Sunday, February 28, 2010

Eventful Sunday


Hong Kong Marathon runners jog through Central
past the Legislative Council building and the Cenotaph
along a special lane closed to -- but alongside -- traffic


This afternoon, I took duriandave -- here in Hong Kong for a flying visit -- on an easy (but still pretty nice) hike from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Repulse Bay Gap via the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path that skirts the edge of Tai Tam Country Park and then through the heart of Tai Tam Country Park along a path that offers up great views of a couple of the Tai Tam Reservoirs.

Originally, I had more ambitiously sought to take him to the scenic area around Repulse Bay Gap by way of Violet Hill but two events combined to put paid to my plans by way of tiring me out even before he and I met up to go hiking. The first is the Hong Kong International Film Festival -- which doesn't officially get going until March 21st but for which online and postal bookings began today; hence my staying up until past 3 o'clock this morning going through the programme guide to figure out what I wanted to see and fill out the necessary forms to book my tickets -- followed by waking up early to go to Hong Kong City Hall to drop off my forms at the collection box there.

And because tickets for screenings at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre are not sold through URBTIX, I had to go elsewhere to buy them. Only, because of the Hong Kong Marathon that took place today, buses that normally stopped outside Hong Kong City Hall were re-routed; necessitating my using other means of transport to get me to the outlet in Causeway Bay that was selling these tickets today.

In any event, I sincerely hope that my attempt to get tickets for 20 screenings at this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival are successful. And if you think twenty's a lot, here's pointing out that these don't include the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre screenings *and* the fact that I am due to catch three films that will be officially premiering in Hong Kong at the Hong Kong International Film Festival before the fest's official first day. (So, yes, even while I actually wouldn't say that this year is a banner year in terms of fest offerings, it's still one that is offering up quite a bit for the film fan. ;b )

6 comments:

Stefan S said...

Hi YTSL, I took some risks and bought a couple of tickets for HKIFF

hopefully that will compel me to get my flight and accommodation as well, then I'll be in HK from 20-28th! :D

Wonderful Sunday, if not for Aaron Ramsey's broken leg :(

YTSL said...

Hi Stefan --

I bought 1 ticket (through HK Ticketing for a film showing at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre) already and also put in an order for tickets to 20 screenings showing elsewhere. Hopefully, my order will be successful -- and our paths will cross at one of this year's HKIFF screenings. ;b

And yes -- poor Aaron Ramsey. :S

eastcoastlife said...

Wow. I would love to attend the Hong Kong International Film Festival for once. It sounds interesting, watching films for the whole month.

YTSL said...

Hi EastCoastLife --

It's not a whole month but it's still a lot of movies. And yes, it's interesting indeed. ;b

Anonymous said...

Sunday's hike was fabulous, and highly recommended to anyone visiting Hong Kong who wants to sample the greener pleasures the city has to offer. Thanks again for the wonderful time! :D

BTW, I picked up a copy of the HKIFF program guide and am insanely jealous that I can't make it this year. Not just because of the HKFA offering (the Lung Kong retrospective) as might be expected of me, but also the Bruce Lee, Guru Dutt, Fei Mu, and Shimazu Yasujiro programs, as well as the Hong Kong movie premieres, such as Crossing Hennessy, Love in a Puff, and yes, Gillian Chung's return to the silver screen, Ex.

YTSL said...

Hi duriandave --

I'm glad you enjoyed the hike. BTW, I underestimated its length -- it's actually 7km -- and difficulty... Looking at the Country Park guide, it gets two stars:-

http://www.hkwalkers.net/eng/trail_list/walkers_companion/Violet_Hill_Path/introduction.htm

Re the HKIFF: The tickets I ordered from Urbtix have arrived -- all 20 of them. Yay, yay, yay! :)