Sunday in the Hong Kong countryside

Why are these two people running on the beach
wearing cycling helmets and other gear?

Because, like this other pair of athletes, they appear
to be taking part in a triathlon -- that's why!

It's all relative... What with the weather forecast being cloudy with some rain patches, my regular hiking companion and I were feeling like hardy souls for having elected to go out hiking on this rather gray sky day. And this especially as we didn't see that many other people out hiking on the trail that we were on today.

So, as we approached the end of our hike, we were feeling pretty good about ourselves along with our physical condition since, as a result of not being at all fatigued at the 3 and a 1/2 kilometer stage, we had elected to extend our hiking route for the day from 5 kilometers (Mui O to Nam Shan) to 9 kilometers (Mui O to Pui O -- i.e., Lantau Trail Stage 12, only backwards).

But while we were in the vicinity of the Tin Hau Temple in Ham Tin (that was first established in the Ming Dynasty), I spotted people who looked like they had to be super fit to be doing what they were doing -- i.e., participate in what appeared to be a triathlon! (Something else to note: although Hong Kong winter days are admittedly pretty mild by global standards, I sure wouldn't have wanted to plunge into the sea and swim today, even if only for a few meters -- like was the case where one small part of Pui O Beach was separated from a greater other by the mouth of a nearby river!!)

As it so happens, a few minutes after we saw two pairs of triathletes going about their way, an ambulance and two police cars came roaring past us on what had hitherto been a pretty quiet road. (The last couple of kilometers of so of our hike were along a paved road.) Whereupon my hiking companion and I had a similar thought: Did one or more of the triathletes meet with an accident??

In any case, I have to say that there's no way I'm going to be doing a triathlon any time soon. (For that matter, I don't plan on paragliding either!) For one thing, it just looks too dang difficult! For another, rushing around isn't what I really want to be doing on a Sunday -- and especially in the Hong Kong countryside where there often simply is way too much to capture my attention and make me want to pause and take a second, third or even fourth look at what I've just come across -- be it a splendid vista, interesting creature, beautiful flower, funny sign, cool temple, etc., etc., etc.! ;b

Funny (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

No question: Life in the fast-paced, high-pressured urban jungle that covers much of Hong Kong can be stressful and tough -- and some days, it can seem like there are only serious and grim faces to be found around you in the office, on the streets and in the MTR.

But I actually have found that if you allow yourself some time to breathe and really look about you, there almost always will be a sight withing viewing distance that will strike you as either funny (haha) or funny (peculiar) -- or even both! -- and cause you to smile, break into a grin or even laugh out loud. Or maybe I just have an easily tickled funny bone!

In any case, here's furnishing two visual examples in this Photo Hunt of things I've come across while going about living life in the Big Lychee that I think are funny (and yes, in more than one way) as well as speak to Hong Kongers -- not just the Japanese -- having a kawaii-streak.

With regards to the first photo: I find it funny how the MTR authorities not only feel obliged to play "nanny" and tell people to hold on to escalator handrails (and not walk while on escalators -- something which I have to admit to tending to ignore, especially when I'm in a hurry) but do so with the help of a comic character that is a "penguin-ized" smiley face.

As for the second photo: believe it or not, the authorities actually have set up a designated Laughing Corner in Victoria Park! But whether it's a spot set aside for people to practice laughter yoga is something I have yet to find out... ;D

Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli

Idyllic scene (which doesn't actually appear in
My Neighbor Totoro) featuring O-Totoro,
Chu-Totoro, Chibi-Totoro, Satsuki and Mei

One of my O-Totoro plushies (complete with
Chibi Totoro and a soot sprite) flanked by
Kiki's Delivery Service's Jiji and Stress Ponyo

"It's not just for children", I insisted to my German friend prior to my dragging her to view Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the Hayao Miyazaki cinematic gem that first reached Hong Kong in January, 2009. And even though I had her convinced after she realized that the film screening we went to had far more adults than children at it, I still wish she could have been here in Hong Kong last night to go with me and witness the Ponyo theme song being one of the highlights of a Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra concert (that was so enthusiastically received that it got three encores and its conductor-guest star a standing ovation by show's end).

Needless to say, this was no ordinary Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra concert -- not least since tickets for it sold out months before its program was even announced on the strength of the name of its conductor and main draw alone. Thus it was that upon fortuitously having scored a ticket for last night's Joe Hisaishi in Concert performance, I found myself impatiently checking out what was on the evening's programme -- and exulting to see Ponyo (along with music from Kiki's Delivery Service and two Oscar winners in the form of Spirited Away and Departures) in there... even while feeling a bit disappointed to see no music from My Neighbor Totoro on the official list.

Happily, however, that music from My Neighbor Totoro did indeed get played before the concert drew a close. And while I did very much enjoy a lot on the programme (including the composer's African-inspired, percussion-heavy Mkwaju 1981-2009 and the musical piece from Nobuhiko Obyashi's Water Traveller) and found a big grin plant itself on my face upon hearing the Ponyo theme song being played by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, I have to truthfully state that hearing the My Neighbor Totoro music being played represented the highlight of the evening for me -- and actually caused me to cry with happiness!

In addition, there is something really precious about being able to not only see and hear the composer of music you love so but also thank him by way of thunderous applause and a standing ovation. And call me a philistine but, in all honesty, give me the music of Joe Hisaishi over many other composers -- including not only many other his contemporaries but also classical music luminaries like Bartok (whose music has literally given me a migraine on more than one occasion!) -- most any day!

On a related note: I'm not sure if it's pure coincidence but this week also happens to be the start of a two week Studio Ghibli Film Festival here in Hong Kong! And yes, I have tickets to some of the screenings -- including for My Neighbor Totoro on one of the JP Cinema's super big screens!! (And while there's no Ponyo on the film festival programme, I'm happy enough to content myself with the thought that I will -- if everything goes as scheduled* -- soon be getting my first viewing of My Neighbors the Yamadas and have the opportunity to view Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on a big screen for the first time! :b )

*Newsflash: Well, I went to see My Neighbors the Yamadas this evening but while the screening began on schedule, I was shocked to discover that the film -- contrary to the information on such as the cinema chain's official website -- was being shown without English subtitles. After complaining to the manager (and getting my ticket refunded), discovered that is also the case with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Alternatively, he wasn't sure about My Neighbor Totoro** as it is being shown at another of the chain's multiplexes... :(((

**Latest update: Yay, yay, yay, they did show My Neighbor Totoro with English as well as Chinese subtitles!!! And yes, it really is super wonderful to view on a big screen. :))))))

From Tin Ha Shan down to Joss House Bay (photo-essay)

As I hope that my previous photo essays (here and here) showed, the first two thirds or so of the High Junk Peak Country Trail is not without its interesting and beautiful sights. In all honesty however, I think its end bit is the icing on this hiking cake in question.

In particular, my regular hiking companion and I thought the Tin Ha Shan plateau so pleasant that we instantly resolved, once we got up there, to hike up there again some time -- and this next time around, to arrange for it to be so that we could spend time just enjoying being up there, in a place where one could take in a 360 degree view that did not include a single building or even other person. In addition, we also reckon that the Tin Hau Temple in Joss House Bay at the bottom of Tin Ha Shan makes for a very photogenic subject -- and so much so that it's worth making a trip to alone, especially on such as Tin Hau's Birthday...

Tin Ha Shan may not be a "treacherous peak"
a la High Junk Peak but it still requires quite a bit of
effort to get up it (via a series of multiple stone steps)

On Tin Ha Shan plateau, I saw a collection of rocks
that looked to me like the broken up version of
Po Toi's turtle rock (along with a baby turtle nearby)

Standing on a large rock near the summit of
Tin Ha Shan (trans. heaven mountain),
one can feel like one is on top of the world :)

A scenic, even if somewhat smoggy,
view from the hill of land and sea

East of Tin Ha Shan lies the exclusive
Clear Water Bay Gold and Country Club
(and beyond it, 127 meter high Po Keng Teng)

Down a series of steep and very hard stone steps
is how one gets from near the top of Tin Ha Shan
down to the Tin Hau Temple at Joss House Bay

Upon getting down in front of the Tin Hau Temple,
one felt a nice sense of achievement
(together with no small amount of gratefulness!)

Looking out across the bay and out to sea

And the scary thing is... this hike wasn't the only thing I managed to enjoy that day. Rather, that day also ended up including a cool concert -- something I felt obliged to blog about in an entry entitled -- what else?! -- A full Sunday. (And yes, that Sunday was one from way early in the year... so yeah, I really am that way behind in my hiking photo-essaying! ;b)

The highlight(s) of this past week for me :)

Arsenal -vs- Fulham (2:1)
- Watch more Sports Videos at Vodpod.

I know, I know -- in that this is not what visitors to this blog expect and particularly wish to check out... but do please indulge me. After all, it's not often that I unleash the Gooner in me on this blog. But if you do go ahead and watch the video, I think you'll agree that that it shows a wonder goal being scored: to be precise, the second (and winning) goal by 23-year-old Samir Nasri (of Arsenal and France) in Arsenal's match again English Premier League opponents Fulham yesterday.

As one match commentator (but not the one in the embedded video, alas) lyrically waxed, "More beautiful football from the Gunners... poetry in motion from Samir Nasri!" As another even more hyperbolically declared, "That is a beautifully balanced ballet in a football penalty box!! Marvelous finish!!!" :b

And okay, okay, here's also sharing the following photo taken while out hiking earlier today in Sai Kung West Country Park:-

And yes, despite the weather forecast having been for some haze along with sun, it turned out to be a beautiful as well as unseasonably warm day!

Hard-To-Find (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

For centuries (heck, it's even noted in The Bible!), people -- male and female -- have variously observed, sighed and wailed about how it is that a good man is hard to find. For many heterosexual women (and gay men too?), they're of course referring to how difficult it is to find good "significant other" material.

But in a more general sense, it is too often felt that the world is too often full of men (and women) who just are too selfish, self-centered, weak and/or encumbered with some other failing to allow them to be truly worthy of being respected and liked -- and this especially so with regards to many a political leader and others in positions of great power and -- this they seem to tend to forget -- equally great responsibility.

Although the very co-existence of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (AKA Taiwan) bear testimony to his inability to completely heal the rifts between the Chinese people(s), Dr. Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925)'s being one of those hard-to-find good (political) men can be seen in how he is considered to be the father of modern China and revered by Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and elsewhere in the world, with memorials and museums to him being found not only on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan but also places as far-flung as Hong Kong, Macau, Penang, Singapore, Honolulu and San Francisco.

Born in the Chinese province of Kwantung (now known as Guangdong), Sun Yat Sen was sent to school and later attended university (where he studied medical science) in Hong Kong. To help commemorate this, the people behind the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum located in Hong Kong's Mid-Levels decided to commission and erect a statue of the medical doctor turned revolutionary and statesman in the institution's forecourt that shows him as a youthful student rather than an older man (like is usually the case -- and is so with a bust that can be found inside of the same museum).

Another rare (i.e., hard-to-find) attribute of the statue in the upper photo of this Photo Hunt entry is that it shows the Chinese leader attired in traditional Chinese garb; for, as an adult, he usually appeared in public attired in Western suits or a Japanese-Western civilian-military hybrid suit that came to be known as the Sun Yat Sen suit. (Since the latter also came to be favored by Mao Zedong, it is also erroneously known as a Mao suit -- but we know better (now), don't we?! ;b)

Bruce Lee, My Brother (movie review)

Bruce Lee, My Brother publicity material
at the President Theatre in Causeway Bay

Bruce Lee, My Brother (Hong Kong, 2010)
- Starring Aarif Rahman (AKA Aarif Lee), Tony Leung Kar Fai, Christy Chung, MC Jin, Hanjin Tan, Jennifer Tse, etc.
- Raymond Yip and Manfred Wong, co-directors

At this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival, there was a special tribute programme of nine Bruce Lee films that drew attention to the martial arts legend having acted in Hong Kong films as a child as well as adult -- and it being so that, had he lived, he would have had his 70th birthday in 2010. Then, this past Saturday, as I viewed a newly released Bruce Lee bio-pic that appears to be based on a book written by Bruce's younger brother, Robert*, along with the memories of their two sisters, Phoebe and Agnes, I discovered that the late martial artist turned actor would have turned 70 on November 27th, 2010.

Starring 23-year-old singer-actor Aarif Rahman (who was credited as Aarif Lee in his debut film, Echoes of the Rainbow), Bruce Lee, My Brother begins with an interesting note cum disclaimer to the effect that "This production is a dramatized story of Bruce Lee's early life, based substantially on the recollections of the siblings of Bruce Lee. This production is in no way connected to, or associated with, BRUCE LEE ENTERPRISES LLC, the widow, children and estate of Bruce Lee, and the materials used in connection with this production, or the matters depicted in it, have not been provided by same."

Then, two Bruce Lee siblings appear on screen -- one speaking in English, the other in Cantonese -- to stress that this film tells the fact-based story of the young Bruce Lee and his family... as in father Lee Hoi-chuen (played by Tony Leung Kar Fai in the film), mother Grace Ho (portrayed by Christy Chung), his siblings, aunt, grandmother and the rest of her extended family rather than Bruce's wife Linda and children, Brandon and Shannon.

Right from the get-go then, it's emphasized that this is a family saga -- and one that will be told from a distinctively Hong Kong point of view. And while the dramatic section of this movie does begin in San Francisco (where the man whose Chinese stage name translates into Little Dragon Lee was born), it soon quickly moves to Hong Kong, where Bruce Lee spent the bulk of his growing years (and would return after a spell back in the USA).

Additionally, while there is no doubt that this film is about Bruce Lee, it actually is a while before his character takes center-stage. Instead, the production focuses for a time early on on Bruce's parents -- and goes to quite a bit of effort to show that his father was actually a prominent Cantonese opera star turned film actor (whose social as well as professional circle included such luminaries as actor-director-scriptwriter Fung Fung and actor Walter Tso) and his mother was someone who could speak English as well as Cantonese fluently (Grace Ho actually was the niece of prominent Eurasian businessman-philanthropist Sir Robert Hotung.).

Very early on, Bruce Lee gets sucked into the Hong Kong movie world. At the same time, however, those were the days when actors -- adult or child -- weren't paid that much and thus didn't seem to live a world apart from ordinary folks. So the young Bruce gets shown making friends with such as a maid's son (played by composer-singer Hanjin Tan as a young adult) and getting into all sorts of antics in the neighborhood and on the streets of Hong Kong.

Particular attention is paid to Bruce Lee's final high school years -- during which he falls in love, enters a cha-cha competition and comes to learn martial arts (wing chun at Ip Man's school -- if you didn't know already!). And it's during this section of the film where events portrayed can seem too dramatic to have been true. And yet, the records do show that Bruce Lee was a cha-cha champion as well as high school boxing competition winner! So I'm quite willing to take quite a bit of the story in the movie on trust (even while also throwing in a pinch of salt here and there)!!

All in all, I like how Bruce Lee, My Brother is more of a family drama than an action work -- and that its makers flesh out the world in which the young Bruce and his family lived, worked and played. (Among the nice and fun touches here involved not only referencing many a star name of yesteryear -- in particular, I appreciated the scene featuring Shek Kin (as Wong Fei Hung's adversary) and Walter Tso (as Wong Fei Hung's chief disciple, Leung Foon) -- but having them been played by contemporary familiar faces such as Cheung Tat Ming, Chin Kar Lok and Lawrence Cheng.)

The way the movie ends, you know that the filmmakers are hoping that the work will prove to be enough of a commercial success to make a strong case for a sequel to be made. And I, for one, most definitely do hope that this will indeed be the case.

My rating for this film: 8.0

*Link corrected: Thanks, Phil (AKA orientalsweetlips)! :)