E V E R Y D A Y . B E A U T I F U L
May 7, 2012 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Falun Gong March, Mongkok Hong Kong – Banned in China and other countries, this is one rare sight we will never get to see back home. On 6th May, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners marched down Nathan Road in Hong Kong to celebrate the sect’s 20th Anniversary Founding Day.)
April 23, 2012 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao (川貝枇杷膏) Giant 3D Bottle, Guangzhou Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street (上下九步行街) – This may be the world’s largest cough syrup bottle (certainly need a big spoon to go along with this). The visual presence actually worked! Instantly, I developed this deep craving for the syrup. This Chinese Herbal Syrup is 100% tastier/sweeter than the western cough syrup. It is a blend of 15 herbal ingredients which helps to relieve cough and sore throat associated with common cold, influenza or similar ailments.)
April 23, 2012 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Good friends from Tokyo, The Peak - Finally, Martin and Mari (my 137th and 138th Hong Kong Visitors ~ David Ng was Visitor 136) are here in Hong Kong! It is really good to have them here over the short weekend. We had a great gathering at the peak this evening – watching sunset and “food-tasting” with Winston, Tracy, Eric and Dorothy at Central.)
April 15, 2012 Leave a comment
Meet “Lyuba” (meaning “Love” in Russian is a 42,000-year-old mammoth) – She is the world’s most valuable archeological discovery of our times. She is very special and unique as she is the most perfectly preserved baby mammoth ever discovered. She provides archeologists a never-before-seen view of prehistoric life in Siberia. Discovered in the frozen soils of north-west Siberia by a reindeer herder, Yuri Khudi in May 2007, Lyuba was found lying along a riverside 42,000 years after her birth. However, Lyuba mysteriously disappeared the next day. She was stolen when Yuri and the archeologists arrived. It took the government and army lots of effort to rescue Lyuba from the poacher who intended to sell her to a merchant.
Mammoth died out around 8,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Injecting the mammoth DNA into an egg of today’s modern elephant, a team of Japanese scientists are now on their way to bring back the long-extinct mammal back from the dead. It was reported that we will be able to see a living mammoth clone in the next 5-10 years. (Haaa…Big Bird and Wooly from Sesame Street will have a real friend to play with!)
It took IFC 2 years to bring Lyuba to Hong Kong. The exhibition opens from 12 April to 10 May 2012 (and it is free!). Unlike previous exhibitions at the IFC which were more commercial/brand-driven, this is one very rare, valuable and educational archeological showcase for the public. It took me a long time to squeeze through the crowd to come face to face with Lyuba. Check out the amazing discovery and recovery story of Lyuba’s below. For more information, visit: http://ifc.com.hk/lyuba/
April 1, 2012 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Mandarin Oriental, Central Hong Kong – Loyal fans from all around the world paid their respect to the late Cantonpop star, Leslie Cheung who leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel on 1st April 2003 at 6:41pm. A victim of depression, Leslie was 46 then.)
April 1, 2012 2 Comments
(Photo Taken: 1st April 2012 Protest, Central – More than 5,000 people took part in today’s protest march against alleged meddling by Beijing in the recent leadership selection of Hong Kong’s next Chief Executive. This is the first major protest since Leung Chun-ying won the election last Sunday.)
March 18, 2012 1 Comment
My wife and boy were in town for a week. We didn’t go anywhere as I was down with sickness at home. Weather was haywire too. Last week, temperature dropped from 25 to 11 degrees. Most of the time, it was gloomy and wet. There were many places I planned to bring them (like watching the circus at Macau, theme-park at Shenzhen and a short weekend trip to Xiamen), guess we have to postpone these for the next trip. Being bored at home, our little monkey, Elkan was pestering us to bring him out. We went hiking at the Monkey Hill.
Elkan wasn’t happy when we told him we wanted to set him free at his new home. He didn’t really like the monkeys (well, I don’t think the monkeys like him too!) We took the forest trail. Crossing dams and streams, this was quite a pleasant hike. The forest floor was littered with red brown leaves and mini mushrooms… it felt like an enchanted forest. So cozy Autumn.
March 18, 2012 Leave a comment
Feb marked an unusual big void in my blog-world. For weeks, I was disconnected from my world, my family and friends. No mood for world affairs, movies, concerts, new gadgets and hiking. I have been away from my blog for almost a month. It is the longest absence ever. Life at work has been extremely hectic. I spent my precious wee hours and weekends at work, leaving me so little time to capture the few beautiful moments in my life. Guess this is going to be the norm for another 2-3 months ahead. (Don’t worry, mum, I am still eating and living well!)
Fortunately, my brothers and family were in town. They left some colours in my boring grey days. Over the last 4 weeks, I met Jimmy, Francis, Gareth, Meijie, Felicia and Elkan – separately at different timing. Work took a great deal of time and passion away from me. I hardly touch my Canon camera. I guess my brothers and family were a little disappointed that I gave their visits so little coverage.
The lousy “cold-wet-hot” weather in Hong Kong has been unkind to me too. I was down with a lousy flu/fever/cough/diarrhea combo for almost 10 days. Thankfully, Meijie, Felicia and Elkan were around to take care of me. I was quite dazed for most of the time during their stay. I realised my mood does make a difference in their lives. When I was down, everyone around me was so quiet and listless. The whole household became so “dim and grey”. Food was tasteless, good music became toneless and no activity can cheer us up. It was like going thru a lousy depression. Poor Meijie and Felicia, what a terrible period to visit me. (Surely, this is no mid-life crisis yet).
Finally, we managed to see some sunlight today. Weather is getting better. Just wish to fast-forward my days quickly so I can spend better times in May and June with my boy.
February 12, 2012 Leave a comment
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Felicia organized a lovely “Valentine Breakfast” activity for the family. Over Facetime, we spent an hour creating our own “Love Sandwiches”. We were comparing and sharing our “heart-shaped” breads and eggs online. It was really fun and a great way to bond with my boy. Kudos to my wife for the sweet and yummy session! Now, I know how to make heart-shaped hard-boiled egg. (Visit: http://www.kuchkhaashai.com/2011/02/how-to-make-heart-shaped-eggs.html)
February 6, 2012 Leave a comment
Thanks to Tracy’s brother, Edmund (my 135th Hong Kong Visitor – 134th went to Joanne’s cousin Sherane), he led us to an unique and interesting hiking site. Also locally known as the “Monkey Hill” (85% of the Hong Kong’s wild primates are residing here), the Kam Shan Country Park (金山郊野公園) is home to over 1,800 wild Macaques.
According to the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, these Macques aren’t native. Their ancestors were released at the Kam Shan hill for an unusual reason. Back in the 1910s, the locals were worried about the poisonous Strychnos berries may contaminated the reservoir. They released the Macaques to eat up the poisonous Strychnos plants (Macaques are immune to these berries).
Indeed, Edmund wasn’t exaggerating when he said it was like a scene from the movie “Planet of the Apes”. The large turnout of the wild monkeys was quite intimidating. We could smell and hear them. Instead of hiding in the bushes or in the trees, the Macaques were out roaming in the open. The monkeys were all around us. Clearly, Tracy and I were out-numbered. They were on the road, in the trees and on both sides of the granite wall. It seemed like a very healthy colony as we saw many young baby Macaques. Most of them were gentle and undeterred by the hikers’ presence. The young monkeys were actively playing/swinging while the adults were grooming their partners tenderly. But do exercise caution when you are near to a baby Macaques – its mother may turn against you suddenly. (Tracy had one nasty attack when she came too close to a baby!) Also, it is never wise to bring food into this park (not even packet drink or snacks). When we were drinking our packet drinks, the Macaques recognized those were food and they stalked us aggressively. We had to thrash our drinks quickly to avoid any trouble.
It was a short 3.7km scenic hike (Click here to see our hike). Took us less than an hour to complete the walk. Pretty easy on the feet as there weren’t many steep slopes and steps. Just be mindful where you are stepping as there are lots of Macaques’ wastes on the road. And watch out for unkind visitors too. We saw a stupid family who encouraged their son to shoot the poor monkey.
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