael Keaton is featured in the exhibition, and of course the car Lightning McQueen from Pixar Animation Studio's Cars.

Another section had a show called "Bond in Motion", featuring the official collection of cars featured in James Bond films. It was fun watching clips from the various movies with Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig that had the chase scenes with the vehicles in it. While the older films don't necessarily age well since technology has advanced so much, the dialogue and the acting are still priceless. 

There really is something for everyone at this museum. Pleasantly surprised.

James Bond looking suave with his Aston Martin

Petersen Automotive Museum

6060 Wilshire Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 

90036

323 930 2277

Los Angeles' Own Mini Venice

Some areas of the Venice Canal District look idyllic

After visiting Getty Villa we made our way to Venice Beach, but first to the Venice Canal District near the area.

In 1905 a developer by the name of Abbot Kinney wanted to recreate the canals in Venice, Italy and went about creating manmade wetland canals. He also named them Aldebaren Canal, Altair Canal, Cabrillo Canal, Coral Canal, Grand Canal, Lion Canal and Venus Canal.

More canals were added later by other developers, and they came complete with gondolas and gondoliers in a bid to create more interest in the properties there.

We enjoyed admiring the gardens along the way

However, by the 1920s when cars became more popular, interest in the canal area waned and some canals were even filled in to make way for paved roads from 13 to six. By the 1940s the canals fell into disrepair and it wasn't until 1992 when then canals were renovated and drained, and new sidewalks were built. The canals were opened a year later. 

We were hoping to have a boat tour of the canals, but when we got there, no one in the area seemed to know about them. But one look at the canals gave a big clue -- the water was extremely shallow and full of algae.

So we wandered around the neighbourhood a bit, walking in front of people's houses and admiring their gardens along the canals. Each home owned a kayak, canoe or boat of some sort, and they are probably very useful when it's high tide. 

The view of Venice Beach from the pier

Some grew roses, but many grew succulents that were as big as cabbages, others had lavender or cacti. Some of the bungalows were well looked after, while others looked rented out and rundown.

It was a short walk to Venice Beach, which has very fine sand. We walked along Venice Pier that juts out into the ocean, where some people were trying their luck fishing. One guy somehow managed to catch three fish at once, but all of them were small. It reminded me of people in Hong Kong along Victoria Harbour dipping their rods in and only catching palm-sized fish, while the odd person did catch a decent-sized one.

While the views are great and the apartments along the boardwalk seem to have million-dollar views, the area does attract sketchy people, as we encountered some homeless people, or doing some weed.

Pointers in Chinese of what not to fish!

Nevertheless, it's a nice place to visit, watching the waves crash onto the shore and breathing in the fresh sea air.

A Visit to Getty Villa

Looking at Getty Villa from far end of the Outdoor Peristyle

This morning we headed to Getty Villa, a place we visited almost 10 years ago. The museum is designed like a Roman villa, inspired by a sculpture J Paul Getty acquired in 1951. It's the Landsdowne Hercules, who holds a club in his left hand and a lion skin in the other.

The Landsdowne Hercules

The statue is housed in its own special room with a stunning mosaic floor of concentric circles made up of triangles.

Getty Villa has an extensive collection of Greek and Roman items, from statues and carvings to jewellery, vessels and coins. There are tour guides on hand to give groups or individual visitors an insider's look inside the museum and they are quite knowledgable.

We bumped into one who explained extensively how there are portraits on wood that have survived thousands of years in Egypt because it was very hot and dry, and also they were preserved together with mummies!

The portraits were of the dead people who were mummified: the expert explained typically their organs were removed and then dried out before being covered in oils and then resin, wrapped in linen, covered in another layer of resin and then another layer of linen before the wooden portrait was placed on top of the head.

How's that for detail!

An exhibition that is going on now is Persepolis: The Palace Experience. It is about the time of ancient Iran (550BC-AD650) and centres around the rein of King Xerces (pronounced sir-seas). We watched an immersive almost 360-degree five-minute film that showed through computer animation what the palace must have looked like when King Xerces built it (and was completed by his son decades later) in Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330BC).

Persian winged lion at Persepolis

However it was razed to the ground by Alexander the Great in around 330BC.

The show featured different Iranian artefacts from coins and jewellery to glazed bricks, reliefs, and statues. They were very elaborate, some in gold and silver, the carvings very intricate and the reliefs have a lot of expression, particularly of animals attacking each other, or men hunting for animals.

It then dawned on me -- why throughout history has civilisation only celebrated violence, victory against enemies, power over others? It's a very masculine, or a projection of what men should do to others. Why not put a greater value on peace? Happiness? Progress?

Guess not... but since that's all we have perhaps that's what we should appreciate, but also try to change the narrative of history?

In any event, what is wonderful about Getty Villa is that you can alternatively enjoy the museum pieces as well as the outdoor gardens, of which there are a few on the property. The most stunning is the Outdoor Peristyle, where Greek replica sculptures are nestled in bushes and flowers along a very long and narrow pool with fountains at both ends.

Royal Lion Hunt from Assyria

There's also the Inner Peristyle that also has lots of colourful flowers and shrubs, while the East Garden has a replica of a fountain found in Pompeii. There's also a herb garden next to the Outer Peristyle, and a small garden in the atrium area. Lots of young people were trying to do their perfect Instagram pose... better to just enjoy the gardens that have been carefully tended to by thoughtful (and artistic) gardeners.

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the beautiful roses in bloom, and the irises too that were very large and so interesting to look at up close. There is also a small lily pond near the back where the cafe is.

Today being a Monday it was nice that there weren't too many people visiting the museum. It too is concerned about Covid-19 and has warned visitors to keep masks on if not vaccinated, while those who have been jabbed have the option of masks off. Some staff didn't wear them, others did. There was a brief security check at the door and lots of hand sanitiser stations nearby.

So glad Getty built the museum for people like to us to enjoy for free! We had a fun leisurely time here.

Relief of a lion and bull in combat at Persepolis

Getty Villa

17985 Pacific Coast Highway

Pacific Palisades, CA

90272

310 440 7300

More Contemporary Art at LACMA

Striking avian-inspired dress by McQueen

Today we checked out the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, known as LACMA which houses contemporary art.

Elegant and gothic feathery cape 

Here the person who checked our tickets also asked us if we had caught Covid recently or if we were in contact with anyone who had caught the virus in the past 10 days. They even had a box of masks ready to hand out to anyone who didn't have one on hand.

And there were hand sanitizers everywhere, and washrooms where you just waved your hand to open the door.

We first checked out the fashion exhibition called "Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind Mythos Muse".

It's hard to believe McQueen left this world 12 years ago, and he left behind a massive body of work we continue to analyse, understand and cherish.

He was known for his detailed tailoring, but also his fantastic imagination and research, alluding to various periods in European history as well as Asian (mostly Japanese) influences that can be found in his pieces.

This exhibition brings together what informed his collections, from Japanese Buddhist priest textiles to ancient headdresses, birds that led to his cape made of feathers, and the French court of King Louis XIV among the influences.

One of Magritte's famous works

We also saw an exhibition of Impressionist works from the collection of Janice and Henri Lazarof, who was a Hungarian-American composer who later taught at UCLA. 

The couple seems to have amassed an impressive art collection over the years and even more outstanding is that they donated 130 of these pieces to LACMA in 2007; sadly he died in 2013 of Alzheimer's.

Works of art by Degas, 20 pieces alone by Picasso, as well as those by Paul Kee, Wassily Kandinsky, Constantin Brancusi, and Alberto Giacometti to name a few.

Was also lovely to see other famous works by Ren Magritte, like "Ceci n'est pay une pipe", or "this is not a pipe" when it obviously is one, Young Woman of the People by Amedeo Modigliani, and Georgia O'Keefe's Horse's Skull with Pink Rose.

Large painting PH-143 by Clyfford Still

Other more modern pieces included one by Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still, whose painting PH-143 really is an immersive large work you can't help but be drawn into and then feeling overwhelmed by the size and scale of the piece.

In terms of pop art LACMA had Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup can was there, and an odd sculpture -- Claes' Oldenburg's Typewriter Eraser.

How many still remember using this object it before?!

An intriguing piece by Richard Serra is called Band -- my brother joked that there is no way anyone could steal this art work made of steel. Walk in and feel overwhelmed by the steel that has taken on a corroded rusted colour. It's not menacing by any means, with its gentle curves. You feel invited to interact with the massive statue and are welcome to enter it at any of its openings.

Richard Serra's Band is immersive, interactive

Outside in the museum's plaza by the restaurant and bar is Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads from 2011.

LACMA

5905 Wilshire Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

90036