Quesnel Cariboo Observer
Saturday
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Sunday
Friday, March 29, 2013
LOCAL NEWS
Slice of life from the Observer pages In conjunction with the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives’ 50th anniversary, the Observer is running highlights from our pages over the past 50 years. These are reproduced true to the original publication. January 10, 1963
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Flyers This issue may contain these flyers: • JYSK Linen ‘N Furniture • Kawasaki • Aroma Foods • Sears Canada • Surplus Herby’s • Cloverdale • Kal-Tire • Safeway • Rona • Source • London Drugs • The Brick • Canadian Tire • Husqvarna • City Furniture • Save-On Foods • Shoppers Drug Mart • Extra Foods • Home Hardware • Alice Chung-Alive
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eturning to Quesnel in December after an eight-month stay in Hong Kong with side trips to the Portuguese colony of Macau and Canton, Japan and Hawaii Mr. and Mrs. Willie Fun radiated health and happiness when they related highlights of their Oriental tour in an interview on Monday. Boarding the CPA jetliner in Vancouver April 14, 1962, they flew to Hong Kong via Alaska and Japan, and landed at Kowloon airport 17 hours after leaving Canada. The couple checked into the modern Luk-Quok Hotel in downtown Hong Kong. They stayed in the luxury hotel a week before moving to the Asia Hotel, where they lived for the remainder of their visit to the Crown Colony. After 50 years in Canada, Mr. Fun said he “didn’t know the place at all-it was all changed.” Mrs. Fun said that the nicest part of the whole trip was “the scenery from Kowloon overlooking the harbour toward Hong Kong. It was absolutely beautiful.” The first few weeks were spent in and a round of visiting Mr. Fun’s relatives; a daughter, nephew and old friends. “They were surprised and happy to see me again - as I was to see them,” he said. Mr. Fun is part owner of the Nugget Cafe on Barlow Avenue, which has
operated for 43 years. He said although he enjoyed his return to the orient after a half century in Canada, he was “glad to get back to Quesnel - there is no place like home.” Mr. Fun said he could not remember anything of the old city of Hong Kong. New buildings of 15 to 25 storeys high had mushroomed everywhere. Mrs. Fun, on the other hand, had never before been in the Orient in a sense it was a new adventure to both. The famous Happy Valley race track provided a real thrill for the couple and despite the heat temperatures ranged from 80 to 95 degrees - they went to track several times, but did not bet on the ponies. “I don’t understand their type of betting,” said Mr. Fun. “It was all different to the Canadian (pari-mutuel) system - I think it was the same as the “hooky” system in England.” Instead of betting Mr. and Mrs. Fun paid for comfortable seats in the shade where they could thoroughly enjoy the racing and scenery. The climate, said the restaurateur, was similar to Vancouver. “But not burning hot. It was milder there.” The rate of exchange between the Hong Kong dollar and the Canadian dollar is approximately $4.50 HK for $1 Canadian. And for a large room with bath at the Asia Hotel the couple paid $500 Hong Kong a month. “A meal with four or five courses would cost about $2 Canadian in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Fun. “The same meal in Canada would probably run close to $10.” Three motor vessels cross the bay from the
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The picture in the 1963 paper shows the Fun couple in traditional Chinese clothing.
island colony to Macau three times daily, said Mr. Fun. The names of the ships are the Tak-Sing, Fat San and Tai Loy. Well equipped with modern facilities, including a firstclass dining room, the motor ships carry freight and passengers to the Portuguese port some 40 miles from Hong Kong. The Fun couple made the three-hour trip once and were impressed with the cleanliness of the exotic city and the courtesy of the Portuguese officials. “I liked Macau,” said Mr. Fun. “There weren’t as many people there as in Hong Kong…The air was fresher. The place seemed cleaner; probably because there is less industry in Macau then in Hong Kong. It was wonderful.” In another side trip they visited Canton on the Red China mainland and said it was altogether different than reports they had heard and read concerning Communist China. “The people seemed fat and happy.” said Mrs. Fun. “They looked healthier
than the people of Hong Kong. There seemed to be a lot of work going on - new factories - and as in Hong Kong, women did the manual work on the roads and in factories, the sort of work generally done by men in this country.” They learned that the Communist government was concentrating on industrial expansion, rather than housing developments and the production of consumer goods. “There is a lot more food available now,” said Mr. Fun. “It’s rationed, but they get enough.” Mr. Fun said he visited friends and they had told him that living conditions had been steadily improving since 1958. The Quesnel couple tried their sea legs on the return journey to Canada and sailed on the U.S. Dollar Line ship President Cleveland. During the 18day voyage, they stopped over in Kobe, Yokahama and Tokyo, Japan, where they spent 48 hours sightseeing in the three cities. From Japan they sailed to
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Hawaii and spent a day in Honolulu, where Mr. Fun was welcomed by friends who placed three cars at his disposal for trips around the island state. Completing the last leg of their homeward trip they reached Vancouver a few days before Christmas and decided to spend the holiday with Mr. Fun’s son Jack and his children. They returned to Quesnel December 30, in order to spend New Year’s Day here. The Funs agreed it was a wonderful experience visiting the Orient but “it feels good to be home,” said Mr. Fun. “I wouldn’t want to live there any more.” Discussing the figures of women in China, Mr. Fun, with a twinkle in his eye, said that “they sure look good from behind; they are so slim, and the Chong-San dresses they wear make them look streamlined.” He advises Canadian women not to eat too much meat and starchy foods and to sleep on harder beds and sit on harder chairs as the Chinese women do.
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