[Leica] LUGging to Hong Kong and back (long)

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

First of all a heartfelt thanks to the fellow LUGgers I met in Hong Kong and
special thanks to Joseph, Sarah and Adrian who took so much time out of their
busy schedules to show me Hong Kong and to all of you who took Sunday night
off for the LUG-meet at the Women's Auxiliary Club; fellow Canadians Howard
and Esther Cummer, James Nelson, Chris Chung, and Michele Bina. And also a
special thanks to Ray Taifor time and long discussions on photography, Hong
Kong, Leicas, etc. There are times when travelling to a new place becomes a
major event in one's life and Hong Kong definitely was one of those for me.
 For those of you who haven't been there - GO. It is a truly dynamic place. It
is compact enough that you can traverse it by foot in a day or two and
visually challenging enough that you could stay a long time. 
 As for Leica, just a quick stroll down Stanley Street in Hong Kong and Nathan
Street in Kowloon is enough to fulfil your "worst nightmare" - so many Leicas
and not enough credit cards… I showed remarkable restraint and bought no Leica
wares (Adrian Bradshaw took care of that - M6 TTL no less!) but I did find a
90/4 for my Fuji TX-1, so at the moment that kit is complete.
 Joseph Yao is the most genial host you can imagine and his wife Sarah is
remarkably patient with hardware discussions - as well as being an importer of
wine and user of a Minilux. -  Over a period of 7 days we criss-crossed Hong
Kong and Kowloon and when our energy lagged we sought reprieve in Cameron
Photo and fondled some nice pieces of equipment; Leica MP, ˝ frame M2 and
anything new and exiting.
 For those of you who don't know Hong Kong; there are 6.5 million people
living in an area of about 500 square km. Hong Kong has one of the highest
population densities in the world; about 40 times that of UK! Somehow they
make it work; the transit system is excellent and even though streets are
crowded, it is not unbearably so. The 21 and 35 became the standard lenses,
the 50 was the "super-tele" and the 90 sat in the bag at the hotel the whole
trip. Hong Kong is vertically challenged and challenging! It is built "up" in
the true meaning of the word. Where space-rich North Americans would put  a
small car park for 5-6 cars, they build a 40 story high apartment block,
streets are quite narrow and the contrast between the sunlit side and the
shadow side would tax any film. It is also a city with very effective air-
conditioning; on the street it is in the low 90's and once you step into one
of the stores or malls, it feels like you have been deposited at the crossing
of Portage and Main in Winnipeg in the winter. The humidity is high, hovering
around 95-97% when I was there and this gives new meaning to "condensation" on
cameras and lenses. It is remarkable how well the M's can take it - probably
better than me! Of course if I needed to clean the equipment, Joseph had a
substantial supply of R.O.R. in the trunk of his car. 
 One good thing with Hong Kong is that you never are in doubt what time it is;
there are enough Rolex watches around to keep you posted.  The current
recession has driven the prices down somewhat, diamond studded Rolexes were a
mere $50,000 (or 25 M6's) and here and there you could see the FED equivalent
of those, made somewhere else and with lesser stones on them for $50 (or a
body cap for a M6). Food is plentiful and available in every shape and form;
from the best cuisine - be it Chinese, Thai, Indian, French - to the more
unidentified objects in the street vendors woks. It all tasted good! There is
an abundance of Mercedes Benz' three pointed stars around too. Evidently 10%
of Hong Kong's car park is the S-klasse Mercedes and with road tax hitting US$
2,000 a year for the bigger models, gas running around US$ 5 a gallon and with
parking on the Hong Kong side being $7-10/hour, you start appreciating the
transit system!
 It is a place that overwhelms you when you arrive. It is busy. It is
constantly moving. People are around you  all the time. Surprisingly enough,
with this amount of humanity, sometimes almost pushing you along, they are
also very friendly and helpful, except for when you wait in line. Being
"almost" a nice Canadian, you stand there and wait for the throng to clear, no
dice, there were 50 people behind you when you stopped there - in a split
second (a Rolex moment no doubt) they are all in front off you! Oh well, you
can wait for the next tram, anyway.
 Hong Kong has a wonderful tram system, old 30's trams, double deckers that
lumber along with squeaking wheels and grinding brakes. Nostalgia at its best!
They provide a perfect shooting platform if you get a window seat on the
second level and at about US$ 0.25 it is a bargain too. You travel the length
of the Hong Kong side, from the Happy Valley Race Course to Kennedytown in
about an hour; perfect view of the throngs on the sidewalk below you and the
merchants with their wares. The scenery changes as you go through town, from
Causeway Bay's department stores, through the Central's banking and government
buildings and to the rice merchants' shops, spice stores and turtle meat shops
along the streets in Kennedytown. Fast film is recommended as the driver knows
exactly when you want to shoot and will immediately apply the brakes and come
to a shuddering stop about 5 feet further along than you wanted.
 It was a great trip; talking photography with Joseph, Adrian - shooter in
Shanghai - and James Nelson who is documenting Indonesian tribes. James
brought some Epson printed shoots to the Sunday dinner. He is a R8-shooter and
a damned good one too. I am now waiting for his book. Talking Leica with the
LUGgers and shooting with Joseph, Ray and Adrian anywhere and everywhere.
Watching Michele Bina take off into the Hong Kong night and traffic on his BMW
motorcycle - there is a brave man for you! - Sometimes life is very good! -
Joseph has already picked a spot for next years LUG-meet and trust me, you got
to be there to see it! - Again thank you all for hospitality, good talks and
(I hope) great b/w shots and see you all soon again.
 Joseph gave me a great set of 3 books  called "Old Hong Kong" which cover
Hong Kong's history in pictures; from the early settlement in the 1840's up to
1997 when the Union Jack came down for the last  time - the last shot is  the
lone bag piper standing in the pouring rain. -  We all think we are such
hotshot shooters, but looking at some of these old prints from the  19th
century -  while our equipment might be more convenient, our films faster and
our lenses more sophisticated - better pictures - that's debatable. Some of
these shots were taken with wet collodion plates, coat, shoot and process
before the emulsion had dried and in a high heat and humidity environment at
that. Hauling these plates and cameras around demanded stamina and dedication.
No shoulder bag with a couple of M-bodies (and  Fuji TX-1) and a pocket filled
with film in those days!
Tom A