From Aberdeen to Admiralty via a route that took us along Dutch Lane

The name of a nature trail in Hong Kong that I went on

for the first time ever this afternoon :)

It may have been a gray day but good views

still could be had from the path

My favorite one of the bug pics I snapped on today's hike

Up until today, I've only ended hikes in Aberdeen rather than begun hiking from the town that gave its Cantonese name to the whole of Hong Kong.  But after a friend who lives -- but had hitherto not hiked -- in the area asked me to show him how to get to Aberdeen Country Park from the town below, I decided that I might as well take him along an outing that began at one of that country park's southern entryways, then went all the way up to Wan Chai Gap before going down the other side of the hill to Admiralty.

I knew my friend was going to enjoy the excursion when he pulled out his smartphone to take a photo soon after we entered Aberdeen Country Park and caught sight of the lower of its two reservoirs.  And considering how he kept on telling me beforehand that he was not in shape, he proved remarkably willing to keep on going and seeing more and more of the natural side of Hong Kong that often is just meters away from its urban sections!

On the way down from Wan Chai Gap, I saw the sign for Dutch Lane that was put up in April 2012 after some campaigning by the likes of Designing Hong Kong CEO Paul Zimmerman, and decided that the time had come to explore this path that's so named because, for many years, the Dutch employees of the Royal Interocean Lines had regularly walked along it from their company residences to their shipping line's office.  Another friend had previously told me that this path could be accessed from the mini park on Bowen Road.  So the aim today was to connect to Bowen Road via Dutch Lane rather than all the way down via the far steeper Wan Chai Gap Road.     

Although the initial section of Dutch Lane that veers off from Wan Chai Gap Road is paved, things soon got considerably wilder along what apparently (also) is part of the 700 feet contour line of the old city of Victoria.  With certain of the unpaved sections of this trail also being on the narrow side, I often found myself focusing my attention on the ground.  Still, every once in a while, scenic views of the city below would get me stopping to enjoy the sight of some of Hong Kong's skyscrapers down below! 

During our trek along the approximately 1.5 km trail, we only saw two other people about.  So it seems that Dutch Lane still isn't all that well known to hikers.  Either that or, as I remarked to my friend, the mosquitoes that we encountered along the way had scared off some folks.  But while I would have preferred for this (part of the) hike to have been pesky insect free, I nonetheless did enjoy checking out yet another trail on Hong Kong Island that shows how nature really is never all that far away in "Asia's World City". :)

Nine developments/changes that I've noticed have taken place in Hong Kong in the last nine years

A photo taken during my first year in Hong Kong, featuring

a yet-to-be-completed International Commerce Centre (ICC)

 A photo taken a few months ago, with the ICC dominating 

the landscape, as is to be expected of Hong Kong's tallest building ;b

Back on April 29th, 2007, I announced on this blog that I'd be moving to Hong Kong.  Two days later, I arrived in the Big Lychee.  And for those who're calculating: yes, this means that today sees me celebrating my ninth anniversary of living in Hong Kong!  In honor of reaching that milestone, here's looking back and reflecting on nine changes and/or developments that I've noticed have taken place in "Asia's World City" since May 1st, 2007 (in no particular order, and for better or worse):-

1) Changes to the skyline on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour: The International Finance Center (IFC)'s 88-storey-high Tower 2 over in Central was Hong Kong's tallest building when I arrived in the Big Lychee nine years ago but it's now been surpassed in height by the International Commerce Centre (ICC) over in West Kowloon.  Interestingly, while I've yet to be on an upper floor of the IFC (or, for that matter, the Bank of China Building -- another past "Hong Kong's tallest building" title holder), I've been able to do so -- and consequently enjoyed some stellar views -- at the ICC courtesy of fine dining establishments such as the Hong Kong branch of Ryugin and Tin Lung Heen being located there!   

2) Changes to the skyline on the Hong Kong Island side of Victoria Harbour: Construction sites continue to surround the area around the ICC while over the past nine years, we've seen such as the demolition of the building in Central which used to house the Ritz Carlton Hotel and the relocation of the Wan Chai ferry pier on the other side of Victoria Harbour.  By far the most notable change to the waterfront area as far as most people are concerned though is erection on the Tamar site of the Hong Kong Central Government Complex.  First occupied in 2011, its buildings' shapes became very familiar to many people, including me, as a result of a certain Occupy initiative and Umbrella Movement, even though many of us "only" spent significant amounts of time on the streets nearby rather than were admitted into them...      

3) A more politicized Hong Kong: I've long thought it was a fallacy (especially in light of there being annual commemorations on June 4th and rallies on July 1st) but before the Umbrella Movement came into being, I did hear various people opine on more than one occasion that Hong Kong people are only interested in making money.  While I would agree that money is important to many Hong Kongers, I think that lots of people here have come to realize that the economy is affected by politics (and vice versa).  More importantly, they also have come to realize that political awareness is not necessarily a bad thing -- and that political activism is needed to help safeguard the kind of way of life, and Hong Kong, that one wants to have (and/or remain).

4) One country, two systems -- more so than ever psychologically: Even as there are fears that Hong Kong's society and political culture will become more and more like totalitarian, Communist-ruled Mainland China, I am increasingly seeing people determined -- or, at the very least, wishing -- that Hong Kong will never become just another Chinese city.  Actually, around the time of the 2008 Olympics (which largely took place in Beijing but also saw a segment taking place in Hong Kong), I did feel that many Hong Kongers considered themselves to (also) be Chinese.  But that time -- and opportunity for the administration over in Beijing to build on -- appears to have truly come and gone. 

5) Putonghua/Mandarin more than English but Cantonese above all: Early on after my move to Hong Kong, the general impression I had was that many Hong Kong residents were more comfortable speaking English than Putonghua/Mandarin.  These days, however, I feel that many more Hong Kong residents are more able to converse in Putonghua/Mandarin than English -- and this especially so among the younger generation.  At the same time, given a choice, pretty much every native Hong Konger would speak Cantonese -- and, in some cases, only Cantonese; this even among those who're actually ethnically Chiu Chow/Teochew, Hakka and so forth!   

6) Goodbye KCR, hello MTR's East and West Rail Lines: On a less political note: I have a friend who'd give people an idea of how long he has been in Hong Kong by telling them that he moved here before the Cross-Harbour Tunnel existed.  I wonder whether in years to come, people will similarly gasp when I tell them that when I moved to Hong Kong, what is now the MTR's East Rail Line used to be known as the Kowloon-Canton Railway (popularly abbreviated to "KCR").  And should anyone wonder: that change took place in December 2007; and that same day, the KCR West Rail line also came to be known as the MTR's West Rail Line!  

7) Further MTR expansions: In addition to gobbling up KCR lines, the MTR also has extended its services by building and connecting to more MTR stations.  Among the MTR stations that have come into being in the past nine years have been that for Lohas Park, Austin, Sai Ying Pun, HKU and Kennedy Town.  And while I've not yet set foot for that which services the mass residential development over in Tseung Kwan O, I've been happily making use of those MTR stations west of Sheung Wan to get to know northwestern Hong Kong Island better!

8) Photography now allowed(!): The first time that I visited a number of visually interesting looking Chinese temples in different parts of Hong Kong, I was shocked to find that no photography was allowed in them.  This was something that I found rather strange -- since photography was allowed in equivalent temples in Malaysia, Taipei and even close by in Macau -- and ascribed to some particularly localized superstition or belief here in Hong Kong.  But for whatever reason, somewhere along the line, the no photography ban has been lifted by the Chinese Temples Committee that operates and manages the likes of Tai Hang's Lin Fa Kung and Joss House Bay's Tai Miu -- and I, for one, am ever so delighted (and feel liberated) by this action!  

9) A city of where smartphones abound: As amazing as it may seem to some, I didn't have a mobile phone until I moved back to Asia in 2003 -- and to this day, I still do not own a smartphone and actually still do not feel a need to have one.  I realize that this puts me in a distinct minority of people here in Hong Kong, where much of the populace has embraced the smartphone revolution, and there are people with more than one smartphone who think nothing of changing their phones every other year, if not annually.  But truly, I want to say this to people: in this city where smartphones abound, one really still can get by without a smartphone -- and fairly easily too! ;)

Animal deaths and survival on Lantau

It's bad enough to see trash on the beach but it feels 

worse to spy lots of dead fish in the mix as well

 

In contrast, the sight of this very much alive butterfly -- 

which kindly stopped and posed for snaps! -- gladdened my heart :)

 

It also generally felt good to be out in 

Hong Kong style buffalo country today! ;b

 

Early this morning, I took part in a beach cleanup for the eighth time in less than a year.  For some reason, and irregardless of whether the beach cleanups have taken place in Cheung Chau or -- as has been the case the last two times -- Chi Ma Wan Peninsula, there always seems to be something new that one sees among the rubbish on the beaches.  

 

On one of the first beach cleanups that I went on, I spotted an uncommon amount of test tubes and other items that looked like they belonged in a medical lab lying on the sand.  On another occasion, there appeared to be an unusual amount of toothbrushes strewn about the beach.  Last month, it was little blue square tiles of plastic whose use, never mind origins, none of us could figure out.  And today, there came possibly the saddest sight thus far for me: lots of dead fish, mostly small but a couple around a meter long each, washed up by the  tide. 

 

My first reaction when seeing all the dead fish washed ashore along with human-created garbage, much of it made out of plastic or styrofoam, was that the sea creatures had been poisoned after ingesting too much plastic into their systems.  And even after a few Lantau Island resident friends suggested that the fish deaths may have been caused by the red tides that have been sighted around Lantau (along with other sections of Hong Kong) in recent weeks, that didn't make me feel better as the (increased) abundance in the occurence of red tides is unnatural even while it's true enough that they're formed naturally by natural organisms.   

Put another way: we humans have a lot to answer for and sure do create a lot of damage to the environment.  And yet... amidst it all, nature often shows that it can be far more resilient than we imagine -- as well as beautiful too. 

 

As an example, it never ceases to amaze me that Hong Kong is home not only to over 7.3 million people but also a surprisingly diverse variety of wildlife, including some 240 different species of butterflies -- many of them seriously gorgeous creatures.  In addition, I find it somewhat comforting to know that decades after Lantau agricultural fields became more profitable as land on which to build more houses and other buildings and farmers abandoned their cattle and buffalo to fend for themselves, these horned creatures have managed to survive -- and perhaps even proliferated -- in sections of the island.  

Whenever you go to Pui O, you'd pretty much guaranteed at least one water buffalo sighting.  This afternoon though, I also saw a rather large number of these feral animals in the fields around Shap Long Kau Tsuen, about 30 minutes walk away from the Hong Kong water buffalo central that's Pui O.  

 

In view of quite a few new village houses looking to be in the process of being completed in the area, there must be some doubt as to how much longer the horned creatures that call this particular corner of Lantau Island home can do so.  But, then, I've also seen quite a bit of development in Pui O over the past few years -- and yet, seemingly against the odds, its water buffalo herd still very much exists (along with the birds that like to be around them and the humans, some of whom turn out to actually appreciate their being around too)!  Consequently, I remain hopeful that water buffalo -- and cattle -- herds will be able to survive for some time to come in other parts of Lantau too. 

A fun ferry ride and afternoon out on Tin Hau's Birthday

 

 On the ferry ride to Joss House Bay on Tin Hau's Birthday, 

joss paper is scattered into the sea by devotees of the Chinese goddess

 

Upon arriving at Joss House Bay, we found the oldest and largest

Tin Hau temple in Hong Kong festooned with colorful flags

At the front of the temple, lion dancers danced

while drummers beat out the rhythm for them

Shiny good luck windmill charms added decorative color 

and festive spirit to the place and day :)

On just two days each year, a ferry service runs between the North Point Ferry Pier and Joss House Bay Public Pier.  Six years after I first made that trip on Tin Hau's Birthday, I went on the ferry again to take in the festivities at the Tin Hau temple popularly referred to Tai Miu ("big temple") -- this time with two friends in tow.

Despite my expecting it to be otherwise, the ferries we got on at both North Point and Joss House Bay weren't all that full.  So my friends and I were able to easily snag some of what we considered the best seats on the boat: in the open air section of the upper deck, with clear views of the scenery we passed by on the approximately 35-minute-long ferry ride (which I already reckoned was a bargain at HK$60 for the roundtrip fare even before finding out that tickets for the half day Tin Hau Festival excursion offered by the Aqua Luna cost HK$428 a pop!).

As I confessed to my friends, I actually think the best part of the Tin Hau birthday celebrations may well be our getting to go on this ferry ride which affords us views from the water of many parts of Hong Kong that one doesn't regularly get to sail by.  And although the visibility today was not as high as I'd like it to be, the air was still clear enough for it to be enjoyable out -- and the breeze and cooler temperatures than we've had for days added to this being a really pleasant outing. 

In addition, it's not every day that one smells incense burning when one's on the boat, or sees joss paper flying into the water during a boat ride -- or, for that matter, spies many other boats festooned with festive flags sailing in Victoria Harbour.  Put another way: it may be on the low key side but there were sure signs -- even on the ferry ride itself -- that today's actually a special day in the Chinese calendar.      

Considering that we were at what must be considered the premier Tin Hau temple of the over 100 that exist in Hong Kong, it actually was somewhat surprising to find that the festivities at Joss House Bay are not even one twentieth as intense as Cheung Chau during its annual Bun Festival (the Piu Sik portion of which I attended last year).  Not that I'm complaining: since for my physical comfort, I do like that the Tin Hau Birthday celebrations don't attract huge crowds even at this location.  In addition, there is a certain cultural satisfaction in seeing that this festival remains pretty uncommercialized and geared for the local community.    

For the record: the main activities at Tai Miu today appeared to revolve around making offerings (of food, drink and joss paper) to the Goddess of the Sea/Mother-Goddess and/or bidding to fumble under the quilt of the Dragon Bed in Tin Hau's bedroom for good luck items (such as lotus seeds, for fertility, or "lucky money").  Oh, and there were to lion dances to watch, including one that involved a seemingly half-drunk "lion" that seemed to enjoy sporadically spraying people with beer! ;D  

Some visual clues that show why Violet Hill is one of my favorite hiking spots on Hong Kong Island (photo-essay)

On what was only my fourth hike after moving to Hong Kong (back in 2007), a friend took another friend and me up Violet Hill from Wong Nai Chung Gap along Section 1 of the Wilson Trail.  While this Hong Kong Island hill has remained a favorite hiking spot, these days, I prefer to go up it along an alternative route that goes up two -- rather than just one -- of its three peaks, including the highest (by a few meters) which stands at 436 meters above sea level.

Then when one gets to the mountain pass known as Tsin Shui Wan Au, one is presented with a number of route options -- many of them pretty scenic.  While hiking with three friends one sunny afternoon, we decided to head down to Stanley from there via the southern section of the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path -- but the photos from this latter section of the excursion will have to wait to be shared in another photo-essay as I've already got eight nice snaps to share taken during the earlier part of the trek! ;b

Yes, one can see Ocean Park from Violet Hill (though not,

if my memory serves me right, from the Wilson Trail)

 In any case, I reckon the sight of The Twins thrills and

stirs the heart of most hikers more than that of Ocean Park ;b

Yes, we're still close to the city but already in

an area that is green and can feel pretty wild!

 If you look carefully, you'll catch sight of critters like this 

brown grasshopper peeking out from the surrounding greenery :)

Here's offering up visual proof that not all 

Hong Kong hiking trails are paved paths :b

 I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing the Tai Tam Reservoirs

and Tai Tam Harbour from Violet Hill, 
especially on days when their waters are this blue

Zoomed-in view of a masonry bridge, dam and valve house

that feature on the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail 

From viewpoints like this, Hong Kong can look really idyllic :)

 To be continued soon...! 

For Kee is the place to go for pork chop rice

Where the best pork chops are to be had?

The interior is no frills and far from spacious --

but I think it's got plenty of atmosphere!

It may not look pretty but do believe me when I tell you

that it sure is tasty! :b

Among the regular items on the menu of a Hong Kong cha chaan teng menu are the closely related pork chop bun and pork chop rice.  But as far as I know, there's only one place here in the Big Lychee where you'll see 9 out of 10 of its customers chowing down on a plate of pork chop rice whenever you are there.

It may be an unassuming-looking place located in a Sheung Wan backstreet but For Kee definitely has amassed its share of dedicated fans over its more than 50 year history.  And I honestly can state that every time I have a pork chop rice craving, I feel obliged to make my way to this small and pretty cramped eatery where, more often than not, one's going to have to wait in line for a bit in order to snag one of its precious seats and then wait for a bit more before getting to chomp on its utterly satisfying slices of sweetly marinated and shallow-fried pork chop which go so well with the white rice that one is served generous portions of.

The classic way to have this dish is to just have the pork chop served atop nothing but white rice -- and I'm often happy enough to go for just this.  Some days though, I feel a need to have some green vegetables in the mix -- and will then ask for choi sum (Chinese flowering cabbage) to be added to my order.  I'm also partial to having a fried egg atop my pork chop rice on those occasions when I want a bit of variety but feel that the pork chop rice with green vegetables option would be too big for me to finish (since the latter comes with a heaping load of choi sum as well as white rice, though with fewer slices of pork chop than if you stick to "just" ordering the plain pork chop rice).

Another option is to ask for tomatoes to be served atop your pork chop rice.  Then there's my current favorite order at For Kee: pork chop rice with fried onions that I think significantly ups the tastiness quotient of the whole shebang!  In addition, one can have noodles or -- outside of peak hours -- buns as one's carbohydrates of choice.  But I've never actually had my pork chop with anything but white rice at For Kee as I'm one of those people who thinks that white rice really goes perfectly with those tasty chunks of meat (the way that it also does with such as char siu, siu yoke and roast goose).   

Speaking of roast goose: Years ago, I introduced a foodie friend to my favorite siu ngor place in the Big Lychee.  In turn, she it was who first told me about For Kee.  Daisann, if you ever read this, thanks for all the wonderful meals I've since had at this very "old school" Hong Kong eatery that we both love and no doubt hope will be around for many years to come. :)  

A Mount Parker hike with scenic views and abundant critter spottings (Photo-essay)

Whenever I've gone up Mount Parker (be it on a cloudy or sunny day), I've found that the crowds of hikers and general fitness enthusiasts going up Mount Parker Road melt away at Quarry Gap (aka Tai Fung Au).  While super serious hikers scoff at this trail for being entirely paved, more casual hikers are liable to be put off going pretty much all the way up it by Mount Parker being, at 532 meters high, the second highest hill on Hong Kong Island after Victoria Peak.      

For my part, I'm a fan of Mount Parker -- not only for the gorgeous views to be had from near the top of it on a high visibility day but, also, because the higher sections of this hill look to be home to many interesting living creatures.  Consequently, hikes up it are -- like so many others here in Hong Kong -- ones where I often find myself scanning nearby areas for cool critter spottings as well enjoying scenic views of the eastern part of the Big Lychee... ;b

 The birds on the sign on King's Road for Mount Parker Road

and the associated Green Trail may be fake but not the many other

creatures spotted up the hill later on the hike!

Up on Mount Parker, I feel so high I can touch the sky... ;)

 

 Click on the above photo to get an enlarged panoramic view from 

atop Mount Parker that was taken on a super high visibility day :)

One can also glimpse much of the southeastern portion 

of Hong Kong Island from up this hill

 

 Even with the view bonanza, I still liked that I managed

to spot this beautiful gold dragonfly, and snap a photo of it :)

And how about this blue-tailed skink spotted on 

the upper reaches of Mount Parker Road? ;b

Blue-tailed skinks are supposed to be uncommon on

Hong Kong Island but I spotted four of them on this one hike! :O

 

Meanwhile, down on the lower reaches of Mount Parker, 

stray cats predominate -- and seem to 

attract fans who regularly feed them!