Tai Po Kau hike sights (Photo-essay)

I'm not sure if many other people do this... but I don't usually decide on my hike route until one or two days before the hike -- with my choices often being dictated by the weather (cool, hot, wet, dry, humid, etc.) and visibility (i.e., great, good or less so).  Thus it was that on a day where it was predicted to be hot and not great in terms of visibility, I opted to head to the Tai Po Kau Special Area -- where there's 440 hectares of thick forest (so lots of tree cover and the promise of lots to look at up close rather than in terms of views) -- for a 7.5 kilometer circular trek with my hiking companion.

The spotting highlight of the day were the many lizards (particularly skinks) that we encountered over the course of our hike.  But as the following photo-essay will hopefully show, we did enjoy catching a number of other interesting sights that afternoon too... :b

A pretty butterfly spotted resting right on the path 

we were going along that, if one didn't look closely, 

could easily mistaken for an autumnal leaf!

Surely not deliberately confusing but potentially so

just the same?

With so many tree roots on the ground, one did have to 

keep one's eye firmly on the ground while making one's way 

through Tai Po Kau (or risk tripping over at least one of them!)

A spider web made out of impressively 

dense and shiny threads

Is this a Harvestman I see before me?  

(I.e., an arachnid that's actually not a spider! :O)

Alternatively, this black creature seems to be a spider alright 

-- albeit one that lives in a hole in the earth!

 So bright orange was this particular toadstool

that it looked like it'd glow in the dark!

And for those who're wondering, this is the macro-view

of the forest that we got for much of this particular hike :)

Lantau vegetable patch carers -- human and otherwise!

Elderly she may be but this woman still was working hard

in her vegetable garden this afternoon

At a nearby plot, no one was out and about

-- but this scarecrow was on duty there

A close up shot of the top of this scarecrow reveals 

that some imagination was involved in its creation ;b

Farming is an activity that one doesn't associate with Hong Kong -- for good reason.  In statistical terms, only 18 square kilometers out of the Big Lychee's total landmass -- which measures 1,104 square kilometers -- is being actively farmed.  And while there is a "city farming" movement among some Hong Kong residents who fear that the food products that the territory largely gets from Mainland China is too likely to be tainted, the fact of the matter is that agriculture is a sunset industry in Hong Kong.

Often while out hiking, I've passed by now overgrown as well as disused farm land.  This was the case once more earlier today when two friends and I hiked from Tung Chung to Mui Wo via Pak Mong, Ngau Kwu Long and A Po Long.  

At a few points of the trek though (notably Pak Mong and Pak Ngan Heung -- two villages famed for their fung shui woods), we also saw cultivated farm land and also a few people out working on their vegetable plots though.  A visible sign of farming being a sunset industry in Hong Kong was that all the people I saw cultivating their land this afternoon were elderly -- and, interestingly, elderly women at that.  At the same time, at least one vegetable patch's scarecrows got me thinking that its cultivator was from a younger generation because, well, it just looked too "hip" to be otherwise! ;b 

Kite and Breakfast (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

Talk about serendipity -- as I headed for the bus that would take me back to Sai Kung town for dinner after an enjoyable day of hiking last Sunday, I spotted two people with a kite nearby.  After I boarded the bus and got a seat in its upper deck, I looked through the window and saw that their kite was now in flight.  So I quickly fished out my camera and viola, got the photo at the top of today's entry for Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunts!

And should anyone wonder: yes, there are indeed quite a few kite-flying enthusiasts here in Hong Kong.  From what I've personally observed, among the favored kite-flying places in Hong Kong are the Plover Cove Reservoir's main dam and Shing Mun Reservoir's east dam.  But I've also seen at least one official kite-flying site at Tai Hang Tun in Clear Water Bay Country Park.

Some time back, a friend and I decided to go on a hike whose main course was the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail. First though, we decided to warm up with a stroll along the considerably easier and shorter Clear Water Bay Tree Walk. Over the course of that walk, we encountered a number of what seemed to be trees that were intent on gobbling up kites for breakfast, lunch and tea (and in-between snacks).  Put another way: we saw an initially puzzling number of kites stuck up in trees, looking much the worse for wear -- but, of course, all got revealed after we rounded a corner and discovered the existence of the very popular kite-flying site!

And speaking of breakfasts: here's including a photo of the kind of pre-hiking morning meal that I favor.  And yes, the pictured noodles are indeed instant noodles -- but they work at filling me up, giving me a bit of energy, and really do taste so good when topped with such as slices of Cantonese-style fish cakes and Chinese pickled vegetables mixed with a slice or two of red chili pepper! :b 

Photography now allowed inside Tai Hang's Lin Fa Kung (i.e., Lotus Temple)!

The Lin Fa Kung in Tai Hang dates back 

to the 19th century and the Qing Dynasty

The temple's principal deity is Kuan Yin 

-- the Goddess of Mercy

Many lotus shaped lamp offerings also can be seen 

in the religious space whose name translates 

from Cantonese as "Lotus Temple"

In the first year or so after I moved to Hong Kong, I made it a point to go check out a number of Taoist and Buddhist temples in the territory.  Fairly early on, I got to discovering that while photography was allowed in Hong Kong's Buddhist temples, this usually was not the case in the Taoist temples.

This state of affairs puzzled me -- particularly since the Taoist temples I had visited in Malaysia and Macau didn't have such anti-photography strictures.  And while Hong Kong friends I asked about this gave some suggested answers (such as that there was a fear that photographs might capture images of spirits inside of the temples), those seemed to involve more guess work and speculation than actual facts.

I think we got closer to the truth when a Singaporean friend suggested that the photography restrictions were the result of the Chinese Temples Committee -- which administers a large percentage of Hong Kong's Taoist temples -- wanting to retain image rights of the temple interiors and the objects that were housed inside the temples.

In any case, those administrative authorities look to have relaxed their "no photography" rules recently -- with the result being that when I re-visited Lin Fa Kung over the weekend, I finally was able to take photos inside the temple that I find visually interesting -- and not just because it's architecturally unique, with a building shaped differently from other Kwan Yin temples and a back section that lies on a large rock atop of which the goddess is said to have appeared.

To be sure, flash photography still is not allowed inside of the temple.  (And I understand that restriction as the flash of cameras can be blinding and also distracting to people going there to pray.) Still, as I trust that you will agree upon viewing two of the photos at the top of this blog entry, there is much that comes out well enough in shots taken without the use of a flash. So this kind of photographic compromise is one that's okay to and fine by me.  :)

Kowloonside's Pau Toi Shan (Devil's Peak) and Lei Yue Mun (Photo-essay)

It's one of two places that I know of in Hong Kong called Pau Toi Shan in Cantonese -- but whereas the Pau Toi Shan on Hong Kong Island is known as Fortress Hill in English, that over on Kowloonside is known as Devil's Peak.  As far as I'm concerned though, the 222 meter high Kowloon hill known both as Pau Toi Shan and Devil's Peak is well named in both Cantonese and English.

With regards to its Cantonese name: as I understand it, "Pau Toi" translates to Fortress and "Shan" as Hill -- and Devil's Peak is a hill that did have a fort (and battery) atop it.  As for its English name, for a hill that's not very high, it sure can look devilishly formidable -- and the ascent up it is on the steep side, and somewhat torturous on a super hot and humid day.

As it so happens, it was on a super hot and humid afternoon that I last elected to go up it -- and on my own too!  In my defence, I was craving de-stressing exercise that day -- and, since I've been up there before, I knew that the path up to Devil's Peak was one where I'd see a fair amount of other people.  And not only were the views from its summit really breathtaking, so too were some of those to be found down below in Lei Yue Mun (where I began and ended my hike)... :b  

Even before one gets to the top of Devil's Peak,

scenic vistas spread out before one

 Inevitably, there are many steps to be conquered

before one gets to the hill's summit

Looking east from the ruined redoubt  (which makes 

a brief appearance in Project A), with Tung Lung Chau 

barely visible and close to the horizon

The view to the west takes in Tsim Sha Tsui and

the central section of Hong Kong Island -- 

and, yes, a trigonometrical station atop Devil's Peak :)

 A beautiful butterfly stopped to rest 

atop the ruined redoubt

The path I took down Devil's Peak passed by what looked like 

a squatter area and ended up near Lei Yue Mun's Tin Hau Temple

 Close by it were these interesting shaped rocks

-- on which were perched some fishing enthusiasts

What some see as ramshackle structures and boats,

I think contributes to a pleasantly picturesque scene

Drinking in views and casual dining at Sai Kung's Tai Long Wan

Yes, this really is Hong Kong! :)

 More specifically, those cliffs are part of Sai Kung's

Tai Long Wan -- and also feature (to the

south of the beach area) in the above photo :)

 On the other side of this rickety bridge

are two cafes whose location is hard to beat ;)

One super hot summer's day two years ago, a friend and I made our way out to Sai Kung's Tai Long Wan and spent some time hanging out at Sai Wan and Ham Tin beaches. Last year, I returned to the area with a different friend -- and on a cooler day with far more pleasant hiking weather.

Earlier today, I completed my third hike to Tai Long Wan -- one which, like with last year's, had my hiking buddy and I heading out via a trek to Chek Keng followed by a cool boat ride to Wong Shek Pier and a bus ride back to Sai Kung town for dinner.  And once again, I found myself thinking that it is quite a trek but it really is a pleasant excursion!

One major reason is, as I trust that my photos (in this blog entry but also the photo-essays I've linked to) show, Tai Long Wan really is a beautiful place -- with sometimes downright breath-taking scenery of the kind that few people associate with "Asia's World City".  

Something else that adds to this hike's pleasure quotient is that one can break up the trek at Sai Wan and Ham Tin -- and not just to go walk on the beach or swim in the water either.  More specifically, there are cafes along the way where one can sit down for a bit and eat something tasty or just pleasantly sustaining. 

At Sai Wan, there were at least three different eateries open today -- two of which offer awesome beach views.  At one of them, my hiking buddy and I snacked on refreshingly cold tau fu fah (soybean pudding) for HK$5 a bowl (despite the English menu listing the price as HK$10 a bowl!).

At Ham Tin, there are two cafes on the northern side of the beach -- both of which were doing roaring business this afternoon.  The one we went to also had tau fu fah on its menu but at this place, we opted to share a plate of fried rice with chicken and pineapple mixed into it.  Costing us HK$50 (pricey by some standards -- but hey, you're paying for the cafe's location!), it was substantial without being so filling that we'd feel too "heavy" when slogging over the final hill of our hike to get out of Tai Long Wan over to Chek Keng.

A piece of advice if you are thinking of adding chili sauce to your dish of choice at Ham Tin: be warned that you are likely to feel that spice burning inside your stomach on your hike out of the area!  And yes, this is the voice of experience speaking -- as that's what happened to me last year!  So this time around, I made do with the fried rice "as is".  And really, when washed down with such as a glass of "pineapple ice" (for HK$22), the meal actually is pleasant enough to the taste without adding anything to it. :)

Seasonal and Anger (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

Finally, fall is here!  And yes, I know the Chinese calendar's Mid-Autumn Festival fell on September 29-30 this year but in sub-tropical Hong Kong, it's only recently turned seasonably cool.  

 

When I lived in England and the USA, I associated the fall primarily with autumn leaves that were beautiful on trees and fun to walk through piles of after they had fallen down to the ground.  In Hong Kong though, my seasonal thoughts tend to turn to food -- specifically, Shanghai (AKA hairy) crab, for autumn is the peak time to imbibe this seasonal delicacy (whose meat isn't much to shout about but whose "roe" (sperm, really) is amazingly delicious)!

 

And when the temperature drops further, I'll have another taste treat to look forward to: namely, Mont d'or cheese -- which, like Shanghai crab, is available only at particular times of the year. Ideally eaten warmed up and eaten straight from its round wooden box, it's lovely as a dip for such as apples and sweet potatoes -- or just plain toasty bread -- and really good to share with a friend (with the accent on "a" as the portion served at Classified -- my "go to" place for this cheese (thanks to a tip from Jason Bon Vivant!) -- is just right for two people to feast on).

So far, no anger -- and people who've read this far might be wondering how I'm going to go about combining Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunt themes for this week  Well, the answer is that the anger comes in when I think of how limited are my chances to eat these two delicious foods that I really do find delightful!

More specifically, Shanghai crab is on the expensive side -- and very messy to eat. Believe it or not, as much as I love the taste of its roe/sperm, I just can't bring myself to eat it in restaurant because it embarrasses me so that I make such a terrible mess when attempting to pick these actually quite small crabs apart to get at their edible parts!  Consequently my ideal conditions for eating Shanghai crab include eating it in the home and company of people who I feel comfortable eating messily in front of -- or even better, with individuals who are happy to open up the crab for me, as was the case the last time I had this delicacy!!

 

Then there's the fact of it -- and the Mont d'or cheese -- being available for only a limited time each year.  And in the case of the Mont d'or, so rich is a meal in which it forms the center piece that I feel unable to eat it more than once a month (if that); with the result being that -- grrrrr -- I only got to have it twice last year as it no longer was on the menu when I wanted to eat it for a third time that season! ;(