Pac Rim Is a Big World of Intrigue and Mystery

It is known as the Pacific Rim, a gathering of nations spread across millions of square miles of ocean in a world created of intrigue and mystery and the excitement of discovery.

Nothing sums up this enchantment like Hong Kong, where jets scream in low over buildings flagging laundry for a landing at Kai Tak Airport. To hundreds of servicemen who spent their R&R; in Hong Kong, this was truly “The World of Suzie Wong.” And although Suzie’s world existed only in the pages of a novel, the Wanchai District where she strolled remains alive, with shadowy figures peering from the doorways of a maze of neon-lit bars.

Across Hong Kong’s lovely harbor, the more genteel visitor takes tea in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, a legend among legions of travelers. It was in the lobby that scenes from Ernest Gann’s novel “Soldier of Fortune” were set, and where almond-eyed beauties continue to move gracefully among the tables while others peer through potted palms in a flashback to moments when the British were still top gun in Hong Kong.

Who isn’t filled with the desire to hike up Victoria Peak? Below, the Star Ferry churns between the island and Kowloon. Off in another corner, sampans choke Typhoon Shelter, and beyond, silhouetted on the horizon, China itself broods in a purple haze.

During roughly a decade, visitors to 30 member destinations of the Pacific Asia Travel Assn. have increased from 18.5 million to 38.7 million. Once, early on, Japan was courted. But as the yen grew strong and the dollar weakened, an exodus occurred. Now with the dollar making gains, however minimal, the Japanese are preparing to play host again.

Few would claim the tourist can do Tokyo on a budget. Still, only moments from the impressive Imperial Hotel, obscure cafes ladle up meals that in some instances compare with prices at fast-food joints in the United States.

And yes, of course, there is a McDonald’s.

That famous strip, The Ginza, still courts tourists and hundreds of bistros flash neon and the streets teem with crowds.

If Tokyo is expensive, well, it is exciting as well.

While Japan anticipates the return of the American tourist, that gentlest of cities, Kyoto, is preparing to show off its shrines. With hundreds of Buddhist temples and Shinto show places, Kyoto claims the title of Japan’s religious capital--as well as home to dozens of inns. In particular, the Tawaraya is revered by the cognoscenti, having provided shelter for the likes of William Faulkner, Leonard Bernstein, Jean-Paul Sartre and John D. Rockefeller. Indeed, Rockefeller honeymooned at the Tawaraya, which twice during three centuries has burned and been rebuilt. Others spend the night at the Yoshikawa. The hot tub is prepared, the mama-san shows up with tea and little cakes, and there are windows facing gardens laced with plants and ferns and a bamboo fountain.

From Atami to Hokkaido, Japan is reaching out to the tourist. And hoping.

As the decade of the ‘80s closed, China’s political upheavals dampened the desire of visitors. Elsewhere, political turmoil in the Philippines, riots in South Korea and unrest in India all marred growth in the Orient. Still, Asian nations are facing the ‘90s with optimism as new routes unfold across the Pacific. With the long-range Boeing 747-400 coming on line, new interest is being generated in Pacific travel.

Cathay Pacific will introduce the first nonstop Los Angeles-Hong Kong flights on July 1. Other airlines are adding routes across the Pacific as fast as Boeing can deliver the 400s from their Seattle factory. With reduced travel time and direct flights to more destinations, Asian/Pacific nations are gearing up for a new tourist invasion.

At the same time, Pacific Rim countries reflect the same tourism trends being established elsewhere in the world. Experienced travelers are opting for fewer destinations and Asian resorts are coming into vogue. A typical tour takes in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, with a rest stop in Bali, which India’s Nehru described as “the dawn of the world.” In all the world not another island exudes the beauty, the mysticism and the charm of Bali. The gods look down from Agung, the island’s holy mountain. Gamelan orchestras play while Balinese dancers perform the barong. At the same time, Hindus carry food offerings and flowers to gods they know will set free their souls. Good will prevail. Evil will be overcome. Of this, the Balinese is certain. How could it be otherwise on an island with 10,000 temples and more than 1 million Hindu faithful.

Bali’s popularity grew immensely during the last decade. The island is choked with palms and hibiscus, and the fragrance of frangipani permeates the air. As the sun dips into the Java Sea, flames woven among clouds turn the heavens scarlet. Later, with darkness, the lights of a thousand coconut lamps flicker in villages across this mysterious and exotic island.

Still, the prayers of a million Hindus could not dissuade that demon, the jet airplane. The whine of its engines is heard daily after flights over long, lonely stretches of Pacific from the U.S. mainland.

The big planes land also at Jakarta and Singapore, where breezes blow through the corridors of the Raffles Hotel, sweeping along a veranda that has known the voices of British aristocracy, Malaysian rubber planters, opium smugglers, sultans, kings and queens. (Raffles is closed for remodeling at present, however, but is scheduled to reopen at the end of 1991.)

As one of the world’s busiest ports, Singapore in the ‘90s is expected to usher in a new era of tourism. Earlier, tourists arrived with steamer trunks and stayed on for months, for this was the pre-jet era of leisure travel and the grand tour and of proper British ladies and gentlemen whose grace and manners identified them as aristocrats.

Those who arrive today probably won’t recall when war came to Malaya in 1941 and bombs fell on Singapore night and day and streets were turned to craters and buildings were reduced to rubble. No longer. Modern skyscrapers rise over the city.

Not until 1965 did Singapore become an independent nation. In a moving ceremony, flags of the British Far East Command were lowered while bystanders watched a 550-man parade of Britons, Australians and New Zealanders march down Orchard Road and into the pages of history. The mark of the empire, though, remains indelibly etched on Singapore, along its streets and waterfront. Down by the wharf, a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles looks on while sampans land rubber from Malaysia, produce from China and rice from Thailand. In Singapore, Britons still play cricket and sip pink gins. Tradition dies stubbornly.

With the discovery of Pacific Rim nations by new adventurers, an increase is evident in special-interest tours to Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Not every nation will share in the Pacific tourism boom that is expected this year. Despite its cultural and scenic attractions--and some of Asia’s best shopping--South Korea fails as a major destination for Americans. Political turmoil canceled out the country’s popularity that surfaced during the 1988 Summer Olympics.

As the decade of the 90s gets under way, Thailand rates as one of the great success stories of tourism in Asia. Last year an estimated 5.5 million travelers paid visits to this country with its jungles and rice paddies, klongs and what some insist are the friendliest people in all of Asia. In the early ‘50s, the hotels of Bangkok were dismal--with the possible exception of the Oriental. Today with luxury hotels and restaurants spread across the city, Bangkok is siphoning off a huge share of the tourism once enjoyed by Hong Kong.

One airline executive points to the Philippines as one of the Pacific Rim’s great travel bargains--even with its political upheavals. Specifically, he mentions “friendly people” and five-star hotels at “reasonable rates.”

With help from Paul (Crocodile Dundee) Hogan, Australia has become one of tourism’s success stories in recent years, even though the industry suffered in both Australia and New Zealand during a widely publicized dispute among domestic airline pilots. As a result, Australia is launching a lively campaign this spring to urge visitors to return to the world down under.

Like Hong Kong, Australia’s harbor at Sydney is a major focal point for travelers jetting in from the United States. Yachts and hydrofoils churn through its waters, passing Sydney’s landmark Opera House while sports-conscious Aussies on shore line up at dozens of golf courses, cricket fields, bowling greens and tennis and squash courts.

As its popularity continues to grow, Australia’s tourism promoters lead visitors to the Outback, to Melbourne, Surfers Paradise and the Great Barrier Reef. Beginning just south of New Guinea, the Great Barrier Reef extends 1,250 miles along Australia’s northeastern shoreline to Brisbane--a coral wall almost equal to the distance between New York and Miami.

Architects of the reef are polyps, microscopic, flower-like animals which secrete a calcium-like deposit. In turn the polyp eventually dies, leaving a skeletal image, the coral of which the Great Barrier Reef has been created over the course of 30 million years--a wonder that draws legions of visitors.

As a Pacific Rim nation, Fiji is anticipating recovery in 1990--this after several lean years due to coups and political unrest. With several of the finest hotels and resorts in the Pacific, Fiji is prepared for a major comeback. It is a favored destination for hundreds of seasoned travelers. To escape the pressures of Hollywood, actor Raymond Burr bought his own island several years ago. So did Don Costello, an ex-cattle rancher who leased a speck in the ocean that he named Beachcomber Island. Beachcomber is that vision tucked away in the minds of nearly everyone who has ever dreamed of the perfect island paradise: golden sands, an umbrella of palms and endless summer days--12 months a year.

Beachcomber is a hedonist’s hideaway, barely a couple of hours by boat from Fiji’s International Airport at Nadi. On Beachcomber no one hurries. Where would one go? And why would anyone wish to leave? Michener is an old island hand. He would blow his cool over Beachcomber.

In the words of the Fijians, “Ni sa bula,” which simply means “Welcome, brudda.”

This is the Pacific Rim.