From Wong Nai Chung Gap up to Jardine's Lookout (Photo-essay)

In my first year of hiking in Hong Kong, a far more experienced hiker friend told me that there wasn't a single hiking trail on Hong Kong Island that was all that difficult -- especially compared to many other hiking trails in other parts of the Big Lychee.  Initially, I was skeptical; not least because I consider(ed) the conquest of The Twins to be quite the feat and achievement.

A few years on though, I realize where he's coming from.  And though I am by no means up to that friend's hiking standard just yet (or probably ever will be), it's also true enough that I've completed most of the hardest hikes (i.e., those rated 5/5 for difficulty) in the first Hong Kong hiking "bible" I owned -- Alicia M. Kershaw and Ginger Thrash's very helpful Above the City: Hiking Hong Kong Island; among which is Hong Kong Trail Stage 5 which goes up 433 meters high Jardine's Lookout and 436 meters high Mount Butler, two peaks from which one can gets marvelous views indeed on a clear sky day... :b

Near the high end Parkview housing area at  

Wong Nai Chung Gap are to found the starting points of 

Wilson Trail Stage 2 and Hong Kong Trail Stage 5

A warning notice to be found near the

starting point of both those sections

of the Wilson and Hong Kong Trails

Minutes from the trail head, one comes across this 

trilingual commemorative plaque that gets one realizing that

what is now hiking country was a world war two battleground

 The same area today -- (now) so green and peaceful looking

On the ascent up Jardine's Lookout, it paid dividends

to stop every once in a while to look back and

check out the scenic vistas that were unfolding

 

Arrayed from left to right: Mount Nicholson, Mount Cameron

and -- by far the most built up of them -- Victoria Peak

Yet another trigonometrical station sighted and photographed

-- this one found atop Jardine's Lookout :)

A few meters away from the trigonometrical station

are to be found stupendous views like this one --

and yes, I have to say that I prefer the views from 

Jardine's Lookout to those from The Peak! :b

 

  To be continued (of course!)! :b

Hong Kong remembers

Replica of the Goddess of Democracy on view at 

the Chinese University of Hong Kong yesterday

Candlelight vigil at Victoria Park earlier this evening

180,000.  That was the total number of attendees announced midway during the event by the organizers of this year's June 4th candlelight vigil at Victoria Park.  That number is the largest by far estimated for this annual event in the years that I've attended it -- and since I moved to Hong Kong in May 2007; and it is a measure not only of how Hong Kongers are determined to remember the events that took place in and around Tiananmen Square 23 years ago but, also, their wishing to register their unhappiness at recent domestic political "developments", including with regards to both the outgoing and incoming Chief Executives of this Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

There are some who think that the memories of June 4th and the Victoria Park candlelight vigil should not be linked to Hong Kong politics.  But there also are others (like my Hong Konger friend who I attended this year's and last year's vigils with) who think that they should be linked more -- and rue that it wasn't until close to 10pm this evening that the first mention was made of Leung Chun-ying.  (For the record, it also wasn't until around that time that I heard the first words of English being uttered by an official speaker at the event -- to, among other things, thank those English-speakers for who were present to show their support.)

In any event, I for one am very glad that Hong Kong is able as well as deigns to remember and commemorate in a major, peaceful way the shocking events that took place in Beijing in the summer of 1989.  And for the record: even if the actual number of attendees didn't total 180,000 this evening, it certainly was a very large one -- for this June 4th, not only were Victoria Park's football pitches and basketball courts filled with people but so, too, was the large Central Lawn.  (And I can personally bear witness to all six of the park's football pitches having been filled before my friend and I got into Victoria Park at 7.45pm, still some 15 minutes before the event's officially scheduled start; hence our being among the thousands of attendees who found ourselves heading over to find spots on the Central Lawn instead!)

Three Tung Ping Chau photos to share

Earlier today, three friends and I visited a Hong Kong island 

that's much closer to mainland China -- and yes, that's 

the mainland visible in the distance in this shot 

-- than Hong Kong's main landmass

 Part of the Hong Kong Geopark, Tung Ping Chau

has the youngest sedimentary rock in Hong Kong

and fascinating geological sights galore

But rocks were by no means the only interesting sights to be 

had on this fascinating place -- as this photo of only the second 

lantern bug (AKA lantern fly) I've seen to date shows :)

I am so tired from today's excursion that words almost fail me.  Still, I wanted to share some of the considerable amount of photos I took while exploring Tung Ping Chau earlier today before I head off to the land of nod, so I hope you enjoy the shots displayed above. :)

Taste and Bridges (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

You'd may not think it since it's a territory with few major and/or long rivers but Hong Kong does boast its fair share of major as well as minor bridges; with this especially being so if one counts overhead bridges over roads as well as the more conventional bridges over bodies of water.  And although there aren't any bridges over Victoria Harbour, there are bridges that connect a few islands to the Kowloon Peninsula (and, in the case of the Tsing Ma and  Kap Shui Mun bridges that are part of the Lantau Link, connect one island to another).

Although it's not considered a major landmark (unlike the much more heralded Tsing Ma Bridge), I find the bridge that I pass over on bus trips from Hong Kong Island to the northwestern parts of Hong Kong proper (whose attractions include the Hong Kong Wetland Park) pretty impressive.  And while the Ting Kau Bridge may be considered by most to mainly be a utilitarian structure, I have found it to be a cool photography subject -- one whose considerable length as well as interesting forms allows me to exercise some amount of creativity when taking shots of it (three of which can be seen at the top of this week's entry for Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunts)!   

If truth be told, my taste in bridges and architecture usually tends more to the old than new.  But I'll happily make exceptions for such as this 1998 structure which is the world's first major 4-span cabled bridge (and is the one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world).  And for those who are wondering: the opportunities they offer of catching clear sights of this eye-catching structure is indeed one of the reasons why I like sitting on one of the front seats of the upper deck of the double-decker buses whose route take them across this bridge! ;b

Vegetarian favorites at Yardbird

The famous KFC at Yardbird

The less heralded but still plenty delicious -- as well as 

super filling -- rice topped with chicken skin and peas, 

and with an onsen egg mixed into it all

My favorite dish by far at the popular 

Sheung Wan eatery -- sweet corn tempura!

Earlier today, a friend and I were discussing what governs our decisions with regards to such as where we want to travel.  I think she was somewhat surprised when I told her that there have been places I've felt compelled to visit after reading about them (be it in a newspaper, magazine or book, or on a website or blog) or seen them in a movie.  (For example, I'd credit a Time magazine article about the Cheong Gye Cheon stream with making me want to go to Seoul to walk along its banks and it was only after having viewed Fatih Akin's In July that I got a strong urge to visit Istanbul (and its suburb of Ortakoy in particular.)

Last night, that same friend and I enjoyed our second dinner at Yardbird, a trendy specialist yakitori eatery owned and operated by New Yorker Matt Abergel. (She wrote about our first dinner there here.)  Funnily enough, I'm not sure if I told her but the two things that made me really want to check out that eatery just happened to be: its inclusion in a blog entry about Hong Kong's best Japanese restaurants over at Tom Eats Jen Cooks; and my discovering Yardbird serves sweet corn tempura -- something I've longed to eat after seeing it being consumed with relish in Hirokazu Kore-eda's touching Still Walking.

Something else that I found somewhat amusing is how despite its being billed and viewed as a yakitori joint for the most part, my three favorite dishes at Yardbird actually do not have any chicken in them.  To be sure, their chicken oysters skewers are definitely worth trying and I also would recommend the rice with chicken skin along with peas and an onsen egg, particularly if you're looking for something truly substantial on the restaurant's menu.

However, I easily could forgo both those chicken concoctions -- or, for that matter, all of Yardbird's other chicken offerings -- in favor of its delicious Korean Fried Cauliflower (i.e., cauliflower encased in batter that's glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, on which sesame seeds are sprinkled), tasty stir-fried brussels sprouts garnished with garlic chips and -- this especially! -- addictive balls of sweet corn tempura.

One of the reasons, my friend and I wanted to return to Yardstick for a second round of eats in a month was that on our first visit, the waitstaff had forgotten to serve us the dish of Korean Fried Cauliflower that we had ordered (but fortunately were not billed for either).  After finally sampling the KFC last night, I can definitely understand why it has its fans.  But for my part, the sweet corn tempura -- which I've never seen on the menu in any other restaurant I've visited to date -- is the special dish of this Sheung Wan eatery that's pricier than I would like (especially if looked upon as a "yakitori joint") but still definitely can see myself dining at again in the future.  :b

Floating City (film review)

Even in 2012, there still are denizens of "Asia's World City" 
who live on boats like these and are dependent 
on the sea for their livelihood

Floating City (Hong Kong-Mainland China, 2012)

- Yim Ho, director

- Starring Aaron Kwok, Charlie Yeung, Paw Hee Ching, Calvin Cheng, Annie Liu, Josie Ho, Gregory Rivers, etc.

One day before his critically acclaimed 1984 drama, Homecoming, had its first screening as part of the Film Programmes Office's "100 Must See Films" program, Hong Kong New Wave filmmaker Yim Ho's latest film -- and 13th directorial effort to date -- got a general release in Hong Kong cinemas.  Sadly, Floating City doesn't look to have made particularly substantial waves among the Hong Kong film fans.  

Based on works such as Red Dust (which I actually still would rank among my top 10 favorite Hong Kong movies of all time), however, I really do have a lot of time, respect and good feeling for the now 60-year-old filmmaker.  Consequently, I was one of an admitted minority of moviegoers to make a beeline to check out this 2012 drama that's based on and inspired by the true life stories of people who rose from humble beginnings high up the corporate ladder -- with the added twist that they were ethnic Chinese who did managed to do so when Hong Kong was still a British crown colony. 

And while I have to admit to realizing post viewing it that Floating City is not a film that would easily endear itself to many people (for a variety of reasons), it's also true enough that I personally felt touched and moved by its story -- which centers around a man named Bo Wah Chuen (played by a number of different actors -- including as a young man by Calvin Cheng and a more mature adult by Aaron Kwok) who was was conceived as a result of a British sailor's rape of a young Tanka woman, then adopted as a baby and raised as one of their own by (other) Tanka fisherfolk.

As those who know me know full well, the presence of Aaron Kwok in a movie usually would be quite the turn off for me.  For a change, however, I actually didn't think he over-acted at any point in this work.  In addition, I thought the singer-actor displayed a surprising generosity and chemistry in his scenes with such as Charlie Yeung (who played his wife -- and with whom he shared at least one very tender scene that was so very full of love), Paw Hee Ching (who, if truth be told, nearly stole the whole show) and Annie Liu (essaying a role as a confident, cosmopolitan female that required the actress to be comfortable delivering lines both in English and Cantonese).

At the same time though, I have to admit to feeling a bit puzzled by his casting as Bo.  For one thing, Aaron Kwok (rather surprisingly) doesn't seem fluent enough in English to pass for someone whose professional success surely was predicated in no small part on his English proficiency.  For another, even with his hair dyed a shade of red, he just doesn't look "mixed race" (like the role called for) enough to me.

With regards to the issue of "race" (and/or ethnicity): When it's such a dominant theme and factor in the film, surely one also shouldn't push the envelope by casting the Eurasian (in real life) Josie Ho as a Tanka fisherwoman, not least one who morphs in her later years into Paw Hee Ching?!  On a more positive note: I was happy to see that not all white people were tarred with the same brush and depicted as (inevitably) racist beings in Floating City -- with the taipan essayed by Gregory Rivers having been infused with an admirable humanity.  Last but not least, I additionally found myself intrigued by the many almost ethnographic touches in the film's sympathetic depictions of the Tanka, a sea-dwelling people who have too often faced much discrimination by the landlubbers who have long been in the majority here in the Fragrant Harbour.

My rating for the film: 8.5

From the South Lantau Country Trail to Pui O (photo-essay)

In many hikes I've been on here in Hong Kong, one or two things about each of them will stand out and stay in the memory.  In the case of the late spring hike that began with my hiking companion and I going along the section of the South Lantau Country Trail west of Pak Kung Au, they were the steep descent down over 250 meters over the last kilometer or so of it and the part of the trail that passed an area where there were so many cicadas making such loud noises that it felt like their incessant humming was causing our ear drums to vibrate really uncomfortably!

I wish I could have recorded those loud cicada sounds -- but you'll just have to take my word for it about them.  Alternatively, here's beginning this photo-essay with one more view of the steep descent -- and a couple close-up shots of at least one of those noisy cicadas that were far easier to hear than actually spot, never mind photograph... ;b

As someone who suffers a bit from acrophobia, 

this steep section of the trail was 

one I had to take my time descending

A close up shot of an insect that's much smaller than one is likely to 

think it is upon hearing the loud sounds it's capable of making!

 The same type of insect viewed from a different angle

 View of Tong Fuk village and surrounding area

from the Lantau Trail's flat and easy Section 10 

 Running along a catchwater, this flat and concreted

trail nonetheless isn't without some nice views 

 Something that few people in the buses passing overhead

realize: part of the trail also happens to run under Tung Chung Road, 

the one roadway that connects north and south Lantau! :b

View near the end of the hike that includes parts of Pui O 

village and the Chi Ma Wan Peninsula's 303 meter high Lo Yan Shan

One of Lantau's many feral water buffaloes at ease

near our hike's end at Pui O -- and for those who 

didn't realize, yes, this really is Hong Kong :)