Chris writes, "The trip to Detroit was fine and uneventful. I called Dave and told him I was in Tokyo
and he got on me for spending the money until he figured out we was jerking his chain."The trip from Detroit to Tokyo was great. Cramped in coach but enjoying the Alaskan Mountains, a glacier, and
the coast of Russia and China made the trip over worth it. Didn't sleep on the plane except for about ½ hour. We got to see Mt McKinley and some glaciers. It was cool; pardon the pun. The food on
the plane basically stunk but the movies were ok.
When we got to Tokyo, Chris ran into Norma Futtini who he knew from the Baltimore Tournament. Here it was halfway around the world and
we ran into a friendly face! Anthony writes, "I had never seen so many Boeing 747's in one place in his life. Every plane there practically was a 747. I did see a few L1011's. Seeing Japan
from the air the mountains and the entire city was cool. Thoughts of the Second World War arose and I thought of my grandfather being there at the time after the bomb was dropped. The airport was unique as
we departed the plane by stairs and took a buss to the terminal. Security seemed pretty tight. There was no place to eat there that did not serve some kind of dish we were not interested in eating. They did
have a lounge at the gate area downstairs that we hung out in and connected to the Internet."
We boarded the plan and landed in Hong Kong. Anthony writes, "It was great
looking out the window for that first glimpse of Hong Kong. The new airport was far from the city, unlike the old airport, which was in Kowloon. Almost everyone on the plane was Asian. The meal from Tokyo
was an attempt to be Asian. Chris and I kept saying we should have learned Cantonese. The airport was huge. I think all of Charlotte Douglas could have fit in the baggage claim area." We made it
through Customs ok, not a problem at all. They didn't even search our luggage. Si Gung and several students met us at the Airport. We were so honored. He came out just to meet us.
We were, also, so nervous. When we found out that Si Gung would be there to greet both of us, we could hardly speak. It was very late at night when we arrived. Chris and I could not believe we were finally
seeing him face to face. He was polite but stern and no nonsense. You could tell he was in complete control.
The ride over to Kowloon was an incredible sight to see. Hong Kong is like
nothing I have ever seen. It is so BIG! No wonder Steve wants to move here. It is a never-ending city. We talked with Kevin and Jackie. Kevin is our main translator. He
speaks the best. He pointed out that we were crossing the Tsing Ma Bridge, The largest suspension bridge in the world. It was awesome. 
They both wrote down some phrases that would allow us to
communicate with Si Gung a little better. It really helped out a lot. These kids were so funny and asked us more questions about America than we asked about Hong Kong.
They were as thrilled to have us there, as we were to be there.
The Hotel was better than expected. It had a wall safe, fridge and a square john. The room was small but
comfortable. It had twin beds but would do for a week. The beds slept pretty well. The hotel, YMCA International House, did not have soap and separate shampoo, they were combined.
Despite our minimum amount of communications with Si Gung, he had everything at the hotel in order for us. Si Gung said, "be ready at 11:00am.
Nevertheless, we went out to a coffee house with Kevin and Jackie that first night. They were told to make sure we were taken care of. We met Jackie's Girlfriend, Eva, and in our
fashion, we picked on Jackie and Kevin. Hong Kong was full of life at night. It was not unlike NY in this way, but everything and I mean everything is super small. Elevators
barley fit 5 people. Kind of like a cruise ship.
We went right to bed and got up at 6:00am. We showered and watched some HK TV. About half the stations are English or have subtitles.
We then went down to have breakfast at the hotel. Believe it or not, they had bacon and eggs along with some of the traditional dim sum items.
We were summoned by the boys which showed up at 10:30 or so to make sure we met our 11:00am appointment with Si Gung. We walked across the street a ways and took the
subway train to Si Gung's medical and kwoon flat. 
We walked in bowed and kneeled simultaneously to him. We impressed him since we did this without being prompted. He asked us about the Youngee
Jong (the jong we have at the school we thought). We did the form Sifu taught us and he said Sifu made the same mistakes that we were making and he said he would correct them.
We were so nervous at this point but so happy to be there getting drilled. He taught us several new moves. He is like working with Sifu and you can see some of the
mannerisms that Sifu does teaching, he acquired from Si Gung.
Si Gung did not have a translator there for us in the beginning of the day. Cathy, a nurse
from the hospital came to Si Gung's to be our translator. After she arrived, he asked about the fee for training. We told him we had his fee but we just wanted to give it to him at the
right or appropriate time. He said now was fine and we gave him the money and the gifts we had brought from the states. Si Gung really liked the NASCAR Tech shirt I brought
from work. He put it on and took a picture with us. We also gave him a Lai Tong Pai t-shirt and some cigarettes. Si Gung wanted to also test our Luk Sao. What an Honor to
touch hands with Si Gung! Anthony and I were very nervous. I was, especially, when I knocked his glasses to the side. Chris was worried he offended him but he really like it.
Chris said, "I owe Alex many meals for the skill I developed practicing with him in Chi Sao." Si Gung called Anthony clever and fast and said he would teach him many new
motions. We learned part of the Youngee Jong from 11:00am to 2:00pm then it was time for lunch.
We walked a couple of blocks to a mall that had a restaurant on the 3rd floor. It was call the
King Wah! Si Gung had his table, I repeat, his table ready and waiting when we got there. We got the full traditional treatment. At lunch we met Cecil. He is the elder
student there with Si Gung. Cathy and Cecil tried to talk Si Gung into teaching us weapons because we paid so much money. Si Gung wasn't going for it and Cecil called
him selfish for it. The table laughed. Tea was then served. Si Gung began to act really concerned because we did not drink our tea, as did everyone else but him. Anthony told
him that we would not drink before him out of respect for him as our Si Gung. The table got quiet and Si Gung saluted us with the traditional Sil Lum hand over clinched fist and smiled.
He was honored that we did this for him. He then toasted us and we could barely hold back the tears we were producing.
While at lunch Si Gung said he would test our Kung Fu when we returned to the kwoon. We were concerned. Cecil was big for Chinese, nearly Chris's size and looked kind of
mean. Kevin said later that many people are scared of him because he looks mean but he is a super nice guy. He was absolutely right.
When we returned from lunch, we started again on the Youngee Jong. Si Gung pulled a Sifu on Cecil; he changed the form for us from what Cecil knows. He explained that we
needed the extra moves and that this was original. Cecil looked like we generally do when he was told things were totally different. Glad to know this happens around the world to all of us.
While Anthony was working on the Jong I touched hands with Cecil. I did ok. He complemented me many times and Si Gung got on him when he tried to uproot me and I
pushed him back where he almost crashed into the chairs. Si Gung laughed very hard. Thanks to Alex for the practice with the bottom palm. Every time Anthony or I would do
something right, Si Gung says, "OK!" and it is a riot.
Anthony showed Si Gung the scar on his shoulder where the pin is in place. Si Gung
worked with Anthony for about an hour on Chi Sao. Anthony could not stop grinning, as I had not stopped grinning either while touching hands with Si Gung. Si Gung would not let
anyone else work with Anthony except Jackie because of his shoulder. Si Gung was impressed that Anthony could trade with Jackie. He said with practice, Anthony can be
the best. Anthony was totally floored by that comment.
We then went back to work on the Youngee Jong and it was tough work.
We were very
bruised and hurt. We are told to hit the Jong as hard as we can every time we can. "This is most important" Si Gung said.
We talked with Si Gung on what we would be learning. Si Gung said the Jong work was most important, and then the Lo Kuen would give us the Hay Ma. We put this together
from talking with Kevin and seeing the form. Thus ended the first day of workout. We were drenched in sweat since it was in the 90's and the humidity very high. Si Gung did
not have an air conditioner we thought. We found out later that he did not turn it on that day. A test?
Kevin and Jackie walked us back to the hotel. This several mile walk was not what we wanted after working out with Si Gung. They wanted to show us what we were missing
taking the subway over everyday. We went through most of Mong Kok. We talked good kung fu. Kevin and Jackie don't know a lot about our style. What we call the second half
of Keun Jong, Si Gung teaches them early on. They also know a form called Poon Kuen and Lo Kuen. Poon Kuen looks a lot like the second half of Kuen Jong but simpler in form.
All the rest is Jong work. They begged us not to tell Si Gung that they showed us Poon Kuen so we showed them the Lao Ying to make it even. They did not know this form
existed. We did not show them anything else.
Kevin and Jackie took us to eat at a Japanese place. The food wasn't great but was
edible and we did some shopping. Chris got a kung fu VCD and we went to a park that was really neat. It was a reflecting park and was very tranquil.
The next day we woke up and went to breakfast at the hotel restaurant. It was a buffet with a fair amount of American food on it. Hot Dogs are called sausage and sausage is
called pork pattie burgers. You can see how this could be confusing. It also had traditional dim sum items as well. Everything was pretty good, especially the coffee. We were excited about this.
We went to Si Gung's house as before to meet for lunch. We went back to the same restaurant and they ordered for us. Today, there was some drama at lunch. We found out
that Si Gung has his own table, but he did not get it today. They obviously messed up. The owner kept coming over to say he was sorry for the confusion. Si Gung kept giving him a
piece of his mind. It was quite funny. Today we ate pigeon and I mean pigeon with the head and all. It was greasy but not bad. (We actually were used to it by the end of our trip.)
Si Gung tells all of us the story of Chris and Cecil playing Luk Sao. It is a running joke. (See, Chris, in defending against a pull technique, tossed Cecil back about three
feet. Si Gung thought this so funny.) When Cecil got there he demonstrated a low palm and pointed to his ribs. Then he gave me the "thumbs up" sign. What a compliment from
my Hong Kong school brother! We decided to eat light because of the upcoming workout. We knew it was going to be intense and HOT! We knew we were going to probably be on
the jong again. "Get the dit da jow ready!"
We went back to Si Gung's flat and worked the rest of the day on the Youngee Jong. 
This is the form similar to our school's; Sifu's, Jong form and we were able
to finish it up that afternoon. We were told this form is harder than the Bungee Jong form. We went home and practiced in the air for a while to try to remember.
Something we noticed that day was that there was a new person watching us train. Most of the time, we later determined, it was a former student of Si Gung that had come to see the "round eye" do
Kung Fu. Cecil does most of the teaching but Si Gung yells at him if he says something wrong. Si Gung really loves Cecil because that boy makes him laugh a lot.
Si Gung instructed Kevin and Jackie to take us to make pictures because he had certificates made for us to receive upon completion of our training. What an honor!!! It
was a riot though because we looked liked drenched rats…especially Anthony. After getting the pictures back and the boys had departed, we decided that Anthony should get
his redone. He did not make it to the barber before we left for Hong Kong so his hair was wacked out.
We arrived at our room and were totally exhausted. We took showers and then intended to go eat. This didn't happen as we fell asleep on the beds and slept till around midnight.
Upon waking up at that time, we spoke of our wonderful and exhausting day, ate a few granola bars and then went back to sleep.
We awoke around 7:00am. We proceeded to the dinning room to have breakfast. Anthony showered and then bolted down to a salon to get a haircut. The experience was
wonderful. The attentiveness was unlike anything you might find in the US…at least for the money. For $8.00 US, he received a shampoo and massage, a scissors cut, a cleansing
shampoo and then a blow dry and styling. The best haircut Anthony had ever received anywhere. He then proceeded to the Kodak joint across the street from the hotel to get a
new picture taken. This one looked great. Getting back to the room, we left for Si Gung's early so we could get in some shopping. Everything here is cheap, that is, if you want a
knock off. We found watches branded "Swiss Navy" or the "New Swiss Army" and other knock off names. I must say the quality was pretty good considering.
When we got to Si Gung's, we found he was talking to Sifu Li on the phone. Sifu said we were lucky because Si Gung has decided not to teach or take on anyone else after us.
Lunch was at Si Gung's favorite restaurant again and they again screwed up the table situation. We ate pigeon, again, and a new person was there for Si Gung to tell about
Chris's Luk Sao story. (Don't think this was going to Chris's head ok…yeah right!) Cecil caught a lot of hell over letting the Round eye beat him. Our new visitor at lunch
was the other Li Kueng. He was very nice and happy we were there to train with Si Gung.
We went back to the flat and reviewed the Youngee Jong. Si Gung felt comfortable with
our skill in this area and started teaching the Bungee Jong. Cecil crammed the whole form into us within a couple of hours. The bungee Jong is easier and should perhaps be
taught first. I believe the only reason he started with the other Jong was because we had a foundation from Sifu in his form, which is similar. However, we will need to verify this
with Si Gung and Sifu upon our training's completion. Jackie told us that we would be tested on the Bungee Jong form the next day.
I am really proud of Anthony. He has done nothing but work out. He has been down because he doesn't have the autographic memory that I do. He does as good or better
Kung Fu, but hasn't gotten the same credit. Si Gung tells him not to be so nervous.
Hard to do when you are training before Si Gung. Anthony and I worked on the Jong
forms in the air for 2 hours before supper. We then walked around and did some shopping.
We woke up the next morning and I wanted to go to a temple and the Jade market.
Anthony stayed and worked on the Jong forms. I was gone about an hour and saw the Temple. I believe this will be as close as I get to a Shaolin Temple. What a holy place
and right there in the middle of town. The jade market was right there beside the temple and I went in to check it out. It was like being attacked by used car salesmen from all
directions. They will haggle over everything. The jade is not high quality but that is ok because it is at a comparable price. I came back to find Anthony still working on the Jong forms.
We went to Si Gung's and found Sifu's sister there, May. She took us to the open-air market, but we didn't buy anything. We went to lunch at the restaurant and found out the
name was King Wah. May was there to translate today and Si Gung had to gripe about the table again. Yes, he did not get his table again and we were miffed that the manager
had not straightened it out yet as he was chewed everyday for this up one side and down the other. You would think he would have learned by now. We had another visitor for
lunch that day as well. We found out later that this person was a real Sil Lum Monk that Si Gung had been friends with for years. He came back to watch us train for a short while.
Si Gung told May the story of the Chris/Cecil Luk Sao and May told us the Si Gung and the guys said that Anthony and I were really powerful. She said she would stay
and watch practice. Si Gung grabbed my earlobe, because they don't have any and I made my ears wiggle. We thought he was going to fall out of the seat he was laughing so hard.
Yes, pigeon again.
We reviewed the Jong forms and Si Gung had us do Luk Sao for the three hours that we
were there. We were informed that Drew didn't have as much skill in this area when he came over, but that Anthony and I had skills much higher. If we embarrassed Sifu a little
by being a little slow on the Jong, we countered it with our Luk Sao knowledge and ability. Anthony was on his game today. I didn't have anything for him. I did however for Cecil,
Kevin and Jackie. I taught Kevin what Si Gung had taught me and Si Gung said I was a good teacher for teaching Kevin this move. Anthony redeemed himself today and whipped
up on Cecil. When Anthony was working with Kevin, Si Gung said today's lesson was for them not for us because our skill level was so much higher in Luk Sao. Different teachers
focus on different things and we saved face for Sifu with Si Gung. Anthony played with Si Gung and Si Gung commented on his speed. He told him by the time he left he would have
a lot of Luk Sao techniques. He also commented that his Luk Sao would be up there with the best if and when he learned more techniques or moves. This was another emotional
moment for Anthony that took a few moments to get over. The Jong really helps the Luk Sao and we proved that that day. We learned an incredible amount today and the respect
we were starting to earn from Cecil and the boys was more evident. We were not just the "guai low" anymore…we were brothers…Lai Tong Pai brothers!
We went to supper with Jackie at his home. The home is small, not much bigger than our hotel room. We met Jackie's sister (Sandy) and brother and Jeffery, Jackie's nephew.
We had the real Hong Kong home-style dinning experience. We felt we had to bring something to Jackie's house. Jackie said we didn't have to but we brought flowers
anyway. They showered us with gifts. We had models for Anthony's boys and two clock radios and his and her matching watches from Jackie's father's company.
The meal consisted of two complete fish, lots of steamed shrimp (full bodied), a bean and pork dish, and a mushroom and Chicken dish. All tasted very good but was not so good
for the American weak stomach.
We were living our dream of being in Hong Kong. Jackie and Kevin treat us great and we
will send them a lot of stuff when we get back to the states. Jackie's mom didn't eat with us she said she was tired from the cooking. We felt kind of bad because like all our other
meals we could not even eat half the food that was prepared. However, we tried!
After dinner, Kevin and Jackie took us shopping. Riding by bus in Hong Kong is an
experience in itself. We took route 7 that eventually put us by the hotel. The bus does not leave an inch between cars when it stops and the double Decker can scare you to death. 
They took us to a department store where Anthony and I purchased silk Kung Fu
jackets. I also got some Kung Fu pants and a robe for Gabriele. All of these items for less then $100 American. We found Lions there for $200 American and Drums for $140
American. Kevin will check on the shipping cost to send ship them back to America.
We went to the Harbor that night and saw the walk of Fame for Hong Kong and we took
many pictures. You could not get this view anywhere else in the world. Looking over at Hong Kong Island, all you see is a city of neon lights. We took many picture at the
harbor. One of which Chris and I are looking down at the camera from a tall rainbow lit building. It was shaped as a swoosh. We are glad we are studying Kung Fu mostly on this
trip, but we will be back as a tourist one day. Hopefully, the girls will want to come back with us as well.
Finally, back at the hotel. Do they not know we have to train for 4-5 hours tomorrow?
The boys have run us ragged and we collapsed into bed but we had a fun time.
We slept hard or at least I did but Anthony didn't. He was tired most of the day. We went
to the Temple and then to the Jade market. All we had to do was to start to walk away and they would drop the price. We bought some souvies and then we went on to Si Gung's
flat for our training.
We were slightly early and sat down and somewhat chatted, best we could, with Si Gung. Cecil came over first followed by Jackie and then Kevin.
Si Gung instructed Jackie to call ahead to get his table ready. We proceeded on to lunch. When we arrived, there were
lots of people standing in line, 50-100 at least, but we just walked right in. The table wasn't ready and when we were seated it was at a table that was really not in a good spot.
When Si Gung came in, we knew it was on. He made Jackie move seats and hurt his feelings a little. Jackie really did his best with the management but the main manager
was not there and he evidently did not remember whom Jackie was or whom he was acting of behalf of. The food was really good that day. I bet they were cooking their tales
off in the kitchen since it was so busy.
The workout started out as always with Jong work. They were satisfied quickly with our
performance and moved us to the Lo Kuen form. In the middle of Lo Kuen, Si Gung's wife, Si Mo, and his daughter arrived. We stopped training at the time because Si Gung
wanted to have the certification ceremony where he handed us our instructor certificates and our Lai Tong Pai certified and stamped banners. What an Honor! We caught it all on
tape and took many pictures. We still get cramps from all the grinning that we were doing all that week, especially that day. We cannot describe what it has been like to train with
the Grandmaster in Hong Kong. We almost cried we were so happy to finally complete the dream. Cecil, Jackie and Kevin told us how proud they were to help us achieve this honor.
Wow is all we could say. To think, being accepted as Si Gung's last closed door students.
We finished Lo Kuen form and then went on to more Luk Sao training. Cecil made us all
laugh when he put a pillow in his shirt for protection to play with Anthony. We were starting to feel sad at this emotional point, since we realized we only had two days left.
We went to eat dinner at Kevin's home and had a terrific meal. It was better then any we had had here in Hong Kong to that point. We drank a soybean juice as our beverage and
then ate a dessert called Savoy. Chris will ask Sifu about it so he can make it himself. We took pictures and Chris started to fall asleep. I kept smacking Chris trying to get him
to wake up. I think that things were catching up to him as it did me the day before. He is an early bird anyway you know. Kevin took us back and Chris was asleep in 10 minutes.
The next morning we got up and went to the back to the temple for more pictures and then back to the Jade market. It was a good chance to buy some last minute souvenirs. We
then hurried back to the train station to train with Si Gung.
We thought that on this day that maybe we would be just working on items we had already
learned. We were wrong. Si Gung started teaching us the Ma Kuen. Si Gung made this form to train specific things and created it specifically for Chris and I and his students,
right there on the spot. This form starts on bricks, one vertically upright for each foot turned in at a 45 degree angle, and is used for the stance training and chi building. We
worked on this and a good bit more Luk Sao to wind up the day. Sifu's sisters and brother in law were there to watch us that day.
That night, we went to eat with Sifu's family. We journeyed deep into the New Territories. This was quite an experience. We met Sifu's mom and discovered that Sifu's sister is
married to Si Gung's son. What a surprise, but it certainly explains the ties Sifu Li and Si Gung have together. Lots of people in and out of the kwoon there in Hong Kong talk
about how good Sifu was when he was younger. Because he is still the only one that practices, he is still good.
The meal was in a little restaurant by their flats. We got a lot of strange looks; I don't think they had ever seen a round eye that far into Hong Kong. We made Sifu's mom
smile with the picture of Sifu Li we brought with us. They took some pictures of themselves for us to take back to our Sifu. We were very emotional caused by the way
they treated us. Just like we were part of their family. The restaurant was again small, about the size of Sifu's place. We sat at a round table I the middle of the room. Aquariums
with various kinds of fish were in the dinning area and cages with pigeons were seen out back. Whenever someone would order fish, a guy with a net would dash out front and
scoop up the kind requested and he would then dash back to the kitchen. It was a site to see and one that you just do not see in most parts of the US.
The Last Day
: We went to a Chinese department store and found we could have taken the train to it. Therefore, we took the train back to the hotel. I bought a lot of kung fu
pants and a few lion dancing items. Anthony bought Shawna a dress. We arrived at Si Gung's on time and started to work out. I took a chance and showed him Gik Son Foon.
Si Gung said some moves were right and some were wrong. He showed us half of the form and told us not to do what we were doing. We recorded Si Gung, however, doing the form
correctly…well at least the first half. This was truly an honor and way more video of him demonstrating than we expected. Anthony showed him our long pole form and Si Gung gave the thumbs up to it.
Class ending that day was very emotional for both Chris and I. We did not want to leave the kwoon. I guess that is really an understatement. We were missing home and the girls
very much though. We still had that night left to spend with the guys and Si Gung. This was Cecil's turn to dine us and he pulled out all the stops. We were treated to a goose
feast. We went to an area of Hong Kong that was on the other side of Kowloon nearer to the new airport. We came upon a small two-story restaurant located in an alleyway off a
residential street near some high-rise homes. This was sort of like the place we ate with Sifu's family but it was a little nicer and a little more famous. The former British
Governor liked to frequent this hometown gourmet restaurant. As I said, we were treated to goose. When I say we ate goose, I mean we ate goose…every part of it. Our appetizer
was goose related and all our main dishes. There was one dish that Chris and I really liked. It was a noodle type dish with some meaty type of things on top. We asked what this
dish was and we were told promptly. We should not have asked. The meaty stringy things were goose intestine. "Oh, well" I said. No need to slow down now.
Dinner was great and we met some of the guys that were there during the week as well as some of Cecil's family. We believe some of them might have been Sifu's Si Hings. We all
tried to stretch it out as much as we could. We made many toast to one another with tea like it was the only thing that would prolong the night. 
Eventually, we left and rode back to Mong Kok near Si Gung's home flat. We were in the very inner city of
Mong Kok. We pulled over to the curb and all got out. Here, we were to say goodbye to Si Gung. We saluted him traditionally and then like we were family, we hugged each other and
departed. We were to walk back to the subway and take the train back to the hotel. We did not talk much to Jackie and Kevin at first but later on began to talk to them. This seemed to delay
the inevitable feeling of leaving the next morning. We joked a lot with them. We had the feeling that they were as said to see us go as we were to leave. We parted
from them at the subway drop off. It was then that we struggled to hold back the emotions. I could tell that Chris was upset by the fact his eyes were red and swollen. I am sure he was seeing the same in me.
After arriving back to the hotel, we packed and prepared for the 5 am departure from the hotel. We took a shuttle back to the airport. We did get to eat some familiar Burger King
Croissants at the airport. Chris became furious with me when my bag was not accepted as carry on and I said to the lady that his was no smaller. We did not want to check them
because we had breakable souvenirs inside. It was one of those Chris and Anthony moments. Classic, to say the least.
We sat in the back and in the middle of the 747 returning to Tokyo. We hated it since it
was very noisy compared to the front seat we had coming over and extremely cramped. From Tokyo to the US, we sat in the back but on the side. We still were so ready to get out
of the plane. Our legs were cramping and numbing and we could not see out very well so there was not much to do but see the movies. They were not as good coming home as
going over either. Food was absolutely horrible. When we arrived in Detroit, we bolted to an Applebee's or something that was there and we loved the taste of this American
unhealthy food. Boy it was good. The trip to Charlotte was ok. We were happy to be home in Raleigh. We then had to drive to Charlotte. We were definitely tired when we arrived.
Would we do it all over again? You bet your long pole we would!
Written by Sifu Chris Facente and Sifu Anthony Stephenson during and upon completion of their trip to Kowloon Hong Kong June of 2004.
