Episode 211 - Lilium (2)

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

Episode 210 - Lilium

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

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

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

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 205 - Butterflies

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 197 - Porcelain Painting

I purchased this porcelain painting recently.

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

Episode 195 - Taiji Wheels

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

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 189 - Lamma - the Southern Island of Hong Kong

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

Another photo of the forest taken from the peak this morning.

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

Episode 186 - Revisiting the Long Island

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 184 - Morning Fish Market

"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

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 181 - Nuri the Parrot

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 174 - Rainstorm

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 171 - Bun Festival - tradition and change

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 169 - Scarecrows

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

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

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.