The Chinese New Year flowers hike :)

It's not Chinese New Year yet but the

Chinese New Year flowers are in bloom! :)

Lest it be clear, I'm talking about whole clumps

of Chinese New Year flowers being already in bloom!

The young red leaves of the Chekiang Machilus 

(Machilus chekiangensis) also caught the eye on a gray day ;b

The two friends I normally go hiking with were not available to go out with today but I had an urge to go out into the countryside this afternoon that was so strong, I also wasn't put off by today hardly being optimal hiking weather (and indeed, it was drizzling when I stepped out of my apartment building).  

Giving the conditions today, I decided to go to a part of the Hong Kong countryside which I figured would see a number of other people out hiking today -- one not all that far away from the city.  While last week I opted to head up to the Kowloon hills, I decided to remain on Hong Kong Island this week and explore a section of its countryside that I have passed through at the tail end of hikes but not bothered to wander about on its own.

Dwarfed by nearby hills (such as 436-meter-high Mount Butler and 424-meter-high Siu Ma Shan), 200-meter-high Braemar Hill also comes with the taint of having been the location of the high profile double murders that are depicted in Herman Yau's From the Queen to the Chief Executive.  But I personally tend to think of the area more as where Sir Cecil's Ride winds confusingly and sometimes seems to doubleback upon itself, and -- after today -- the home to the Po Luen Path whose name appears on a number of signposts but on none of the official Hong Kong countryside maps that I've seen!

While I eschewed going along the Po Luen Path the first time I saw a sign for it, curiosity got the better of me the second, third and fourth time I saw signs for it!  A couple of times, the trail led me to areas where good views would be had if visibility were higher than it was today.  A couple of other times, the trail led me to the edge of Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension) -- but not yet prepared to end my hike at those points, I backtracked into the country park once more.

Although visibility was not optimal, I really enjoyed today's hike.  It helped that it was unseasonably warm this afternoon to the point that I didn't feel a need for a jacket or turtleneck sweater for much of the hike.  Even better was my coming across several eye-catching clumps of red that helped ensure that it wasn't all just green, brown and gray around me!

Many of these clumps of red were of the young leaves of the Chekiang Machilus that, from a distance, can fool one into thinking they are flowers.  A surprising percentage of the red also came by way of Chinese New Year flowers -- which I look forward to spotting around Chinese New Year each year but have never seen in such abundance before as I did today! 

Some time back, deforestation -- along with their popularity as Chinese New Year decorations in family homes -- threatened to make these wild flowers extinct.  And up to today's hike (which will go down in my memory as the Chinese New Year flowers hike), I looked upon the sight of these flowers as on the rare side.  But not anymore, it seems -- and if this indeed so, long may this be the case! :) 

Movie characters, politics and plushies at the Lunar New Year Fair

Frozen's Olaf, a fan, and a Minion among 

the crowd at Victoria Park this afternoon

 Anti 689 (and wife) items for sale at the same venue!

   Hello Kitty balloons and sheep plushies are, 

of course, a given at the Lunar New Year Fair ;b

February 14th may be Valentine's Day but more importantly to a fair few people is this year's falling just five days before the first day of the new lunar year of the sheep (or goat or ram -- since, in Chinese, the same word is used for all of them!).  And thus it was that hundreds, if not thousands, of people headed over today to check out the Lunar New Year Fairs (AKA Chinese New Year Flower Markets) held in 15 locations throughout Hong Kong.

Like in previous years, I chose to go to the largest of these markets -- the one at Victoria Park. And as on my previous visits, I saw lots of flowers (what people traditionally go to buy at these markets), good luck items, plushies and balloons on sale at the festive fair.  And as with at least one other time that I've been to these markets, I passed by a stall operated by/on behalf of the Tiananmen Mothers.

Political-themed items were particularly noticeable this year thanks to the Umbrella Movement/Revolution not being a thing of the past like the authorities wish to have people think -- and they weren't on sale only at the stalls manned by political parties such as the League of Social Democrats, Civic Passion, the Democratic Party and the Civic Party either.  

At the same time, I have to say that there appeared to be a lot more Frozen-themed items and Hello Kittys on sale at Victoria Park today.  And while I also spotted a number of Totoros at the Chinese New Year market, none of them were carrying yellow umbrellas -- unlike those I spotted last year at Admiralty, Central, Causeway Bay and Mongkok.  

I have to admit to having hoped to see -- and buy -- a balloon or inflatable Baymax (from Big Hero 6) at the Lunar New Year Fair.  But all I saw there as far as Baymax items go was one measly plushie!  (Message to Baymax toy producers and sellers: he's referred to as "balloon man" by another character in the movie.  Hello?  Shouldn't that be a strong hint that people would want to have Baymax balloons or inflatables???!!!  So...any chance of getting stocks of those before the markets close in the wee hours of the first day of Chinese New Year?)

Much more clued in are those who have figured out that Shaun the Sheep would be pretty popular at at this year's fairs -- on account of the upcoming Lunar New Year being that of the sheep (or goat or ram) and the Shaun the Sheep Movie going to be released in cinemas on the first day of Chinese New Year.  And while 12 Golden Ducks items may not fare so well at the fair, fair play to those behind this Chinese New Year movie (and its promotion) for having a dedicated stall in Victoria Park this year! :b

Dinner at an izakaya without an English name and menu

The most delicious liver ever may well be ankimo 

(monkfish liver) served in the traditional Japanese style!

Another dish I love - tsubugai (whelk) sashimi

Somen - arguably the least well known type of Japanese noodles

A small but delicious plate of assorted tempura

After going on a 17 kilometer bike ride on the Kibi Plain earlier in the day and sampling some craft beers at a Furashiki microbrewery, I figured I needed to top my birthday last year off with a nice dinner.  Although I was tempted to head back to the Kurashiki izakaya where I had a pretty good dinner the night before, I elected to try some place different -- and after heading back to Okayama, I walked around an area near my hotel there that looked to have a variety of dining establishments about before deciding to go into an izakaya with no English name and no English menu.

More than one person has asked me how I manage to get around in Japan -- and do such as have the variety of food that I do -- despite not being fluent in Japanese.  My reply often is that there's more English -- and people who understand some modicum of English -- in Japan than many people who have never visited the Land of the Rising Sun may realize.  But it's also true that the further one goes away from the larger cities like Tokyo and Osaka, the more likely it is that one is going to have to use some Japanese -- along with sign language! -- to communicate.  

One Japanese word I find wonderful to know is "sumimasen".  It can mean "please" (as in when you wish to draw the attention of a waiter or waitress) as well as "excuse me" (useful when you wish to do such as get people to make space for when you want to get out of a train).  Another useful word -- particularly in restaurant settings -- is "moriawase" (which means assorted).

In Japan, many restaurants specialise in only one type of food -- say, yakitori, sushi or tempura.  If you're willing to take a chance, when you go into those kinds of restaurant and don't have the vocabulary to specifically order what you want, say to the person taking your order "moriawase, kudasai" (assorted, please -- and yes, kudasai is another Japanese word for "please").  

Izakaya, on the other hand, are Japanese dining (and drinking) establishments which have a variety of foods on offer.  I've come across some izakaya with English on their menus.  More often, I've come across izakaya with wonderful picture menus!  And such was the case for the Okayama izakaya which proved to be a great place to have my birthday dinner!!

As it so happens though, I actually knew how to order everything I had there (i.e., the dishes pictured above) in Japanese -- this as a result of my having eaten thousands of Japanese meals over the years (and my making a point to try to remember the names of dishes and ingredients that I liked and figured I'd want to order and eat again in the future)!  

And, of course, I also knew how to order in Japanese what I wanted to drink that evening: a big glass of draft beer (nama biru - dai!) and a smaller glass of nihonshu (what sake is known as in Japan) -- with my feeling particularly chuffed to discover that Dassai 50 Junmai Daiginjo was on the menu there, as it is at Senryo and Sake Bar Ginn over here in Hong Kong.

As luck would have it, midway through my meal, a Japanese salaryman came into the restaurant and opted, like I had, to sit at the counter.  Tickled to see him order the same sake as me and also the ankimo, I told him "good choice" -- and that's how we got to talking.  At first, he told me he didn't know much English but, as often is the case with Japanese people, the more he drank, the more English language ability he was able to exhibit!

Thus it was that my birthday dinner turned out to have all the key ingredients for a memorable meal -- delicious food, enjoyable drinks, and friendly company to chat and joke with! ;b

Sampling microbrewed beer in Kurashiki

The bar area at Kurashiki Mugishukan looks inviting

but also intimidating to beer geeks who can't read Japanese!

I ended up settling down there to have a couple of (small) glasses

of beer and a read of copies of the bilingual Japan Beer Times :b

Even without going on a 17-kilometer-long bicycle ride, I often already am thirsting to have some nama biru (draft beer) when I'm in Japan.  But after completing my Kibi Plain bike excursion, I had a specific place in mind to go slake my thirst -- the bar of a microbrewery in nearby Kurashiki which had been closed when I visited that town the previous day but I knew was open on the other days of the week!

Upon entering the premises of Kurashiki Mugishukan, I found more than I bargained for.  On the negative side, it happened to be one of those places in Japan without an English menu or anyone on the premises who was comfortable speaking English.  More happily however, I discovered that the microbrewery had plenty of beers on tap, including those from other microbreweries in the region.  Also, that even while the bartender (who happened to be the only other person around pretty much the whole time that I was there) couldn't speak English, he still could identify and state different beer styles such as "pilsner", "IPA" and "bock"!

The first beer that I tried was a German style brownish looking house beer from the microbrewery.  The second was another German style brown beer known as Tsuyama Draft from Okayama's Tago Brewery Company.  If truth be told though, neither of these craft beers were particularly memorable and all that successful at quenching my thirst -- this not least since they were served in glasses that were on the small and also expensive side!

Funnily enough, probably the highlight of my visit to Kurashiki Mugishukan was coming across copies of the Japan Beer Times there.  Although certain of the copies had cover pictures that got me thinking I definitely was not a member of the publication's target audience, I still did enjoy reading many of its articles -- and ended up going through every single one of the eight or so different copies of the publication that were lying about in the bar area! 

I think it can be safely said that the big four breweries of Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo and Suntory still rule for the most part in Japan.  At the same time though, I've tasted my share of enjoyable Japanese microbrews in Japan and also Hong Kong (including the beers of Kagua and Hitachino). And even while I have to admit to being very happy to drink the nama biru of the big four in Japan -- which, it has to be said, does taste quite a bit better when imbibed within their home country -- I did come away from my visit to Kurashiki Mugishukan determined to sample even more Japanese craft beers when the chances presented themselves! ;b

Bird watching at Hong Kong Wetland Park

Close-up shot of... anyone want to tell me 

what kind of bird this is?!

This bird I can identify as an Eurasian Curlew :)

Another feathered beauty spotted this afternoon

at the Hong Kong Wetland Park

At one point over the course of yesterday's hike, I told my hiking friend that one reason why I haven't opted thus far to get a smart phone is because I spend so much time staring at a screen already -- this because I regularly do so at work during office hours and also for several hours at home daily.  

On a similar vein, having taken a day off from work today (because I've had a particularly exhausting last couple of work weeks), I decided to use my eyes in a different way from usual -- in other words, I decided to stay away from a computer (screen) for much of the day -- and exercise my eyes by using them to view things from a different distance, etc. than I usually do over the course of my regular work day.  More specifically, I decided to head off to the Hong Kong Wetland Park (for my fourth visit ever) to do some birdwatching!

On account of Hong Kong being a temporary home for many of migratory birds (that tend to spend their winters here but other times of the year elsewhere), I figured that this winter day would be a good day to head over to to the Tin Shui Wai area facility.  And thus it proved -- despite a few loud kids and adults (the majority of whom spoke Mandarin rather than Cantonese or any other language) often threatening to scare the birds away with their loud voices.

And yes, I know that the Hong Kong Wetland Park has its share of critics.  But the indoor exhibits area --  with their sad animals, including turtles and a mousedeer, that I can't think would be better off if free in the wild -- aside, I reckon that it can make for a pleasant visit, especially in winter; this not least since there are a surprisingly large number of birds viewable from the park's official hides, particularly if you've equipped with a camera that has a 30X zoom, like mine does! ;b

Hiking up to Sha Tin Pass and then Lion Rock and Beacon Hill too!

Guess where this photo was taken!

Congratulations, you're correct if your answer

was "the top of Lion Rock"! ;b

As this view from the area to the west of the top of Beacon Hill 

(which Lion Rock in the distance) shows, my hiking friend 

and I went on quite the hike earlier today!

For various reasons (including my mother coming over to visit me in Hong Kong and last Sunday being when a pro-democracy rally took place), I've not gone hiking since New Year's Day this year.  And after the terrible trail fiasco of January 1st, I opted to go along an established trail today -- albeit one which sections which I went on for the first time, and with a detour or so along the way. 

 

Also, rather than begin our hike at the official start of Section 5 of the Maclehose Trail, my friend and I opted instead to join it at Sha Tin Pass, from where we got to from a trail that very conveniently connected directly from the bus station in Tsz Wan Shan that we got off the bus.  This way, we bypassed one peak in 583-meter-high Tate's Cairn but after adding a detour up to the top of 495-meter-high Lion Rock to the route that also included a pull up Beacon Hill and then down again to the end of the hike via a section of the Eagle's Nest Nature Trail, I think it can be safely stated that it still was one doozy of a hike that we went on today!

 

Although visibility was not the greatest today, it still was pretty nice day for hiking -- and from the large numbers of fellow hikers we saw on the trail this afternoon, particularly at Sha Tin Pass and at the top of Lion Rock, many people agreed that this was the case!  And so enjoyable overall was today's hike that my friend and I got to talking, even before we got to Beacon Hill, about wanting to go on this trail again -- or at least part of it -- in the summer, when there's usually much higher visibility.

At the same time though, we had to admit that this is a part of Hong Kong that -- despite being so close to very high density urban sections of the territory -- is actually not all that easy to get to.  A case in point: despite the trail from Tsz Wan Shan being the shortest and most direct of the four trails leading up to Sha Tin Pass that I've now tried going on, it also involves the steepest ascent -- with pretty much zero "warm up" opportunities before going all the way up, up, up there! ;b

Bitchu-Kokubunji, and more Kibi Plain reflections

The five-storey pagoda of Bitchu-Kokubunji

looks impressive, be it from a distance and up close

The sight of the pagoda drew me into the grounds of 

the quiet and peaceful temple complex

A serene looking Buddha statue has pride of place

in one of the temple buildings

When thinking back about the sights I saw over the course of my Kibi Plain bike excursion, I think the single most interesting place I visited was Kibitsu Shrine but the most eye-catching has to be Bitchu-Kokubunji -- specifically, its five-story pagoda, which was the last of its kind to have been built in Japan and can be seen from miles away.

 

Again, as with Kibitsu Shrine, I had the place pretty much to myself at Bitchu-Kokubunji.  And once more like with Kibitsu Shrine, there was no entrance charge for the place -- something that I'm pretty sure would not have been the case if Bitchu-Kokubunji were located in, say, Kyoto or Kamakura (where all the Buddhist temples I visited charged entry fees though -- and this is something I've found pretty much without fail in Japan -- the Shinto shrines do not).  

 

For the most part, I was content to peek into rather than enter any of the buildings at Bitchu-Kokubunji -- with the exception being that which housed a small souvenir area and where some food could be served.  Although part of me was tempted by the thought of having a bowl of soba (buckwheat noodles) there, I settled instead for a cone of one of those great soft serve ice creams that I love to eat when I'm in Japan -- and which helped to slake my thirst as well as fill me up a bit!

 

More than incidentally, I was surprised to find way fewer eateries along or near the Kibi Plain bike route than I thought I would (so was glad that I did pack some snacks to eat along the way). I also didn't expect to see so few people out on the bicycle path that day.  In all, I think I saw just three other bicyclists cycling from Bizen-Ichinomiya to Soja, and only one bicyclists electing to go the opposite way -- and I think that increased our feeling of camaraderie, so whenever we spotted one another, we'd smile and be friendly like we knew each other (when, in fact, we didn't!).

 

Bitchu-Kokubunji was the last place I stopped at before I got to Soja -- and looking back, I should have stopped at a couple of attractions in the town itself.  Maybe another time... and if so, I may be tempted to go on this really very pleasant bike path once more, and check out other sights in the area that I didn't go for this time around! :)