December in Hong Kong - a really lovely weekend.

I would like to tell you about my new favourite place in Hong Kong;- and yes, before you ask is it a food establishment (predictable I know!) I am taking you all there when you come because by that point, at the rate I am going, I reckon I will be pretty knowledgeable about the menu!
Not only is it a five minute wander from my flat, it is filled with an array of english magazines and papers to peruse and buy whilst you wait for your table. There is also an in house bakery where you can buy ACTUAL Western bread..after months of, I don't know how to describe it, but definitely NOT Western bread.
For the St Andrews folk, think upscale North Point! This place does muesli, greek yoghurt and fruit, cloudy apple juice (!), pancakes as well as amazing cakes and they specialise in cheesecake! I am half proud and half ashamed to say I have been there three consecutive weekends now which is a little indulgent to say the least but its just the loveliest place to sit for hours and eat good food and catch up at the weekend! Enough said, I am taking you all there when you come! (thank you Lucy and Hayley for hours of wonderful brunch club chattering!!)

Afterwards, Hayley and I took a wander to nearby Victoria Park, which sadly was more like a construction site in parts since they were setting up for the East Asian Games which began on Saturday and is taking place across the city. It's quite exciting to see the people in the branded tracksuits wandering around the city and on the MTR. It was beautifully warm weather as you can see from the photos and not at all like I am sure it is back home! I have almost given up on it ever getting cold here and am sort of embracing the fact you can still be in t-shirts in early December!

As well as this, I am attempting, (rather unsuccessfully I should add!) to learn how to write Chinese characters, as it is sort of necessary if you are learning to speak Chinese, since the words written in the pinyin, the Roman alphabet, are purely for kindergarten children and Westerners trying to learn the words. It's a fascinating thing to do though since there is so much meaning in their characters which reveals so much about traditional Chinese society and life. For example, the symbol for woman and the symbol for child put together makes a whole Chinese character and means good, because in traditional Chinese society, a woman having a child was good for the family line etc. AND, within that,the symbol for the woman has developed and still bears some resemblance to, a woman sitting respectfully crossing her legs and arms. It's so very interesting. It does not mean, however, that I am learning to write anything - attention to detail is often not my strong point, and if you put a dot or a dash in the wrong place, it means something totally different! Hmm, maybe more time writing, less time eating should be a new years resolution..or maybe not.

Last night, I went to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to hear a teacher from my school perform in the Hong Kong Guitar Ensemble. They performed a variety of beautiful guitar pieces, both classical and contemporary which ranged from Titanic, to Beethoven. The youth guitar ensemble also played and had some children from my school in which was so lovely. They looked so adorable in their suits with their guitars almost as large as them. But , in typical Hong Kong fashion, the talent was incredible and the standards extremely high and I really enjoyed it. My lack of musical ability was brought home to me sharply as I sat by a 7 year old holding her sheet music I could not even decipher before she got up and played.I am sure she does not spend her weekends at the brunch club...

I will leave it here, sufficed to say I had a really lovely, calm weekend to ready me as much as possible for a super busy week at school.

xxx

Saturday 21st November - Chatteris Camping Trip

So after the week of some of the coldest weather that Hong Kong has seen in years, we somehow found ourselves sleeping on the beach outside...ha! I am most definitely suffering cold wise and sleep wise since I have got back but I am so glad I went because it was so beautiful!



We camped on Pui O campsite on Lantau Island, about 50 mins by ferry from Central - Being a campsite the tents (luckily) were already put up and there were BBQ pits and equipment waiting to be used by us so it was not too much like hard work but much appreciated by all!
After a large amount of marshmallows had been set alight (I introduced some people to the BBQ banana filled with chocolate!) and we had all eaten as much as we could, some people went swimming which , from their screams I guessed was pretty chilly (although nothing I am sure, compared to the May Dip!) and eventually all went to bed to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. It was not too warm and it was quite windy overnight but luckily we had been able to rent sleeping bags which were invaluable!

The next morning was a beautiful kind of autumn/spring morning, really clear and sunny but with a cold wind and as we came back across on the ferry it was so nice to see Hong Kong Island looking so nice in the sunshine with its Christmas decorations!
After a HOT shower and a big coffee, a few of us went to the brunch club in Causeway Bay where we indulged in organic Fairtrade coffees, fresh juices, eggs, toast and jam and muesli and what seemed like a library of English magazines and Sunday papers, which we then followed by an afternoon of Beauty and the Beast!

Don't you just wish sometimes the weekends could just go on forever....?! xxx

Moonlight Movies! - Moulin Rouge

So today was the first day I have felt Christmassy! The weather here I think is finally at last turning a little bit colder - (today I was comfortably in jeans and a long sleeved top!) and the Christmas decorations are going up! I passed Starbucks and thought of all of you lovely lovely people back home whom I miss SOOO much. Had a moment for you all this afternoon and had no qualms in pulling out my camera and asking a man to move so I could photograph the sign properly...haha!





It was the perfect evening for being able to wrap up warm and go and see a showing of Moulin Rouge at the open air cinema in Pofuklam complete with a mountain of bean bags to pick and sit on and delicious hot chocolate to drink!

Dancing Flower Tea - Hong Kong Tea House

Last week I went for my first traditional Chinese tea at the Chinese Tea House. It is situated in Hong Kong Park which is beautiful in itself- testament to this is the fact that it is a popular wedding location, the last time I was here, I saw two brides walking around as well as graduating students and people on some kind of model shoot!

Anyway, today we rushed straight to the tea house from central mtr to catch the end of the tea house's opening hours (that's the good thing about working at a primary school!) and it is such a haven inside! It is beautifully calm and peaceful, decorated in traditional Chinese style.

There was a huge amount of tea on offer however we all opted for the flowering tea, recommended to us by Chris, who had been to the tea house before. So, we opted for 3 flowering teas, which arrive in tall clear glasses and look not too inviting in the glass being brown and spiky looking (for want of a much better description!) However, when boiled water was poured over them, they all opened up in the most lovely ways. My favourite though, had to be Katy's tea which literally grew in front of our eyes as a yellow sort of yellow stem emerged and unfolded from the ball in the bottom of the glass!! It was the Dancing fairy tea and as well as looking quite amazing, it had a beautiful smell and tasted almost as good as it looked - I think it was a kind of Jasmine tea although I am not positive.

However, after we had admired and photographed them from every angle! we had to decant the liquid in to smaller, almost milk jugs to prevent the tea becoming too strong and then from the milk jug it was poured in to cups and drunk. The new water was then poured in to the flowers. The novelty factor of constantly having to change and move around the water lost a little of its charm when we worked out we did not have anywhere for all of this water to go, and after about an hour, and almost a rota for the bathroom stops, we were full to the brim with water and decided we had drunk our fill of Chinese tea and more.

In traditional Chinese style, we had some dim sum in the form of vegetable dumplings with our tea which were delicious too!

It is most definitely worth a trip, being set in a beautiful park, as is the tea museum in the next building along which is eye opening in its variety of teas and the methods and styles to serve and make tea.

Thank you Chris and Katy for such a lovely afternoon and I will be taking all of you on your trips out here!

Sunday 8th November, 2009 - Sidewalk yoga

This afternoon, whilst I was waiting for a yoga class, I picked up a copy of yoga journal magazine (tryingt to mentally prepare myself!) and came across an article entitled 'sidewalk yoga'.
It concerned the fast paced naure of life in New York where everybody appears to be constantly rushing everywhere, even women carrying yoga mats en route to yoga classes, where the goal is supposedly to be relaxed, calm and peaceful.
It propounded that we should all slow things down and practice 'sidewalk yoga' ie taking the concepts of yoga mentality and applying it not just in a yoga class but in our day to day life.
Although the article was based in New York, I think it is universally applicable which is why I wanted to share it. I am constantly constantly in fear of taking out some elderly woman who refuses to walk much faster than a shuffle and so many times I get so frustrated with people apparantly aimlessly wandering and stopping in the middle of the street - indeed, I have often thought that my road attracts these sorts of slow walkers who like to take an aimles amble along the pavement. However, I think its a really interesting lesson to be able to slow everything down, especially in a city where the pace of life is so fast surrounded by constant traffic of all kinds and just try and be calmer. As I was badly attempting to bend and contort my body in to the correct yoga postures during the class, under the disappointed eyes of our teacher, who speaks to us as (somewhat understandably I think considering our group!) a teacher who is both slightly exasperated and disappointed in the performance of their class at school!.I was thinking how much it would help you to be able to keep hold of an inner calm and peace despite the rush outside.

I'm positive it is easier said than done and easily forgotten in the daily commute to and from work and school, and for me I would try and keep a little bit calmer and try and s l o w t h i n g s d o w n a little.

Monday 1st November, 2009 - Lamma Island

Lamma Island - On Monday, you may be surprised to hear I got up and went on yet another walk although this one wa much more flat and less of a hike, more like a lovely wander to a beach! Lamma Island is accessible by fery about 20 minutes from central pier. rosie and I had planned a trip before the weekend, and so, extremely sleepy, I made it up and to the ferry port the next morning. however, as always, I am so gald I did, as Lamma Island is just lovely. There are no cars there and thus subsequently it has a lovely holiday esque relaxed feel with shops, cafes, and seaside bars and restaurants and market stalls to wander round. The beach was also beautiful however, the one thing spoiloing it is the view of the huige power station, from behind since the power station that powers Hong Kong is situated on this Island. Also, unfortunately, being a public holiday and the temperature being that much more bearable to be outside, the island was super busy, and its paths were crowded with bikes, and people. But, it had a really nice holiday feel.

The island is renowned for its seafood restuarants, (understandably, being right on the seafront) and the restaurant we found ourselves in for lunch had a vast array of live fish in tanks waiting to be chosen and cooked! It was quite fascinating entirely wasted on me, who ended up with rice and vegetables! I was hoping to go to a place called Bookworm Cafe - the only way I can describe it is me in a food establishment! The restaurant is veggie, organic, fairtrade, ethical, you name it, and its walls are covered in books which you can peruse at your leisure!) It was amzing to see, however what was less amazing was the man taking phone numbers to call people when there was a free table! Obviously lots of people had had the same idea! I am thus resolutely determined to return at the next available opportunity and stay there ALL day! I will apologise in advance to the person who ends up coming with me if they want to do anything else!

If you came early in the day or later on the afternoon, evening time and avoided the peak of the day, I imagine you could spend a great day wandering around the shops and beaches of the island.

Saturday 31st October 2009 - A Hot Hong Kong Hallowen!

This year, Halloween was celebrated in a decidedly untraditional but equally lovely fashion. The weather was 30 degrees, cloudless, and sunny and Katy, Alicia and I decided to set off on the ferry to go to Cheung Chau, one of the outlying islands around Hong Kong. The boat ride took us an hour (we decided to take the normal ferry instead of the fast one as it was leaving 40 minutes sooner than the other one - however, watching the fast ferry speed past us while we were still chugging along on our journey, made us ever so slightly regret our decision!) However, the wait was worth it and the island itself was beautiful! Compared with Lamma, the previous weekend, this island was sleepy and had a really relaxed, weekend feel. There were stalls and restaurants along the front of the Island as we stepped off the ferry however, if you walked about 10 minutes in, it was wodnerfully quiet and peaceful, with just a handful of tourists here and there, and most of the people going about their weekend business.The relative calm was a welcome break from the chaos and the daily hoards of people you have to push past to get anywhere or see anything, and it made for a really relaxing day.

We saw a beautiful temple, lovely old fishing boats, and some beautiful beaches. We stopped for lunch at a beach front cafe and watersports centre at Tung Wan beach, where Hong Kong's first Olympic gold medallist, Lin Lai- Shan, used to practice her windsurfing as she lived and grew up on the island - Katy even had the rice meal for lunch that they claim she used to eat! The beaches were peaceful and calm, being away from the roads. (Like many of the islands, there are no cars on Cheung Chau, it is only about half a kilometre in size across the island so perfectly manageable by bike or walking).

After lunch, we headed up and over the island on a path that wound around the hill around the coast. As you can imagine, the views were beautiful and there was some incredible rock formations, some of which have special names because of their shape like Reclining Rock and Vase Rock - I did not really see too many of these resemblances but they were really striking in their size and shape.

Cheung Chau is most definitely worth a visit for anyone in Hong Kong wanting some peace and quiet! I must just mention that it is renowned for the annual 'bun' festival, in May, where, I imagine it is anythin but tranquil, but would be quite amazing to see. The story goes that the Island was overcome by a plague in the 18th century, until local fisherman brought over an image of the god, Pak Tai to the island, which was paraded round the street and drove away all the evil and the plague. Thus, in thanks, the islanders organise a weeklong thanksgiving service every year, in honour of this god. Although, this is common practice in Hong Kong and many of the temples are dedicated to all kinds of gods (Tin Hau is a very popular one for this, being the god of the sea I think) the centrepeice of these festivals are the metres high bamboo towers which are constructed and covered with edible buns all over and apparantly at midnight every evening, young men climb up and steal and distribute the buns among the crowds of people.Apparantly, the participants in the bun snatching are so quick that thousands of buns disappear in minutes! So dangerous was this event that it was banned in 1978 but deemed safe enough to resume (not sure how that figures but anyway) in 2005. So the good news is you can see it as well as numerous other festival events including children dressed in costumes on stilts (I have seen the photos around the island - quite a sight!) and the more traditional lion dances etc. The buns are the traditional dim sum type buns for those of you who have had steamed dim sum buns. If you dont know,they are really white, very round like a bread roll and usually sweet. You can get them filled with savory and sweet things (I like the custard ones!) but I think the steamed pork ones are a popular choice! Anyway, for free buns, you know when and where to go!