Our Hong Kong Winter

This blog is a record of an unplanned stay in Hong Kong during November and December of 2006. So, one day I was packing my bags for Atlanta. I had a flight the next day and was scheduled to lead lots of training events at a week long conference. But then my husband called from the other side of the world to say that he was going into the hospital in Hong Kong...

Missing Hong Kong

Now we've been home for two months, about as long as we were in Hong Kong. We were very ready to leave, but now I find myself missing Hong Kong. Here are some of the things that I miss...

Houseplants living in the wild, escaped from their containers.

Riding the D.C. metro to and from work every day, I miss the clean and efficient MTR. When I walk past a construction site, I miss the crazy and daring bamboo scaffolding of Hong Kong.

I miss the daily bang of the noon day gun

And living next door to a barely recognizable KFC that delivers to your door

What must be the most determined tree roots in the world

And parks sprinkled with tai chi and kids

And old men - where were the old women?

And parks that saved the tree when building the fence

And houseboats and fishing boats right downtown in Causeway Bay

This one's a water taxi


These are in Stanley Harbour

I miss that feeling of being a guest in a place that you can never really understand. I passed this place every day and never figured out what any of the food was or why that woman was chopping big sticks and putting them out for sale. I guess we'll need to return some day...

Ho ho ho

Yesterday I suddenly felt like the only westerner around. I think all the tourists and even many expatriates have gone home for Christmas. We have just one more day in Hong Kong and fly home on Sunday. The past two weeks have been a decorating frenzy here. Robb joked that at the end of every workday the crew hopes that they are finished. But the boss just replies, "get back out there tomorrow and find something else to wrap up in shiny stuff!"

Enjoy!








Small shops get sparkly...



Statue Square is now the Snowy Chapel (sort of New Mexico adobe style snowy) ...



Merry Christmas from the Stanley Tin Hau temple...



And from her...

Hong Kong miscellany

Sing along now:

Turtles on toilets and whiskers on kittens
Bright shiny shoppers, how do they all fit in?

Beautiful people all lit up in ads,
These are a few of my favorite things.



Yes, it's true. Robb took this picture in the public men's room in a restaurant.



Just a typical crowd waiting at a crosswalk.



Laundry is fun!



But the Court of Final Appeal sounds ominous.


And I'm just not sure about the Precious Blood Kindergarten.


Ultima II Clear White makeup. Maybelline White Stay mousse makeup. SK II whitening facial mask. Everything you put on your skin here includes "whitener" - even deodorant.



Friendly bird flu and dengue fever reminders in every park.


And gnomes on a boat. We know why but it would be downright diabolical to reveal the secret behind this amazing boat race.


And here are the whiskers on my favorite kittens. Thank you Malini for taking care of them and sending me photos so I know they are okay.

Lantau and Buddha

This week we successfully avoided the lines and rode the Ngong Ping cable cars to see the Big Buddha on Lantau island. This island is many things: the home of bronze age rock carvings and of Hong Kong Disneyland. The Lantau trail winds around and over mountains and is apparently a favorite of hikers. But we took the cable cars above it all.





See the Buddha in the distance? That's our destination. It's an amazing cable car ride. We walked through Ngong Ping village, past tourist shops and a fake village with plastic trees, on to the Po Lin (Precious Lotus) monastery. The easy mix of tourism and worship was interesting. People lit incense offerings and bowed, then pulled out cameras inside the temple.







Behind the temple is a residential area and a lotus pond full of turtles.





The Tian Tan Buddha is at the top of a hill, looking down on the monastery community. He sits on a lotus surrounded by Bodhisattvas holding offerings.







This is not an ancient sculpture, but a recent one, built with the intent to rekindle an old art. And perhaps to compete with Disneyland. It is a beautiful place and hey, even monks have to make a living.

Kowloon Walled City Park

As you know by now, we love to visit parks. This is one of the best anywhere. Once upon a time, like in the 15th century, Kowloon Bay was an important outpost for imperial China. In 1668 a signal station was built. (What the heck is a signal station, I ask? Robb replies, to signal that European ships are here and we'd better fight them. Or something like that.)

Here's all that remains of the original walled city.



Okay. So somebody built a fort in 1810 and the British occupied Hong Kong in 1841 and in 1898, China leased the New Territories to the British for 99 years and the walled city became a notorious haven for prostitution, gambling, drugs and - OMG - unlicensed dentists and Japan occupied Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945 and tore most of the walls down to build an airport and between 1994 and 1996 both Britain and China agree to clean it up and rebuild the park and in 1997 Britain hands over Hong Kong to China.

Exellent historical spot for a school field trip.



But mostly just plain beautiful.