Hiking in Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension) (photo-essay)

Back in 2007, at the height of summer, a friend took me on my first post-move-to-Hong Kong hike along the Hong Pak Country Trail in Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay Extension). Earlier this year, in winter (and on the second day of Chinese New Year), it was my turn to introduce a friend to a hike from Mount Parker Road to Hing Tung Estate that followed a similar route for at least the first two thirds of the way.

While the first hike was under a more bright blue sky and in clearer air, I think that the second hike was more enjoyable. One reason is that I now better know what to expect of hiking in Hong Kong. For another, it really is much cooler and less humid in January than July! And so much so that I know some Hong Kong hiking enthusiasts who won't go out on a hike at all once summer -- with its heat and, often, heavy rains to boot -- comes along... :S

From 2007 and early into the hike --
a view of the dense urban scene that soon
will be left behind (albeit only temporarily)

Woodside -- a colonial-era Grade II heritage building
located inside the country park that has been spared
from being torn down and now is used as
the headquarters of The Institute for Cultural Affairs

Above us for part of the way was what
my hike companion and I took to laughingly calling
the not-so-great wall of Hong Kong!

Far more interesting and impressive to us
were the natural rock formations
to be found in the area

Doesn't this rock resemble the
face of some prehistoric creature?

There are times during this hike
when one can feel like one has left
the urban jungle far behind

The 2007 hiking trail took us down
through an area full of trees before ending up
on King's Road near the Tai Koo MTR station

In contrast, before ending near Hing Tung Estate
above Sai Wan Ho, the 2009 trail took us by an area
that came complete with railing on one side and
a sign near it that read "Steep and dangerous slope
-- please do not lean on the railing"!

Plastic (Photo Hunt revisiting of the theme)

Plastic is everywhere -- and maybe that's why it's been a Photo Hunt theme more than once. (Go here to check out (again for some of you!) my previous Photo Hunt entry!)

A glance at the first photo in this entry of one of the more traditional-looking establishments to be found in Hong Kong's Central District, however, you may not think so. And this especially so since I'm not even sure that plastic money (i.e., credit cards) are accepted at the very traditional -- and popular -- herbal shop that is the Good Spring Company.

But look at the second photo and you'll see that lots of cups of some of the staple teas brewed by the company (including sweet chrysanthemum and the much more bitter -- but even better for you -- 24 herbs tea) and housed for a time in metal urns are made of plastic-coated paper cups rather than the perhaps more expected porcelain.

And, actually, if you go back now to the first photo, you'll notice some other plastic containers about the shop along with the more old looking glass bottles and wooden drawers. So, really, plastic is everywhere. It's just that sometimes you have to look harder to find them in some places than others! ;b

I Go - Pete Teo, You Go!

Close to two months ago now, I watched Yasmin Ahmad's Talentime at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Among other things, I came away thinking that it was blessed with one of the best soundtracks not only of the Yasmin Ahmad movies I've seen thus far but, also, of all the movies I watched at this year's HKIFF.

So imagine my joy upon finding out that there's an official Talentime OST CD. And while I initially preferred Azizat's rendition of I Go that can be heard in the movie, I've since come to prefer the version by composer-singer Pete Teo* that I'm happy to be able to share, courtesy of Youtube and Red Bag Music, among others:-

*While checking out Pete Teo's blog, came across a cool finding: i.e., that he's yet another big fan of the great Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia... And here's an additional thought: wouldn't it be cool if he were to be inspired to write a song about her sometime? ;b

Hong Kong dinner dining

This may look like a lot but we actually had
even more dishes for dinner that night ;b

My mother returned to Malaysia this afternoon after a one and a half week visit that was in part a veritable eating orgy. Among the highlights was a mid-week hot pot dinner with three friends that lasted several hours, over the course of which we ate items as diverse as pigeon, beef, eel, tofu skin stuffed with shrimp, fried fish skin (that's crispy when dry but Hong Kongers like to soften by dipping into soup), corn, fish balls with cheese inside them, and squid ink spaghetti which we had to squeeze out of a tube as well as cook ourselves!

Last night, after we had what will be our last dinner together in months, I got to recounting where we had had dinner together during this recent visit of hers. The list reads as follows: Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Yau Ma Tei (Temple Street, to be exact!), Macau, Heng Fa Chuen (where we had the hot pot dinner), Sai Wan Ho, Tin Hau, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Central. In other words: Without consciously intending to, we actually had ended up dining in a different area of Hong Kong (and even further afield -- i.e., Macau) every night for the past one and a half weeks!

On further analysis: it really does go to show how convenient it is to travel around and about in the Big Lychee -- and how, for the likes of me, this really looks to have become the rule rather than the exception. As I told a friend some time back, post leaving Malaysia (which, like large swathes of the US, is so pro-car) and coming to Hong Kong, I feel like I have legs again...

Additionally, from a food(ie) perspective, I guess this all goes to show that good food can be had far and wide in the territory but, also, that certain favorite restaurants are ones that I do feel are worth traveling some distance for. ;b

Pictures from an exhibition (HK International Art Fair photo-essay)

Shortly after I moved to the Big Lychee, I heard comments to the effect that Hong Kong is a cultural desert. More than two years on (and yes, it's been that long -- as the proverbial "they" say, time flies when you're having fun!), I can't help but wonder what planet those people are on.

Particularly at this time of year, when not only is Le French May in full swing but the bumper fine arts affair that is the Hong Kong International Art Fair being held. And especially when you consider that these fests have followed in the wake of the Hong Kong International Film Festival (in March-April), the Hong Kong Literary Festival (earlier in March), the Hong Kong Arts Festival (in February-March) and... well, I think you get the picture!

For those wondering how big a deal the Hong Kong International Art Fair is: consider that some 120 art galleries from 24 countries had exhibits at this event that was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Put in another way: I spent several exhilarating hours checking out the fair yesterday afternoon and still regret that I didn't spend more time doing so.

One thing I didn't regret was that, despite a sign near the entrance saying otherwise, people seemed free to take photos inside the huge hall as well as outside of it. Hence my being able to offer up the following set of shots for your viewing pleasure:-

Even if at least one artist (Wang Guangyi)
seems to be saying so,
no way is it a case of say "no" to art!

Not when there's art that intrigues,
including this eye-catching large figure
at the entrance to the art fair!

Just one small section of the art works
on display inside -- and crowd
of art enthusiasts checking them out

Finland's Galerie Forsblom exhibition space
included Tony Oursler's Cosmic Cloud
along with works by such as Julian Schnabel

Still photos can't do justice to Gabriel Barredo's works
as they have components that move
(in the case of this horse head, it's the mane!)

Other art pieces -- like this pair of sculptures
that I heard someone describe as "like images
from a hall of mirrors" -- didn't need
moving components to attract attention!

With still others, however, it was more
the inadvertent interaction they had with art fair goers
(and other works) that I found more interesting! ;b

The interactive work by Ay Jyoe Christine
that won the SCMP Art Futures award
attracts the attention of young art fair goers

-- and, in the process, seems to give concrete proof
that art (appreciation) does indeed have a future :)

Painted (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Before I started this blog, pretty much all of the writing I did on the internet pertained to movies, particularly those from Hong Kong. And long before I got onto cyberspace, I was a culture vulture. (Among other things, I double majored in art history along with anthropology at college.) So imagine my delight to find that this week's Photo Hunt theme allows me to highlight both those passions.

More specifically, one of my favorite Hong Kong artists is a fellow named Chow Chun Fai who has painted specific scenes from many a classic Hong Kong movie (like in the cases above, period actioner Dragon Inn (1992) and crime drama Infernal Affairs (2002)). Some time back, examples of his art were put up on display in a gallery that's within the Central MTR station -- which is how I got to take the photos above (and no, I really didn't see any "no photography allowed" signs about -- unlike in a regular art gallery or museum); photos which I'm now very happy to be able to offer up to share.

Oh, and for those unfamiliar with Hong Kong films: Yes, pretty much all of them come with English along with Chinese subtitles -- albeit English which sometimes may need some more translating into "regular" English.

In the case of the Dragon Inn line immortalized in one of Chow Chun Fai's paintings, however, the translation isn't necessarily wrong. Rather, it comes after two parties bearing swords (one of whom, played by the great Brigitte Lin Ching-Hsia, is a cross-dressing female) who actually are hostile -- but pretending to be friendly -- meet and effectively confront each other in a desert inn. One asks, and the other declines, to give their names, whereby someone suggests, partly to dissipate tensions somewhat, that "let's [drink and give] cheers for this nameless world"... ;b

Truly natural!

Moths doing what comes naturally

Every once in a while, I go hiking in the company of Roz's Hiking Group. (I'd do it more except that these very friendly folks tend to go for long hikes that begin at 9.30am whereas my preference is to wake up late on weekend mornings!)

In any event: among the regulars is someone who, like me, can get a tad obsessed with trying to take photographs of butterflies and moths. And we've been a source of amusement to others on more than one hike as we announce our spottings to the other and/or temporarily stray away from the group proper in pursuit of those winged creatures.

More often than not, however, we've found to our chagrin that those insects are really hard to take photos of as they prefer to fly about rather than stay still for a reasonable amount of time anywhere. So imagine my surprise and excitement when I came across a pair of colorful moths lying still atop a railing while out hiking last weekend.

Only after I snapped the above photograph of them did I get to wondering why they were lying so still like that. Were they dead, I wondered? No, opined my dear mother, who proceeded to point out that not only were those creatures alive, they also actually happened to be going about *ahem* creating life...! :O ;b

(And should you wonder: I'm trying to not use the "s" word since I really don't want a whole bunch of people intent on searching for s-- coming over to this blog and getting disappointed the way that it seems that quite a few people looking for a-- have been when coming over here because I happen to have blog entries about movies in which women kick ass!)