Tung Chung to Tai O Part Two (Photo-essay)

This afternoon (a few hours after I went and added two Hello Kitty figurines to my collection), I went on another hike with the same trio of friends who I had walked from Tung Chung to Tai O with a couple of weeks ago. So, having told them that I'd be putting up quite a few of the photos I took along the way up on my blog, I figure that I had better make good on my promise. Thus, here are eight more photos from that long but leisurely walk that, hopefully, more than just they and myself will be able to enjoy checking out:-

Before we get to the scenic nature shots,
first here's a colorful close-up... ;)

At times during the hike,
including this section around Sham Wat Wan,
we were more or less at sea-level
and near the sea itself

But soon afterwards,
the trail began heading up to higher ground

And it's from higher ground
(albeit that which still was close to the coast),
that we got to drink in views like this...

Is it just me or do some parts of Hong Kong
resemble some portions of the English countryside?

Although this photo makes it look
like it was not the case, there really still was
quite a bit of sunlight left in the day at this point

Believe it or not:
This picture was actually taken
later in the hike then the one above it!

As we neared Tai O and our journey's end,
we got near to sea-level
as well as the sea once more

And hmmmm, it looks like there'll have to be a third Tung Chung to Tai O photo-essay since I think it'd be remiss of me to not put up any of my photos of Tai O and its environs at some point in the near future... ;S

Two more MTR Hello Kitty Heroes! :)

Look away now, Hello Kittyphobes! ;b

They're baaaack! Or, more accurately: As of today, November 4th, there are two more additions to the MTR Hello Kitty Heroes Collection that was first launched back on July 16th. Like the other six MTR Hello Kittys that I was given by the good folks over at Muse's Network, these plastic figurines are around 5 inches tall, dressed in MTR uniforms and -- to my mind -- very cute.

Unsurprisingly, I felt greatly compelled to get my hands on them. Worried by the possibility that the MTR would run out of stock before I could get my hands on a set of these new Hello Kittys, I actually woke up earlier than usual this Sunday and, before I even had breakfast, headed to the nearest MTR station in search of these kawaii -- and, anti-pink Hello Kitty detractors please note, distinctly un-pink -- feline figurines.

Maybe it was because I was there sufficiently early but as it turned out, there was no queue in sight, forget the kind of mad stampede for Hello Kitty items that is not unheard of (but which I very fortunately have never personally experienced). Indeed, it was a breeze to come out of the MTR station with my own set of two new MTR Hello Kitty Heroes (see above photo) along with another for my fellow Hello Kitty fan mother... (Note to those planning on getting their own: There is a two set limit per person for these items!) :))

Classic (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

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The subject of my Photo Hunt entry this week is a classic mode of public transportation over here in Hong Kong that is regarded as on the slow side these days but, nonetheless, remains quite popular -- in large part because it is the most economical option at just HK$2 (~26 US cents or 0.18 Euros) a ride -- and can be safely regarded as having withstood the test of time.

Trams have been operating in Hong Kong since 1904. Early on, their route was along what was the north coast of Hong Kong Island. Over the years, so much land reclamation has taken place that, more often than not, the Hong Kong Tramways no longer can provide passengers with views of Victoria Harbour. Consequently, they cannot claim to provide scenic views to rival that of the more glamorous -- and more expensive -- cousin, the Peak Tram. But, to my mind, they make up for it by regularly treating passengers to interesting "slice of life" peeks at everyday Hong Kong as they travel from as far west as Kennedy Town to as far east as the former fishing village of Shau Kei Wan (and vice versa).

On top of all this, there's a romantic aura attached to the tram for this Hong Kong filmophile courtesy of it having appeared in so many Hong Kong movies over the years. In particular, I think of the part it has played in courting scenes in Tempting Heart (1999), Last Ghost Standing (also 1999) and The Odd One Dies (1998), the opening scene and more in Eye in the Sky (2007), and that sizzling sex scene in Nomad (1982). Then there's also that scene in The Longest Summer (1998) in which Sam Lee's character experienced a case of "tram rage" that prompted him to hurl at least one of his fellow tram passengers out of a window from the upper deck of the tram...! ;b

A word on the physical appearance of the trams before I end this entry: These days, it's rare to see a tram whose exterior is not covered by advertisements. Rather than besmirch a classic, however, I think that the often very imaginatively illustrated ads actually are pretty cool to check out. Now that you've had the opportunity to view a few of them (courtesy of my photos), what do you think?

Tung Chung to Tai O (Photo-essay)

Two Fridays ago was one of Hong Kong's seventeen public holidays. Even better was it being one of the twelve designated statutory holidays. Traditionally, Chung Yeung is the day in autumn when Hong Kongers go and visit the graves of their ancestors. These days, however, it's not only that but a very popular day for hiking. So... guess what I did on that day?

This time around, I opted to go hiking with an international group of friends (one each from Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore) along the northwest coast of Hong Kong's largest island, Lantau. At a little bit more than 5 hours, this excursion turned out to be the longest I've been on on foot in Hong Kong. At the same time though, it was by no means the most exhausting as Tung Chung to Tai O turned out to be more of a leisurely walk -- along relatively flat as well as largely paved trails -- than a hike.

Still, as can be seen below, it's not as though I didn't get many opportunities to 'exercise' my camera along the way. So I was happy. And this especially as there was good food at the end of the hike over in the village of Tai O and good company to enjoy throughout the day... :)

The walking trail officially started
near this Hau Wong Temple in Tung Chung

I took advantage of the Taoist temple
being among the few in Hong Kong
whose exterior I was freely allowed to photograph

Part of the walk brings one directly under
the path of the currently stationary
Ngong Ping 360 cable car service

Old, abandoned village houses in the foreground
and a partial view of what looks to have been
its direct replacement in the background

View across the bay
to a reclaimed portion of Lantau
on which Hong Kong International Airport sits

See how easy (and popular) this walk is? :b

Still, it's not like we were entirely
far from nature and greenery though!

Ending this photo-essay midway through the hike
-- and on a cultural note --
with another photo of a small Taoist temple
(this one dedicated to the three emperors of the mountains)

Beginning of November writings

A photo taken inside of a Hindu temple
in Penang some months back

Has another month passed by already? As the proverbial "they" say, "time flies when you're having fun". Too which I'd add that it's even more so if you're busy, busy, busy! And, also, that my definite impression after six months -- yes, it's been six months now! -- in Hong Kong is that folks in "Asia's World City" most definitely are into working but also playing hard. :)

Getting to the work part of my Hong Kong life: The latest issue of bc magazine is out on the streets and available on-line as of today, with a cover story -- not written by moi actually! -- about Diwali (AKA Deepavali), the fast approaching Hindu festival of lights. Hence my choice of photo for this entry.

Moving on to those portions of the magazine that I wrote -- this time around, they are:-

i) Sufi Sema -- a feature article on Istanbul's whirling dervishes who will be coming to town later this month (and who I saw performing their Sema ritual when I visited that enchanting Turkish city back in September 2003)

ii) Dulce et Decorum Est -- an arts feature piece on an upcoming staging of World War One play Journey's End later this month

iii) When Adam Met Anjo -- an interview with director cum scriptwriter Adam Wong

iv) Magic Boy -- review of Adam Wong's latest movie

v) Summer's Tail -- review of the Taiwanese movie (but also on the same page is an interview with its director Cheng Wen-Tang and female star, songwriter cum co-scriptwriter, Enno (the latter of whom, more than incidentally, has just been nominated for a Golden Horse award in the Best Newcomer category))

vi) Blind Mountain -- review of director Li Yang's follow-up film after Blind Shaft

vii) Silk -- review of a movie that annoyed me so what that it 'inspired' me to write a lengthier than usual review for the magazine!

viii) Editor's Diary -- ten events to check out over the upcoming fortnight... if you were/are in Hong Kong ;b

ix) Live Music -- a section that I'm gradually becoming more comfortable writing...

And although I didn't write it, I have a feeling that more than one reader of this blog will find this review of Triangle to be of interest (plus be able to recognize the name of its author). :)

Four Books

Quiet time by the harbour in Hong Kong

I was recently among the people tagged by A Changing Life's a. for this meme. I found her blog entry on this subject to make for interesting reading and can but hope that mine will prove to be the same to at least some of this blog's visitors.

Four childhood books

Like many others who was born and spent the better part of her childhood in a British Commonwealth country, I read tons of Enid Blyton. However, for added interest (and since I've already previously blogged about them), am going to refrain from naming any books by her or the two other favorite female authors from my younger days. Which makes things a bit difficult, seeing as that eliminates so many works! Additionally, these days, I find myself once again residing in a different part of the world from the bulk of my personal library. Still, here goes:-

• Winnie-the-Pooh - A. A. Milne. The edition I got in London came complete with original illustrations by E. H. Shepherd, and I'm going to take this opportunity to state how much I prefer those original depictions of Pooh and Piglet to their Disneyfied versions.

• A Child's Garden of Verses - Robert Louis Stevenson. Funnily enough, I never ever managed to get into Stevenson's more well known Treasure Island and Kidnapped but I adored this poetry collection, with particular favorites among them including the one about Leerie the Lamplighter (even if also belatedly realizing how ethnocentric some of the others in the collection were!)

• Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss. When I read the English translation of this classic book, I was bemused to find that there are some Malay words in it!

• King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian - Marguerite Henry. My favorite of the many horse books I read during my "horse" phase that also included the same author's Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Mary O'Hara's My Friend Flicka and, of course, Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. :)

Four authors I will read again and again

I'm going to take this category to mean authors who I've got more than one book of (rather than just authors of books I read again and again). Again, have made things more difficult for myself -- but, hopefully, more interesting for regular visitors -- in that rather than repeat what I've previously written on this blog, I'm going to go for some more 'new' (at least for this blog) names here...

• Sara Paretsky. The latest crime fiction novelist whose books I've become hooked to.

• E. M. Forster. And for the record, my two favourites of his books are Howard's End and Maurice. Incidentally, very much dislike the film adaptation of the former but am fine with the latter.

• Ulf Hannerz. One of the sadly too rare contemporary socio-cultural anthropologists whose theories and observations make sense, and can write well.

• E. L. Braithwaite. I have to admit that I've only ever read and know about two books by him (i.e., To Sir With Love and Paid Servant) but believe you me when I say that I'd like to get my hands on more books by him!

Four authors I will never read again

Figuring that I might as well go for the big rather than obscure names here...

• Jane Austen. I know she has many fans but I tried to read Northanger Abbey and then Sense and Sensibility and couldn't make it through more than a few pages of either! And this from someone who's been to Bath and even visited Winchester Cathedral, where she lies buried.

• Jostein Gaardner. Sophie's World started off alright but at some point, I'm afraid that it all got too complex and 'meta' for me.

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I get the feeling that a lot of the quality got lost in translation and since I doubt that I'll be picking up the Russian language any time soon...

• Homi K. Bhabha. Not so long ago, I was obliged to read more than my fair share of post-structuralist, meta-critical theory tomes. Am I glad that those days are now gone! (And for those who don't know what I'm talking about, here's a real example of Bhabha's babblings: If, for a while, the ruse of desire is calculable for the uses of discipline soon the repetition of guilt, justification, pseudo-scientific theories, superstition, spurious authorities, and classifications can be seen as the desperate effort to “normalize” formally the disturbance of a discourse of splitting that violates the rational, enlightened claims of its enunciatory modality.)

The first four books on my to-be-read list

I'm going to take this category to refer to books I already bought copies of but have not yet gotten to reading...

• Becoming Madame Mao - Anchee Min. I got much out of reading her Empress Orchid and am looking forward to see her imaginative take on another notorious historical Chinese personality.
  

• Last Princess of Manchuria - Lilian Lee. I've viewed several film adaptations of this author's works, including Rouge, Green Snake, Temptation of a Monk, Dumplings and Kawashima Yoshiko: Last Princess of Manchuria. It'll be interesting to see whether I like her prose as much as many of those movies.
  

• Whispers and Moans: Interviews with the Men and Women of Hong Kong's Sex Industry - Yeeshan Yang. I viewed Whispers and Moans the movie earlier this year and still would rank it among my top five Hong Kong films of 2007. It'll be interesting to see how much the Herman Yau helmed work did in fact take from this non-fiction book.
  

• Fire Sale - Sara Paretsky. Like I wrote above, I've become hooked to this crime novel series that centers on Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawsky.
  

The four books I would take to a desert island

Three of these books I love and read many times; one of these I've yet to finish but like enough of what I've seen thus far -- and since I figure I ought to bring something to a desert island that's new to me along with old favorites...

• To Serve Them All My Days - R. F. Delderfield. First read when I myself was attending boarding school. Still love it after all these years.
  

• Return to Laughter: An Anthropological Novel - Elinore Smith Bowen (since revealed to be the nom de plume of Laura Bohannan). The book that I made sure all my "Introduction to Cultural Anthropology" students read whenever I taught that course (which, I will still maintain, actually can have practical relevance and utility in this increasingly interconnected world of ours).
  

• The Last Star of the East: Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia and Her Films - Akiko Tetsuya. Yes, well... and it's not just to gaze at the pictures of my favorite actress of all time (aka The Great One) either! ;)
  

• The Importance of Living - Lin Yutang. At the very least, a book with a great title! ;b
  

The last lines of one of my favourite books.

This is the city
with a history
unforetold.

This is Hong Kong --
my city
of poetry.

Agnes Lam
20 April 2003
Hong Kong in spite of SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome)

-- From Michael Ingham's Hong Kong: A Cultural and Literary History.

As for tagging: I'd like to see the following four's take on the Four Books meme:-

• Ho of Falling Stone are not Heavy
• Newley of Newley Purnell
• Alejna of Collecting Tokens
• Glenn of A Pessimist is Never Disappointed

...but only if they are inclined to go for it. Really. :)

Pink (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

After a two week absence, here's returning to Photo Hunting with a vengeance. Or, at least, with an entry whose three bonus photos make for a four-in-one treat! Also, I must admit that I was initially tempted to make this a Hello Kitty-themed entry; this not least since pink is the color that a lot of people most associate with the internationally renowned cute cat (even though she herself is actually white in color).

Instead, after mulling the matter some more, I've decided to put up some photos that show parts of the other HK that's close to my heart instead. For while moving about Hong Kong this past week, I got to noticing that there does appear to be quite a bit of pink around, including on the walls of various buildings but also the helpful bilingual sign posts that have been erected by the authorities to point people towards various places of interest within the territory.

All in all, even though pink actually isn't one of my favorite colors, I think this is a good thing. This is because -- and I trust that you'll agree after viewing the photos -- the inclusion of some pink into the landscape ensures that the more built-up -- and, in some cases, low rent in the bargain-- sections of 'Asia's World City' won't look as dull, gray and bleak as they otherwise would and could do.