March 1st 2017, the Hotel Icon, Kowloon in Hong Kong

Me Jamie, English and 52 years living in Hong Kong and I know the know the place - I personally completed 2,324 Private Tours (6,000+ guests) from 2011 - 2020 and was considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.

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The day I shook hands with the band members of the Damned in a Hong Kong Hotel and yes it is another day I will never forget and NO I did not take them on a tour!

I was a pioneer of Private Tours of Hong Kong, putting up my website in 2010 and doing my first tour in April of 2011, I completed 2,324 private tours of Hong Kong before Covid in January 2020 destroyed my business as Hong Kong was literally closed to tourists for 3 years.

I do have some amazing memories of my time as a Private Tour Guide not least of which was the day I did a tour with a famous Princess on August 22nd 2012 and then another one when I shook hands with a famous alleged Hong Kong Gangster | Mob Boss | Triad Leader at an Iconic Temple in Hong Kong.

and then there was the Damned.

**The Damned, March 1st 2017, Hotel Icon in Hong Kong, all ready to leave after a successful time in Hong Kong - wow!**

If you remember punk rock then you will remember the Damned who formed in 1976, they where and still are pretty iconic in the music scene almost 50 years later.

I used to spend a lot of time in Hong Kong’s fancy Hotels (and still do) as my policy was very simple - I always picked up my guests from the Hotel and dropped them back there at the end of the Private Tour and invariably it was typically our 5 star luxury Hotels I frequented.

I also made a point to turn up at least 30 minutes early and just people watch in the lobby, I love the dynamics of a Hotel Lobby and you just never know what you might see or more importantly WHO you might see., I might also add that my thing was simply that turning up late and flustered was just wrong, I was always pretty punctual and 30 minutes hanging out in a nice lobby was just a nice nice calming experience.

Anyway, I digress as usual.

So here I was on March 1st 2017, mid morning in the the rather nice Hotel Icon which I have visited hundreds of times, it was quiet and pretty empty, except for these 3 chaps and their luggage.. my receptors in my brain started tingling, there was just something about them that made me curious and one thing I am not is shy.

Hearing English accents I made my play with my tried and trusted technique and my line was simple

“ Morning Gentleman, may I ask, are you chaps famous?”

They thought that was hilarious!

I pointed out that they had a vibe and they seemed to me to be quite familiar but I just could not put finger on who they where.. the chap in the blue jacket said, well I am Monty and the penny dropped, “bloody hell, Monty Oxymoron and the Damned”

I went into full Waynes World Fan Mode!, we are not worthy and all that.

I knew that the Damned were in Hong Kong and they are from my era so to speak. (they have now played in Hong Kong 3 times over the years)

Anyway…. I apologised for intruding and we had a good chat for 10 minutes and they kindly posed for a photograph which I needed to prove to people that I knew at my meeting music royalty.. I am not at all sure what they thought of me, they where just a tad surprised I had made my mark in Hong Kong after being born in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire in the UK!

… and I shook their hands!

Below is just a partial list of my private tour guests and their rather diverse occupations, I completed 2,324 Private Tours of Hong Kong in just 9 years with almost 60% of these private tours being 6 - 8 hours long and the ability to talk to so many wonderful people from all walks of life is a gift I acquired, I had over 6,000 guests, not bad for one person!

I have done private tours with so many wonderful people who have the following diverse occupations:-

A REAL Princess, Very close relatives of a US President!, One Star Admiral of the US 7th Fleet, Nuclear Missile Operations Officer (Missileer) for the USAF, Plumbers, Postman, Supplier of ALL frozen burger pattie’s to McDonalds, Nuclear Sub Commanders, Farmers, Chip Shop Owner, Teachers, Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Journalists, Photocopier Repair Guys, Lawyers, Rocket Scientists, Movie Producers, Consul Generals, Police Officers, Homicide Detectives, Travel Agents, House Keepers, Linguists, Retired and Serving CIA Officers, Fighter Pilots, Army and Navy Guys, Socialites, Students, Judges, Journalists, Software Geeks, Nuclear Power Plant Inspectors, Surgeons, Doctors, Forensic Pathologists, Nurses, Coroners, Venture Capitalists, Hospice Directors, Town Planners, Accountants, Psychiatrists, Nuclear Physicists, Professional Athletes, Ferry Captains, Commercial Pilots, Airline Crew, Social Workers, Veterinarians, Musicians, Theme Park Executives, Professional Photographers, College Professors, Gaming Geeks, Inland Revenue Tax Officials, American Airforce B 52 Bomber Pilot, Senior Engineer / Ballistic Missiles, Bodyguards, Beer Salesmen, Park Rangers, Scuba Diving Instructors, Popcorn Machines Makers, Coastguard Officers, Firemen, Structural Geologists, Veterinarians, Architects, Surveyors, Hooters Waitress, Dentists, Ski Instructors, Civil Engineers, Air Traffic Controllers, Electricians, Top Law Professor's at major US Universities, Librarians, Steel Guys, Economists, Homemakers, Novelists, Book Publishers, Currency Traders, Carpenters, a Rabbi, Boiler Maker, Strawberry Farmers, Food Bloggers, Morticians, Financial Advisers, Corporate Video Makers, Private Investigators, Bounty Hunters, Chiropractors, Air Traffic Controllers, Builders, Stonemasons, Botanists, Dog Sitters, Spy, Geneticists, Interpol Agents, Prison Food Suppliers, Radio Announcers, Military Cryptologists, Forklift Drivers, Locksmiths, Icecream maker, Pastry Chef, Baker, Zoo Keepers, Explosives Experts, DEA Agents, Coffee Traders, Diamond Buyers, Wedding Photographers, Google Guru's, Geologists, Professor of Medieval History, Navy Chef's, Camp Site Operators, Animal Embalmers, Telecomms Engineers, Helicopter Pilots, Oil Industry Divers, Navy Seals, Editor for USA Today, Landscape Gardeners, Mary Kay Super Agents, Hotel Owners, TV Actors, Optometrists, Gourmet Chef's, Acclaimed Plastic Surgeons, Barristers, Travel Bloggers, Politicians, Funeral Home Directors, Former Gang Member, Anthropologist, Children's Book Author, Geophysicist, Chicken Artist, Priest, Movie Makeup Artist, Expert Witness, Bail Bondsman, Opera Singer, Master Brewer, Child Prodigy, Debt Collector, Victoria Secrets Store Manager, Head of a major Charity, Celebrity TV Talking Heads (!), Fortune 500 CEO's, Corporate Trainer, Futures Trader, Waitress (quite a few) General Manager of a Worm Bait Company, Owner of a RV Dealership, Convenience Store Owner, Owner of an Amusement Game Manufacturer, Elephant Conservationists, Chemist, High School Students, Crematorium Operator, Concert Pianist, Vet from Honduras, Hair Stylist for a Funeral Home, Calendar Maker, Pedicab Operator, Poets, F16 Fighter Pilot USAF, Steve Jobs Doctor, Major US Democratic Politician, Big cheese Executives from HBO and CBS, Famous journalist and a Journalism Professor, former Secret Service Agent, Famous Rare Coin and Stamp Collector, Major Charitable Foundation Owner ... and some really, really senior people from J. P. Morgan, Starbucks, United Airlines, Boeing, Google and Microsoft.

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