I had the opportunity to spend several days in Hong Kong during our deployment to Vietnam. I took some organized tours of the city, but also wandered around the streets of Kowloon taking random photos. We were cautioned to avoid the back streets and stairways which seemed prudent when one doesn’t know the culture.

I spotted a photo shoot on a stair case just as the model struck a pose.

It took me decades to finally identify this strange fruit that I first saw hanging outside a market in Hong Kong. The fruit is durian, known for its large size and strong odor. The odor has been described as “turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock”. The fruit is banned from some hotels and public transportation due to it’s odor. It is available in the H-Mart in Burlington, MA. At some point I need to try it.

I found two vastly different venues for reading material. The first was what appeared to be fan magazines.

I was tempted to enter the shop of the Peking Review and look around. However we were at war with the Communist Vietnamese. It seemed imprudent for a US Sailor to visit a shop after being called a “US Aggressor with all their running dogs” by Chairman Mao.