It has now been 5 months in Hong Kong. I still feel somewhat a stranger to the country and to this life. In a way, having no set deadline here has made me complacent but also it feels more like home now settling into a rhythm and routine.
I have started a little project over at Flickr to take a photo a day for 365 days. You may be interested to take a look to see what a day in the life of Hong Kong Sue is like.
Hong Kong is descending into summer. Whilst the humidity and heat can be oppresive, there are some bonuses to be had in the HK summer; the start of Junk boat season.
We were invited along to a junk trip on Easter Sunday with our Italian friends. The boat left central pier at 10.30 and within 1.5 hours we were moored near a sandy white beach in a setting not dissimilar to Thailand tropicale.
The Italian’s, bless them, overcatered with delicious pasta, home made salumi and prosciutto brought from home. We swam, ate, drank and played scrabble. It was a great way to spend a sunny Sunday.
I hope there are many more Junk trips to come this summer.
Near our work, is a tourist site called Ngong Ping 360 which is the site of the Big Buddha. Normal tourists use the long cable car ride to ascend the mountain to reach said Big Buddha. However crazy hungover tourists i.e us decide to walk it.
After a few wrong turns coming out of Tung Chung station, no Amazing Race contestants here, we finally made it to the start of the rescue trail at the end of Yat Tung estate. It was a dizzy steep climb for the first hour up to the first cable car pylon but it did afford great views over the surrounding harbour and countryside. We followed the path of the cable cars ahead listening to the cable car passengers laughing and taking pictures as we counted off the hike markers. The walk took about 3 hours to the top where we made our pilgrimage to the Buddha and then had a vegetarian lunch at the monastery.
Great walk and highly recommended. Nice to know that nature isn’t too far away from Hong Kong.
The real Hong Kong. What is the real Hong Kong? After only 5 weeks living here, I don’t think I am qualified to answer that question. It is revealing itself to me slowly, with every meal, train ride and walk in the street. We have been crushed at the Victoria Park New Year flower markets, had dodgy foot massages in Wan Chai and had our fortune read at Temple St Markets. We’ve also hiked through beautiful mountain trails ending in almost impossibly good looking beaches and peaks. We have drunk Tsing Tao and struggled to order in small hole in the walls. I only know how to say ‘bill’, ‘thank you’, ’snow pea sprouts’, ‘fish’ , ‘chilli’ ‘ porridge’ in Cantonese - we’ve had a lot of fish porridge.  We’ve had gin and tonics in posh bars, burgers in Lan Kwai Fong and Toby’s Estate flat whites in Soho cafes. I’m not sure that these experiences is part of the ‘Real Hong Kong’ but they are making up part of the fabric which I am knowing Hong Kong by.As with any city, there are many conflicting and firm views on where one should live, eat and drink.  The real Hong Kong surely cannot be prescribed but discovered. I could not quantify what the real Sydney is to someone. I am certain it is different for everyone. It is not just beaches, the Opera Bar and a ferry to Manly.  To me, it is also the rounding the top of the Gladesville Bridge at sunset, the shops in Five Dock where I buy prosciutto and vietnamese chicken rolls and the sound of magpies in the morning.  But Sydney, like Hong Kong is so full of delight and surprise that to prescribe a capsule of experience would only be letting her down. I hope to discover more of the real Hong Kong as time goes on.
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