Ho Pui Reservoir and surroundings -- again! (photo-essay)

Before anything else, thanks to the -- count them! -- two blog readers who spoke up about being happy to see more photos of Ho Pui reservoir and its surroundings. And at the risk of being overly presumptious, I'm going to assume that there are others out there besides sbk and duriandave who will appreciate checking out the following photo-essay of yet another easy but scenic hike that my mother and I went on earlier this year... ;S

Starting near where I left off in the last photo-essay:
atop the reservoir's dam wall

A refreshing breeze blew as I gaze upon this sight --
adding quite a bit to the already satisfying experience! :)

Maybe it was one of those days and places where
magic seems to be in the air -- but I found even
the silt run off from the reservoir to be photogenic!

Also, instead of thinking it a bad thing, I reckon that it is
a great testimony to the area's feng shui properties
that graves are to be found there (and a great
show of respect that the deceaseds' descendants
buried them where they did)

The unusual looking Birdwood's Mucuna --  

described in one of my Hong Kong wild flower
books as "a rarity in the world of plants"

Flowers I can't identify even after perusing my books

-- so can someone out there tell me what they are?

For those thinking it's all getting too weird,
how's this for a pretty sight plain and simple?

To conclude: here's a shot of a quiet, shady
and idyllic section of the small but beautiful
irrigation reservoir -- one that deserves to be
better known than it currently seems to be

Electric (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Electric Road is a road on Hong Kong Island that, compared to such as King's Road, which runs parallel to it (and has supplanted it as the main thoroughfare of the areas where they both pass through), doesn't come across as having a particularly electric atmosphere.

Named for a big Hong Kong Electric power plant erected in the area early in the last century, the road's western section these days is home to an eating area -- full of Japanese restaurants, Shanghai noodle eateries, Cantonese dessert shops and more -- that I frequently patronise and there are two skyscrapers on it, inside of which thousands of white collar workers are to be found during office hours. For the most part, however, it runs through areas that are more residential than commercial. So it's not a part of Asia's World City that many visitors -- besides those who lodge at the sprinkling of tourist hotels in the area -- venture into and see.

And, frankly, much of Electric Road really isn't all that photogenic even to my eyes -- which is why I feel obliged to include two photos of a more 'electric' looking Hong Kong road in this Photo Hunt: namely, Nathan Road, Kowloon's neon-filled major avenue. This even though after all is said and done, I actually have spent more time on Electric Road than Nathan Road since moving to this part of the world which I still continue to love and regularly feel excited by.

Fun in Hong Kong on the cheap

Fishing fun on the pier at Joss House Bay

Another fun suggestion: go fly a kite! ;b

Earlier this week, a local colleague shocked me by giving credence to a stereotype I've seen too much evidence to the contrary to completely believe (even when espoused by a local): i.e., that Hong Kongers are only interested in making money. Indeed, one of the things my mother and I have commented to each other more than once now is how it really looks to be the case that Hong Kongers work hard but they sure know how to play as well!

And to those to argue that it's hard to enjoy oneself in Hong Kong without (much) money, here's going ahead and suggesting seven super activities to engage in that are free (or pretty much close to it):-

1) Go hiking in one of Hong Kong's 24 country parks or other parts of its vast countryside. (And if you want to make a real adventure of it, consider camping in the 38 designated camp sites throughout the territory!)

2) Don't forget that Hong Kong has a number of urban parks and gardens -- to which entry is free. Among my favorites are the Tang Dynasty-style Nan Lian Garden and the classical Chinese style Kowloon Walled City Park while in terms of location, the Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park really is hard to beat!

3) Check out one or more of Hong Kong's various -- and quite varied in terms of subject matter as well as size! -- museums whose low entry fees make them a major bargain. (N.B. Even more of a bargain, entrance to such international class establishments as the Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Heritage Museum is free on Wednesdays!)

4) Although it's admittedly not an activity I've indulged in in years (as I don't have the requisite patience it calls for), I've seen lots of people happily fishing (for leisure and pleasure, as opposed to commercially) in various sections of Hong Kong, including on both sides of Victoria Harbour along with some of the 17 reservoirs where fishing is allowed with a license.

5) Another activity I've observed quite a few Hong Kongers happily partaking in is kite-flying -- and not just at such designated kite flying sites as the one on a hill in Tai Hang Tun over in Clear Water Bay Country Park but also at other often windy locales like the Plover Cove Reservoir's main dam.

6) For entertainment in air conditioned comfort, it's hard to beat the Hong Kong Film Archive. A facility that seems under-utilised and -known, it's where I have, in the two and half years since moving to Hong Kong, got to see many cinematic gems, including Battleship Potemkin, Dancing Bull, On the Waterfront, Sorrows of the Forbidden City and The Loyal 47 Ronin --quite a few for as little as HK$30 a screening!

7) Lastly (but not least!), while it's true enough that tickets to some performing arts events can cost quite a bit, free shows and concerts also are to be regularly had at such as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (whose offerings include free pipe organ concerts) and the University of Hong Kong.

And at the risk of sounding preachy, amazingly a lot of the above suggested activities surely also are either good for your health or intellect, and sometimes even both!

Spotting Totoro!

A Hong Kong mobile phone service
billboard advertisement from a year or so ago

Earlier this evening, I renewed acquaintance with old movie friends. Firstly, courtesy of this year's edition of the HK Summer IFF (the mini version of the Hong Kong International Film Festival that takes place around Easter each year), I got to watch Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman on a big screen for the first time.

My maiden viewing of the film took place before I became a born-again Hong Kong movie fan -- so I didn't have a clue then who, say, Sylvia Chang or Wu Chien-lien were. But although I am pretty sure that at least a couple of my subsequent re-viewings of that wonderful family-oriented dramedy took place after I also became a fan of the works of Hayao Miyazaki, it's only this time around -- undoubtedly helped by the fact that I watched it on a big screen -- that I got to noticing that the film also has quite a bit of Totoro in it: in the form of Totoro plushes in a toy store that Wu Chien Lien and Winston Chao go to along with a big Tonari na Totoro (i.e., My Neighbor Totoro) film poster and a couple of other Totoro plushes in the youngest daughter's bedroom! ;b

And yes, I realize that it's a sure sign of movie geekery that I not only love spotting movie locations and places I've previously been to in movies but also references to other movies in movies! In any event, for those who also like to do the latter, here's going ahead and pointing out that the first time I spotted a Totoro in a non-Studio Ghibli movie actually was in A Roof With a View (Hong Kong, 1993) -- specifically, in the form of an O-Totoro backpack on Tony Leung Ka Fai's back! And yes, it is indeed scary that this is something I remember well -- and even though I viewed that movie quite a few years ago too! ;b

Orange (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

"Hong Kong is geographically compact and boasts one of the world's most efficient, safe, affordable and frequent public transport systems." The site where that statement originally was to be found is the province of the Hong Kong Tourism Board but I actually would agree 100% with it. What's more, despite what the second photo in this entry may get you thinking, public transport is the choice of the majority of the territory's population; with over 90% of daily journeys being made on various modes of public transport that, as I trust the photos do show, are pretty clean and colorful as well as efficient, safe, etc, etc.

The stations of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR)'s largely underground trains tend to have single designated colors (though the Choi Hung MTR station as well as the nearby Choi Hung Estate lives up to its name (choi hung means "rainbow" in Cantonese)). In the case of the Tin Hau MTR station that derives its name from a nearby temple to the goddess of the sea, that color is -- you guessed it! -- orange. And when that designated color is the color of that station's walls but also its ceilings, pipes and other accoutrements, I think you'd agree that it consequently makes for a good subject for this week's Photo Hunt! :)

Ho Pui Reservoir and surroundings (photo-essay)

As I hope a glance at this blog's many photographs taken in the territory will show, Hong Kong possesses its share of scenic spots and sites -- and I love visiting and appreciating them. So when I found out that Ho Pui Irrigation Reservoir in the northern section of Tai Lam Country Park was voted as one of the top ten scenic sites of Hong Kong, it was only a matter of time before I would head over there.

To be sure, it can be quite a trek to get there if you don't live in the northwestern New Territories. For my part, I had to first go from where I live to Yuen Long, then take a green mini bus from there to Ho Pui village. From the village, it's an uphill trek up to the reservoir. But, honestly, the hike's rated as being so easy that I felt safe to take my pre-operation mother there with me. As for whether it's worth the effort to get there, I'll leave you to judge based on the following photos:-

A rural community that appears far removed from
the urban jungle that many visitors to the HKSAR
mistakenly think is all there is to Hong Kong

No lie -- there still are working farms
and farmers in the Big Lychee! ;)

Sections of the MTR's West Rail line
viewed on the way up hill to Ho Pui reservoir

A shot of the reservoir -- at last! ;b

Be honest now -- even with all that pre-hype,
did you expect an irrigation reservoir to look so lovely?

My mother walking through a trail by the reservoir
that's bordered on either side by bamboo plants

A more aesthetically pleasing than practical picnic spot? ;b

The physically impressive man-made reservoir wall
(and yes, that distant colorful speck is actually my mom!)

So... want more? I sure hope so since in assembling this photo-essay, I'm realizing that I have more photos taken that day that I want to share! :b

Hot, hot, hot!

A colourful way to warn against heat stroke

This Thursday's South China Morning Post's front page had an article that confirmed what many of us had been suspecting: that this month is the hottest August that Hong Kong has had in decades. How hot can be discerned from factoids such as these:-

- As of August 26th, the Hong Kong Observatory had recorded ten "very hot" days (i.e., with temperatures past 33 degrees Celsius);

- There has only been one August with more "very hot" days since recorded began to be kept in 1885... in 1962, when there were 15 for the whole month of August.

- Three construction works have died of heat stroke since July.

(And adding to all this is the fact that rainfall is 113.4 milimeters below the August average.)

All of which makes hiking not the most ideal of weekend activities... and yet, I just can't make myself stay in the air-conditioned indoors all day. Not even today, when the maximum temperature recorded was 35.2 degrees Celsius in Sheung Shui and even The Peak wasn't that much cooler with a maximum recorded temperature of 31.4 degrees Celsius -- not when there's so much to see and do in Hong Kong for pleasure and fun! ;S