Since I met my best friend in my first year of university there has been one travel ambition that has constantly been at the back of my mind as a dream and also an inevitability. The thought of the excitement of visiting has made it easier to acknowledge that Monique will always be a world-traveller who was lent to England for a small moment! It's a little bitter that my friend is so far away and that the time difference makes it so difficult to talk at any given moment (e.g. as I type this, it is 3:20am there. I doubt she'd value a phone call right now!) however, having been and seen and experienced I can understand the pull of Hong Kong. It has a rich culture, abounding energy and contrasts that are breath-taking.
Looking through my photographs, I'm not sure that words can really do it justice. It's unlike anywhere I've ever been and my descriptions, unfortunately, can't actually take you there; but bear with me while I try and paint the picture for you.
Skyscrapers & Stilt Houses
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| The Flyover leading to Immigration Tower, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island |
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| Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
There are massive economic variations in Hong Kong residents - of course there are owners of global conglomerates that work in skyscrapers and live in mansions; there are also fishing villages where houses were built on stilts over the water to avoid government taxation. It takes about 40 minutes to travel between the locations of these photographs and that was amazing to me.
The north side of Hong Kong Island is tall. There is no gradual build up of smaller houses on the periphery with a crescendo to the central regions - everywhere you look you are surrounded by skyscrapers. They are architecturally distinct and are incredible in their lack of uniformity but they are polished and immaculate.
Tai O offers a different Hong Kong experience. Winding streets, weather-beaten structures and a sense that everything is small and quiet, life is only disturbed by the passing of tourists. The one thing it seems to have in common with the neighbouring island is the value of space - both places have a feeling of compactness to the point that bamboo poles are used to hang washing out of the windows of skyscrapers or bikes are suspended above shop fronts that take up the downstairs of some of the homes. Air-conditioning units are not built in but live on the outside of all of the buildings.
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Creative uses of space, just above head height. Sai Kung, Hong Kong
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City & Nature
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| Former French Mission Building (red brick), photograph taken from Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Island |
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Old Peak Road, Victoria Peak National Park, Hong Kong Island
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I lied when I said that you were surrounded by skyscrapers. To an extent, that is true, but you are also enclosed and enveloped by mountains which gather all of the buildings toward the sea to the extent that rather than destroying these beautiful mountains the preference is to reclaim prime-locations at the waterfront. Victoria Peak rises steeply behind the central buildings providing a wonderful backdrop and a reminder of the relative humility of the works of mankind in the face of the beauty of natural things.
I took so many photographs that show relatively wild plants that creep into images of a dazzling city. It seems like nature will allow the existence of the rivals for space as long as things don't get too pristine. As such, it feels like nature isn't really fought back here and there is no attempt to tame and manicure it. Trees grow on the side of walls, roads follow the natural contours of the land; pathways through the hills are not smoothed and fussed over. There are exceptions to this rule (the top of Victoria Peak being one of them - well and truly over-done for the debatable 'benefit' of tourists); but largely it felt like you could escape at any moment to the peace of trees and bamboo.
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| Garden Road, Nr Hong Kong Zoological Gardens, Hong Kong Island |
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| Hong Kong Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong Island |
This experience in nature is not exclusive to Hong Kong Island itself, either. Some of the best views I saw of Hong Kong were during a hike around/up Lion Rock. It was amazing to see HK island from the mainland in this way, on top of this 495m tall elevation (though we definitely didn't walk from the bottom!). The route is surrounded by bamboo forests and it is normal to come across wild rhesus macaques that wander through this region. You might hear them even when you don't see them!
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| A view from Beacon Hill, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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| Lion Rock, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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| Morning Trail, Hong Kong Island |
Modern & Traditional
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| The Peninsula, Salisbury Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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| Lion Dance, Chi Lin Nunnery, Diamond Hill, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
There is a huge connection to the modern world and the racing times in Hong Kong. There's every modern convenience (or inconvenience!) but there is also a sense of culture and staying connected to the traditions, beliefs and values of the past. For example, Chi Lin Nunnery (built in 1934) was modernised in 2000 - and it is beautifully done. There is still an understanding of the value and relevance of places like this and they are still being created.
Spirituality places a big part in life in Hong Kong. I don't profess to know very much about Buddhism but temples with beautiful patterns and shrines ranging from the very simple to the overwhelmingly ornate are fixtures throughout the thriving city and the surrounding areas.
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| A Temple in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island |
Another feature that is so obvious and brilliant but blew my mind when I saw it was the use of a material I think of as traditional in all of the modern building work that was taking place - bamboo. Scaffolding throughout Hong Kong is exclusively bamboo! Seeing whole skyscrapers covered in the stuff was something that I'm sure my friend wanted me to calm down about - it's no big deal. Nature gave us such sturdy stuff!
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| Bamboo and Bikes, Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
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| Temporary Theatre for Chinese New Year - Bamboo, Sai Kung, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
I like the modern things and that makes it easy to imagine living in Hong Kong - everything is available. Yet, the real flavour of Hong Kong isn't about the skyscrapers or the numerous shopping experiences you could have - it's the things that place it in geography, culture and era.
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| Traditional Chinese Junk Boat, Photograph taken from Tsim Shai Tsui (TST), Kowloon, HK |
The contrast and combining of the modern and traditional never seems to be apologised for. They are left with no blunting of the contract between the two and it is in the differences that the wonder of each individual part is seen. Just like in people!
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| Nan Lian Garden, Diamond Hill, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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| Chi Lin Nunnery, Diamond Hill, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
On Lantau Island this difference between the modern and traditional becomes even more evident, if that's possible. The Ngong Ping cable cars are a feat of engineering (and were the cause of much consternation for me) and overlook a thoroughly modern airport. The ascent into the mountains carries you to a very new bronze (completed in 1993) of the pinnacle of Buddhist culture - a giant statue of Buddha on a lotus flower with equally impressive (though smaller) statues around him. The cultures and traditions of Hong Kong's residents are alive and kicking.
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| Tian Tan Buddha, Ngong Ping Road, Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
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| 3 of the statues symbolising the offering of the Six Devas, Ngong Ping Road, Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
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| Let's Not Do That Again Any Time Soon, Love Harriet xxx |
I think this is up there with being one of my favourite photographs from the trip! This man was making Chinese Egg Waffles - a lovely warm treat. I love his board for tourists and his effortless authenticity as he concentrated on making the goodies for a queue of people (the only queue we saw in Tai O that day).
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| Man making Egg Waffles, Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
The spirituality of the place was made complete for me when I was able to see my faith's addition. It was beautiful to see this Hong Kong Temple and enjoy the peace that came from being in the gardens that are "always open".
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| LDS Temple, Cornwall Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
Market Manners & Madness!
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| Necessary sign at Hong Kong Botanical Gardens, Hong Kong Island |
People in Hong Kong are generally very polite. I want to clarify that first! One of the places I found this very evident was in the Markets of Kowloon. At the flower market, the ladies market and the jade market vendors were never too pushy or in my face. Of course, there were negotiations as you should expect but if I walked away I wasn't pursued or made to feel uncomfortable in the way sometimes I have felt in other places.
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| Jade Market, Battery St, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong |
Yes, there's a "but"...
People burped in my face. On the bus, someone actually leaned forward to burp. It wafted past me. I don't really understand the need for signs telling people not to spit either. I generally don't find a need to spit in my everyday life!
The other thing I found hilarious was that people queued up when the MTR was arriving in nice orderly lines, but as soon as the doors opened - GO, GO, GO! In England you get tutted if you don't politely let all the people getting off out of the doors before you step in.
My final quibble and amusement was with hikers. When I'm walking downhill, I would move automatically to let people who are on their way up get passed. They've got the harder deal and I move in sympathy with their plight. No such deal in Hong Kong. They're going down, they're moving faster, you'd better get out of the way! If you're lucky you might catch a little of their Chinese Operatic music they're playing loudly from mobile speakers as you watch them pass. Then they'll probably grumble about "Americans"... *shakes head*
Look Down & Look Up
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| Event Horizon statue, Henley Building, Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong Island |
Despite being large in some ways, Hong Kong is easy to navigate and get around due to a few ingenious things. One is that a great deal of the walkways are flyovers and as such crossing busy roads is not an issue. Sometimes, finding out where the flyover starts is! I found myself identifying where I wanted to be and then aiming for a building that looked like it might have a route through it. Largely this wasn't challenging. I spent a lot of time above things looking down on them. Ground floor shops are below and in the tall buildings commercial ventures are on every floor, especially surrounding the escalators.
The Event Horizon sculptures by Antony Gormley (who created the Angel of the North) arrived in Hong Kong in 2015. These are sculptures of male figures placed on the tops of buildings as a reminder for people to look up. As you can imagine, people have looked up and had concerns for these statues... I'm not sure myself about their sensitivity. But they are interesting and I did find myself surprised to see them. It was a reminder to set my view higher.
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| ICC, TST, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
Sounds & Silence
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| Din Tai Fung, TST, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
I know I picked strange pictures for this one, but bear with me. The first picture shows monkeys on a lamppost in Wan Chai. On our hike up the Morning Trail to Victoria Peak I expected quiet and it was quiet relative to the hub-bub heard when you are surrounded by the city. Instead we heard the overall buzz of the inhabitants, as well as animal sounds. On a short walk we heard tree-frogs, monkeys and the somewhat concerning squeal of a wild boar.
People eat so quickly in Hong Kong. Dim Sum places can have you in, eating and out in 15 minutes. Eating seems less sociable and therefore less talkative in these circumstances so I put that picture under the idea that it is silent. Again, I'm lying to you! People eat noisily! And, why not, when the food is so delicious! I am a big fan of dumplings.
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| View from the Morning Trail, Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island |
Relative peace and quiet is found away from the city, in small places like Sai Kung (though we went on a Sunday when it was quite busy) - when I go back some day when it's nice weather I will be going back there to get a boat to a beach of my own!
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| Harbour, Sai Kung, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
More photos!
Here are some more pictures that might just raise your interest and whet your appetite for travelling to this beautiful place. I'm sure I'll go back one day.
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| Ngong Ping, Lantau Island |
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| View of HK island from TST |
