Last Day in HK

Sunday Nov. 25

Today I slept in, resting my weary bones after an eventful four days, and preparing for the adventures of my final day.

The first thing I did after checking out of the hostel (a rather Spartan place, but it had everything I needed, for a low price), was to go to find the Noonday Gun. It's a long-standing tradition that the gun is fired at noon to mark the time. There are various legends that accompany the origins of the tradition. Anyway, the Noonday Gun is by a busy waterfront highway, opposite the Excelsior Hotel. Last time I was in the area, I couldn't for the life of me find how to get across without walking a kilometer in either direction to an overpass. Then a couple months ago I heard rumors of a tunnel that goes under the highway.

So I went to the Excelsior Hotel and asked the concierge. Instead of explaining how to get to it, she took me outside and showed me. She pointed to two doors on the opposite side of the alley, at the northern end, and said "Take the right one and follow the signs". Well, the signs brought me along a convoluted serious of stairs and tunnels that was reminiscent of that scene in This Is Spinal Tap, when the band gets lost trying to find the stage. There was one place where the sign said to go straight ahead. Straight ahead there was a choice of two directions! I took the wrong one, and then came to a sign saying to go back. OK, it's the other one. (Hong Kong signage is notorious for leading you somewhere and then not telling you where to go next when you come to a junction!) Anyway, soon I was at the Gun.

Here's a video I took!


There's a Noel Coward song that goes: "In Hong Kong they strike a gong and fire off a noonday gun". Well, turns out they actually ring a bell and fire off a noonday gun.

After that I went to Times Square for another Ben & Jerry's (flavor: Chocolate Therapy), before heading up to the Hong Kong Cemetery with the aim of taking pictures until the charge ran out in my camera. And that's exactly what I did.

After that, I went to a noodle shop I frequent - it's across from the World Trade Centre shopping complex at the end of Jaffe Street. I ordered fried noodles in Cantonese (chau min), and the waitress was delighted...she told me I spoke good Cantonese (she called it chung man - "Chinese"), and then babbled away something I could barely understand.

I'm quite proficient in Mandarin Chinese, and had little trouble getting around Hong Kong and Macau using English and Mandarin. And the written form poses few problems, with the exception of a few colloquial words. Cantonese is quite a different language from Mandarin: think Italian vs. Portuguese. There are regular phonetic rules through which a Cantonese word can be converted quite accurately into its Mandarin cognate perhaps 70% of the time (the reverse direction is much lower because Cantonese preserves many features of Middle Chinese that Mandarin lost over the centuries), but there's also a different grammar, as well as quite a few vocabulary differences. So this made it hard for me to understand. OK, enough language geekery...

Finally, it was getting late, and it came time for me to go back to the airport. A quick train ride to the airport, an easy check-in, a short flight, a short bus ride, and I was home in Taiwan.

Hiking the Dragon Back Trail

Saturday Nov. 24

Today I indulged in another passion of mine: hiking. I took the MTR (Hong Kong's subway) to Chai Wan, the last stop on the Island Line. From there, I walked up the hill to the trailhead. The way up just happens to pass several cemeteries, so I stopped briefly there to take some photos.

In the following photo, which I took from a pavilion at the top of the road, four cemeteries are visible. The fifth, Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, is hidden behind the green hill (the closer one) to the right.


Up the road, I came to a T-junction, and turned left. At the corner, by the entrance to a road leading to a prison, is an entrance to Shek O Country Park:


As you can see, it's of the stairway to heaven form that's common in the Chinese-speaking world. Fortunately, this stairway was relatively short. It brought me to a road, which I followed past a barrier blocking motorized traffic from entering. Soon after that, I arrived at the true trailhead of the Dragon Back Trail. There were garbage cans and port-a-potties there, as well as a detailed map.


The first minute or so of the walk is on a paved path, but then we reach a dirt path, and the trek into Hong Kong's wilderness begins.


The trail is not difficult. It's relatively wide and even, with few serious ups or downs. For the most part, it resembles the above photo. In fact, it reminds me a lot of hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area.

After about 45 minutes I arrived at a junction. The Dragon Back Trail went up to the left. Finally, there was some climbing to do. The trail passes through thickets of Gordonia (a relative of the tea plant).


Soon I encountered a group of locals who were paragliding:




Ten minutes later, I reached the top of Shek O Peak:


...where I was afforded a commanding view of the southern side of Hong Kong Island. Unfortunately, the afternoon sun made picture taking impossible.

It only took me an hour to complete the trek (from the place with the port-a-potties). Going back took 45 minutes. It was much shorter than I had imagined, but it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

After getting back to Causeway Bay, I indulged in yet another passion of mine:

Friday Nov. 23

A perfect for a day trip to the former Portuguese colony of Macau. Before Hong Kong took to the fore in the mid 19th century, Macau was the major foreign center of trade in coastal China. Its relative openness in comparison to China made it a major draw for merchants, mariners and missionaries. Now it's taken a backseat to its younger cousin to the east, but it attracts people from around East Asia in droves as one of the few places around here where gambling is legal. If there's one thing the Chinese love, it's gambling! And with casinos like Sands well established, The Venetian opening up recently, and the MGM Grand under construction (looking like a giant plant growing in the middle of the city and which will be visible for miles), the gambling... uh... gaming industry will keep growing there.

But I didn't go to gamble. I went to see some sights, eat some food and... yes, visit some cemeteries. At the ferry terminal in Hong Kong I was surprised to find that the price of the ferry to Macau had gone down. Something to do with lower tax rates. But this is a welcome change in a city where prices seem to keep going up. I took this ferry:


Then I took Bus 10 to Senado Square:


and then walked to the ruins of Sao Paulo Cathedral, Macau's foremost landmark:

And then to the historic Old Protestant Cemetery, which has some famous burials, most notably, Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to China.


Then I walked to the Kun Iam (Guanyin) Temple, but on the way I stopped by this great little noodle shop I stumbled across during my previous visit.


While there I rested my weary bones and enjoyed a delicious bowl of beef noodle soup... very different from the kind available in Taiwan. Then I walked to the Kun Iam Temple.



The temple is dedicated to Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion.

The temple happens to be by a couple more cemeteries, including the New Protestant Cemetery, which opened for burials when the old one was closed for burials in the 1850s. While here, I found I had missed seven graves in my previous cemetery transcription effort a year and a half ago.

It was getting late, so I charted my next route on the map. I was close enough to the ferry terminal that I could walk there! And not only that, but according to the map, the route would pass by another cemetery I hadn't been aware of: the Macau Islamic Cemetery. Unfortunately, it was Friday, and close to the time of evening prayers, and since the cemetery is on the grounds of a mosque, I would not have been allowed in. But when I reached the waterfront, I found I could actually see the cemetery from the promenade.


Then I went to the terminal and returned to Hong Kong.

Later, I got together with a guy who used to live in Taiwan... he's good friends with many people I know and is a major contributor on a forum I frequent. We had some drinks and chats in the bar district of Wanchai, where I was afforded an up-close view of the seedier side of life in Hong Kong. Very interesting indeed!

Closer afield

Thanksgiving Day! But in Hong Kong, it's just another ordinary day.

Today I decided to explore destinations closer to where I'm staying, a cheap (for Causeway Bay) hostel which has... free wireless Internet! Imagine that!

I started out at the Jewish Cemetery, in Happy Valley.


It's a serene place, hidden behind a group of highrise apartments.
The entrance is literally (yes, literally) straddled by a Chinese Buddhist high school, and you can easily pass it by without knowing there's a Jewish cemetery back there.

There are probably several hundred graves there, all records of the history of the Jewish community in Hong Kong. Apparently it's still being used for burials, as there are some very recent dates on some stones.



After this, I went down the road to the Hindu Temple, behind which is a Hindu cemetery. Very small, and accessible only by a step flight of stairs behind the temple complex.


Then I visited the Parsee Cemetery, followed by the historic Hong Kong Cemetery. I spent a couple hours there photographing. Then, bypassing the Catholic and Muslim Cemeteries for today (all the above-mentioned cemeteries are close to each other, forming a line from south to north in Happy Valley), I went for some Ben & Jerry's ice cream!

This was followed by a somewhat convoluted trip to what is perhaps the most beautiful, atmospheric and otherworldly cemetery in Hong Kong: the Pok Fu Lam Cemetery. Almost all the graves are Chinese. They are on terraces, which hug the steep curving contours of the hillside, and the place is crisscrossed with a complex network of stairs.

Traversing Hong Kong

Hello from Hong Kong!

It never cases to amaze me how much this place reminds me of San Francisco... Chinatown, that is. And I'm not kidding. The sounds, the smells, the hilliness next to the sea - it's the same.

Pictured to the left are Hong Kong's tallest building IFC 2 (right) and Jardine House (left), which used to be Hong Kong's tallest building. Between them, in the foreground, is The Cenotaph.

Today I decided to get all the outlying spots on my itinerary done with so I can concentrate on areas closer to where I'm staying. I literally traversed Hong Hong, going to the town of Stanley in the far south of Hong Kong island, and then to Fanling, way north near the border with mainland China.

The bus to Stanley passes some amazing scenery as it winds its way along narrow mountain roads. A group of retired American ladies was on the same bus, and I overheard some of their comments. They were on a month-long tour through China, and one woman remarked the bus ride alone was worth the money they paid for the entire tour. Now, I wouldn't put it quite like that, but it is a nice ride.

In Stanley, I visited Stanley Military Cemetery...


...followed by a stroll around the famed Stanley Market. In the early afternoon, I took the KCR to Fanling, then a HK$30 (about US$4) taxi ride to Gallant Garden, a cemetery reserved for permanent burials of civil servants killed in the line of duty. Between them I made a number of other stops, including St. John's Cathedral in Central (close to the Peak Tram building), which has one grave -- that of a WWII soldier. I also visited Lei Cheng Uk, a Han Dynasty tomb in Cheung Sha Wan. Nobody knows who was buried there, but it's an interesting archaeological site (and admission is free).

Unlike my previous few visits to Hong Kong, the air is refreshingly clean and clear. I hope this trend continues - it makes for good photos.

Hong Kong, were I come!

Hong Kong!

Why am I going? Many reasons. I like Hong Kong, and haven't been there for a year. Though I've been several times, it's never been long enough to do all the things I want to do there. This time I'll be able to spend my time in leisure, going from place to place at my own pace.

What is my mission? I have a few: I'd like to see the Big Buddha at Lantau, I'd like to see Aberdeen in the evening as the Jumbo floating restaurant lights up. I'd like to hike a section of the Dragon Back Trail. And of course, I'm going to have some Ben & Jerry's ice cream (not available in Taiwan).

But one thing I'm also going to do also is indulge myself in a hobby I have developed over the past few years. Yes, I have a confession to make.

Hi, my name's Chris, and I'm a graver.

What is graving? Essentially, it's cemetery research: visiting cemeteries, taking photos, transcribing data, searching for graves of famous people, and so on. It even includes re-discovering long-lost cemeteries, preserving condemned or deteriorating cemeteries, and making hard-to-find information about obscure cemeteries findable online. I'm a volunteer cemetery researcher for Find A Grave, an online database of burials built entirely by volunteers, whose goal is to enable people to search for the graves of relatives and friends, locate the graves of celebrities, see full transcriptions of cemeteries, and leave flowers in honor of the dearly departed. It's a hobby that grew out of my fascination for genealogy and family history. Who knows, the grave records I submit may be those of someone's long-lost relatives.

Why Hong Kong for graving? Because with its colonial past, it's a graver's paradise. Thousands of Westerners, mostly British, many Portuguese, and more from other places around the world, are buried in Hong Kong. And a wide variety of cemeteries: Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Parsee, Muslim, Chinese and two World War II military cemeteries.

Of Fairies and Snakes

Yesterday we (Kitty, Robert, Kate and I) went on a night hike up Fairy's Footprint, a hill in the middle of urban Taipei, in the Jingmei (= "fairview") area. It's called "Fairy's Footprint" because of a large rock near the top, which has indentations said to resemble the footprints of a fairy. I guess it takes a lot of imagination to see them...

The hill is covered with vegetation and crisscrossed with trails, and also has a temple near the summit. It's not a difficult hike at all - after about 20 minutes hiking up stone steps, paved paths and boardwalks, you reach the top, where there's a spectacular view of the city. As it was night, I didn't bring my camera along. But we sat at the top for about an hour, chatting, drinking beer and admiring the view.

While sitting there, I saw something moving in the sky - at first I thought it was a plane - three or four lights streaking along the sky together. But then two of the lights separated before the whole thing suddenly vanished. It must have been a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. It might well have been a Leonid, since it's that time of year.

Then we decided it was getting late, so we began the descent on the south side of the hill. Kitty and I took the fore. The path is lit in parts, but there are still dark areas. Then behind us I heard Robert yell something out. We looked back and his flashlight was pointed at a snake that had crossed the path. Kitty and I had apparently walked right over it! On closer inspection we saw it was a bamboo viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri), a poisonous species. It was a juvenile. It didn't seem agitated; it just slithered into the bushes.

Here's a picture of an adult bamboo viper I took a couple years ago:
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It's rare to see snakes in November in Taiwan. But so far this month we've seen an adult cobra (a story for another blog entry), a baby cobra, and a juvenile bamboo viper.

Taiwan in pictures, part I

Most weekends, when the weather's good, I like to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy some of the beautiful spots around Taiwan. We may go hiking in the mountains; we may go on a road trip down south or to the north coast; anything to get away and enjoy some of the unique things Taiwan has to offer.

So, what does Taiwan look like? Here are some pictures to tickle your imagination:

A vista on the Southern Cross-Island Highway.













Yinhedong (Milky Way Cave), a temple near
Maokong, on the periphery of Taipei.


Fairy Pool, near Wulai, on the Jiajiuliao Creek.
It's one of our favorite swimming holes.


A bizarre clash of cultures in Keelung.


This is just a tantalizing smattering of what Taiwan has to offer. More later.

Tourism in Taiwan

Taiwan is somewhat off the beaten tourist path. Most Westerners here are here to work; most tourists here are from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea, with a smattering from mainland China.

Taiwan has long been struggling with what to do to improve tourism. They've made some positive steps, such as allowing a 30-day visa-free stay to citizens of the major developed countries; they've improved the travel infrastructure, with the addition of Taipei's subway and the High Speed Rail; and Taiwan is a cleaner place than it was 18 years ago when I first visited - less garbage and air pollution. But it has a long way to go.

One main problem is the way Taiwan goes about promoting tourism to the West. They have trouble seeing things from the perspective of the Westerner, instead limiting their vision to what appeals to Taiwanese and Chinese.

Examples:

They promote "local specialties" too much, often to the exclusion of other points of interest. "This town is famous for its bull testicles - a long-standing tradition whose history has been traced back to its origins over five whole years ago (ever since the government encouraged each town to develop a specialty). During your visit here, be sure to stop by at Chen's House o' Balls and sample their famous dish, bull testicles simmered tenderly in squid ink. (By the way, there's bugger all else to see or do here - the only reason to come here is because it's famous for this dish.)"

They promote areas as being ideal destinations for wedding photography trips - something not part of Western culture. "The blue-and-white-painted wind generators give the area a Mediterranean feel - a perfect backdrop for your wedding photos."

They promote places that have been ruined by industry. "This area was once famous for its picturesque country lanes shaded with camphor trees and cascading Bougainvillea. Now it's home to the Sixth Naphtha Cracker Plant. Pictured below are its famed smokestacks. And while here, take time to admire the trees in the area, some of which are DECADES OLD!"

Their promotion of traditional culture leaves much to be desired. An exhibition of something billed as "traditional Aboriginal dance" may be accompanied by the thumping beat of synthesizer music while obviously Han Chinese dancers perform hyped-up gyrations while wearing Aboriginal costumes in Day-Glo hues. All the while, they will be emceed by a hip youngster grinning like the folks from Up With People while she forcefully urges audience participation.

Taiwan also suffers a bit from Singapore Syndrome: tearing down all the classic old buildings and quaint atmospheric neighborhoods to build highrises and ultramodern office buildings. We Westerners like cool, old, historic stuff.

Taiwan needs to promote its mountains (esp. hiking and camping), beaches, historical buildings, hot springs, islands - things that appeal to Westerners. It can also promote itself as a crossroads between Northeast and Southeast Asia: from here you can proceed south to the Philippines, then Sabah, and toward Singapore and/or Indonesia; or north to Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and China.

Taiwan, you need to think outside the xiangzi.

My first post

Welcome to my blog!

In this blog, there's no overarching theme other than, perhaps, my experiences living in Taiwan and traveling in Asia. But I won't limit it to that, and just may end up ranting or raving about other stuff completely unrelated to my experiences in this wondrous continent.