It has been about a week since the devastating earthquake and tsunami in struck Japan and I have been asked several times what is it like being in Hong Kong now.
First, Hong Kong is about 1,900 miles from Sendai, the site of the quake, and luckily is not part of the "Ring of Fire", those areas around the Pacific rim that are prone to earthquakes. Due to geography, Hong Kong has not experienced tsunamis. As for fallout from any possible radiation, Hong Kong sits southwest of Japan and the winds from Japan do not flow in this direction. So Hong Kong is safe from those threats.
As far as people, the Hong Kong government has been reaching out both the government of Japan to lend assistance and to Hong Kong citizens who are in Japan. We have been keeping up with the news from Japan via the Internet and postings from the US consulate in Hong Kong. There has been an outpouring of support for Japan here. We have been to two events since the earthquake where money was being raised to be send to Japan. One elementary school organized a event where students sleep in the school overnight without supplies, only water and some rice. There have been emails requesting people to use one less hour of electricity a day or to eat only vegetarian for a week to show solidarity with the people of Japan. Japan is in the hearts and minds of the people here in Hong Kong.
So we are safe and continue to stay abreast of the news. Our prayers and thoughts are with friends and people met while in Japan.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hiking in Hong Kong
When you think of Hong Kong, the last thing you may imagine is that it has some of the best hiking in Asia. Hong Kong may be one of the most densely populated cities on the world, though it has designated 40% of the land as country parks. It is really easy to find hiking trails in Hong Kong, and is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
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| Hiking on Lantua Island |
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| Hiking on Yuen Tseun Ancient Trail. Not sure how old this trail is, but it was used as a footpath between two towns in the New Territories, north of Hong Kong Island. |
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| You may also not think about monkeys in Hong Kong.This is an evil monkey (also known as a macaque monkey) who stole a lunch and expensive camera from a member of our group. The monkey, chased by a group of men carrying sticks, climbed a tree with the stolen objects. He then ate the lunch and dropped the camera smashing it to the ground. If you had nightmares from the flying monkeys of the Wizard of Oz, monkeys in Hong Kong will send you back into therapy. |
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| Hiking on New Year's Day. What better way to ring in the New Year. |
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| One never knows what dangers lurk on Hong Kong trails, though you will be warned |
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| In addition to monkeys, you may come across bulls in your path. They are pretty tame and I prefer them over the evil monkeys. Watch your step! |
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| View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak |
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| Hiking along Dragon's Back toward Shek O on the southeast coast of Hong Kong Island. This trail was named as one of the best urban hiking trails in Asia. |
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| Some people just want to get down quickly. Paragliding off one the cliffs in the New Territories. |
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Welcoming in the Year of the Rabbit in Hong Kong
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| Balloon float at the Chinese New Year's Day parade. |
The holiday starts on the new moon of the first lunar month. This year that was in early February. The Chinese calender, just like the Jewish calendar is a lunar one. The holiday is traditionally 15 days long, though here in Hong Kong the holiday was 3 days. A lot of people from mainland China come down to Hong Kong to vacation and shop when the stores reopen.
We participated in four of the activities for the New Year, the parade in Kowloon, the fireworks over the harbour, throwing oranges in a special tree and attending a flower market.
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| Fireworks over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong |
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| 31,000 fireworks for a show that lasted about 20 minutes |
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| Four barges in the middle of the harbour staged the show so that people on both sides could see. We were on the Kowloon side and had a great time. |
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| A cloud of smoke hovers over the harbor after the fireworks |
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| New Year's celebrations in Lam Tsuen |
We hiked from Tai Wo to Lam Tsuen so that we could take part in the Wishing Tree celebrations. There was an old tree in Lan Tsuen that was called the Wishing Tree. People would write their wishes on a piece of paper and tie the paper to an orange. The orange would then be thrown as high as possible into the special tree, the higher in the tree the better.
As you can imagine, after many years the tree was in pretty sad shape, so it has been replaced by a huge plastic tree. Now you pay $20 HKD for a piece of paper to check off your wishes and the tie the paper to a plastic orange, which is then thrown into the plastic tree. Sounds corny, but it was a lot of fun.
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| Plastic oranges for sale! The oranges had a sheet of paper with check boxes of possible new year's wishes (all in Chinese of course), such as winning the lottery, happiness for your family, your child getting good grades, and some thing that the people I was with said I did not need because I was already married. All in all there were about 25 check boxes, plus "fill in the blank' on the opposite side of the paper all other wishes. |
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| Tossing oranges high into the tree. |
We also visited a flower show in Victoria Park. According to DiscoverHong Kong.com people look for an "auspicious bloom or plant for the New Year. Kumquat trees, narcissus and peonies bring prosperity; peach blossoms add fire to romance; while tangerine plants with leaves intact help ensure long-lasting relationships and ‘fruitful’ marriages".
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| The orchids were beautiful. |
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