The following is my encounter with Playmates Toys in Hong Kong...

I was taking a vacation and visiting Hong Kong for a couple of weeks
in May/June 2000.  It dawned on me that Playmates Toys has their head
offices in Hong Kong so it might be fun to visit there.  I wasn't going
to Hong Kong *specifically* to go to Playmates, but since I'm such a fan
of Playmates' Star Trek line of toys-- so much that I started the
internet mailing list Playtrek-- it somehow seemed appropriate that I at
least look them up and go take a look.  My intention was to maybe get my
picture in front of a Playmates Toys sign while I was wearing my
Playtrek t-shirt.

While in Hong Kong, I looked in the phone book.  Sure enough, they
listed Playmates Toys at 100 Canton Road.  I wrote down the address and
phone number and looked on my maps to try to find their office.  I was
hoping that if me and my wife are in the area, we could stop by for a
look.  Of course, my maps didn't show the street numbers, so while I was
able to locate Canton Road, I only had a vague notion of where the
offices were.  One day, while in Kowloon (the peninsula directly across
from Hong Kong island), I finally arrive at the beginning of Canton
Road.  Me and my lovely wife walked along the street, following the
building numbers-- 1, 3, 5, 7...  This are BIG city blocks and it
becomes clear that the trek to 100 is going to be just too far to take
by foot.  By then, we're tired so we give up and catch the train back to 
the place we're staying in the New Territories.

Later, I called Playmates Toys to get the cross street so it would be
easier to find, but I go no answer.  I pull out my maps, phone book,
etc. to do some more research and see if I can figure out where the
building is.  Finally, by some cross referencing, I find that it's very
near the Royal Palace hotel which I can find on one of my tourist maps.
Bingo!  Ironically, if we had kept walking the previous day, we would
have been there in about another block.  The street number must have
just taken a mysterious leap from the lower numbers to 100.

A few days later, we head out again.  We were going to have a little
time in our schedule and going near the Playmates Toys offices that we
would try to make a special effort to get there.  I even wore my
Playtrek t-shirt in anticipation of getting there and getting my picture
in front of their offices.

Now before I tell this tale, it's important to understand how I'd
already conceived in my mind the encounter would occur.  I'd imagined
that Playmates Toys would have a big building with "Playmates Toys"
blazoned across it.  I'd possibly find some lobby with various Playmates
Toys signs and possibly some staff prepared to greet visitors.  I
figured I'd step up to a sign, my wife would snap a quick picture or
two, and we'd get out of there.  I really didn't want to actually have
to introduce myself to someone at Playmates and try to explain why I was
there.  After all, how do I explain to the local Chinese, who live in a
98% Star Trek-less world, that a fanboy Trekgeek from the States is
there to take a picture of their sign?  It's best just to avoid that if
at all possible.  I just wanted to get the picture and get out of there.
Well...

We directed a taxi driver to take us to "100 Canton Road".  After a
short jaunt through the city, he pulls over and motions that we're there
(he doesn't speak English).  We're confused because we don't see
anything that looks appropriate.  Oh well.  We know we're in the general
area so we get out and go searching.  Up and down the street, we finally
find it-- 100 Canton Road.  It's a HUGE building.  Looking around
outside, I see nothing to indicate Playmates Toys...

We stepped inside the front doors.  Inside was a small, approximately
20'X20' lobby.  On the left was a tiny podium, the right were stairs,
on the far wall was two elevators, and right in the middle of the room
to greet us was a security guard.  My mind raced as this wasn't
something for which I was prepared.  I headed across to a little placard
beside the elevators and located "Playmates Toys" as being listed on the
19th floor.  So they only had a single suite, eh?  I guess that's to be
expected since it's such a big building.  I'm a little disappointed that
there's no blue and red "Playmates" sign of which I can take a picture,
so figure we're going to have to go upstairs to take the picture.  The
security guard gave us a "can I help you?" expression, but I already
knew that if I tried to explain who I am and why we're there then he's
going to not understand, think I'm crazy, and refuse to let us go up.
Therefore, I played it cool and acted like I know what I'm doing.  I
said with confidence that I was visiting Playmates Toys and quickly
punched the elevator button.  Before the guard could question us about
it, the elevator arrived and we jumped in.

During the short ride up, I started getting really nervous.  Already,
things were not as I'd anticipated.  What would I find?  Would we have
the opportunity to take the picture I wanted?  The elevator door opened
into a tiny room, maybe 10'X6'.  On the left wall was a picture I can't
recall.  The right was a glass door leading to offices unknown.  On the
back wall was exactly what I was looking for: a HUGE sign of the blue
and red Playmates logo on clear Plexiglas.  the thing was probably a
good 6 feet across.  Unfortunately right in the middle of the room and
placed between me and the sign was a curved podium with two Chinese
female employees there to greet us.  There looking at us with confusion
and bewilderment.

By now, I'm in near panic mode.  It seems incredibly rude and
inappropriate to step behind there podium and just start taking
pictures.  I figured it would be best to state my intentions and ask
permission first.  After all, what harm is there in taking a picture?
So, totally unprepared, I tried to explain to these two women that I was
a Star Trek fan from the States who ran an internet email mailing list
called Playtrek and figured I'd drop by to take some pictures of myself
with my Playtrek t-shirt beside their sign so I could put it up on the
web so all my friends on the mailing list could see their headquarters
and did they want to pose for the pictures with me...  Well, in my
panicked enthusiasm, I did a horrible job of it.  The women were totally
befuddled and said they'd have to call to see if it was okay for us to
take pictures.  Uh, oh.  I know she probably didn't understand at all
what I was trying to say and if she had to call first, then the answer
was likely to be 'no'.  Nervously I stood by and waited.  As the
woman spoke on the phone and it strikes me as amusing to hear
Cantonese-speak with the word "Star Trek" inserted in the middle of it.
She hung up the phone and said to wait a moment, so we stepped aside and
wait politely.  I noticed a familiar carton of Playmates product in a
corner of the room.  If memory serves, I think it was a box of Pee-Wee
something (Herman?) toys.  One of the women, still a bit befuddled by
our presence, asked why we didn't go to their offices in California,
rather than all the way to Hong Kong.  I tried to explain to her that we
were merely visiting Hong Kong and figured we'd drop by to take the
picture.  Her question clearly showed that she didn't understand what I
was trying to say.  I guess I can't blame them.  I probably came off
looking like a blathering idiot.  They were speaking Cantonese to
themselves and from the tone of voice, I think they were trying to
figure out just what all this was about.  Moments later the phone rang
and the answer regarding the picture was as expected: 'no'.
Disappointed, we thanked them for the effort and left-- without the
desired picture.

On the ride back down and onto the street, my wife was a bit flustered
with me and disappointed in me for not handling it better.  I should
have handled it better.  But the truth is, I wasn't prepared to have to
explain myself.  And after my miserable failure at doing so, I was
embarrassed and just wanted to get out of there.  Oh well.  We took a
little bit of video footage of my in front of the "100 Canton Road"
sign, but I just wanted to get out of there so we never bothered to take
an actual photograph.

Do I have regrets?  Yes, a few.  However, it was still pretty darned
cool to actually walk into Playmates Toys' Hong Kong offices and know
that behind those walls had occurred so much activity that has effected
my life over the past few years.  Here were the owners of Playmates
Toys: the Chan family.  Here was the place where the decisions were made
to create Star Trek toys, to make Pogs instead of trading cards, to use
the multi-colored accessories, to change the scale of the figures to a
new size, to market only 1701 Tapestry Picard figures, and ultimately,
to stop making Star Trek toys.  Behind those walls were people who have
effected the lives of all Playtrekkers and at least in some small way,
Playtrekkers have effected theirs through their buying habits.  It's 
just a shame that my inability to communicate resulted in me not being
able to make that one small connection and take a simple picture.

Thanks for reading all and I hope you enjoyed my tale.

Robert Porter
Owner and Administrator of the Playtrek Mailing List
Playmates Toys Star Trek fan