Farewell to a(nother) friend but hopefully au revoir rather than goodbye?

Blue's a beautiful color and can make for a pretty sight...

 

...but blue is not how I like feeling :S

I'll be honest: This has not been the happiest of weekends for me for a number of reasons.  One of them involves different factors, including the weather, conspiring against my being able to go hiking today.  A second involved an annoying dealing with a bank customer services representative.  But by far the major dampener this weekend stems from my finding out that a good friend is leaving Hong Kong in a few months' time.

It's funny (peculiar, rather than "ha ha").  Pretty much everywhere I've been before, it's been a case of my leaving people behind or at around the same time as a bunch of people (e.g., in the case of college) rather than people leaving before me.  But this friend is the sixth good friend I've made in Hong Kong who'll have left Hong Kong before I do -- an average of one good friend lost each year that I've lived here in the Big Lychee.

I suppose technically, the one I count as the first good friend who's left doesn't count in that we met just weeks before she left Hong Kong -- on a hike from Tung Chung to Tai O -- but we've become good friends in the years since as we've kept in touch and meet up for a meal or hike pretty much every time she visits again -- which is about two or three times a year.  (She's one of those true jet-setters -- an area manager for an international company who spends a few weeks or months in many different places a year.)

On the other hand, my German friend who introduced that first friend to me certainly was someone I became good friends with when she was a resident of Hong Kong and I was pretty upset when I first heard that she was being set back to her fatherland by her company.  Happily though, she returns to visit each year and I've also gone and visited her in Germany.

Two other friends -- a British Chinese pal who I first met when visiting Hong Kong and my Singaporean foodie friend who I used to try out new restaurants and different cuisines (Manchurian, Russian, Mexican, etc.!) with -- have also returned to Hong Kong for at least one visit after they left.  Coincidentally, they now live in New York; one having left after he decided that Hong Kong was not for him, the other because he got a much better job in New York than he had managed to get in Hong Kong (but hopes one day to be able to return for a longer term in Hong Kong as, like my German friend and I, he really has a genuine love of the place). 

Sadly, I've not seen my hiking buddy who I only recently wrote about since she left Hong Kong more than a year ago now.  (Yes, I've way behind with my hiking photo-essays!)  Hong Kong born, her family immigrated to Canada when she was around age 5 before returning a few years ago.  Since she considers herself a Canadian, I guess it was inevitable that she'd head back there some day.  But the major reason why she left when she did was because, like with my Singaporean foodie friend, she got offered a better job (or, at least, better pay and work hours) in Canada than she had here in Hong Kong.

The latest of my friends who has announced that she'll be leaving Hong Kong is another Hong Kong-born Canadian citizen.  She and her widower father and sister are heading back to Canada, she told me, because they've now got way more relatives in Canada than in Hong Kong.  I'm not sure if she'll be returning to Hong Kong for visits after she moves away from Hong Kong for the second time in her life.  I hope so though, of course.  

In any event, I'm going to try to console myself -- as I've done in the case of my other friends who've left -- with the memories of all the good times we've (already) shared even while I can't help feeling blue that there won't be so many opportunities to add to them in the future. :S 

Unknown and Windows (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

As regular visitors to this blog know, I like exploring far flung parts of Hong Kong and its countryside by way of hiking.  But although I do it less regularly, I also do enjoy exploring the urban parts of Hong Kong that are largely unknown to tourists and many expats -- places with names like Ma Tau Kok, Sham Shui Po and Shek Kip Mei.

Sure, they are among the less glamorous or upscale looking sections of Hong Kong.  But this doesn't mean they are without attractions, aesthetic and otherwise.  Frankly, I find the street scenes there to be interesting in and of themselves -- what with these areas of Hong Kong being homes to lower rise buildings that often are painted in surprisisingly bright colors and, to my eyes at least, possess more character than many a newer as well as taller and more "international" looking one.

As you can see courtesy of the shots I've chosen for Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunts this week, those older buildings certainly don't lack windows!  In addition, for people looking for something to do beyond stroll about and take photos, Ma Tau Kok is home to the Cattle Depot Artist Village, Shek Kip Mei to the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre and Sham Shui Po to such as a bunch of really good eateries, and a street market which these days is my "go to" place to get cargo pants along with other specialist shopping streets.

So why are these places unknown or at least unfamiliar to many Hong Kong residents as well as visitors?  One major reason is because they are among the poorer parts of "Asia's World City".  But in all honesty, I find them as safe to walk around as more affluent sections of the territory.  Another reason is that they are parts of Hong Kong where people are less likely to be able to speak English (and eateries to have English menus, etc.).  But I think that if you really need get help from an English speaker, you will find one there -- and who knows, it may even be me! ;b       

From Siu Tan to Lai Chi Wo and out to Wu Kau Tang (Photo-essay)

Soon after I started hiking in Hong Kong, I read about Lai Chi Wo and aspired to visit there one day.  However, it wasn't until my 84th hike in the Big Lychee -- and yes, I do keep a hiking diary! -- that I made it out to the Hakka village located out in far northeastern Hong Kong that's famed to this day for its feng shui (alternatively spelt fung shui) woods. 

A little over one year later, I visited Lai Chi Wo again with three other friends.  But while I took a similar route to Lai Chi Wo on both hikes, this time, instead of heading back to civilization -- or at least, a place with access to public transportation in the form of a green minibus stop! -- via Kuk Po and Luk Keng, my friends and I headed back via A Ma Wat and Wu Kau Tang.  

One reason is because I didn't want to completely repeat a hike but another was that this second route was shorter and I hoped that we'd be able to complete the hike before the sun set.  But the hike had such interesting places that we couldn't help but explore a few abandoned houses and otherwise linger in some of the locations, including Lai Chi Wo itself.  So we did end up hiking the final section of the trail in the dark... Ah well, maybe the third time I visit Lai Chi Wo, it won't be the case! ;b

 Soon after passing Siu Tan, the trail heads to 

-- and skirts -- the coast

The Lai Chi Wo Nature Trail portion of the route has 

informative interpretive panels along it -- like with

the other official nature trails in Hong Kong

Behind this shrine is a tree whose middle portion

looks to me like a sculpture of a kissing couple!

A banyan tree with another shrine in front of it

as well as lanterns hanging from it

 Most of the buildings in this centuries old village look 

dilapidated but there are a handful that look in 

better condition than the others -- and have electricity

Much of Lai Chi Wo has an abandoned air to it

-- but there also were signs about that 

some people return for Chinese New Year 

 A good way to get a sense of the size of the tree 

in the picture is, realize that my friend in

the same photo is around six feet five inches tall! ;b

I admit it -- I couldn't help pausing to take pictures

even as darkness beckoned! ;)

A hike with rain and spider spottings! :)

Walking towards the mist -- thank goodness we don't

have to worry about gorillas in Hong Kong! ;)

Arachnophobes should take heed though

as the big spiders are baack! :D

It may not look like it but this spider actually is

hanging from a web -- albeit one high above ground! :)

Dark clouds loomed as two friends and I prepared to begin our ascent of Violet Hill earlier today.  But we told one another that, at most, there would just be light showers rather than heavy rain according to the weather forecast, so decided to go ahead with our hike.  

 

About twenty minutes into our ascent, we saw mist ahead but told ourselves it was only mist rather than rain, and walked towards it.  Soon we were in the clouds but after we began descending along the other side of the hill, we left the mist behind.  But just when I was thinking that 'Finally, we'll get some really good views...', the rain clouds finally caught up with us and decided to release some precipitation right in the area where we were!

 

Funnily, this downpour took place close to the same place where two other friends and I got really, really wet last summer!  Rather than try to take shelter under the tiny roof of a nearby information board this time around, my party carried on with our hike -- albeit after deciding to change our choice of trail from one that would have left us pretty exposed to the elements to another that had more tree cover.

 

This particular trail that skirts the eastern slopes of Violet Hill is actually a pretty easy one but for some reason, there are no signs pointing to it and it's marked as a dotted trail on the Hong Kong Island and Neighbouring Islands map produced b the Surey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department.  The result is that we saw few other people along it -- and a number of spiders with large, intricate webs that indicated that they've not been disturbed for quite some time!

 

Some of these spiders were on the small side but a few were female Golden Orb Weavers that can be pretty big indeed.  I know there are people who don't care of them -- and get repulsed even by photos of them! -- but I honestly look forward to seeing these beautiful as well as big spiders (and reckon that raindrops and dew on their webs make for a really photogenic sight).  I haven't seen them for months (I'm not sure about their life span or habits but they seem to hibernate in the colder months), so I really was happy to catch sight of them again on this hike -- and, yes, I have the rain to thank for doing so! :)

Grin and How is your sky today? (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

The photo at the very top of this blog entry is a real Photo Hunt rarity: one that I expressly took just a few minutes ago in direct response to Gattina's query of How is your sky today? Looking at it, I want to smile -- if not grin -- because I think it really captures the weather forecast for today in Hong Kong: i.e., very hot, and mainly fine apart from a few showers (This from the Hong Kong Observatory).  Because even while you can see nice blue skies in part of the picture, dark clouds full of rain are also threatening...

Moving on to images that really make me smile and grin: like last year, I went to the Hong Kong Flower Show this year but didn't put up a Hong Kong Flower Show-specific entry on this blog, content instead to wait for an opportunity to use them for a Photo Hunt entry (or more). Sandi's choice of theme this week presents me with just that.

More specifically, among the more imaginative entries at this year's show was one featuring a pair of gentlemanly individuals made out of flowers, one bearing a basket of cheery vegetable produce, with other sets of equally cheery looking vegetable produce assembled near them!  And yes, when I see such things, they serve to reconfirm my strong sense that Hong Kongers -- who often can look so serious, sullen even, when going about their daily business and routines -- really do have a whimsy- and kawaii-loving to them. :b

Rain and remembrance

Before the deluge - a sea of lit candles 

in Victoria Park this evening

During the deluge - people struggled to keep 

their candles lit as well as stay dry 

but at least one candle remains burning bright

After the deluge and event - volunteers 

scrape up the candle wax that had melted 

and stuck to the ground at Victoria Park

As I walked into Victoria Park earlier this evening, I looked at the crowd around me and worried aloud to the friend I was with that there were going to be fewer people at the event to commemorate the tragedy that occurred in the summer of 1989 than on previous June 4ths.  Indeed, so small was the crowd at around 6.30pm that we were able to find space to park ourselves on the second football pitch away from the main stage.

But one hour later, all the football pitches were filled with people -- young and old, male and female, many of them wearing black or white.  And just before the heavens opened and poured its tears on us, an announcement had been made that one half of the grassy area in the park also had been filled with people there to declare to the world that Hong Kong remembers the events that happened in Beijing and elsewhere in China 24 years ago.

For the past few days, my friend and I had worried about whether there'd be rain as forecast for this evening.  At the beginning of the candlelight vigil, we were hopeful that all the rain for the day had already poured down this morning.  Alas, it was not to be.  Worse, we aren't talking about a shower or even ordinary downpour but a veritable deluge that turned the very ground we had been sitting on into a stream and was so  loud that we had problems hearing each other speak, never mind the event organizers.

For what seemed like an eternity, we stood along with thousands of other increasingly drenched people in the pouring rain.  At some point, we followed the lead of others in deciding that we had better move on to someplace dry.  This, of course, meant leaving Victoria Park and the candlelight vigil.  And it was with a sense of guilt that I did so.

After a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant, I ventured out to find that the rain was now just a drizzle -- so decided that I might as well go back to Victoria Park.  There I found some hardy souls who appeared to have stayed throughout -- and the loudspeakers working again (but not the video, so the big screen that had been temporarily erected for the event was now blank).  

What with music blaring, there seemed an almost festive air to the place -- an optimism that "We shall overcome", if you will.  Shortly afterwards, the organizers thanked the people who had participated this evening and brought tonight's vigil officially to a close.  

Thus it was that an event that had begun promisingly and looked like it had been disastrously brought to a premature halt seemed to have been brought to a surprisingly good-natured conclusion for the year -- with the likes of me resolving that, come rain or shine, we will be back again next year to ensure that the message is sent that We Do Remember what happened on June 4, 1989 and that we are determined to make sure that people who don't remember it still will know what happened on that day.

From Bride's Pool to Siu Tan in the far northeast of the New Territories (Photo-essay)

As regular visitors to this blog know, I love hiking in Hong Kong -- and I strongly prefer to not go hiking alone.  What even they may not realize though is that the vast majority of my Hong Kong hikes have been undertaken with two hiking buddies -- one of whom has been my regular hiking friend since September 2011, the other of whom I met first fairly early along my hiking 'career' on an 18 kilometer trek organized by Roz's Group that took us from Shek Pik Reservoir to Tai O (see here, here, here and here for photo-essays of that long and wonderful hike).

Without the latter's entrance into my life, whom I tended to refer to as "my regular hiking companion" on this blog, I don't think I would have become as much of a hiking enthusiast as I've become.  This is because she and I proved incredibly compatible in terms of our hiking style and preferences -- and she also encouraged me to try harder hikes than I previously would have dared to attempt by sharing with me the idea that, "it's okay, we'll go slowly, and we'll make it...".

So you can imagine the devastation I felt when she told me some three years into our friendship that she was going to be moving back to Canada (for professional reasons).  Fortunately, all was not lost hiking wise because, by that point, the fellow that has become my second regular hiking companion had been hiking with us for some time.  

Still, I resolved to give my original regular hiking companion a nice send off by way of choosing a particularly nice hiking route for one of her last hikes in Hong Kong.  Thus it was that one Sunday afternoon saw my two regular hiking buddies, another friend and I going on a half day hike in Plover Cove Country Park that would take us through some of what I consider to be among the more interesting parts of Hong Kong...

 We began our hike in the watery vicinity 

of the legendary Bride's Pool

Not the famous Bride's Pool but Chiu Keng Tam 

(Mirror Pool) -- so named because some people saw 

the spirit of the drowned bride using the calm water 

in the area as a mirror as she combed her hair! :O

One of the more interesting looking 
village houses to be found at Wu Kau Tang

 Then it was past Kau Tam Tso -- 

where it can feel like time has stopped

Vibrant flowers but dead moth at Kau Tam Tso?

A long stretch of trail along which I didn't see 

any other people bar for my hiking buddies!

People -- and some nice food -- were to be found

at Fook Lee Tea House in Sam A Tsuen though :)

After lunch, we headed north and it was not long before 

we encountered another abandoned dwelling -- this one

a veritable mansion at Siu Tan

To be continued! :)