Urban Hong Kong looking surprisingly empty one Saturday last month!

One Saturday morning in Central...

 

A quiet corner of the International Finance Centre (IFC)

 

Waiting for others to arrive for lunch at Lung King Heen ;)

 

A few years ago, I viewed Fruit Chan's The Midnight After at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.  Among the most fascinating scenes in this horror-comedy about 17 people who mysteriously become the only folks left in Hong Kong are those which show whole swathes of the territory transformed into a veritable ghost town bereft of human life.  

 

Not only did was this visually impressive but many of the movie's audience got to wondering how the filmmakers managed to shoot those scenes since the urban sections of Hong Kong are notoriously filled with people.  But as I found one Saturday last month, there are times when the supposed heart of the city that is its Central District can be much more empty than most of us actually realize or even might be able to imagine! 

 

It was late morning when I headed over to that part of the Big Lychee to enjoy one more delicious dim sum lunch at three-Michelin-star Lung King Heen with some friends.  After first stopping by at City Hall to get a couple of tickets to an upcoming classical music concert, I realized that I had over-estimated the amount of time that I'd need to get this done.  So I decided to kill some time by hanging out for a bit at the rooftop garden atop the IFC Mall which few people don't realize is open to the public. 

 

Upon getting up there, I found that I had quite the choice of empty seats if I were so inclined.  But I elected to walk around and admire the landscaped space, and also the views to be had from that upper floor.  Understandably, those overlooking Victoria Harbour garnered more attention but I found myself getting fascinated with the less scenic views of the nearby thoroughfares: which first attracted my attention because of their multi-level nature but then really intrigued by how under-trafficked they were at that time of the day and week.

 

For those who're wondering: my lunch appointment that day was at 12.30pm.  And seeing that Lung King Heen is in the Four Seasons Hotel, which is located within the IFC complex, I knew that I could head over there from the rooftop garden within just 10 minutes or so.  Which is what I proceeded to do.

 

Rather amusingly, the "empty" theme continued upon my getting into Lung King Heen as I turned out to be the first of my party to get to the restaurant and I also found the nearby tables unoccupied.  More than incidentally, one of the things I do appreciate about this particular dining establishment is that there's quite a bit of space between each table -- something which is quite the luxury in Hong Kong!  And, as can be seen in the photo I took there, the views from its window seats are quite something too! :)                       

An exploratory hike in the area around the Mount Butler H.F. Radio Receiving Station

One day, I'll get over to that trigonometrical station...

 

For now, I'll content myself with my having been up

that unnamed hill topped by interesting rocks nearby ;b

 

Another hike highlight: coming across a lovely looking

rock pool filled with clear fresh water from a hill stream :)

 

Some day (soon), I'll find it: i.e., a path that will lead me from the trailhead located behind the St Joan of Arc Secondary School on Braemar Hill Road across the area bordering the northwestern border of Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension) whose main landmark is the Mount Butler H.F. Radio Receiving Station over to Siu Ma Shan Bridge.  Hopefully it'll be third time lucky after my failed attempt earlier this month and my failed attempt earlier today on what was only my second hike of the month (due to such as bad weather and a trip back to Penang for durian!). 

 

Whereas the last time, I ended up going all the way west to Wong Nai Chung Gap largely along the western section of Sir Cecil's Ride, today's hike ended up taking me along another section of that former bridle path favored by Sir Cecil Clementi when he was Governor of Hong Kong over to Mount Parker Road and down to Quarry Bay.  But in between traipsing along sections of Sir Cecil's Ride, I also ventured onto unfamiliar ground in the form of a few kilometers worth of overgrown -- and possibly also in some cases unmarked -- trails that took me up and down a couple of different unnamed hills in the vicinity of the aforementioned radio receiving station and also Braemar Hill.     

 

Although I did have the correct Countryside Map with me this time around, I must admit to having decided to let visuals -- in particular, one of the radio receiving station's tall antennae -- guide me for part of the way.  But while I did manage to get up close to that particular antenna, I discovered upon getting up the hill on which it's located that there wasn't a discernible trail leading in a straightforward manner from it to Siu Ma Shan Bridge!

 

Instead, I found a trail with ribbons left by fellow hikers marking the way (rather than signs posted by the relevant authorities) that led me further into unknown territory, through tall brush which left me with scratches and I prayed wasn't hiding snakes and other creatures that I really didn't want to encounter at that point in the hike.  Moving in a direction that I figured would mean my connecting at some point with either Sir Cecil's Ride or Mount Parker Road (in the event, it was both!), I first was led to, up and over a hill with interesting large rocks -- one of which resembled a fossilized dinosaur head to my mind! -- and then to a scenic hill stream whose fast flowing water I could hear long before I caught side of it.

 

Adding to the paradisical feel of this area was a natural rock pool that looked plenty inviting to jump into on this very hot (even if not as bad as yesterday, when temperatures soared up to 37 degrees Celsius in parts of Hong Kong!) day.  Somehow, I managed to resist that impulse; making do instead just with dipping my cap into the cool, fresh water with then cooled as well as wet my head when I put that cap back on!     

 

As I sat for a bit on the side of the hill stream, I spotted only the fourth person I came across after getting off the green minibus that had deposited me near the trailhead close to two hours earlier.  Deciding to accord him some quiet time on his own in that beauty spot, I went down the trail which I had seen him come up on and found that this area that I had previously never been in is actually located just a stone's throw away from a morning walkers' garden that I have passed by a couple of times before!     

Back on familiar ground, I decided to extend my hike and end it down in Quarry Bay.  Walking along a largely unpaved but wide and flat trail, I now looked forward to spotting some interesting critters -- and was rewarded by the sight of a number of Golden Orb Weavers.  Put another way: it's the season for big spiders once more! ;b

Feasting on Penang durian during what's turned out to be a late, short and not particularly bountiful 2017 season!

A pair of customers wait for their durian to be opened

and the fruit packed up for them

 

 A close-up shot of the durian being carved up and prepared

A beautiful sight as far as durian lovers are concerned ;b

 

In July of last year, I flew back to Penang to feast on durians.  And when I was back in Penang last May, I asked my mother to let me know when the durian season for came along this year so that I could consider doing the same again in 2017.   

 

Unlike in many other parts of the world (or even other parts of Malaysia), there's only one durian season a year in Penang.  In years gone by, this spiky seasonal fruit would be available in May -- and even as early as April.  So I had hoped that I'd be able to sample some durian on my May 2017 visit.  But while I did manage to eat well then, the king of fruits was -- alas! -- not on the menu.  Instead, I had to wait -- like last year -- until July to get my hands on some durian (which, yes, I proceeded to eat with rice bathed in coconut milk and sprinkled with gula melaka).           

The late arrival of both the 2016 and 2017 durian seasons has been ascribed to the rains having fallen at the "wrong" time of the year.  In other words, durian connoiseurs in Penang have become all too aware that climate change really is a thing.

 

As it turned out, this year's durian harvest also has been way smaller than normal.  Stories have been told of trees having had fewer flowers than usual and many of the flowers not having borne fruit.  Indeed, so bad was this year's yield considered to be that at least one Catholic mass was held in Balik Pulau -- where Penang's best durians are grown, and a Catholic congregation was established and a church founded as far back as the mid 19th century -- to enlist divine help for the durian trees and their owners!

 

In addition to this year's being a disappointingly small harvest, the 2017 durian season also has been shorter than usual: lasting just one month or so rather than the more usual two or three.  So it was with some urgency that on my first full day back in Penang this month, my mother, a family friend and I went hunting for durian at a couple of places that were located quite a distance from each other as well as could be said to be off the beaten track (since they aren't located in Balik Pulau per se, Macalister Road (where many tourists now go) and Anson Road (where one particular seller famously hawks the notoriously expensive Musang King)! 

 

At the Jelutong Market stall that my mother favors, we were told that this might well be the last week for durian -- or, at least, those from the favored old trees that the sellers had access to.  As it was, the crop that was left, while good, yielded fruit that was on the small side -- and they had no more ang heh (red prawn), my favorite durian, available.  

 

And while we did find -- and buy -- one red prawn durian at a stall in Kampung Pulau Betong located close to the eatery where I had lunched on fresh seafood with my German friend, my mother and a group of my mother's friends this past May, we -- including the seller -- were shocked to find that the admittedly small-sized durian only had two seeds within it!  Adding to the improbability of it all was the second durian that the seller opened having just three seeds in it -- rather than the usual five, six and more than one expects to see when opening a durian!   

It may seem like small consolation but I must say that quite a number of the five durian in total that we ended up buying was actually pretty tasty.  And I happily feasted on durian that evening and the next; only foregoing doing so a third night in a row because the "heaty" fruit caused me to have a sore throat after my having had just two durian dinners, during which I consumed 11 seeds worth of durian (but, actually, just the pulpy fresh surrounding the seeds but not the actual seeds) over the course of those two meals! ;b

Hello Kitty shows its appeal to all ages at the Hong Kong Book Fair!

Hello Kitty books for the very young

Hello Kitty fans for the young at heart?

In the space of less than a week, not one but two friends have voiced their surprise at finding out about my Hello Kitty adoration.  I think part of the reason for this is that both of them live in the US, where the target audience for Hello Kitty is way younger than I now am and also much more into the color pink than me.  

Out here in Hong Kong (like in Japan), however, there's little doubt that Hello Kitty appeals to old and young alike with a wide range of products available to interest people -- particularly but not exclusively those of the female gender -- of pretty much every age.  Taking the products available at this year's Hong Kong Book Fair as examples: There were Hello Kitty books that were clearly geared for children but also, as was the case last year, Hello Kitty-themed craft books on offer along with those for fans of popular Sanrio stablemate, Gudetama.   

The cute cat character was also the Japan Pavilion area which actually was much more about tourism promotion than book selling; with opportunities for people of various ages to dress up in Hello Kitty garb and have their photos taken, and the furry feline character's visage also being visible on such as paper fans tucked into the cloth belts of yukata-attired tourism representatives who hailed from the land where Hello Kitty was created (if not supposedly born).  

This shouldn't come as a surprise to those folks who remember that -- and no I am not kidding! -- some years back, Hello Kitty was appointed as Japan's goodwill tourism ambassador to Hong Kong (and Mainland China) by the Japanese government.  And while we're on the subject: here's pointing out that earlier this year, a retired Japanese policeman -- yes, a man as well as adult! -- was announced as the owner of the world's largest Hello Kitty collection; and that links to this piece of news was separately forwarded to me by not one but several friends! ;D

Political and cinematic associations at the 2017 Hong Kong Book Fair

A selection of books for sale at my favorite booth at
this year's Hong Kong Book Fair

My four book haul for this year

Before I went on my most recent trip out of Hong Kong, I made sure to spend some time at this year's Hong Kong Book Fair.  Having discovered last year that bargains abounded at this annual event (and, also, that there are more booths selling English language books than a look at the fair map would have one thinking), I was undeterred by the prospect of super packed halls and ended up joining the crowds gathered at the relevant sections of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the first day of the fair.

As I walked along the place, I got to noticing a distinct lack of political tomes being hawked this year in contrast to just one year ago.  Kudos, then, to the folks at HKU Press for overcoming fears and opting against self-censorship to go ahead and continue selling as well as publishing books such as Stein Ringen's The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century (which prompted one review that includes the following summation: "Stein Ringen shows how the Chinese state has used both fear and material inducements to build a “controlocracy” of a size and complexity unprecedented in world history. Perfect as a dictatorship, but brutal, destructive, and wasteful") and 2012's Liu Xiaobo, Charter 08 and the Challenges of Reform in China (originally priced at HK$195 but marked down to HK$80 at the fair).

Along with that Liu Xiaobo book, I bought Chan Siu Jeung's East River Column: Hong Kong Guerillas in the Second World War from the booth whose publisher is part of the same University of Hong Kong whose graduates include Sun Yat Sen, Anson Chan and Umbrella Movement activist Yvonne Leung.  After spending some three hours at the book fair, I only came away with another two books -- that, like with the one on the East River Column -- actually have some cinematic associations!

Of the trio, the book with the most obvious film connection is Shusaku Endo's Silence.  First adapted into a movie in 1971 by Masahiro Shinoda, it also was adapted for the silver screen last year by Martin Scorsese (who supplied an introduction for this English language edition of the 1966 Japanese book). The American filmmaker's Silence was screened in Hong Kong earlier this year but I was loath to watch it: not only because it's 161 minutes long but, also, because it's been given a different (Hollywoodized?) ending from the novel.  So I'd prefer to watch the 1971 film but, in all likelihood, am more likely to end up reading the the book rather than viewing a film adaptation of it; this especially since I now own a copy of it!

As for Fannie Flagg's Can't Wait to Get to Heaven: it's the author rather than the book itself that has a movie connection.  Back when I was still living in the US, I saw a film adaptation of Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe that quickly found a place in my heart, prompted me to get the origininal soundtrack on cassette tape (yes, it was that long ago!) and -- truly! -- made me pine to sample some fried green tomatoes (something I only managed to finally do a few years ago).

As for East River Column: I'd actually heard about the valiant resistance group that's this book's subject some years back and have done such as hiked in areas of Hong Kong where its members hid out.  And if I had more easily made the connection between the East River Column and the Dongjiang guerilla unit spotlighted in Ann Hui's Our Time Will Come, I'd have more quickly realized that the Hong Kong film doyen's latest offering is much less of a Chinese propaganda movie than its official poster made it look like it'd be and, instead, be one of those archetypal -- and laudable Ann Hui movies where "ordinary heroes" (and heroines) abound!

Sick jokes at the expense of those on both sides of the Hong Kong-Mainland Chinese border who seek democracy and dignity

Four of the pro-democrat politicians in the above picture 

have been turfed out of the Legislative Council; and one of 

the others is in danger of meeting the same fate

 

And even being Hong Kong's "king of votes" may not be able

to save Eddie Chu Hoi Dick from the same fate :(

 

The Hong Kong and Communist Chinese governments appear to be combining to making sick joke after sick joke at democracy's expense.  On Bastille Day last Friday, it arranged for the disqualification of four elected lawmakers on technicalities. On Saturday, the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law in Taiwan, news came from across the Mainland Chinese-Hong Kong border that Liu Xiaobo had been denied a burial on Chinese soil and, instead, had had his ashes scattered into the sea. 

 

And now, on Nelson Mandela Day, comes speculation that at least nine other pro-democracy lawmakers are at risk of suffering the same fate as the six politicians already booted out of the Legislative Council.  Among this group are the Eddie Chu Hoi-Dick, whose 84,121 votes received at last year's Legislative Council elections certainly puts Carrie Lam's voting numbers to shame, and Hong Kong's first openly gay legislator, Raymond Chan. 

Their supposed crime?  Would you believe that it's not having taken their oath of office, as can be seen by their adding words at their swearing-in that ranged from slogans calling for true democracy, self-identifying as a Hong Konger and demanding the resignation of then Chief Executive, Leung Chun Ying to a proclamation that the Umbrella Movement had lost but not died to calls for democratic self-determination for Hong Kong and the death of tyranny?  And if you think this all sounds pretty farcical, join the crowd!

Hiking in a quiet, out-of-the-way part of Hong Kong (Photo-essay)

As hiking becomes an increasingly popular activity in Hong Kong, it's become rarer and rarer to feel like you've got the trail to yourself.  As I've found to some surprise though, it's still actually possible; this especially if you venture along a hike route that's not a part of any of the territory's famous four "long" trails (i.e., the Maclehose, Wilson, Lantau and -- especially -- Hong Kong Trails).

Take, for example, a section of a trail on Lantau Island that's not a part of the Lantau Trail which a friend and I chose to hike along one Sunday afternoon a while back, during which we didn't see another single person!  Part of the unpopularity of this trail on the Chi Ma Wan Peninsula stems from its trailhead not being near any bus stop, minibus stop or MTR station.  And while one can catch a ferry from or to a public pier located on the eastern side of the peninsula, the limited service makes it so that you have to time it right; otherwise, you're faced with a rather draining trudge back to civilization!    

As it so happened, we got to the pier too late to catch the ferry we were hoping we'd be in time to take us out of the peninsula that afternoon because we had spent so much more time stopping to admire the stunningly quiet scenic views to be found along our hike.  Consequently, we had no choice but to walk all the way back to Pui O.  But even though my pedometer showed that I ended up walking over 25,000 steps that day, I still will maintain that all that (extra) effort  actually felt worth it -- and I'm trusting that my hiking companion that day felt similarly! ;b      

Looking out onto a peaceful scene at 

the southern edge of Pui O beach

 

Yes, there really are parts of Hong Kong that are 

on the distinctly rural side and bereft of crowds! ;b

My secondary school art teacher was so right when

she told us that the sea isn't just one shade of blue...

 

 So far away was that Macau ferry that we could see

but not hear it speeding along to its destination

 

Back in the 1970s, the Sea Ranch development came about

because it was thought there'd be a market out there for people 

to live in splendid isolation on Chi Ma Wan Peninsula...

 

On the water's edge at Shap Long Irrigation Reservoir

 

The pier, with its lights on, located near two now disused

correctional institutions, and from where we'd have 

caught the ferry if we had been on time! ;S

 

Lights on and tide in at Pui O on our way back there!