Hong Kong Photo Festival at Central Police Station

Venturing into normally locked up these days
Central Police Station..

...accessible for a time thanks to its playing host
to some exhibitions that are part of the first (and
hopefully not last!) Hong Kong Photo Festival

Inside, rooms currently home to photographic exhibits
still bear police labels from yesteryear

If walls could talk, I bet these ones would have
a fair few interesting tales to tell...

On September 25th, 2004, the Central Police Station was relocated from its historical premises at 10 Hollywood Road to Arsenal House at 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai. In the intervening years, the buildings, the oldest of which dates back to 1864, have largely lain unused and inaccessible to the public.

Every once in a while, however, some artistic venture manages to incorporate a visit to the location (or nearby Victoria Prison) into its activities. For example, a couple of years or so ago, the Fringe Club staged a one-man show (starring Lee Chun Chow) about Ho Chi-Minh in Hong Kong and its audiences were invited to tour Victoria Prison where Ho Chi-Minh had served some time. And currently, the Central Police Station is playing host to a trio of exhibitions that are part of the inaugural -- and long overdue, IMHO! -- edition of the Hong Kong Photo Festival.

Unquestionably the star exhibition, First Photographs of Hong Kong consists of room upon room of historical photographs taken in Hong Kong between the years 1858 and 1875. But Passion, the exhibition of black and white photographs by View Camera Club members, has a star draw in the form of a beautiful waterfall shot by celebrity member Chow Yun Fat while those who like to see color as well as black and white photos will be made happy that the Hong Kong 35mm Photographic Society's exhibition features a range of photos that make use of all the colors of the rainbow and more.

Still, if truth be told, I get the distinct sense that a lot of visitors to the site are just as -- if not more -- attracted by the exhibitions venue itself. And the shutterbugs among us were very happy to find that while photography was not allowed in the rooms where photographs were display, it was okay for people to take photos in and of the exteriors, corridors and others sections of the buildings which are architecturally interesting but also definitely are of interest because what took place within them for so many now bygone years. :)

Male (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Back in March of this year, I attended the Tai Kok Tsui Temple Fair that's held annually to thank the male deity for which the Hung Shing Temple was built for bringing luck and safety to his devotees. Although it rated a mention on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website, it very much is a local festival -- and its taking place in a Kowloon neighborhood that is off the beaten path for many tourists gave it a particularly attractively authentic feel to my mind.

Something else that I liked about this festival was how eclectic it seemed to be -- with festival activities not only taking place within the small temple itself but also on nearby streets and including stalls selling food, toys and other items, an antique car exhibition, Chinese cultural performances, an old songs-themed karaoke, a 500-feet dancing dragon, and a display of statues of such as the main characters of Journey to the West, a Ming Dynasty epic saga that tells of a master monk and his disciples' adventure-filled pilgrimage from China to India in order to obtain sacred Buddhist sutras.

As I child, I was given a 50 volume comic book version of what I later came to learn is considered to be one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. I can't remember how long it took me to read all 50 volumes but it couldn't have been too long as I adored them -- and have strong memories of some of those tales to this day.

Consequently, I could easily recognize (from left to right in the third photo from above in this Photo Hunt entry) the mischievous Monkey (AKA Sun Wukong, a Monkey God born from a stone), peace-loving Master Monk (AKA Tripitaka) on his white horse (a transformed dragon king), faithful Sandy (a river ogre -- but a good one!) and greedy Pigsy (a former heavenly commander banished to the mortal world after being found flirting with the moon princess!!) -- all of whom, I really noticed when looking for a suitable photo for this week, are male -- like so many of the main characters of classic novels from the West that I also enjoyed as a child (e.g., Robin Hood, King Arthur and Robinson Crusoe (and his Man Friday))!

Cold in Hong Kong (Really!)!

Tai Mo Shan as viewed from Tai Lam Country Park
one warm, sunny day last month

Lantau's Ngong Ping Plateau on a sunny,
blue sky day this past summer

Shiver me timbers as well as brrrr! For when I went on the Hong Kong Observatory's website to check the weather and current temperature, I actually saw -- for the very first time in my more than 3 and a half years now in Hong Kong, if I'm not mistaken -- that a frost warning (signalling that frost is expected on high ground or inland in the New Territories*) is in effect!!

More even than the report of students on an Outward Bound course in Sai Kung needing to be airlifted containing the news of the mercury plunging to -2 degrees Celsius at Tai Mo Shan sometime within the past 24 hours or my checking the Weather Underground website and seeing a current temperature of 1.7 degrees Celsius up on the Ngong Ping plateau, this has hammered home to me the fact that sub-tropical Hong Kong is currently experiencing weather that is unusually cold by its standards. Additionally, it has made me think that there really might be some truth, after all, in a colleague's report that the Chinese almanac actually forecast snow for Hong Kong this winter!

To think that last month, it was still lovely beach weather... and, to be sure, I'm pretty confident that there will be warmer -- or, at least, cool rather than really cold -- days again before too long even in during the winter season. (This especially since average December temperatures in the Big Lychee are 15.7-20.3 Celsius.)

But in the meantime, quite a few Hong Kongers probably are actually quite happy that they can feel justified in bundling up in long down coats and the sort of other super warm clothing that many in, say, Wisconsin -- where, as popular saying goes, winter comes with the Halloween ghost and only leaves with the Easter bunny! -- would only think to put on when arctic winds are in full blast and it feels too cold to snow! :D

*Update: For photos of an unexpectedly large amount of frost on Hong Kong's highest peak today, go here. :O

Dragon's Back revisited (Photo-essay)

Back in the summer of 2008, less than 3 months after I first arrived in Hong Kong to work and live, two friends took me to hike along Hong Kong Island's fabled Dragon's Back. Alas, as I duly reported, the day we chose to do so was less than ideal -- due to the high air pollution and bright sunshine that managed to filter through causing some some burn on our delicate skin!

Consequently, I vowed to return to do the hike again -- but only on a more ideal day. And earlier this year, when such a day (cool but with clear and bright blue skies) presented itself, my regular hiking companion (the fuzzyflyingbunny) and I zoomed our sights on, and headed to, the trail head of the Stage 8 of the Hong Kong Trail (an 8.5 kilometer-long hike that includes the Dragon's Back) at To Tei Wan:-

Climb just a few meters up along Hong Kong Trail Stage 8
from the To Tei Wan bus stop on a clear day and
you'll get treated to this scenic view of Tai Tam Harbour,
the Red Hill Peninsula and the surrounding area

An even more breathtaking view (this time of Shek O)
awaits when you get to the top of the ridge

The Dragon's Back Trail is so-called because it
goes up and down a series of hills that undulate
like how you'd imagine a dragon's back would do

A different view of the same trail

View of Shek O from further along on the same trail

Though the trail may look rugged, it's actually considered
tame enough for mountain bikers to be allowed on it!

This sign (complete with a cute dragon icon) provides
positive proof that one's on the Dragon's Back (and,
more specifically, on the 284 meter high Shek O Peak)

The photo-worthy view from Shek O Peak

To be continued... (and in the meantime, go here to appreciate the difference in air quality from when I hiked this same trail in 2008!)

Sunday in the Hong Kong countryside

Why are these two people running on the beach
wearing cycling helmets and other gear?

Because, like this other pair of athletes, they appear
to be taking part in a triathlon -- that's why!

It's all relative... What with the weather forecast being cloudy with some rain patches, my regular hiking companion and I were feeling like hardy souls for having elected to go out hiking on this rather gray sky day. And this especially as we didn't see that many other people out hiking on the trail that we were on today.

So, as we approached the end of our hike, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves along with our physical condition since, as a result of not being at all fatigued at the 3 and a 1/2 kilometer stage, we had elected to extend our hiking route for the day from 5 kilometers (Mui O to Nam Shan) to 9 kilometers (Mui O to Pui O -- i.e., Lantau Trail Stage 12, only backwards).

But while we were in the vicinity of the Tin Hau Temple in Ham Tin (that was first established in the Ming Dynasty), I spotted people who looked like they had to be super fit to be doing what they were doing -- i.e., participate in what appeared to be a triathlon! (Something else to note: although Hong Kong winter days are admittedly pretty mild by global standards, I sure wouldn't have wanted to plunge into the sea and swim today, even if only for a few meters -- like was the case where one small part of Pui O Beach was separated from a greater other by the mouth of a nearby river!!)

As it so happens, a few minutes after we saw two pairs of triathletes going about their way, an ambulance and two police cars came roaring past us on what had hitherto been a pretty quiet road. (The last couple of kilometers of so of our hike were along a paved road.) Whereupon my hiking companion and I had a similar thought: Did one or more of the triathletes meet with an accident??

In any case, I have to say that there's no way I'm going to be doing a triathlon any time soon. (For that matter, I don't plan on paragliding either!) For one thing, it just looks too dang difficult! For another, rushing around isn't what I really want to be doing on a Sunday -- and especially in the Hong Kong countryside where there often simply is way too much to capture my attention and make me want to pause and take a second, third or even fourth look at what I've just come across -- be it a splendid vista, interesting creature, beautiful flower, funny sign, cool temple, etc., etc., etc.! ;b

Funny (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

No question: Life in the fast-paced, high-pressured urban jungle that covers much of Hong Kong can be stressful and tough -- and some days, it can seem like there are only serious and grim faces to be found around you in the office, on the streets and in the MTR.

But I actually have found that if you allow yourself some time to breathe and really look about you, there almost always will be a sight withing viewing distance that will strike you as either funny (haha) or funny (peculiar) -- or even both! -- and cause you to smile, break into a grin or even laugh out loud. Or maybe I just have an easily tickled funny bone!

In any case, here's furnishing two visual examples in this Photo Hunt of things I've come across while going about living life in the Big Lychee that I think are funny (and yes, in more than one way) as well as speak to Hong Kongers -- not just the Japanese -- having a kawaii-streak.

With regards to the first photo: I find it funny how the MTR authorities not only feel obliged to play "nanny" and tell people to hold on to escalator handrails (and not walk while on escalators -- something which I have to admit to tending to ignore, especially when I'm in a hurry) but do so with the help of a comic character that is a "penguin-ized" smiley face.

As for the second photo: believe it or not, the authorities actually have set up a designated Laughing Corner in Victoria Park! But whether it's a spot set aside for people to practice laughter yoga is something I have yet to find out... ;D

Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli

Idyllic scene (which doesn't actually appear in
My Neighbor Totoro) featuring O-Totoro,
Chu-Totoro, Chibi-Totoro, Satsuki and Mei

One of my O-Totoro plushies (complete with
Chibi Totoro and a soot sprite) flanked by
Kiki's Delivery Service's Jiji and Stress Ponyo

"It's not just for children", I insisted to my German friend prior to my dragging her to view Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the Hayao Miyazaki cinematic gem that first reached Hong Kong in January, 2009. And even though I had her convinced after she realized that the film screening we went to had far more adults than children at it, I still wish she could have been here in Hong Kong last night to go with me and witness the Ponyo theme song being one of the highlights of a Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra concert (that was so enthusiastically received that it got three encores and its conductor-guest star a standing ovation by show's end).

Needless to say, this was no ordinary Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra concert -- not least since tickets for it sold out months before its program was even announced on the strength of the name of its conductor and main draw alone. Thus it was that upon fortuitously having scored a ticket for last night's Joe Hisaishi in Concert performance, I found myself impatiently checking out what was on the evening's programme -- and exulting to see Ponyo (along with music from Kiki's Delivery Service and two Oscar winners in the form of Spirited Away and Departures) in there... even while feeling a bit disappointed to see no music from My Neighbor Totoro on the official list.

Happily, however, that music from My Neighbor Totoro did indeed get played before the concert drew a close. And while I did very much enjoy a lot on the programme (including the composer's African-inspired, percussion-heavy Mkwaju 1981-2009 and the musical piece from Nobuhiko Obyashi's Water Traveller) and found a big grin plant itself on my face upon hearing the Ponyo theme song being played by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, I have to truthfully state that hearing the My Neighbor Totoro music being played represented the highlight of the evening for me -- and actually caused me to cry with happiness!

In addition, there is something really precious about being able to not only see and hear the composer of music you love so but also thank him by way of thunderous applause and a standing ovation. And call me a philistine but, in all honesty, give me the music of Joe Hisaishi over many other composers -- including not only many other his contemporaries but also classical music luminaries like Bartok (whose music has literally given me a migraine on more than one occasion!) -- most any day!

On a related note: I'm not sure if it's pure coincidence but this week also happens to be the start of a two week Studio Ghibli Film Festival here in Hong Kong! And yes, I have tickets to some of the screenings -- including for My Neighbor Totoro on one of the JP Cinema's super big screens!! (And while there's no Ponyo on the film festival programme, I'm happy enough to content myself with the thought that I will -- if everything goes as scheduled* -- soon be getting my first viewing of My Neighbors the Yamadas and have the opportunity to view Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on a big screen for the first time! :b )

*Newsflash: Well, I went to see My Neighbors the Yamadas this evening but while the screening began on schedule, I was shocked to discover that the film -- contrary to the information on such as the cinema chain's official website -- was being shown without English subtitles. After complaining to the manager (and getting my ticket refunded), discovered that is also the case with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Alternatively, he wasn't sure about My Neighbor Totoro** as it is being shown at another of the chain's multiplexes... :(((

**Latest update: Yay, yay, yay, they did show My Neighbor Totoro with English as well as Chinese subtitles!!! And yes, it really is super wonderful to view on a big screen. :))))))