Business classes that we took in college always seemed to
spout the benefits of progress. And those of us who took Latin in high school
know that the word “benefits” has the Latin root “bene,” which means “good.”
Therefore, by assertion, progress is good. Well, is that always the case?
I just finished reading a New York Times article in the
Global Business section, titled “Hong Kong’s Old Airport Reopens as Cruise Ship
Terminal.” I was in Hong Kong in April as I was one of the three invited
speakers aboard the Celebrity Millennium for a 15-day Asian cruise. When you
read this article (www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/business/global/hong-kongs-old-airport-reopens-as-a-cruise-ship-terminal.html),
I’d like you to consider several items:
1. Notice the main picture where the new terminal building sits
at the end of the old runway. Does it look as if you can walk anywhere from
there? At the old/current cruise terminal (Ocean Terminal, indicated in one of
the lower images), you could walk right out into historic and exciting Kowloon.
With the new terminal, you’ll be able to walk out into, perhaps, a construction
zone. Call that progress?
2. Ocean Terminal and its adjoining shopping malls are home to
hundreds of stores for anything you would possibly want—whether it’s clothing
for the cruise, a delicious ice cream cone, or gifts to take home to the
grandkids. There’s no word on shopping in the new cruise terminal. But if it’s
anything like the relatively new cruise terminal near Tianjin (the access port
for Beijing), it will be terribly lacking. Our ship was docked for 3 days at
that terminal in April, and it was the worst excuse for a terminal I’ve ever
seen. Yes, it was big and new . . . and EMPTY! The currency exchange booth ran
out of money every day; there was one shop that would open for two hours a day.
That’s not what I would call progress!
3. What will happen to the thousands of workers who earn a wage
in the current Ocean Terminal? Will it still be as thriving when the cruise
ships don’t stop there anymore? I saw hundreds of people stop and gaze at the
ship; some of them, I’m sure, went in the terminal for shopping. Will the
workers see their hours cut back? How many stores will have to close? What will
be the economic impact to the Kowloon area, its restaurants, its shops? As a
shopkeeper puts up a CLOSED (for good) sign, will he or she be thankful for the
“progress” with the new terminal?
Okay, that’s my 421 words against progress. For those of us
who were fortunate enough to fly into the old Kai Tak Airport as we sat on the
right side of the upper deck of a 747, we will never forget that bold right
turn and drop down to a landing. That was fun! The new airport is nice; I particularly
like being able to walk to a hotel in under 5 minutes without having to go
outside. So that is progress that I will support.
Speaking of more progress, my re-configured website is done!
Thanks to Paul, he put together a good theme and set of pages. Check it out at www.stuartgustafson.com. I will be
working to add the travel photos from my old site so you can see some of the places
I’ve been to. I also plan to have a page where readers can submit travel
photos! I’m trying to keep my travel plans current on the website’s Travel page so you can see
where I’m going—just in case you want to consider coming on a cruise where I’m
speaking.
For those of you on Facebook, you probably already know of
my International Travel Expert FB page (www.facebook.com/pages/International-Travel-Expert/147321228683651);
that might even been where you’re reading this article. I’ve also started a new
group called Travel with AITE (www.facebook.com/groups/345304905572972/);
AITE stands for America’s International Travel Expert®, my U.S.
Registered Trademark. The idea behind this group is for people who would want
to travel with others to various places around the world. An optimum size group
per trip would be about 16, and not everyone would want to go on every trip; I’m
thinking that putting together even two a year will be a lot of work. There are
no dues, no obligations, etc., but if you think you’d enjoy talking about
future trips as a small group, please visit the Travel with AITE
page and join the group.
It’s just about a week until the official start of summer.
What travel plans do you have? If you have any questions about travel, don’t
hesitate to ask me.
Safe journeys wherever they may be,
Stuart Gustafson,
America’s International Travel Expert®
