LIVE WATER

Dracaena Fragrans II

2012-02-02T22:54:00.005+08:00

Recent pictures of the plant. It is expected that it will flower within the next few days. Will post new photos.

To avoid an attack from Miao Miao the cat (who loves to pick flowers), we moved the plant to another room.

Episode 221 Dracaena Fragrans

2012-01-07T17:12:00.008+08:00

Can you see the flower bud?

I purchased this Dracaena Fragrans for Gogo a few years ago in the flower market. In Hong Kong it is called Brazilian Iron Tree.

It was then just a segment of stem - cutting out from the stem of a large Dracaena Fragrans tree - with a few leaf buds only and had no root at all. Gogo wished to keep it so we bought it home.

We first kept it in a vase with some water. The plant grew larger with leaves and roots developed. We then transferred it to the soil.

It appears to be rare and unusual for a Dracaena Fragrans flowers in winter.

Episode 220 - Pui O Campsite

2011-12-13T19:10:00.016+08:00

Bay No. 38 and My family's tent

Sunset at Pui O

Located next to Pui O Beach, Lantau Island, Pui O Campsite is an ideal place for camping as it is surrounded by beautiful scenery where there is clear water, fine sand, shady trees and beautiful sunset.

My family had a wonderful camping holiday at the Pui O Campsite recently. As you can see from the photos above, the camping bays are neat and tidy.

There is no advanced booking. The camping bays are available on a first come first serve basis. What you need to do is to register at the management office at the entrance of the Campsite.

The facilities in the Campsite include 52 camping bays, barbecue area, pavillons / arbours, changing rooms and toilets.

About 15 minutes by bus from the Mui Wo Pier.

Episode 219 - Hunting Game

2011-10-05T14:51:00.007+08:00

It is said that kittens learn their hunting skills through games designed by the mother cat.

In the absence of the mother cat, “Miao Miao” has to learn the skill from us.

One enjoyable game: attach a piece of paper to a long string. Swing it over the head / in front of the cat.

See how “Miao Miao” catches a "flying bird".

Episode 218 - Cat Growing Fast

2011-10-02T14:50:00.004+08:00

The cat has been with us for about one month.

This seems to be a short time but the cat has been growing fast.

Comparing the photo above (taken yesterday) with those in the previous posts, you can tell that the cat has gained both in weight and length. He must be a very large cat when fully grown.

Episode 217 - Pet vs. Working Cat

2011-09-18T19:15:00.010+08:00

When I was small, my family used to keep cats to fix the rats problem.

They were working cats and they were allowed to go outside the house whenever they liked.

We fed the cats with fish and rice. At that time, the fish hawkers sold some low end fishes at discounted price. The fishes were fried in the wok until they were completely dried and broken down into small pieces. The dried pieces were then mixed with rice to feed the cats.

As the cats lived freely, some time they just did not come back after wandering outside at night and we had to get new cats to fill the vacancy in the team.

Sometimes the female cats had babies and we had to distribute the kittens to our neighbours.

The past experience in keeping working cats would not, however, assist us in keeping a pet cat.

There is no rat for it to catch so we have to give it some toys to do exercise instead.

We have to erect fences at our windows to avoid the cat from jumping out (at 50+ floors!).

We have to teach the cat to be careful with the loose objects in the flat. Our souvenirs are in danger!

The cat now eats pallets. How strange!

We also need to use cat sands (which absorb smells) for the cat's toilet.

What a difference!

Episode 216 - Playing Cat

2011-09-11T18:51:00.007+08:00

We bought a gift for the cat today.

It serves as a scratcher and a toy.

See how the cat indulges in its new discovery!

Episode 215 - New Family Member - An Adopted Cat

2011-09-04T19:47:00.005+08:00

We adopted a cat from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) today.

It is a young male cat of around 4 months old.

The whole family is excited about the new member and we are working at getting him settle down in his new home.

Episode 214 - Birds at Hamilton Island

2011-08-26T21:34:00.012+08:00

Rainbow Lorikeet

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Laughing Kookaburra

Rainbow Lorikeet

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and Seagull

Currawong

Seagull

A Quail?

Episode 213 - Hamilton Island

2011-08-26T21:13:00.023+08:00

1. Coral Sea view from hotel room

2. Church

3. Front Street

4. Jetty for boat to the Great Barrier Reef

5. Sunset at One Tree Hill

6. The Buggies

My family had a short holiday at the Hamilton Island recently.

Hamilton Island is located at Queensland of Australia. It is one of the Whitsunday Islands at the North-eastern part of Australia.

There had been some changes to the Island since we visited it over 10 years ago:

a. The hotel looked old and requires some renovation.

b. The arrangement was less convenient - we needed to pick up our luggage at the airport and took it to our transfer bus (last time the luggage was transferred direct from the plane to our room!).

c. The zoo had moved to a new site. The previous site appeared to have been redeveloped to build houses. It becomes a very small zoo now.

Having said that we still consider the Island to be a place worth revisiting again in the future. The Island, in particular the sunset at the One Tree Hill, remained very very beautiful. It's easy to see wild birds around the Island (see Episode 214 for photos). Travelling around by golf car (they called it buggy there) was also very enjoyable.

The original photos were taken by my family using a Nikon D7000. The photos as posted here reduced in size and quality after uploaded.

Episode 212 - Ginger Milk Pudding IV

2010-10-25T21:05:00.002+08:00

I noted the following know how from an old cook book:

To facilitate consolidation of the pudding, a small drop of vinegar can be added to the ginger juice before you pour in the hot milk.

Haven't tried it yet.

Episode 211 - Lilium (2)

2010-03-11T21:03:00.004+08:00

Another bunch of lilium which I purchased from the Flower Market earlier this week.

Episode 210 - Lilium

2010-03-07T11:02:00.006+08:00

This bunch of lilium was purchased from the Flower Market at Prince Edward District.

Lilium is becoming popular in Hong Kong and it is easy to buy different species of lilium at the market at very reasonable price.

As the weather is cold recently, a bunch of lilium can last (from in bud position to flower dropping) for around 2 weeks.

Episode 209 - Traditional Food Preservation

2009-12-06T22:31:00.010+08:00

Drying (dehydration) is one of the traditional food preservation methods. This old method is still commonly used by fishermen in Hong Kong.

The above photos were taken by me during a neighbourhood outing to Cheung Chau. The fishermen dried the fishes and shrimps under the sun before packing and selling them to the tourists. The dried fishes and shrimps looked artistic on the drying board.

In the old days, fishermen dried the unsold seafood before it went bad. They would either sell the dried seafood or consumed it themselves when the weather was not fit for fishing.

Although the refrigeration method is more suitable for preserving fresh seafood and is readily available at reasonable costs, dried seafood has become a popular traditional food in itself as time goes by - it is no longer treated as a substitute or reserved food.

We steam the dried seafood (adding some oil on top of it) before serving it on the dining table - yummy!

Episode 208 - Buddha in the Rain

2009-11-12T21:02:00.015+08:00

The photo was taken during a recent visit to Ngong Ping.

It was a rainly day. The finely crafted Big Buddha statue merged harmoniously with the nature in the light rain.

Episode 207 - Lung Fu Shan Spider

2009-11-01T16:58:00.009+08:00

Another trip to the Lung Fu Shan Country Park this morning.

Whilst we were near the Pinewood Battery, we saw a crowd of people gathering together, each with a camera pointing towards an upper part of a tree. I soon discovered that they were taking photos of a large spider.

I took a photo of the spider as well - click on the photo above to see a larger image of it.

The spider had weaved a large web at the tree top and was obviously waiting for its prey. Before it could get its first meal, it became the prey of the photo predators.

Episode 206 - Butterfly at the Great Wall

2009-10-23T20:01:00.006+08:00

After writing the last post, I recalled seeing a small butterfly at the Mutianyu Great Wall. The butterfly was white in colour and looked elegent with tails. It did not appear to be a specie that we would encounter in Hong Kong.

I took the above photo while the little butterfly rested on the steps of the Great Wall.

Episode 205 - Butterflies

2009-10-18T20:42:00.007+08:00

My family took a walk at the Lung Fu Shan Country Park this morning.

The weather was fine - sunny but cool.

Although it is not a flowering season, we still saw patches of flowers along the paths which attracted a large number of butterflies. I know very little about butterfly but it seems that the species of butterflies at Lung Fu Shan are increasing in numbers in the past years.

Episode 204 - The Palace

2009-08-29T18:56:00.007+08:00

This photo was taken outside the Palace Museum at Beijing.

The Forbidden City is always packing with people, making it difficult to take a good photo of this lovely architecture.

I discovered this wonderful location after leaving the back gate of the palace. It is at the back corner of the palace near the Wangfujing. On that day, I saw a lot of tourists sitting on the bench at the river side, enjoying this beautiful spot of the palace.

Episode 203 - The Mutianyu Great Wall

2009-08-26T15:26:00.011+08:00

My family had a short holiday at Beijing recently.

In 2005, Gogo and I visited the Great Wall at Badaling of Beijing. This time we went to see that part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu.

Like Badaling, Mutianyu is situated outside the city and we had to hire a car to it.

The Mutianyu site appears not to be one promoted for popular visit as the car parks there were not designed for parking big limousines. Local tourism promotion leaflets were mostly for tours to the Badaling.

The runways of the Mutianyu Great Wall appear to be narrower (and steeper) than those in the the Badaling - hence not suitable for a large number of tourists.

Purely on the design and its setting against the mountains nearby, I prefer the Badaling Great Wall to the Mutianyu Great Wall. However, the Badaling is always packed with tourists which would greatly reduce the enjoyment of the journey. From the latter perspective, I prefer the Mutianyu Great Wall to the Badaling Great Wall.

Visitors can use the passage path leading to the wall on the top of the mountain to reach the runway of the wall. Alternatively, they can use the cable cars, which was our choice.

Episode 202 - Flowers from Friends

2009-07-15T13:50:00.005+08:00

My friends gave Chiu Yin this plant. I do not know the name of it but the flowers are colourful. The leaves and the flowers of the plant close at night and reopen in the morning. Wonderful!

Episode 201 - Summer Flowers (3)

2009-06-28T12:56:00.009+08:00

This is the "Gentleman Orchid" (Clivia) in full flowering position.

There are altogether 15 flowers in one single cluster. The first bud which alerted me of the flowering of the plant fell before the other buds opened.

The clivia is now matured (I purchased it from the flower market in Prince Edward in 2003), this cluster of flowers is much larger than those in 2006 and 2007.

Episode 200 - Summer Flowers (2)

2009-06-21T21:49:00.006+08:00

The Clivia flower shoot has grown out and the flowers are opening.

Here are some photos taken this morning.

Episode 199 - "Understanding the Force"

2009-06-14T21:56:00.008+08:00

In my previous posts on the Taiji principles, I discussed the concept of "Getting back to the Origin" and the Stages of "knowing oneself" and "knowing others".

These are the keys to decipher the meaning of "Understanding the Force".

In the "Know Your Own self Stage", you "understand the force" after you have started activating your sleeping parts. This is what we call the "tapping into the sacred portion". What we need to do next is to train up the other sleeping parts of the body. This "training" required then is different from "normal" training. Once you have activated a sleeping part, you can intensify the activation of the other parts while you are walking, stopping, sitting, or lying down. That means you can use your mind to call up the other sleeping portions while you are engaging in normal daily activities.

In the "Know Others' Stage", the training is different, you should learn how to adhere to and get contact with the other's body. You learn how to make use of the force of the opponent and control him. That's where the push hand training come into the picture. You learn how to adapt and adjust to different movements of the opponent and respond with "reflex action".

Episode 198 - Clivia - Summer Flowers

2009-06-14T11:35:00.009+08:00

The past years have been busy and I did not have much time to take care of my plants at home. My clivia has not flowered since 2007.

To my surprise, I discovered earlier this week that it blossoms again - Good omen?

You can see from the photo above that a flower shoot with a number of buds is growing out from a margin of the leaves of the plant.

To avoid "holding up of the arrow" by the leaves. I cut open the leaf margins to allow more space for the flower shoot to develop and grow out.

I shall post more photos of the clivia in the coming posts.

Episode 197 - Porcelain Painting

2009-05-27T18:36:00.002+08:00

I purchased this porcelain painting recently.

Judging from the descriptions, the painting should be around 70 years old. Isn't it beautiful?

Episode 196 - "Kua" and the "Three External Coordinations"

2009-05-24T18:06:00.015+08:00

"For the training in "Knowing your own self", this is only half of the story. The next step forward is to establish the connection on the lower part of the body; the practitioner will need to find out how the power connection can be extended from the foot to the hands - in order to complete the construction of the "Power Sphere"." - Gate of Life

The "Kua" is the connection between the upper part and the lower part of the body. The post on Back Power analyses the importance of the back and its key role in the upper part of the body. Activating the upper part alone is not sufficient. If the coordination with the lower part is not possible, exercising "coherent force" is an unattainable dream.

Many people talk about the principle of the "Three External Coordinations" without knowing what exactly it is. The "Coordinations" as emphasized do not simply mean different parts of the body doing things together. It is the transfer of power from the lower parts to the corresponding upper parts that counts.

To achieve the "Three External Coordinations", one should know the precise answers to the following questions:

1. Where is the "Kua"?
2. How to "loose" the "Kua"?
3. How to motivate the "Kua" to coordinate the upper parts and the lower parts of the body?

Episode 195 - Taiji Wheels

2009-04-19T18:40:00.014+08:00

This photo was taken recently during a walk to the Lung Fu Shan Country Park.

The Taiji Wheels in the photo can be played by 2 persons independently at the same time - each person operates a set of 2 wheels on his/ her side. Each wheel has a small handle. . The exercise is simple, you hold the handles with your hands and turn the wheels. The wheels should be turned together simultaneously - either turning to the same direction or to different directions. The purpose is to enhance body and mind coordinations. To get the most benefit out of the Taiji Wheels, you have to turn the wheels by utilizing the movements of the whole body and transfer the force as generated to the hands. Don't turn the wheels with your hands alone. The hands are simply the media between the wheels and the body movements - There is no hand in Taiji.

From a martial artist's perspective, I consider that the wheels are too loose and too easy to turn. If you know the rationale behind the Taiji Ball, you may still be able to obtain benefit from the wheels training to improve your level of coordinations. However, you won't be able to use them to increase the internal power.

As the wheels are easily available in most of the parks in Hong Kong, and it is not convenient to bring along a Taiji Ball for outdoor exercises, you can say my comments above are too picky!

Episode 194 - A Heart Without Worry or Obstacle

2009-03-02T23:01:00.008+08:00

This photo was taken at the Wisdom Path at Lantau Island.

This is part of the wood inscription of the "Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra" (Heart Sutra) erected at a slope at the Lantau Peak. The wood craving was the calligraphy of Professor Jao Tsung-I.

The Chinese characters mean "A heart without worry or obstacle" - another version of "Live Water"?

Episode 193 - Narcissus for the New Year

2009-01-27T08:45:00.004+08:00

Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Ox.

Episode 192 - Narcissus for the New Year (3)

2009-01-19T21:22:00.007+08:00

The flowers are out today.

I have moved the flowering bulbs to a flower vase.

Compare with those last year, the leaves of the narcissus are much shorter, thanks for the excellent weather condition. These bulbs are early birds. The other narcissus bulbs still need a few days more to blossom - just in time for the Chinese New Year.

Episode 191 - Narcissus for the New Year (2)

2009-01-18T10:18:00.005+08:00

Although the weather was cold in the past weeks, there was sufficient sunshine.

Some of the bulbs from the first batch have already developed mature flower shoots. It is expected that they will start to blossom in the course of next week. The last batch of bulbs is developing flower shoots and will flower in the Chinese New Year days.

The qualities of the bulbs are acceptable. Whilst they are not in very regular shapes, most of them have at least 7 to 8 flower shoots.

Episode 190 - Narcissus for the New Year (1)

2009-01-03T16:36:00.021+08:00

I purchased 3 boxes of narcissus bulbs from the flower market.

The prices of the bulbs have dropped this year: HK$85 for 2 boxes with eight bulbs; and HK$68 for one box with 6 large bulbs. Unfortunately, the qualities of the bulbs appear to have dropped as well.

This morning we invited one of Chiu Yin's classmates to do the cutting. Educational and fun!

It normally takes around 23 days for the bulb to flower after the cutting. If the weather is unusually warm (like 2006) the time may be shortened to less than 20 days. Likewise, cold winter (like last year) would prolong the time required. In order to ensure that I have flowering narcissus on the Chinese New Year days, I did the cutting in 3 batches. The first batch was completed 2 days ago. The last batch was cut earlier today. If we cut the bulbs one or two days later, we may not be able to see the flowers on the first day of the New Year unless the weather in the next 20 days is as warm as 2006 - which is unlikely. There are of course remedial measures. If the weather is unusually warm, we can move the narcissus into the refrigerator for a few days to delay the flowering time. If the weather is unusually cold, we can add warm water to the flower vase and move the narcissus under spot lights. I do not like to use any of these remedial measures if they are avoidable.

I purchased a set of narcissus vases at the flower market this afternoon - see the first photo. They are beautiful, aren't they? A set of 4 vases only costs HK$170. The flowering narcissus will look more attractive in these vases.

You can click on the links below for the cutting method (normal cut) and photos of the flowering narcissus last year.

Cutting method

Flowering Narcissus

P.S. I visited the flower market earlier today (10th January 2009). They were selling cut narcissus bulbs at HK$15 each.
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Episode 189 - Lamma - the Southern Island of Hong Kong

2008-12-14T22:33:00.014+08:00

The photo above shows the beautiful Sok Kwu Wan of Lamma Island and its fish farming site.

Our neighbourhood outing group had a half day outing to the Island earlier today.

We took a ferry to Sok Kwu Wan at 11: 50 a.m. and arrived at around 12:35 p.m. We had a short lunch break at a restaurant before we started our journey. Most of the restaurants there are seafood restaurants, selling sea fishes. We were not interested in the sea fishes and took some westernized food instead.

There are two harbours in Lamma Island. The Sok Kwu Wan Harbour (at where we arrived) and the Yung Shu Wan Harbour (from where we left the Island). There is a beautiful hiking route linking the two Harbours. If you walk at full speed, it will take you about one and a half hour to complete the journey. We were not in a hurry. The natural and beautiful scenery of the Island also slowed down our paces. It took us about 2 hours before we arrived at the Hung Shing Yeh Beach where the parents took a break and the kids had a sand castle building hour.

The beautiful Lamma Island sunset gave a final touch to our journey as we walked leisurely towards the Yung Shu Wan Harbour.

It has been over 10 years since I last visited Lamma Island. Compare with the one in my recollection, the Island has become cleaner and tidier. The rocky hiking route I last walked on is now well paved and there are clear and helpful road signs.

A wonderful place for a half day outing.

Episode 188 - Misty Forest

2008-11-02T22:56:00.008+08:00

Another photo of the fores t taken from the peak this morning.

The mist defamilarized the city for us by taking out its usual colours.

Episode 187 - Adding and Releasing

2008-11-01T11:46:00.018+08:00

Adding and Releasing are 2 complementary application techniques in Taiji.

In the post on Spherical Power, I explained the technique of Releasing:

"Imagine you are a ball filling with air inside.............. If your force is directed to one side only, it will piece through the wall of the ball. The "air" is released, and you lose the power: you are in an unbalanced position."

What then is Adding?

In order to maintain the optimum position, the air inside the ball should be no more or no less. If more air is injected inside the ball, it will become unstable due to the increased pressure: You are in an unbalanced position.

Balancing oneself with 2 legs is not an easy task as one normally conceives - it is a result of continuous daily practice since we first learned to walk. Once this take-for-granted mechanism is disturbed, it is very difficult for a person to main his balance.

Adding and Releasing are useful tools for disturbing your opponent's balancing mechanism. One way to do it is to add air into the ball and then release it - an application technique applying the Yin / Yang Conversion Principle.

Episode 186 - Revisiting the Long Island

2008-10-20T21:28:00.011+08:00

I revisited Cheung Chau yesterday. This time with Chiu Yin's friends and their parents who are also our neighbours.

The photos above were taken at the edge of the Vase Rock - one of the many interesting weathered granite along the path of the Little Great Wall.

The tour might have been a challenge to the kids as we walked a lot for the whole afternoon. Having said that, I do believe that they did find the journey interesting and enjoyable. They played along the East Beach, touched the weathered granite, and searched for the pirate's hidden treasure in the Cheung Po Chai Cave !

Episode 185 - Colourful Angels

2008-10-05T12:51:00.034+08:00

"Angels are all around us, all the time, in the very place we live."

These are two of the Discuses I purchased from the pet shops at Prince Edward recently. The one in the first photo is a Red Turquoise; and the second one is a Pigeon Blood.

When they were first introduced to Hong Kong, Discuses were sold at very high prices. In the light of the profit margin, the tropical fish farmers soon acquired the skill to bred these fishes locally. Save for those newly developed species, the prices of the discuses have now dropped to a reasonable and affordable level.

Local people like to call the discuses the "Colourful Angels" and consider them to be one kind of Angle Fishes. While both the Discuses and the common Angel Fishes belong to the Cichild Family, it may not be correct to consider discuses as one variety of Angel Fishes. In any event, this is what they are being called here.

All the "Angels" hid behind the plants as soon as I released them into the fish tank. They even refused to eat anything in the first week and I worried that they would soon become angels. I tried to keep the environment quiet and treated the "Angels" with frozen worms. It worked! They are now swimming leisurely in the tank and will ask for food as soon as I walk close to the tank. Apart from worms, I also feed them with flake type fish food. I learned that the discuses can be fed with certain kind of hamburger - with cow's heart and shrimp as the main ingredient. That's why the discuses in some pet shops are so fat!

I keep some neon tetras with the "Angels" and they appear to be living together peacefully. Occasionally, the "Angels" would quarrel and fight among themselves - annoying but acceptable.

Episode 184 - Morning Fish Market

2008-09-28T18:53:00.021+08:00

"There are many pet shops at the Prince Edward District, selling goldfish, tropical fish, coral fish, and aquarium products. ...........

"Apart from the shops, fish hawkers gather together in a nearby area in the form of a flea market, with locally bred goldfish and tropical fish offering for sale at a very competitive price. These hawkers arrive at the vicinity in the early morning. They leave early as well." - Episode 54 - Tiger Head

I and Chiu Yin visited the morning fish market today. We got up at 6 a.m. and took a cross harbour bus to Kowloon. We got off the bus at a stop near Prince Edward. After a 10 minutes' walk, we arrived at the fish market at Boundary Street.

The market starts at around 5:00 a.m. everyday. It is not a licenced market but the government has closed one of its eyes on this for many years. The sellers are self-disciplined and will leave before 8:00 a.m.

As you can see from the photos taken by Chiu Yin above, there were many fish sellers doing business along the street this morning and there were a lot of choices. Apart from common tropical fishes and goldfishes there were many strange fishes which we had never seen before (not even in books!). We also saw various kinds of tortoises and hermit crabs.

The prices of the "goods" were very attractive and there were a large number of buyers as well. The fishes were packed and sold in plastic bags.

You can get a good price if you purchase a large bag with over 20 tails of goldfishes or 100 tails of neon tetras or guppies.

Episode 183 - Rope Way to the Big Buddha

2008-09-22T21:23:00.016+08:00

We had no specific plan yesterday but to do some shopping and had our lunch outside as a normal Sunday family activity. The Citygate shopping centre at Tung Chung is one of our favorites as there are a number of factory outlets selling garments and foot wears at very reasonable prices.

After lunch and some shopping, we took a walk at the concourse outside the shopping arcade. It was around 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. Next to the concourse is the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Terminal. In the past, the terminal was always packed with people and we did not have any incentive to try the cable car. We were surprised to find that there were only a small number of visitors there, so we decided to have a go this time.

As there were not many visitors, my family was directed to occupy one cable car ourselves.

The Ngong Ping 360 is a 5.7 km bi-cable rope way, linking Tung Chung with the Ngong Ping Mountain. Looking out through the window of the cable car, I was impressed by the beauty of the Lantau Island Country Parks.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the top of the Ngong Ping mountain. As the last cable car to Tung Chung would leave the station at 6:30 p.m., we had about 2 hours' visiting time - which was more than sufficient for us to visit both the Tian Tan Buddha Statue and the Po Lin Monastery.

Shopping has always been an unwelcoming activity for the kids. They were happy to have an extra journey this time.

Episode 182 - Electronic Pet

2008-09-13T11:00:00.004+08:00

This photo was taken at the Science Museum in Shanghai.

The "dog" was equipped with an artificial intelligence computer and could respond to the instructions of the visitors.

The kids always wish to keep a dog or a cat at home. Considering the work involved in taking care of an animal, various proposals were rejected. With the development in artificial intelligence, it may not be a bad idea to keep an electronic pet at home.

Perhaps I can even have an electronic martial art training partner some day.

Episode 181 - Nuri the Parrot

2008-08-22T18:17:00.008+08:00

Typhoon Nuri visits Hong Kong today.

Typhoon Signal Number 9 is being hoisted outside and I took the above picture of the Lung Fu Shan through the window of the living room. Although it is a direct hit on our island, the typhoon does not appear to be strong and has not created great damage to the city. My flat is facing south and is not affected by the wind - it is just like a normal rainy day.

The Chinese name for Nuri is "鸚鵡" which means parrot. Thanks to this bird, we have a relaxed holiday.

Revised at 10:16 p.m.:

I was wrong! It is blowing severe South-Westerly winds now and water is seeping in through the window frames! It is a crazy parrot!

Episode 180 - Hero

2008-07-13T18:15:00.007+08:00

This is a Hero 2019 fountain pen.

Hero brand fountain pens were once very popular among Hong Kong primary school students because of their competitive pricing. I can't recall if the first fountain pen I had was a Hero but I must have had owned a few before.

I purchased this Hero 2019 at the Shanghai Book City. Although I seldom use a fountain pen now, the design, quality and the price of the pen was just irresistible - more importantly, it really brought back memory!

Episode 179 - Heroine

2008-07-01T18:04:00.011+08:00

This is the tomb of the Heroine of the Mirror Lake - Qiu Kin.

Qiu was a revolutionary and a feminist at the time of the Qing Dynasty. She was arrested and executed by the Qing Government after an unsuccessful uprising in 1907. Her remains were moved to and buried beside the West Lake to accomplish her wish.

Apart from being a revolutionary, Qiu was a poet and a martial artist.

I still remember her famous poem: "Have Wine"

對酒

不惜千金買寶刀，貂裘換酒也堪豪。

一腔熱血勤珍重，灑去猶能化碧濤。

The statue is an imitation of Qiu Kin holding a traditional Chinese sword. The stone craving on the tomb was the calligraphy of Sun Yat-sen.

Episode 178 - Picture Within Picture

2008-06-23T14:46:00.009+08:00

This photo was taken at the "Little Heavenly Island" in the West Lake.

There are 3 small islands within the West Lake, the "Little Heavenly Island" is the largest and the most spectacular.

The Little Heavenly Island has its own lake, pagodas and bridges.

The Island is an excellent exemplification of a Chinese garden - a combination of hill, water, poetry and drawing. It is a picture within the picturesque West Lake.

Episode 177 - Dragon Boat

2008-06-22T09:53:00.005+08:00

If you wish to take a boat trip in the West Lake, there are many options. Here is one of them - It should be fun if we can have a party inside this dragon boat whist travelling in the lake.

Episode 176 - Thunder Hill Pagoda

2008-06-20T09:44:00.007+08:00

The Thunder Hill Pagoda is a rebuilt structure. The old pagoda collapsed many years ago. The relic of the old pagoda is preserved within the new pagoda.

The new pagoda is a modernised building with lifts installed inside. There is an escalator leading uphill to it.

The Pagoda forms a beautiful backdrop to the West Lake (see photo in Episode 175) and provides the visitors a unique place to take a bird's eye view of the lake.

Episode 175 - West Lake

2008-06-19T14:27:00.007+08:00

This photo was taken at the coastal area of the West Lake in Hangzhou.

We had a short holiday and visited Shanghai and Hangzhou recently. We stayed in a hotel in Shanghai. With the improvement in the railway system, travelling from Shanghai to Hangzhou is very convenient. We boarded a super express non-stop train bound for Hangzhou at the Shanghai South Station. It only took us around one and a half hour's time to arrive at the Hangzhou Railway station.

We took a taxi to the lake area and boarded one of the many round-trip tourist cars to the "Thunder Hill Pagoda" on the other side of the lake.

Episode 174 - Rainstorm

2008-06-08T11:27:00.009+08:00

We had a huge rainstorm here yesterday.

The Observatory hoisted the Black Rainstorm signal from around 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.

According to the Observatory's press release, " rain was heaviest in the morning. The Observatory recorded 145.5 millimetres during the hour from 8 to 9 a.m., the highest hourly rainfall since record began. From midnight till 6 p.m., 304.8 millimetres of rain fell at the Observatory, the 5th highest daily rainfall record in June. "

A number of landslides were reported. The Lung Fu Shan (literally the Dragon and Tiger Hill") near my home was one of the victims. The photo above was taken by me this morning. The landslide uprooted a number of trees, leaving a "wound" on the surface of the hill. The trees, the mud and the rocks slided downhill and caused a huge flood in the Western District yesterday.

Due to the bad weather and terrible traffic condition, I had to stay at home until 11 a.m. before I got back to work at my office - a nice break though.

Episode 173 - Purple Cattleya - The Flower Is Out

2008-05-22T21:44:00.006+08:00

The flower is out.

A 3-petal flower in normal size.

The photos above recorded the blossoming process of the orchid.

Episode 172 - Purple Cattleya - In Bud

2008-05-18T14:29:00.009+08:00

I further divided the purple cattleya into two pots last year. This is one of them (using the old flower pot).

The flower shoot has only one (but large) bud this time. It will blossom in the next few days. I will post the full flowering position.

The cattleya appears to have settled down well after the partition. I now have 3 pots of purple cattleyas - all develop from the mother plant I purchased in 2004.

Episode 171 - Bun Festival - tradition and change

2008-05-01T21:40:00.012+08:00

This is a training ground for the Bun Snatching participants. As you can see from the photo, people were climbing up to the top of a tower.

The Bun Festival is an important event in Cheung Chau. It is associated with the religious tradition of the Pak Tai Temple. In the past, three bamboo bun towers - the towers were covered with edible buns and were commonly known as the Buns Mountains - would be erected in the front of the Pak Tai Temple. On the festival night, young people climbed up the towers to snatch the buns and took them home. It was said that the buns could bring good fortune to the family.

The traditional Bun Snatching event was abolished following a serious accident in the 1970's. One of the bun mountain collapsed that night and many people were injured.

The event has been rejuvenated recently - this time as a festival and a sport event which provides an excellent opportunity for the climbers to test their skills. On the festival night, the bamboo (reinforced by steel) tower will be covered with plastic buns (instead of the traditional edible buns). A participant is required to take down as much buns as he / she can. As the buns at the top of the tower carry the highest marks, the participants will try to climb to the top to snatch the buns there.

Episode 170 - Physical Strength - Do we need it in Taiji?

2008-04-04T11:20:00.011+08:00

Some taiji practitioners always claim that their art does not require any physical strength and what is most important is "Fajing".

This view probably arises from the belief that pure softness can overcome pure hardness. Taking this view in their heart, the "soft" practitioners focus their training purely on the taijiquan forms and non-contentious pushhand exercises.

This is however not the position taken in the Taiji Classics. "On the Art of Taiji", talks about "Jing" and "Lik". "Jing" - internal force is generated through tendons. "Lik" - physical strength is generated through bones. It does not downgrade physical strength. "Jing" and "Lik" complement each other.

To overcome pure hardness by pure softness requires a good understanding and mastering of the yin yan conversion principle.

The "Softness" approach originates from the Artisticalisation of the Martial Art - the art is practised as soft physical exercise. The stress in the exercise is on the spiritual aspect and the will power. Artisticalisation of the art at its highest level may enable a practitioner to act more "skillfully" than a man with great physical strength. The achiever should have a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles of the art plus the support of training in fighting. However, this is only one of the achievements of the Three Levels. In Martialisation of the art, the "Lik" aspect is stressed. Again, this is another achievements of the Three Levels. Don't forget that we also have the harmonization of the artistic and the martial in another level.

Not knowing the fundamental principles of the art, the beginners (in terms of knowledge - not seniority) focus blindly on pure softness only, believing that such is what taiji is all about, reducing the art to one kind of morning exercises.

Episode 169 - Scarecrows

2008-03-21T13:57:00.011+08:00

These photos were taken during our recent visit to the KFBG. The boys were happy to see these beautiful and well dressed scarecrows.

These scarecrows were set up more for educational purpose than to frighten birds away.

Episode 168 - Honey Bee

2008-03-08T18:15:00.009+08:00

This photo was taken during my visit to the KFBG.

The flowers were blossoming, and there were a large number of honey bees.

This was the first time I tried to take a close-up photo of a bee. It was not easy to capture the motion of a bee as it would not stay on a spot for a long time. I took a number of photos but most of them were not satisfactory. It would have been a wastage if I were still using a traditional film camera. Thanks to the digital camera, an amateur like me can take a large number of photos at any time without the need to consider the issue of costs.

Episode 167 - Da Hua Bai

2008-03-02T21:31:00.010+08:00

We visited Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden ("KFBG") earlier today.

KFBG is situated at Tai Mo Shan and spreads over 148 hectares of land. It was set up by the Kadoorie brothers in the 1950's, with a view to assisting the local farmers to develop and improve the qualities of their produce and livestock.

As there is no canteen inside KFBG, we first had our lunch at Yuen Long before taking the 64K bus bound for Taipo. After a 15-minutes' drive, we got off the bus at the stop opposite the entrance of KFBG.

The sleepy animals in the photo are the famous "Da Hua Bai" pigs. These purebred pigs are originated from Guangdong . It is said that due to the low commercial value of these pigs (too much fat in the meat- which was a big selling point in the past), very few farmers are rearing them and there are not many of them remain. The pigs are given plenty of space and area for exercise. Hence they are in very good forms. Franky speaking, this visit has changed my wrong pre-conception that pigs are ugly and dirty. These "Da Hua Bai" pigs are beautiful, healthy and clean.

KFBG said that they intend to demonstrate a better and kinder alternative compare to the existing practices in most intensive farms where animals are confined to crowded conditions.

These "Da Hua Bai" pigs are probably the luckiest pigs in Hong Kong.

Episode 166 - Lion Dance

2008-02-17T22:13:00.023+08:00

This photo was taken by me earlier today at a shopping arcade.

Lion dance is a popular folk performance during the Chinese New Year Festival.

There are two types of Lions: the North Lion and the South Lions. The one in the photo is a South Lion which is popular in the southern part of China. Traditionally, the South Lion is further subdivided into 3 types of Lions: The red, the black and the colourful. The red Lions and the black Lions look fierce. The colourful Lions look more gentle.

In the old days, Lion Dances were mostly performed by people from martial art schools. The Lions danced freely along the street and paid tributes to the merchants during Chinese New Year festival. Some merchants would greet a Lion with a special gift called "Green" - comprised of a bundle of seasonal vegetables and a red packet (with money). The merchants would hang the Greens up at the ceilings of their shop fronts. A good Lion Dance performer would use spectacular martial art skills to take down those Greens one by one. Such performance would attract a large number of spectators and give publicity to the merchants' businesses.

With the development of the city, the traditional Lions become less popular. With a view to having good street order, it is not permitted to perform Lion Dance in the street without a licence.

Notwithstanding the restrictions, Lion Dance has re-birthed in the form of a sport in the modern city. We have Lion Dance competition every year. It is not necessary to go to a martial art school to learn the skill and a player need not be a martial art practitioner. The competition lay importance on the techniques of taking down a Green. The Lion teams are required to dance on high poles before reaching the Greens.

Apart from competition, some Lion teams participate in commercial activities for rewards. The sport lions (like the one in the photo) are usually gold in colour and look more gentle than the traditional Lions. Merchants like to use the beautiful sport Lions to attract customers. Lion teams are invited to perform Green taking shows on festival days. Hence, you can often see Lion Dance performances in shopping arcades during Chinese New Year and other festival holidays.

Episode 165 - Narcissus - Flowers for the New Year

2008-02-08T10:40:00.001+08:00

[taken on 8/02/08]

[Close-up: taken on 10/2/08]

[Full-size: taken on 10/2/08]

[Four Narcissuses in one pot: taken on 13/2/08]

The Narcissuses have more flowers now.

Another pot with 4 bulbs now have 2 flowers. I will post the full flowering position later.

I gathered from the news that the narcissus flower farmers suffered losses this year. The narcissuses did not sell well in the New Year Eve market as most of them were not flowering. According to the news, flower farmers destroyed many unsold narcissuses after the market closed.

Click the links below to see earlier stages of the narcissuses:

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Episode 164 - Narcissus - First Flower

2008-02-06T23:34:00.002+08:00

The first flower is out!

Just in time for the New Year Day tomorrow.

The weather is exceptionally cold this year. Many people, including the flower farmers, expected a warm winter and planted their narcissuses too late. They have to wait for a few days more for the flowers.

Lucky me.

Kung Hei Fat Choy to everyone visiting my blog!

Click the links below to see earlier stages of the narcissuses:

Part I
Part II
Part III

Link to subsequent stage:

Part V

Episode 163 - Narcissus - Flower shoots

2008-02-01T21:12:00.001+08:00

The weather was cold in the past week. It is no good for the narcissuses. The leaves of the plants are growing long. As you may appreciate, the cold weather may delay the flowering.

As a remedial measure, I have placed the plants under spot lights and used the warm light to assist the growth.

As you can see from the photo above, a number of flower shoots are coming out. The quality of the narcissus bulbs this year appears to be good. Each bulb has eight to ten or more flower shoots. The price of a flowering narcissus in the new year eve market can be very expensive. It is more economic to buy a bulb and grow it yourself. Although it calls for a lot of effort, the happiness you can get from seeing your narcissus blossoming is simply invaluable.

Hopefully, all my narcissuses will flower in time!

Click the links below to see earlier stages of the narcissuses:

Part I
Part II

Links to subsequent stages:

Part IV
Part V

Episode 161 - Good Taste From Tradition

2008-01-26T16:35:00.000+08:00

These photos were taken at Tai O recently.

The sticky substance in the rounded-shape baskets is another famous local produce of the village - shrimp paste. The paste was being dried under the sun before it was packed for sale. In Tai O, you can buy shrimp paste in the sauce form or in the brick form (see the shrimp blocks in the 2nd photo (taken by Gogo)).

Shrimp paste is a delicious ingredient commonly used for cooking fried vegetables or steamed pork. However, the manufacturing process of the shrimp paste could be a nuisance to many people as the unfinished paste emits repulsive smell.

Episode 160 - Narcissus - New Developments

2008-01-23T22:04:00.001+08:00

The narcissus bulbs are growing well.

I have moved 2 of them to a smaller vase, as I wish to have 2 pots of flowering narcissuses on the New Year days.

The weather was not steady in the past few days. There was not enough sunshine. The leaves were growing long. The flower shoots are not yet visible but I expect to see the first one in a week's time.

Links to subsequent stages:
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Episode 159 - Narcissus Bulbs

2008-01-17T20:44:00.002+08:00

Cutting and planting your own narcissus for the Chinese New Year is fun. If you wish to have flowering narcissus on the New Year day, it's time to cut and plant the narcissus bulbs. I started the work yesterday.

I purchased one box of narcissus bulbs from the flower market recently. There were six bulbs in one box. As you can see from the second photo, the bulbs were individually packed. They had dark brown coloured clothes and came with mud. They looked ugly.

The first step I did was to remove the mud and the clothes of the bulbs . The result was six white onion like bulbs (See the third photo). They looked beautiful.

I cut the bulbs with a knife. The cut began at the position of around 1 cm from the bottom and went up to the top. One cut to each side of the bulb (2 cuttings altogether). I loosened the layers at the top of the bulb to make rooms for the flower shoots to come out (See the fourth photo). No pain no gain?

I then dropped the bulbs into a bucket of water and left them there for 24 hours (See the last photo). Live water?

They are now sitting in a flower vase (See the first photo).

Waiting for the flowers!

Links to subsequent stages of the narcissuses:

Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Episode 158 - BBQ at the Pinewood Battery

2008-01-14T21:00:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken at the BBQ site at the Pinewood Battery.

The facilities at the BBQ site are clean and tidy, with a number of stoves and sufficient seats and tables. Water is available nearby. There is no need to make booking - first come first served.

To have BBQ at the Pinewood Battery is a real challenge. As the site is near the top of the hill, it is not easy to carry the food, drinks, BBQ forks and the charcoal up there. My family was in fact the only party that used the site on that day.

The cold weather on that day was perhaps the other factor that deterred people from having BBQ here.

We barbecued our food by charcoal. It is not easy to ignite the traditional charcoal (the big black objects in the photo). We started the fire by using some easy-to-burn environmental friendly charcoal (the round objects in the photo). We then added traditional charcoal to the burning stove. The traditional charcoal is cheaper in price and appears to have a longer burning life than the environmental friendly charcoal.

Compare with the gas stove in the modernized BBQ corner of the estate we live, the traditional charcoal stove brought back beautiful memories and good taste - the chicken wings cooked by charcoal fire were extremely delicious!

Episode 157 - Close-Up of the New Flowers

2008-01-07T21:25:00.000+08:00

Another photo of the Purple Cattleya, taken earlier today.

Both flowers are larger in size than those last year.

Episode 156 - Flowering Season

2008-01-06T10:40:00.001+08:00

Once again, the purple cattleya is the first plant to blossom this year.

This is the mother part of the old plant.

Last year, I let the mother part develop in the same flower pot without further dividing it. The result is larger and more colourful flowers.

The flowers are 3 petalled and, this time, came out from a flower sheath.

Episode 155 - Theory and Practice in the Taiji Martial Art System

2008-01-05T10:16:00.001+08:00

Taiji : Martial Art or Morning Exercise? (Part II)

Some more notes:

The taiji martial art system comprises of two aspects: the artistic - the body of the art; and the martial - the use of the art.

The artistic aspect provides a practitioner the conceptual tools to work out the best positioning. The martial aspect provides a practitioner the techniques to destroy.

Dealing with the art of taiji in the pure artistic way is just like treating it as an academic subject.

Developed from the pure artistic is the artisticalisation of the martial art - the art is practised as soft physical exercise. The stress in the exercise is on the spiritual aspect and the will power.

It should be noted that, without the support of training in fighting , a theoretician (soft physical exercise is generally not sufficient, unless having reached the level of achievement), no matter how knowledgeable, is like one who has a useless body - He will not be able to meet the demands in a real fight.

Dealing the art of taiji in the pure martial way is different, it stresses on usefulness / effectiveness.

Developed from the pure martial is the martialisation of the martial art. It emphasises the strengthening of both internal and physical power (with more emphasises on physical strength). In action it calls for meeting the positive force with negative force - using intentional softness to dissolve the positive force. This is where taiji becomes a fighting art.

It should, however, be noted that, without the backup of martial art theory, a fighter can only apply the techniques in a mechanical way and will not be able to deal with an unexpected situation which he has never been taught.

Episode 154 - Little Egret

2007-12-31T20:49:00.000+08:00

The photos were taken by me whilst crossing a bridge over the Tai O Waterway.

When I was walking on the bridge, I noticed that there was a little egret sitting on the tower. As the bird had no intention to fly away, I had enough time to take some photos of it.

This appeared to be a good season to watch little egrets in Hong Kong, as I could see a lot of them during my journey. However, the threat of H5N1 avian flu might have been deterring birds watchers from getting too close to these beautiful birds.

Episode 153 - Long Island from the Great Wall

2007-12-30T14:29:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken from the "Little Great Wall" of Cheung Chau. The Little Great Wall is a well paved uphill path along which the tourists can have a close look at various weathered granite.

The photo shows the two main beaches of the Island. The one on the right side is "Tung Wan" (literally the East Beach). Tung Wan is a good place for swimming. The sand is smooth and the gradient is gentle. The water quality is good. It is classified as a Grade One beach. The one on the left is "Kwun Yum Beach" (literally the Beach of the Bodhisattva of Compassion). It is the place where Hong Kong's first Olympic medalist Li Lai Shan practised windsurfing when she was young. The circular object which runs into the sea is a helicopter platform. Next to it is the Windsurfer cafe owned by Lai Kan.

Episode 152 - Sunny Side Up

2007-12-29T14:24:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken at Tai O. The red rounded objects are the village's traditional produce - preserved egg yolks.

The egg yolks are first extracted from duck eggs. They are then dried under the sun with salts. The selling price is HK$1.25 each.

The easiest way to cook a preserved egg yolk is to steam it in a rice cooker at the time when the rice is halfway done - yummy!

Episode 151 - Pirate from the Long Island

2007-12-27T21:08:00.002+08:00

This photo was taken at the entrance of the Cheung Po Tsai Cave at Cheung Chau.

Literally, Cheung Chau means long island. It is one of the outlying islands of Hong Kong, with a population of some 30,000.

This beautiful island has a number of spectacular points of interest of which the Cheung Po Tsai Cave is one.

Cheung Po Tsai was a pirate living in the 19th Century. It was said that Cheung had a strong team of pirates with over 600 ships. People believed that Cheung had stored some of his treasure in various secret locations - the Cave was supposed to be one of such secret places. Backed up by the legend, the Cave attracts a large number of visitors every day. As you can appreciate from the photo, there was a long line of tourists on the day of my visit.

Both the entrance and the exit of the Cave are very small, allowing only one person to pass through. The internal area of the cave is reasonably spacious. No light is installed inside the cave. If you are not comfortable with moving around in total darkness, you can rent a light torch from the local hawkers at a cost of HK$5. It would however be fun if you could manage to find your way out from the dark cave without a torch.

Episode 150 - Three Levels of Achievements in Taiji

2007-12-22T15:39:00.000+08:00

Some notes from my reading of "On the Art of Taiji":

Upper-level: The practitioner starts with both the artistic (the conceptual, the body of the art) and the martial (the technique, the use of the art) from the very beginning and get the best of the art.

Mid-level: The practitioner starts from the artistic and develops the martial subsequently in accordance with his studies. Alternatively, he starts from the martial and works out the artistic from the applications. In both cases, the practitioner reaches a higher level through devotion to his art.

Low-level: The practitioner focuses on either the artistic way or the martial way only and manages to work out the best of either stream.

The distinctions are for illustration purpose. They are not in hierarchical orders as the emphasis is on the effort and achievement of the practitioner.

Episode 149 - Vegetarian Goldfish

2007-12-02T20:29:00.001+08:00

A new photo of the Red Cap and the Tiger Head.

The goldfish has been growing well. The Red Cap has developed long tail fins. The Tiger Head has longer tails too but the head growth is yet to develop.

Last month, I discovered that the goldfish's appetite was bad and seemed to have got diarrhea. I changed the pellets and fed them with more vegetable leaves. It worked and the fish soon recovered.

I find that the fish loves vegetables with soft leaves. "Choy Sum" and "Pak Choy" are their favourites.

Episode 148 - Nei Gong - the internal power

2007-12-02T12:44:00.000+08:00

Nei Gong is a mysteries subject in internal martial art.

For an internal martial art practitioner, power is re-acquired through awakening the sleeping parts of the body (See Episode Three for more), so that he can utilise coherent bodily force. To fine tune this re-acquired power, the awakened parts should be conditioned so the power transmission process can be maximized . This is where the Nei Gong Training enters into the picture.

Nei Gong Training looks like breathing exercise. However, Nei Gong Training emphasises full inhalation and full exhalation. This is done, and should only be done, on the basis that the sleeping parts of the body have been awakened.

The rationale behind full inhalation and exhalation is to let the body go through a series of "high pressure" and "vacuum" conditions. The practitioner takes advantage of these conditions to direct / force the energy to break through the desired channels in his re-acquired "natural body".

Episode 147 - Bauhinia Blakeana (III)

2007-11-12T21:46:00.000+08:00

My visit to the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence triggered this 3rd post on Bauhinia Blakeana.

Bauhinia Blakeana is said to be a mix of Bauhinia Purpurea and Bauhinia Variegata. It is a sterile plant which does not produce seed. Propagation of the tree is usually by way of adapting the branch of a Bauhinia Blakeana to the trunk of a Bauhinia Purpurea. Hence if you see a Bauhinia Blakeana, you will see a demarcation line in the stem of the tree. The upper part of the tree is a Bauhinia Blakeana and the lower part is a Bauhinia Purpurea. Sometimes, the lower part of the tree develops new sub-branches, creating an interesting phenomenon - you can see 2 different types of flowers in one tree.

The photo above, taken during my visit to the Museum, shows a Bauhinia Blakeana with flowers of Bauhinia Purpurea on the lower part of the tree. Note also the difference in colours on the lower part and upper part of the trunk.

Episode 146 - The Eight Banners

2007-11-11T18:57:00.000+08:00

These photos were taken at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence earlier today.

A special event of the Museum is exhibiting some cultural relics of the Eight Banners of the Manchu.

The "Eight Banners" was the military system of the Manchu. Each Banner had a strong team of army. With the powerful Eight Banners, the Manchu conquered the Ming Empire in the 17th Century and ruled China for nearly 300 years.

The exhibition introduces the "Eight Banners" military system, the army outfits and the weapons. The colourful clothes as shown in the photos above are the military outfits of the Eight Banners.

The Museum is located at the eastern coast of Hong Kong and was once a military fort of the British army.

Episode 145 - Beautiful Forest

2007-11-04T20:45:00.001+08:00

This photo was taken from the Peak.

The city is always condemned by people as an ugly concrete forest. However, if you look at it from a distance, you will probably change your mind.

If we only pay attention to unhappy events, our mind will be occupied by sorrows, angers and hatred. We will then lose our ability to appreciate the beautiful aspects of those things around us.

Looking at the same thing from a different perspective defamiliarises stereotyped preconceptions.

Episode 144 - Bauhinia Blakeana (II)

2007-10-21T17:54:00.001+08:00

These photos were taken at the podium of the Haking Wong Building of HKU earlier today.

It is flowering time for the Bauhinia Blakeanas. These Hong Kong Orchid Trees blossom in around October and November each year. Apart from HKU, there are quite a number of them in the Botanical Garden and the Harcourt Garden.

On my way home, I inspected the Bauhinia Blakeana which flowered in May this year. The tree is growing well but I cannot find one single flower bud on it.

You get it here, you lose it there.

Episode 143 - Birds of a feather

2007-10-19T13:58:00.000+08:00

The first photo was taken at a lake in Luzern. The second photo was taken at the Northern Sea in Beijing.

Mallard is said to be the ancestor of domestic ducks. These migratory birds are often seen in ponds and lakes in many parts of the world. Apart from Switzerland and China, I have seen mallards in the UK and Japan.

The Luzern mallards appeared to be fatter and round in shape. The Beijing mallards had longer beaks and coloured tails.

Episode 142 - Fishing Birds

2007-10-09T21:18:00.001+08:00

This picture was taken at Zhou Zhuang near Shanghai.

Common cormorant can be trained as working birds. The birds are captured and trained to fish for their masters. These birds are great fishermen. The bird keeper will install a ring around the bird's neck before setting it to work. The bird jumps into the water and catches the fish as soon as it identifies one. The bird will of course try to eat the fish but the ring around its neck prevents it from doing so. The bird keeper can then take the fish out of the bird's throat.

Nowadays, fishing by common cormorants has become a tourists attraction activity. The birds and their masters become performers of fishing shows.

Episode 141 - The Art of Chin Na

2007-10-03T21:20:00.000+08:00

When I was young, I was facsinated by the arts of those sifus who could easily submit a big guy with chin na technique.

It looks as if the rationale behind a chin na technique is simple: You use the strength of your arms / body to control a weak point (usually his joint) of your opponent (the "Weak Point Principle"). However, you will soon find that this is not the case, as you can not do it as smoothly as your sifu.

Your opponent will never cooperate with you as your training partner does. Your opponent will move his limbs and body instinctively, and naturally, when he feels a pain in his joint. Once he changes his posture, the optimum position to control his weak point changes. Either you let your opponent go and you change to another technique. If not, you will find yourself end up locking horn with your opponent.

Ironically, the Weak Point Principle easily becomes another version of the Strong Man Principle.

The reality is: Whenever a sifu perform a chin na technique, he will first do some tricks to destroy the balance of his opponent. Once the opponent's balance is altered, he loses his ability to adjust his body position and is easily submitted to the chin na technique of the sifu. The best sifu can do the unbalance together with the chin na at the same time - the chin na technique is also the unbalance technique.

The key is to control your opponent's balance, not just his joint or weak point.

Episode 140 - Museum memories

2007-09-23T20:18:00.000+08:00

My family visited the Hong Kong Museum of Art today.

The Museum holds a number of important events this year. This time, it brings to us some interesting exhibits from the British Museum.

The exhibits are housed in two exhibition halls in the Museum. The Egyptian Section attracted the attention of most visitors. This section shows a mummy and many beautiful Egyptian artifacts.

I have been to the British Museum many times and this event only exhibits a small portion of the British Museum collection. Whilst it did not give me any surprise, it brought back to me many beautiful memories.

There are many great museums in the UK. Apart from the British Museum, I like the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the National Gallery. It's worth investing one whole visiting day for the collections in each of these museums.

A museum is a place where you can explore, appreciate, imagine and learn. I recall that I once saw a group of school children having a study tour in the National Gallery. The children sat in a circle in front of a painting. Out of curiosity, I and the other tourists gathered behind in the outer ring. The teacher stood in front of the painting and gave a lesson to the children (and the other museum visitors) on how to appreciate the artwork.

The painting was "Ulysses deriding Polyphemus" by Turner. It showed some Greeks ships sailing away from the coastal area. According to the teacher, they were fleeing from a giant's cave having hurt the only eye of the giant. The teacher then asked the children if they could see the giant in the painting. Everyone was quiet. The teacher then pointed to an upper portion of the painting. We were curious as we could not see any giant in the painting not to say that portion. A child then raise his hand and said, "I saw it! Here is his hand." I then realised that there was a hand image in the upper portion of the painting. It was merged with the cloud in the sky. It looked as if the hand was turning backward rather than outward for the escaping Greeks. The teacher then asked: "Why the hand is up there in that portion of the painting and in that shape?" The child answered: "The giant's eye is painful. He is soothing it with his hand."

The audience applauded.

Episode 139 - Body Bow - What Exactly It Is?

2007-09-06T22:51:00.000+08:00

Taiji practitioners like to talk about the five bows in the body. It is said that "Fa Jing" is like shooting out an arrow.

However, very few know exactly how the bows operate. Without knowing how the bows operate, one can never shoot out an arrow successfully.

The most important member of the five bows is the body bow. Many contemporary writers say that the body bow is the spine. According to them, what you need to do is to curve your spine and make it straight again, just like pulling the string of the bow and release it, in order to send out the power.

It gets you nowhere if your follow this method.

It is true that you need to move your spine in order to send out the internal force. However, it cannot be done by curving and straightening your spine in the normal way. You need to activate your back muscles and the related power channels in the very first place in order to utilise the power of your body bow. Before your back muscles are activated and the related power channels opened, the purported curving and straightening of your spine is meaningless - You only curve / straighten your body by contracting / extending the muscles in the front part of your body. Your spine is still sleeping.

You need to think about "fa jing" from the perspective of exercising coherent bodily force. It is not just a matter of opening the bows (all five bows). It is the coordination of the whole body, whereupon the whole body contracts or extends coherently and in a very short slice of time, with your back performing the decisive role.

Assuming that you have activated your back muscles and opened the related power channels. The next step is to find out the way to pull the string of the bow. The method is to contract the back muscles and then extend it. It is the converse of opening the string of a physical bow where you extend the string first and then release it to let it contract again. The post on spherical power has already disclosed the secret of this mechanism. It is the expansion of power that send the power arrow out. You cannot send out the arrow by the other way round.

Episode 138 - Money Toad

2007-09-01T16:57:00.000+08:00

Remember the post on Princess Frog?

The gold toad in the Liu Hai folklore has been depicted by artists of different generations in various forms and shapes. However, regardless of the forms and shapes of these gold toads, they have two common features - (1) the toad is three legged; (2) the toad has a coin with it.

The object in the photo above is a Yixing purple clay teapot modelled on the mythical Liu Hai gold toad. Yixing is situated in the Jiangsu Province of China. It is the home of the unique red/ purple clay, from which clay the famous teapots are made.

I purchased this teapot from a shop in Beijing many years ago. I was attracted by the appearance of this strange teapot and decided to bring it home as soon as I saw it. I was curious about the identity of the animal but the shopkeeper was not able to tell me what the teapot denoted.

This teapot has been sitting in my cupboard for many years. It was not until I conducted some researches on the Liu Hai folklore, after a visit to the Temple of the Deity of Matchmaking in Hangzhou, did I finally discover the true identity of the creature.

A typical gold toad model has a coin in its mouth - superstitious people like to keep one at home with a view to attracting fortune.

My teapot toad is obviously not so money-minded. The coin is on its back, with a lovely baby toad sitting on the coin.

I don't mind if it does attract fortune.

Episode 137 - Seals of the Emperors

2007-08-27T21:40:00.000+08:00

These are the impressions of certain imitation seals of some of the late Qing Emperors.

I obtained these impressions during a recent visit to the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

It is a Chinese art tradition that an owner, or an appraiser, of a painting used to affix his seal to the artwork. If it is a famous artwork, you will usually find a large number of seal impressions on it. If the artwork had once entered the royal palace, you can even find the Emperor's seal impressions as well.

I am not particular attracted by such practice of affixing one's seal to a great painting, as the seal impressions unnecessarily occupy a portion of the painting surface.

Having said that, I do agree that these seal impressions have their own artistic qualities.

Episode 136 - Dayang Yihao

2007-08-12T20:11:00.000+08:00

Dayang Yihao (Great Ocean No. 1), China's deep-sea research ship, is visiting Hong Kong and mooring at the Ocean Terminal.

Judith read the news about the visit a few weeks ago and noted that the ship would open to visitors during her stay in Hong Kong.

Each of Judith and I sent a letter to the University of Science and Technology, one of the sponors of the event, to apply for the visiting tickets. Each letter applied for 2 tickets. According to today's newspaper, there were 5,000 tickets for the public, but the University received over 50,000 applications. So the University drew lots. We were lucky and got 4 tickets!

As we got one extra ticket, we invited one of Chiu Yin's classmates to join us today.

I know very little about deep-sea research, but I believed that it would be an enjoyment to board a ship and have a look at something unfamiliar to me. The doctrine of "Defamiliarisation", which I learned from my literary theory studies, has always been a golden guideline that brings live water to my heart.

The beautiful white ship, the long boarding ladder, the crew's rooms, the research centre and the various strange equipment knitted together in an orderly manner. Together with the friendly crew members, they presented before me a new horizon of life, a different view of looking at our beautiful planet, and gave me the chance to see, talk and listen to people from different walk of life. Judging from the environment of the ship, the life of a deep-sea researcher must be interesting, rewarding and relaxed without work pressure.

The pressure, if any, can easily be washed away by the great ocean.

Episode 135 - Balance, Unbalance

2007-08-11T21:26:00.001+08:00

Remember the discussion on TADB?

At the beginning of the taiji martial art training, a practitioner learns how to maintain his balance. At the later stage of the training, it is the reverse. A senior practitioner should learn how to make use of the force generated by the lose of balance. This is not a situation of really losing one's balance. The unbalanced position is somewhat "intentional". It is "created" as a result of "following, sticking, adhering and connecting" to an opponent to such an extreme that one's balance can no longer be maintained.

A skillful practitioner can, however, make use of the power produced by such an "unbalanced" position to uproot his opponent and, through uprooting the opponent, maintain his balance again. It's just like holding the hand rail in a moving train to maintain one's balance. The power as generated by an unbalanced body is not enough to move a train, but it is more than sufficient to uproot an opponent.

This is the conversion of balance and unbalance, the conversion of Yin and Yang.

Episode 134 - Puppet Play of a Skeleton

2007-07-29T21:14:00.001+08:00

I visited the Hong Kong Museum of Art today for Phase II of the "Pride of China" Exhibition.

Phase I of the Exhibition ended on 22nd July. It exhibited the original of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" plus 15 great paintings and calligraphy.

Phase II also features a "Qingming River" painting, but this one is an imitation of the original Song painting, which imitation is attributed to Qiu Ying. The Museum also exhibits another 15 paintings and calligraphy.

Whilst the Ming Dynasty version "Qingming River" is also a masterpiece in itself, my heart turns to the other 15 paintings and calligraphy this time. They are housed in another exhibition hall in the Museum. Unlike the "Qingming River", there is no visiting time limit for these 15 artwork.

I believe many visitors were interested in the "Puppet Play of a Skeleton" (see above) by Li Song. It is a strange painting with a skeleton man performing a play of a skeleton puppet!. Many commentators tended to look at this painting from a philosophical perspective of "Life and Death". I do not find this approach attractive. I would rather view the plot of this artwork as a magic performance. The painter, like the girl on the right side, was probably doubting whether the magician (the skeleton man) was in fact a demon, while watching the performance.

Apart from the "Skeleton", I also like the paintings "Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy" and "Vimalakirti Preaching the Doctrine" - I saw photos of these 2 paintings many times in the past. It's great to be able to have a close encounter with the originals of them. As to calligraphy, I was touched by the strokes of Wang Xun and Zhao Mengfu.

Episode 133 - Gogo's trip to the UK

2007-07-19T23:05:00.001+08:00

While I am writing this post, Gogo is on the way, having landed safely, to his aunt's home in the UK.

Although Gogo travelled a lot previously, this morning he flied for the first time in his life without a companion.

I was a little bit nervous this morning but I pretended to be calm so as not to make Gogo nervous too. I was not sure whether Gogo could manage passing the immigration / custom counters and found his way to the boarding lounge. I had decided to wait outside the restrictive area with my mobile phone turned on in order to provide on the line advice to Gogo if required.

The flight time was 8:40 so we had to get up very early in the morning. We took a taxi to the Airport Station in Central and checked in there. The airline staff was very helpful. When she discovered that Gogo was to travel alone, she arranged for another colleague to assist Gogo at the airport.

We took the Airport Express and arrived the airport at 7:00 a.m.

We planned to have our breakfast at a restaurant next to the departure gate. To our disappointment, the restaurant had closed. We therefore had a brief breakfast at a fastfood shop nearby.

After finishing the not so tasty fastfood, we went to the airline counter. The staff there were waiting for us and one of them then accompanied Gogo to pass the immigration / custom counters and board the plane through the staff channel!

I was quite relief when I saw the airline staff leading Gogo into the restrictive area. Many thanks to the helpful staff of New Zealand Airline.

Episode 132 - The Five Elements

2007-07-17T23:47:00.001+08:00

The "Five Elements" is another basic principle in the Taiji martial art system which has always been misinterpreted by contemporary writers or practitioners.

Some people simply consider these elements as moving forward / backward or taking care of left / right. Some go too far to equate them with the skills of "Sticking, Adhering, Connecting and Following" and adding the "non contentious" as the "Five Inside Elements".

To better understand the nature of the Five Elements, we have to consider them from the perspective of "Turning Yin and Yang Upside Down".

According to "On the Art of Taiji", "Forward and Backward" are the steps of "Water and Fire"; whereas "Left and Right" are the steps of Metal and Wood. The Earth "Centre" is the centre of the dynamic.

If you look at the Five Elements in accordance the rationale behind the principle of "Turning Yin and Yang upside down", you will know that you need to use backward to support forward and vice versa; and you will need to use your left side to support your right side and vice versa - Regarding the importance of centre, please see previous postings.

That's the essence of the 13 forms - We manipulate the application skills by adopting the 8 directions principle (the 4 squares and the 4 corners) and we move around (or unmove) by adopting the principles of the 5 elements.

These 13 forms are inborn (but lost) abilities. They can be revived through the "Know your ownself" training. It is a mistake to confuse them with the "Sticking, Adhering, Connecting and Following" - the latters are the basic skills required in the stage of the "Know Others".

Episode 131 - Night Fishing Light

2007-07-12T22:07:00.002+08:00

This photo was taken at Bikuni Port during my 2002 Hokkaido journey.

I was amazed by the large light bulbs hanging across the top of the fishing boat.

Whilst these bulbs made the white fishing boat look artistic (and probably charming at night) they were not hanging there for decoration purpose.

Fishing boats like this will turn on those bulbs at night. The purpose of this is to attract fish, which has a tendency to swim towards a light source at night. The fishermen can then catch the fish gathering near the boat.

The Chinese characters for Bikuni is the same as "USA" in Chinese. That's the reason why I was attracted by the road sign whilst driving along the coastal area in Syakotan Peninsula and stopped at Bikuni to take a short break.

I recall that the roads along the coastal area of Syakotan were finely paved. However, there were quite a number of road tunnels along the coastal line. These tunnels were probably built many years ago and the roads inside these tunnels were not wide enough to provide comfortable driving. The degree of closeness between my car and the cars in the opposite lane astonished me.

Episode 130 - Along the River During the Qingming Festival

2007-07-08T19:13:00.000+08:00

[The Rainbow Bridge and a closer-look of it: portion of the Qingming River as reproduced in the museum brochure]

My family visited the Hong Kong Museum of Art and saw the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (the "Qingming River") today.

The Qingming River is a painting of over 5 metres in length. It depicts in details what's happening in the Bian City and the outlying areas along the Bian River during a Qingming festival. It was drawn at the time of the Song Dynasty in ancient China.

The Qingming River exhibition is one of the hot events in town in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Reunification of Hong Kong with China.

It is said that the Qingming River will only be available for public viewing once every 10 years. Further, it is the first time the painting is displayed in Hong Kong. Hence, the ticket office of the Museum is always line up with people.

My family have the Museum annual passes so we did not need to buy tickets. We arrived the Museum at 11 a.m. but were not able to view the painting immediately. As there were too many visitors, we only managed to get registered for a time slot at 4 pm.

In addition to the Qingming River, there are 15 great paintings being exhibited in another exhibition hall in the Museum. We took advantage of the time in between to visit these paintings and have a lunch as well.

As there are too many visitors, the viewing session in respect of the Qingming River is limited to 5 minutes for each visitor. We were only able to view the painting for one and a half round within these 5 minutes. To my and Judith's surprise, both Gogo and Chiu Yin were excited to see the painting.

I have seen a copy of another version of the Qingming River. Such version was an imitation drawn at the time of the Qing Dynasty. The Qing version is more colourful. However, there are a number of differences between the two. The major difference is the "Rainbow Bridge" (see above) which flies over the Bian River in the middle of the painting. The Song version features a wooden bridge but the Qing version features a stone bridge. Further, the positions and conditions of the boats near the bridge and the body languages of the various characters around make the Song version a more attractive piece of work.

Outside the viewing room is a large hall displaying detailed explanations on various portions of the painting to enable visitors to have a deeper understanding of this great artwork. The brochure provided by the Museum also gives a good briefing on the contents of and background information in relation to the painting.

The Museum did a very good job. Although the viewing time was limited, the arrangement was good and the staff were helpful.

We received a small souvenir before leaving the exhibition hall. It is a miniature scroll of the painting!

Episode 129 - Sword Play

2007-07-07T20:59:00.001+08:00

The taiji sword is an advanced level training tool.

One has to consider the taiji sword from 2 different perspectives. The sword as a weapon and the sword as an extension of the limbs.

I shall write something on the weapon aspect in the future.

The second aspect relates to empty-hand combat. It can further be sub-divided into 2 sub-headings:

1. Power enhancer: A sword used for power training is different from a demonstration sword. A "real sword" (like the one in the photo) should be used for the purpose of power training. A "real sword" is much heavier than a demonstration sword. Manipulating and making use of the weight of a "real sword" requires specific technique.

In a taijiquan form, it is the body that leads the limb. In a sword play using a "real sword" it is the limb that leads the body - the purpose is to enhance the flowing of power like "mercury in a bamboo pipe".

Apart from facilitating the power flow, the taiji sword form is designed to enhance the opening of the "Gate of Life" and the wrist joints. In most time of the sword play, the "gate" is opened. It also demands high flexibility of the wrist joints.

2. Application Techniques: The sword form embodied the advanced level application techniques in the taiji martial art system. Apart from the hand techniques, it has many complicated footworks.

Looking at the sword form from a different angle, you will have many interesting discoveries.

The sword play is not equal to sword dance.

Episode 128 - Sunset Danshui

2007-07-05T20:44:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken at the coastal area of the Danshui River.

Apart from offering a spectacular view of the Danshui sunset, the coastal area has a number of sovenair shops and restaurants.

The restaurants along the coastal line offer Chinese style seafood and Western food. The Western styled restaurants are mostly located in an area covered by some huge banyan trees. I tried one of them and was happy with the service and the food offered. The prices of the food are very reasonable in the light of the quality of the food and the location of the restaurant. Enjoying the delicious food in front of the beautiful Danshui River is a double treat.

Episode 127 - Food, Inns and Tradition

2007-06-30T17:27:00.002+08:00

This photo shows part of a full Japanese traditional dinner set my family had during our 2003 Hokkaido journey.

Japanese hotels or ryokans usually provide dinners to their guests. At the time a reservation is made, a guest will be asked whether he wishes to have 1. "pure staying" - means a guest room only; or 2. "one stay one eating" - means a guest room plus dinner; or 3. "one stay two eatings" - means a guest room plus dinner and breakfast.

In western style hotels, dinners or breakfasts are usually served, in the form of buffets, in the main restaurants of the hotels. However, in traditional Japanese ryokans or hotels with Japanese style rooms, the dinners as provided can be very special.

1. The dinner time is decided by the guest;
2. It is served inside the room of the guest.
3. As you can see from the photo, a traditional dinner set is really great and you can enjoy the best food of the season in one go.

A dinner set like this is quite expensive but it is worth trying if you have not had one before.

Traditional Japanese breakfast is, however, not very much impressive, unless you love to have rice in the morning.

Episode 126 - Bridge of Love

2007-06-29T21:55:00.000+08:00

These photos were taken at the Fishermen's Wharf at Danshui, Taipei.

Danshui is an old town in Taipei. If you take the subway at downtown Taipei, you will arrive here within half an hour's time. Danshui is the terminal station of the subway line so you will not miss the station.

The Fishermen's Wharf is not located at the town centre. However, it's worth taking a leisure walk in the Danshui Old Town, tasting the delicious local food before boarding a bus or a steamboat to the Fishermen's Wharf.

The Fishermen's Wharf features a beautiful white bridge and a long boardwalk (see photos) along the coastal line.

Whilst lovers like to walk along the boardwalk to enjoy the beautiful sunset of Danshui, the "Just Married" couples like to take photos on the white bridge.

Episode 125 - Fish from the Sea

2007-06-27T21:24:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken in Tai O in 2003.

A hawker was selling "sea fish" near the footbridge.

I did not verify the position on that day, but the "sea fish" as sold by hawkers in circumstances like this is usually a little bit tricky.

The fish as sold is sea water fish. There is no doubt of it.

What is misleading is that the "sea fish" on sale is, in most circumstances like this, raised up in a fish farm, instead of caught by fishermen in the open sea.

If you have ever tasted a fish caught in the open sea, you will not enjoy eating a farm fish again. The meat of a farm fish is simply dry and tasteless.

Having said that, it should be noted that the selling price of a farm "sea fish" is competitive - the selling price of a fish caught in the open sea is much much higher.

Episode 124 - Artefact in Time

2007-06-26T22:01:00.000+08:00

This is another exhibit in the Clock Hall of the Forbidden City at Beijing.

When the minute hand of the clock reaches twelve, the doll will wave her fan. When I visited the Clock Hall in 2005, this doll clock was placed at the demonstration corner. The demonstrator turned it on together with other beautiful clocks at the designated time slot and the clocks sang together like a musical symphony.

Episode 123 - The Four Corners

2007-06-19T20:48:00.000+08:00

The Four Square Forces are the four main forces in the Taiji martial art system.

Some contemporary writers consider that the Four Square Forces can only be used in 4 straight forward directions. Hence, according to these writers, the Four Corner Forces were introduced to make up the balance such that a practitioner can deal with his opponents from all directions. Such view is not attractive and is a departure from what has been set out in various Taiji classics.

Four Square Forces can be applied in a circular manner. There is no difference between a "Square" force and a "Circular" force, if you know how to do it. Likewise, there is no such distinction between a "Square Form" and a "Circular Form" if you know the essence of the art. Hence, there is no need to introduce to the system "new " measures to "make up the balance".

What then are the Four Corner Forces?

According to "On the Art of Taiji", the Four Square Forces provides a Taiji practitioner the ammunition required in action. However, a practitioner, unless extremely skillful, will inevitably alter his best positioning in action. What can he do then? The answer is in the Four Corner Forces.

The Four Corner Forces are remedial tools available to a Taiji practitioner when he loses his optimum position. Hence, they are supplemental to the Four Square Forces and the practitioner should recover back to the Four Squares after regaining the optimum position. When a practitioner uses the Four Corner Forces, he is in the recovery mode.

The Four Corner Forces are not higher level forces.

Episode 122 - The Athena

2007-06-17T17:54:00.001+08:00

This picture was taken in front of the Parliament Building of Austria at Vienna.

The statue which has a long spear in the left hand is the Athena.

Vienna was the starting point of my 2004 journey.

The old buildings in Vienna are artistic and well maintained. Apart from the Parliament Building, other impressive points of interest include Schonbrunn Palace, Stephandom and the Twin museums. It is easy to travel around the city by trains or by trams.