How the Other Half Lives

The Hong Kong skyline from Victoria Peak. Notice the inevitable smog and the two towers which will anchor the view from both sides of the harbour when the Kowloon tower is finished.

The escalators - officially called Peoplators - which move commuters up and down the side of the mountain.

Darryl and I visited Hong Kong and Mission Hills in Shenzhen on the Fall Festival break. It was a whirl of trip. We flew into Shenzhen on Tuesday and took a shuttle into Hong Kong arriving about 9 PM. We had to cross the Chinese and Hong Kong borders while dragging our bags and golf clubs. But we found out why people pay more to fly direct to Hong Kong. We stayed with a young couple, Jocelyn and Kylie Barnstable, who are friends of Darryl's. They made it a mission to show us the city in the day and a half that we had. After dinner that evening, we toured the Night Market in Mong Kok and Lan Kwai Fong bar street in Hong Kong.

Our Hong Kong hosts, the Barnstables - Jocelyn and Kylie.

Lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant in the Soho area.

The next day we were up early and at it again. We took the ferry to Hong Kong and took the double deck bus to the other side of the island - Repulse Bay and Stanley Market. Later we toured the escalators and had lunch in Soho. After lunch we took a cab to Victoria Peak and enjoyed the view before taking the funicular tram back down. Then we toured the waterfront in Kowloon and some malls. We were pretty played out by this time and ordered a takeout dinner. We watched the holiday fireworks from the 36th floor balcony of the Barnstable's apartment. Darryl and I recovered enough to go out for a massage. I had a foot massage which I slept through but Darryl selected the body massage and was pummeled as a reward!

On the Stanley waterfront.

Waiting for the tram.

On the Peak.

Hong Kong is a very wealthy city. Kylie told us there are 77,000 millionaires living on the main island. Needless to say you can get all kinds of luxury goods and high end brands. On the other hand, the Barnstables pointed out several groups of Fillipino live-in domestic workers enjoying the national holiday. Basically they crowd into a mall, a park, under an underpass or any public space they can occupy for free and play cards or eat food. They were all over the place; I am sure we saw tens of thousands.

Fillipino block party.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast with Kylie's brother, Ryan, and his son Hunter. Jocelyn, Kylie and Ryan all work at a school in Hong Kong. The Barnstables were excellent hosts and we got to see a lot of Hong Kong in a very short time. After breakfast, Ryan drove us to the train back to Shenzhen. We crossed the border again at Lok Ma Chau and expected to find a shuttle to Mission Hills. No such luck - no one there knew anything and none of the Mission Hill numbers I had worked - not a good sign. So grabbed a cab and luckily I had the name of the resort on a letterhead which the cabbie recognized.

Our welcome committee at Mission Hills.

We arrived around 12:30 and had a round scheduled for 2:00. We checked in at the golf desk and were also able to check in early at the hotel. We wanted to have lunch, but were hurried off to the practice range - it was hot but we each hit a small bucket and bought some expensive water. We got back to the course with about 20 minutes to go and waited around until 2 but no one called us to the tee. I went to check and it turned out that you have to check in with the caddie master. Not surprising considering they are starting players on 5 or 6 courses from the same place, but we didn't know. So we started late and kind of rushed. However, when we got to the first tee, Darryl hit it off well with the caddies - his was very cute and soon they were fooling around, exchanging hats (the caddies wear a hard hat with a bill on it) and taking pictures.

Darryl clowning with his caddie - the women can't resist him!

Ron posing with caddies. Yes that is right - a cart and a caddie. The caddies ride on the back.

The round was quite eventful we played the first 9 with two ladies from Hong Kong - one was a very good player. I scored an eagle on the 7th and finished the front with 40. Darryl was seeing all the sights with some wayward tee shots but chipped and putted like a fiend. We finished just at dark but well under 4 hours. I had an 80 and Darryl shot about 105. The Vijay course had a lot of water and was well laid out, but did not have much elevation. I was a bit disappointed as I felt it didn't hold up in a comparison with Spring City in Kunming which was in superb shape.

Ron and Darryl with Tiger - he was made out of fiberglass!

We went to our room which was excellent and cleaned up, had dinner in one of the cafes and later checked out a lounge with the inevitable Fillipino jazz singer. I also took some absurd photos of Darryl in a black silk robe he had bought in Hong Kong. I turned in about 11 and slept like a log. Darryl was up at 5:30 to run - he is training for the Marathon in Greece.

Darryl and the robe. Yes I had to share a room with this chick magnet!

This time we were scheduled to play the Ells course at 7:38 and got there in good time to 'check in' with the caddie master. I was sure I knew what I was doing, but no - they sent us to 'register' with the golf desk and consequently we were late again. This time we played as a twosome but we had arranged for the same caddies as the previous day and had a pleasant round with lots of clowning around. One of the caddies had brought her own camera and so there were lots of stops for pictures. The Ells course was better, lots of elevation changes and doglegs to keep things interesting. It was not as long as the Vijay course and didn't have as much water but I thought it was harder. I managed an 89 but could have done much better with more course knowledge. Darryl was hitting the ball but his putting deserted him and the result was about the same. Overall for the two days, I drove very well and did better than I had any right to expect.

Darryl and caddie - Day 2. He found out she was from Hubei and used to work in the Silk Market.

What was my take on Mission Hills? First it is huge; the biggest in the world with 216 holes - 12 full courses! The clubhouse/resort complex we stayed at was so big it was confusing; we got lost several times. It was close to 10 minutes walk through the building from our room to the course. On Friday afternoon we were chatted up by a young saleswoman who was trying to sell memberships and she toured us around some of the facility - we saw the tennis centre, the Leadbetter Golf Academy, the home sites and this was only a small part of the whole complex. BTW the memberships ranged from 1 million+ RMB to 450,000+ RMB (about $160,000 to $75000). I didn't pay too much attention to the price! Nevertheless, the service and facilities were excellent and I think you'd get very comfortable if you stayed there for several days. We met a German who was going to stay for 10 days and play all 10 of the public courses. You need a membership to play the other two, the Pete Dye and the World Cup courses. It was also very expensive; the only way I'd come back is if I could get a package deal. At over $276 a round with green fees and caddie fees, this is the most expensive golf I have ever played and it is more on the weekends! Obviously we couldn't afford to stay too long! I have already had one call from the enterprising saleswoman; maybe I should tell her I am a member at Hampton GC and then tell her how much I pay there!?

The classic swing. I really pounded one off this elevated tee on the Ells course. That lovely electric green shirt is my Beijing Golfer's Club shirt. I wanted to show the BGC colours.

So this is how the other half lives. Our saleslady told us most members were from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea with China and the rest of the world thrown in. Twice on the Vijay course I caught fleeting glimpses of the world outside the course. They were both tiny farm fields with shacks made out of scraps of wood and tarpaulin. And that is how the first and bigger half lives in Asia.