A trip back in time courtesy of the Hong Kong Railway Museum

The only railway station in Hong Kong built in 

a traditional Chinese style

A circa 1964 first class compartment on the old

Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR)

Trains have been one of my favorite modes of transportation ever since I was a kid.  Although I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a trainspotter, I will admit to having gone out of my way at various times in my life to do such as ride the steam train to (and from) the Welsh village of Blaenau Ffestiniog and eschew going on a plane so that I could do such as take the shinkansen from Tokyo all the way to Kokura in Kyushu. 

So I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to go visit the Hong Kong Railway Museum, particularly since I got intriguing glimpses of it whenever I've travelled north beyond Tai Po Market station on what used to be known as the KCR (but has been renamed the MTR's East Rail Line since December 2007).  But now that I've finally checked out this branch museum of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, I am indeed glad that I did; not least because it helped me to better imagine a time when travelling to, and through, this part of Hong Kong felt -- and was -- so much more of a big deal.

Just a few minutes walk from Tai Po Market station, the largely open-air museum includes the visually striking Old Tai Po Market Railway Station building.  Completed in 1913, it is unique among Hong Kong railway stations in being the only one to have been built in the traditional Chinese style: with such as a pitched roof, and a ridge and gables that are adorned with the type of auspicious Chinese motifs (such as red bats, peonies and magpies) characteristically found on old Chinese residences.      

Declared a monument in 1984, the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station building now houses exhibitions and displays, including a re-creation of an old booking office (with not even a typewriter, never mind a computer, in sight!) and a small video kiosk on whose screen I enjoyed watching a selection of evocative scenes from old Hong Kong movies in which old KCR trains and stations feature.  And while I must admit to not being able to get all that excited at the sight of the diesel electrical engine or even the steam locomotive on show in the museum grounds, I did have fun checking out the five historical coaches that one can enter to see and feel for oneself how very differently furnished the first and other class compartments were!

One of Hong Kong's smallest museums, the Hong Kong Railway Museum may not be worth going all the way to Tai Po to see alone.  But when combined with, say, a visit to the nearby Man Mo Temple (which I found more atmospheric than the better known -- and frequently tourist-filled -- Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road), a general exploratory stroll around Tai Po town, and a roast goose and rice meal at Yat Lok, it can make for a pretty cool half day out in a cultural heritage-filled section of the New Territories! :)

Northeastern Hong Kong Island hike sights (photo-essay)

If I had to name just one Hong Kong country park as my favorite, it'd be Tai Tam Country Park (including its Quarry Bay Extension).  This may come as a surprise to some dedicated local hikers who prefer the more rugged environs in the country parks to be found over on the Sai Kung Peninsula and Lantau Island.  But while I do like spending time over in those more remote parks of Hong Kong, Tai Tam Country Park feels most like "home" to me in that it's the one whose trails I've explored and covered the most of percentage wise.

But even while much of its terrain and paths have now become comfortingly familiar to me, I still feel that I pretty much always see something new and different whenever I hike in this country park on Hong Kong Island.  It may be an interesting critter, particularly beautiful flower or even a section of trail that gets one off the beaten track.  In any case, I'm pretty much always reminded on hikes in this part of the Big Lychee -- like the one that took a friend and I to, and then over, the northeastern border of the park -- how nature is full of surprises, and that there are a number of Hong Kong residents who have taken to exercising their creativity in seemingly unlikely places (including quiet corners of Hong Kong country parks)! ;)

A centipede spotting along Mount Parker Road :)

If found in, say, Sham Shui Po, it'd be street art but 

since it's in Tai Tam Country Park, I guess it's park art ;b

 

I believe the 40 kilometer visibility reports for that day after

catching sight of Ma On Shan while hiking up Mount Parker!

 

While the hills called to us that afternoon, there were those

who preferred to go sailing in Victoria Harbour :)

 

A place in the hills which has been fashioned into

a language learning spot?

A balancing rock that also, together with the rock it's balanced on,

resembles the upper half of a human figure to my mind ;)

 

 Believe it or not, it was only after I began hiking in Hong Kong

that I knew of the existence of damselflies (and learnt to 

tell the difference between them and dragonflies)! ;O

 

The kind of scenic view that feels worth the effort and

sweat shed to get to a high enough point to be privy to it :)

A Mexican food post on Cinco de Mayo

The dish that got me going to Chino twice in the past week!

 The first of four (small) tacos I ate at last night :)

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day that few non-Mexicans living in Hong Kong have any inkling is a Mexican national holiday bar for those of us who have spent significant amounts of time in either Mexico itself or its northern neighbor, the US of A.  And while I may not be celebrating the Mexican army's unlikely victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862, I feel I finally can celebrate having there now being a number of places where one can get decent, even really good, Mexican (or, at least, Tex-Mex or Mexican fusion) food here in Hong Kong!

As unlikely as it sounds, I was introduced to Mexican food at the age of 9, at the California home of a family whose father's a Hong Kong-born ethnic Shanghainese, mother is a Japan-born ethnic Chinese, and children had been born in the USA.  Right from the start, I decided that Mexican food was really delicious and consequently went on to try -- and eat -- my share of Mexican (and Mexican-influenced) dishes; with particular favorites being the blue corn tortilla dishes that I ate lots of while attending archaeology field school in the American Southwest my sophomore summer.

Just a few years ago, there weren't too many eateries where one could get Mexican (or even Tex-Mex) food in Hong Kong; and indeed, for a time, it was a Wan Chai bar (Agave Tequila y Comida) rather than actual restaurant that was widely held to serve the best Mexican food in town.  But in recent years, many challengers have arrived on the scene -- including a restaurant over in Kennedy Town which I visited for the first time last Saturday and whose food I liked so much that I ended up going and having dinner there again last night!

Purists may sneer but I really do like the food served up Chino (whose name is the Spanish term for "Chinese", and used by Mexicans for all Asians they saw/see, including those from Japan).  A "modern Mexican" restaurant which sources its ingredients from Hong Kong, Japan and Mexico, its Nobu alumnus owner-chef also makes no bones about using Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques -- and providing diners with chopsticks to use (though there are many dishes, such as the many types of tacos on the menu, that I just go ahead and eat with my hands).  

I'm not sure how "authentic" the scallop with citrusy agua chile and pickled jicama is.  All I know is that it's bursting with flavor and is precisely the kind of dish that has the likes of me going back for more.  Oh, and if you order tortilla chips -- or better yet, chicharrónes (i.e.,  pork rinds) -- like my party did on my first visit to Chino, be sure to dip them into the pleasantly spicy "chilly water" to ensure that that tasty liquid does not go to waste!

On my first visit, my party of four had not been able to finish the very generous portion of cochinita pibil (served with tortillas -- with which you can fashion your own braised pork butt tacos -- and rice along with black beans and salsa) that we had ordered along with a few way smaller items.  In contrast, on my second visit, I found my initial order of two tacos along with the scallop starter dish to be insufficient -- and needed two more tacos to feel sufficiently satiated.

Although my wallet was not particularly happy (as Chino charges quite a bit more than most Americans would expect to pay for Mexican food; though, to be fair, one could hardly describe the refined as well as fusion variant of Mexican food it serves up as peasant food), I'm glad in retrospect that I ended up having four tacos in total because I ordered entirely different ones each time and the second batch I got turned out to be tastier than the first batch I had opted for! 

More specifically, of the first pair of tacos I went for, the chicken tinga topped with pickled onions and a slice of rich avacado was tasty enough but I actually couldn't taste the pineapple that came with the marinated pork and tomatillo combination.  As for the second pair of I tacos I got: the crispy battered fish was nice and hot (but not too hot), and was not overwhelmed by its chipotle flavored Kewpie mayonaise and tangy salsa topping while the ox tongue with pickled jalapenos and chile de árbol to give it a little "kick" was my favorite of the night -- with probably my only criticism being that the portion of ox tongue (as with everything else) was just not as large as I would have liked!          

As previously alluded: Chino is not cheap (for the kind of food -- and, particularly, drinks -- on offer and the portions generally served).  It also has the sort of hipster vibe that can turn some people off (including two friends of mine who refused to there with me when I asked them some months back).  In truth, I don't think I'll be going there in the future anywhere as often as I've done so this past week.  But the next time that a craving for Mexican food strikes, that's probably where I'll head once more! ;b

The Kid from the Big Apple actually is far more Malaysian than American! (film review)

Does this look like a Malaysian movie to you?

The Kid from the Big Apple (Malaysia-Hong Kong, 2016)

-  Jess Teong, director-scriptwriter

- Starring: Tommy Tam (aka Ti Lung), Sarah Tan Qin Lin, Jason Tan, Jessica Hester Hsuan

When I was a kid growing up in Malaysia, I never ever imagined that one of my screen heroes, Hong Kong movie superstar Ti Lung, would ever appear in a Malaysian film, much less one that I'd view at a Hong Kong multiplex.  Among other things, Malaysia doesn't possess a particularly renowned -- or, for that matter, prolific -- national cinema, and the majority of films produced by this country have the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, as their main language rather than one which a Hong Konger like Ti Lung would be fluent in.  Also, it's more usually the case that Malaysians (including Michelle Yeoh, Lee Sinje and Angie Cheung) go to Hong Kong to make movies rather than vice versa.

As it turns out though, the Malaysian-Hong Kong co-production in which Ti Lung (credited in the film as Tommy Tam) and another Hong Kong thespian, Jessica Hester Hsuan, appear in principally makes use of Mandarin and also contains far more English than Bahasa Malaysia dialogue; this even though The Kid from the Big Apple is largely set in Kuala Lumpur (rather than New York City or, say, Hong Kong), and I personally have found Malaysia's largest city to be a part of the world where one is far more likely to hear Cantonese as well as Bahasa Malaysia and English being spoken than Mandarin.

 

A cross-cultural family drama which revolves around an Asian American pre-teen who gets parked for a time with her Kuala Lumpur-resident grandfather while her Malaysian-born single mother goes off to do some work in China, The Kid from the Big Apple starts off with Sarah (Sarah Tan Qin Lin) and her mom, Sophia (Jessica Hester Hsuen), arguing in English, then has Sophia speaking with her father (Ti Lung) in Mandarin, and the old man -- somewhat understandably, given the circumstances -- not realizing for a time that his granddaughter is actually bilingual.

Early on in the film, some comedy ensues from such as Sarah's grandfather regularly mispronouncing her name as salah (the Bahasa Malaysia word for "wrong") and a young neighbor enlisted by the old man to be his interpreter when talking to his grandchild turning out to be able to only speak "Manglish" rather than the more conventional form of English that Sarah is used to.  But The Kid from the Big Apple really only becomes fun and enjoyable to watch after its titular character morphs from sulky child to one who shows that she's got a nicer, more caring side.  (Also, I much prefer to hear Sarah Tan speaking Mandarin -- like she does more and more the further along into the film one goes -- as her English is too Malaysian-sounding for her to truly convince as an Asian American.)       

Largely taking place within a low-rise residential complex in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Cheras that appears to be almost entirely populated by ethnic Chinese families, this movie -- which shows culture clashes between the traditional and modern as well as Western and Asian -- benefits enormously from strong performances by veteran actor Ti Lung and 11-year-old Sarah Tan, and there being a definite chemistry between the two of them.  If truth be told though, I actually think that 14-year-old Jason Tan -- whose first film appearance this is (as also was the case for Sarah Tan) -- pretty much steals the show as Jia Bao, a big-hearted boy who proves to be the bridge between the traditional Chinese grandfather (a  pillar of his community and professional bonesetter who's regularly addressed as sifu (master)) and his thoroughly modern, social media-adapt grandchild.  

A sincere film offering up plenty of heart and soul that manages to overcome its technical flaws, The Kid from the Big Apple is remarkably watchable, especially when one considers that this is the first directorial effort of Jess Teong (who also scripted the work).  And even while I have to admit to feeling somewhat uneasy about how the offering seems angled to be more culturally Chinese than Malaysian (despite the movie largely taking place in Malaysia), I do appreciate its messages about how smartphones can -- and should -- never replace face-to-face interaction, and that certain traditional ways do -- and should -- endure in this (post-)modern age; and really like that Jess Teong was largely able to get her points across in a way that is often entertaining and sometimes even downright moving. 

My rating for the film: 7.5     

Hiking to Stanley along a creepy critter-filled portion of the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path (Photo-essay)

While hiking with three friends one beautiful afternoon from Wong Nai Chung Gap to Stanley via Violet Hill, the focus during the first part of our outing was on the many scenic views to be had, and which I considered fair compensation for trekking up to two -- rather than one -- of Violet Hill's three peaks.  

Actually, even after we were done with the most difficult part of the hike once we got to Tsin Shui Wai Au and opted to go along the Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path to Stanley (rather than the route that would have taken us up and down the Twins), a fair few view bonanzas still awaited us.  But truly, the most memorable sights while walking along a trail that borders a catchwater for much of the way involved a number of critter spottings, a number of which were considerably creepier than others... ;b

Arachnophobes, look away ASAP!

 

Those with a fear of snakes also may want to give this

photo-essay a wide berth... ;S

 

The creepiest sight of all in my eyes: a spider that considers 

other members of its own species to (also) be fair game! :O

 

The nest of insects that instinct told me that I absolutely 

shouldn't be near and/or disturb... :S 

 

What can happen when one walks too close

to a spider's super sticky web!

 

A scenic view, with a spider and parts of a web in the picture

No creepy creatures in the photo for a change ;)

 

Will the creepiness never end?  A long dead snake

whose decaying sight still can make one shiver...

 

A panoramic view bonus (do click on the image to enlarge it)

for those of you who've made it thus far down the page! :)

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! ;)