Man Mo Temple and Kowloon

Enough of amusement parks and laid-back outlying islands - the Saturday of our four-day Thanksgiving break was the time to plunge into Hong Kong's busy streets and see the former British Crown Colony/current Chinese Special Administrative Region up close and personal. And what better way to start than by visiting Man Mo Temple 文武廟, perhaps the most well-known in Hong Kong. So off we set on foot from our friends' place up in the Mid-Levels to the temple on Hollywood Road. Fortunately for my walking-averse spouse, escalators were in place to assist in the uphill trek from Queens Road Central. Even that effort worked up an appetite, so we stopped for lunch at a place called Waafung 華豐, located on a busy (and evocative) side street.

Suitably fortified, we resumed the journey to Man Mo Temple, erected in 1847. It's dedicated to two gods, one civil (Man) and the other martial (Mo). Man Cheung 文昌 was a statesman in China in the 3rd century B.C. He's now worshiped as the god of literature and is symbolized by a writing brush. Mo is Kwan Tai 關帝, a soldier from the 2nd century B.C. who, in addition to being the god of war, also looks out for pawnshops, the police, restaurants...and gangsters. He's represented with a sword. In addition to the statues of the two gods holding pride of place at the main altar, two sedan chairs dating from the 19th century are displayed behind glass panels. They're used to carry the gods during festivals. Temples in Hong Kong tend to employ a lot more red in their color schemes compared to those in Taiwan; they're also a lot smokier from all the incense coils.

Where all those millions live

One of the fun things to do when visiting Hong Kong is to avail yourself of many of the convenient public transport options. On this afternoon we sat in the upper deck of a street tram as it made its way along Des Voeux Road, then hopped on the iconic Star Ferry 天星小輪 for the short ride across the harbor from Hong Kong Island to Tsim Sha Tsui 尖沙咀 in Kowloon 九龍.

The Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade on the Kowloon side has been expanded since my last visit in 1993 (assuming it even existed back then; memories can get hazy after 21 years). There's now an Avenue of the Stars, a tribute to Hong Kong's film industry, though other than Bruce Lee, Chow Yun-fat and John Woo, I didn't recognize any of the names on the plaques. The views across the water to the other side, however, were still as fascinating as ever, even on an afternoon when it constantly threatened to rain on us.

From the promenade we walked along Kowloon's famed Nathan Road 彌敦道. Just as in Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay et al, the area was packed with pedestrians, but Pamela soon noted a key difference in the crowds: on Hong Kong Island, many of the people on the street are locals and expat businesspeople, walking with a sense of purpose as they go from A to B. In Tsim Sha Tsui, virtually everybody is a tourist attempting to take it all in or someone trying to make a living from catering to visitors. Nathan Road reminded me in some ways of Shanghai's 上海 Nanjing East Road 南京东路 pedestrian street in that people constantly approach you trying to sell a product or service. Only in Kowloon they're overwhelmingly people from the Indian subcontinent, wanting to sell you an imitation bag or watch or wishing to interest you in a tailor-made suit.

One place in Kowloon that definitely wasn't there in '93 is the Hong Kong Museum of History 香港歷史博物館, one of the best in all of Hong Kong. My wife, not being particularly interested in local history, chose this time to do some window shopping and to meet us afterward in the onsite cafe, while Amber and I went inside to see the displays. My daughter was most interested in the Hong Kong of 400,000 years ago (!), and the flora and fauna that used to live there, but the museum does a great job of laying out Hong Kong's growth from small fishing village to modern-day economic powerhouse. The Opium War, the British governance, the Japanese invasion and the post-war years are arranged in chronological order, and the exhibits are generally presented with an eye to accuracy and detail, a refreshing change from the self-serving justifications often found here in China (guess which one of the "two systems" I think is better?). For me, I got a kick out of seeing some of the toys that used to be manufactured in the old British colony, as I'm old enough to remember when "Made in Hong Kong" was commonly seen on a lot of things that kids played with. Visiting the history museum was also a timely way to avoid the rain that had started to fall in the late afternoon.

After meeting up again with Pamela, the three of us returned to Nathan Road in search of somewhere to have dinner. After some indecision on the part of my wife, we decided upon that most Cantonese of dining establishments, the Outback steakhouse. After dinner, we made a detour on our way back to the waterfront to have a look at the Christmas decorations outside that most venerable of Hong Kong hotels, the Peninsula. I would've loved to have gone inside for a drink, but my Taiwan-born and raised spouse did not seem to share the same fascination that I have with romantic imperial era-institutions like the Peninsula, the Raffles in Singapore and, yes, even the Fairmont Peace Hotel here in Shanghai (footnote: I stayed at the Kowloon Hotel, located behind the Peninsula, when I visited 21 years ago. Thanks to the strong yen at that time, I could afford to stay there rather than at Chungking Mansions, Tsim Sha Tsui's notorious backpacker stop).

Besides, we had a show to get to. The Symphony of Lights is a nightly performance of laser lights projected from the rooftops of the skyscrapers lining the waterfront on the Hong Kong Island side of the harbor (it certainly wasn't happening back in 1993). Unfortunately, we made a mistake with the time, thinking it started at 9:00 pm, when in fact it had begun an hour earlier and was over with by 8:20. My wife was disappointed, but on the bright side (no pun intended), we avoided the crowds that we had been warned about earlier by Shih-Ling, and the lights from Central and Admiralty were just as beautiful this time as when I remembered from before. It was nice to see that some things in Hong Kong hadn't changed one bit as we rode the Star Ferry back across the harbor.

Lamma and the Peak

Ellie, Amber, Vivienne and Mia on the busy streets of Central

Lamma

Hong Kong 香港 is a densely-populated place, no surprise as there are 7.2 million people crammed into about 6500 square kilometers of space, which if you do the math works out to a figure of roughly 17,000 people for each km². And yet, surprisingly, it isn't too hard to get away from the masses and find some fresh air, greenery and open spaces. There are several lengthy hiking trails in the New Territories, for example, and even Hong Kong Island itself has the 78 kilometer-long Wilson Trail (though parts include some city sections). Speaking of islands, there are several in the Special Autonomous Region that provide getaways for residents and visitors alike. On my previous visit in 1993, I spent several hours exploring Cheung Chau 長洲. This time, it came down to a choice between Lamma 南丫島 and Lantau 大嶼山. The latter being home to a large Buddha statue, Hong Kong Disneyland and the international airport made it easier to decide on an excursion to the smaller and less-hurried Lamma, population 6000. Shih-Ling and the girls accompanied Amber, Pamela and me down to the Outlying Islands ferry terminals, where they then decided to take us up on our invitation to join us, despite having suffered from serious bouts of seasickness the first time they went to Lamma. No one got ill this time on the ride over, and we soon found ourselves in the village of Yung Shue Wan 榕樹灣, where we had a seafood lunch at the Sampan Seafood Restaurant, passing on the eatery's signature pigeon dishes.

Though small, the village is crammed full of restaurants, guesthouses and curio shops. There seemed to be a relatively large expat population on the island, judging from the Banana Pancake refugees I observed working in the shops and walking around on the streets. 

At the southern end of the village sits a Tin Hau Temple, dedicated to the goddess Mazu, who is also an extremely popular deity in Taiwan. This particular temple dates from the late 19th century, making it ancient by Hong Kong standards. 

From Yung Shue Wan, a popular four kilometer-long trail makes it way to another village, Sok Kwu Wan 索罟灣. The crumbling concrete houses we passed along the way recalled to mind those in Taiwan, as did the food stand selling douhua 豆花, though the girls preferred ice cream from the freezer of a small grocery store. 

After about 30 minutes, we arrived at the pleasant surprise known as Hung Shing Yeh Beach. When you think of Hong Kong, sandy beaches and clear water aren't the first two images that come to mind, yet that's we found on Lamma. The water was warm enough to make me wish I'd brought swimming trunks on this trip, but the girls at least got to wade in the surf and collect seashells along the shore. The only thing taking away any ambiance from the atmosphere was the large power station looming nearby, but having been in Asia as long as I have, you learn to frame your field of vision so that the distractions don't get in the way. 

Once the girls had found enough shells (and after the two Taiwanese adult females in our group had decided they had been in the sun long enough), it was time to move along. The trail made its way uphill to several lookout points. The walk could hardly be described as a "trek", and the views looking out over the water were entrancing. You don't think of hilly grassland and large boulders when visualizing Hong Kong, yet the scenery on Lamma, the third-largest island in the former British colony, is hardly unique.

The trail wound its way toward the village of Sok Kwu Wan, which reminded me of many seaside settlements I'd encountered on my travels throughout Japan, right down to the Asano cement plant. The outlines of Ocean Park could be made out in the distance.

On the way down into the village, we passed what was called a "kamikaze cave", supposedly built by the Japanese during World War II to house motorboats wired with explosives and designed to sink Allied ships (they were never used). There was also another, albeit smaller and less attractive, beach where the girls hunted for more shells. For me, the local flora brought to mind memories of Okinawa 沖縄.

Approaching Sok Kwu Wan, we came across another Tin Hau Temple. This one dates from the 1820's, but it was closed for the day by the time we walked into the village.

Though small, the village's one street is lined with more seafood restaurants and souvenir shops. It's also the termini of two ferry lines, one going to Aberdeen, the other returning to Central. We caught the latter for an uneventful ride back in which nobody got sick, mainly because Amber and I were the only ones able to stay awake during the short ride. Were I ever to become an expat working in Hong Kong, I could see myself living on one of these outlying islands like Cheung Chau or Lamma and commuting into Central by ferry, enjoying the excitement and convenience of Hong Kong Island while retreating at the end of each day to a quiet retreat close to the sea.

The Peak

Victoria Peak 太平山 is arguably Hong Kong's most famous sight. On my first visit 21 years ago, I went up to the peak by the famous Peak Tram no less than three times during my week-long stay - once in the daytime (where I walked around the peak itself, then descended to the other side of the island, returning to Central by bus via Aberdeen and Stanley); one time at night; and the last time during the late afternoon/early evening, in order to watch the sun go down and the lights of the (then) colony come on. It seemed much quieter back then - I don't recall ever having to wait in a line to get on the tram going up or down, and there were only a couple of restaurants to distract your attention from the viewing platforms. Now, the peak is home to the Peak Galleria and Peak Tower shopping malls, and long lines of people wait to get on the tram. Fortunately, thanks to our gracious host Steven, Pamela and I didn't have to put up with the crowds. While Amber and the other girls went to bed after dinner, tuckered out after the long afternoon of shell collecting and walking, the three of us drove up to the peak in Steven's car, just a short distance from his and Shih-Ling's apartment building located in the Mid-Levels. Following a dim sum meal outside the Galleria, we took in the view, the first time doing so for my wife. Suffice it to say, despite the new developments (for me, at least), the views were just as spectacular now as they were back in 1993.