The groom, the bride, the bridesmaid and Starbucks

Just about every walk through Hong Kong Park you bump into a bridal party of some sorts. Somehow it is always compelling to watch the scenario being played out. It could be the bride on her own, but mostly the groom and bride and a few attendants as you see here. This is not the wedding day, but what they call pre-wedding photography, and already the white high-heels of the girls are scuffed as they traipse through the garden, in search of  unusual locations. In these days, when your glasses fog up as you go outside from the humidity, the bride and bridesmaids have difficulty composing themselves lugging elaborate dresses around underneath the heavy layers of make-up. Perspiration drip from their faces. In fact this whole party was made-up, including the groom. I took some pictures of them and despite the heat they looked wonderful. I was wondering if they made two matching bouquets, one for the pre-wedding photographs and then the wedding day itself. Four bridesmaids sat in our local Starbucks after a grueling session in front of the cameras, now imagine that in London!

Talking about flowers, enormous bouquets are presented at weddings or for businesses celebrations with large A4-sized hand-made writs. Bigger is better seems to be the ethos and they get carted around on delivery trollies. To my London trained eye, used to endless variations of posies or hand-ties, these arrangements seem overwhelming in their composition and choice of blooms. That is till I landed in Happy Valley, that airy neighborhood with a village feel curving around the racecourse that has a sense of space, and saw two florists specializing in the ubiquitous tight bunch of harmonizing or contrasting flowers.           

Pillars propping up the city

Cities and societies are propped up by numerous structures and practices. Cheap labour from mainland China and elsewhere has been in endless supply in Hong Kong since the early colonial era and is intrinsic to its economy and ease of living. An agency for 'maids' displayed a window covered with these photographs - all the women were in the same dress and pose. These sheets with personal data, work experience and preferences are personal advertisements for their services. 'Hyacinth is a 36 year old married Roman Catholic woman with 3 teenage children.' In her interview appraisal, she scored 'good' in all categories, including her facial expression (the agency seemed to score no one as being excellent in any category). She seems a godsend for any household, and the 'simple massage' listed as one of her many capabilities would send any Hong Kong matron seeking a house helper in the opposite direction. Do personnel agencies elsewhere display information of this personal nature I wonder? Lisa Law wrote about the Filipina women in Hong Kong (2002), gathering in public spaces around the Central area on Sundays, when they meet in groups to talk, eat and just generally be sociable. The clutter of these gatherings in Chater Park and elsewhere irked the city fathers and big commerce alike in the past, and barricades were put up to control their access to the city's few public spaces. Since I have been here, I have seen Filipina women in all kinds of public spaces during their spare time. They turn public concrete spaces briefly into private spaces with hunched conversations over plastic containers filled with rice, and as far as I can see, chicken pieces, before they return to keep the household wheels running smoothly again for their employers.


During the summer when the typhoons arrive, great amounts of water come gushing down the steep, hilly slopes in the city and could cause landslides. All the slopes are covered in concrete and netting cover the soil surrounding the trees. Narrow maintenance steps are barred to the public and only maintenance workers have  access. Deep gulleys and enormous storm water canals channel rainwater down to the sea. Structures such as these pillars prop up highways that cut through the city and obliterate the flow between areas and public spaces. The Zoological and Botanical Gardens are cut in two by Albany Road. The park is isolated from the rest of the city and nearby Hong Kong Park by flowing, circular roads. Few pavements make it difficult for pedestrian to navigate this area.

Hedonic pleasure in the city

Middle Island, Repulse Bay on Hong Kong Island.

The weather is mild and the invite changed from Causeway Bay to the Middle Island between Deep Water and Repulse Bay. This is on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. A beautiful seaside path leads to the stone jetty where a sampan ferry takes members of the RHKYC across to the club house from where members sail small dinghies, row and receive sail training. It also has a modernist clubhouse with a bar and BBQ terrace. Trays of raw prawns, scallops, steak, sausages, chicken and vegetables are put out for barbequing. Two hefty lads with beers in their hands looked sceptically at the two girls who were circling closer to the fire to do the meat and seafood that required some clever timings from the cooks to be ready at the same time. Well, it was quite delicious, and has broken the silent iron rule that it is 'men's territory'....I got the nod from my better half. This of course means that men will have to help with the prepping in the kitchen beforehand. (Why do I take notice of this outdated behaviour that has transcended time and space?)

Red taxi from Deep Water Bay to Central

If the evening on Middle Island was magical, so was the trip back home in the most elaborate taxi....complete with cut glass vase and frilly pink carnations edged in red and a telly pumping out Canto-pop (remarkably close to French pop ballads).

The hedonic pleasure of views are carefully calculated in Hong Kong. Double aspect views of  the mountain and sea are noted and each vertical floor climb commands a rise in rent or purchase price. Where buildings obstruct the sea, it is termed as an 'open view'. So, the views are assessed on three axes....the proximity of surrounding buildings, the vertical height of the window or balcony view, and the horizontal positioning along the building. My preoccupation with space, location and views in the city is a result of our recent flat-hunting in Hong Kong. Now if London real estate was a humbling exercise, this is a shattering one as the market is inflated, the prices high, and stock at a premium. Unrenovated properties translates into property speak as 'original'. We are putting in an offer on an old (1962) colonial property next to the Bowen contour road - great for walking and running. Now let's see if everything goes according to plan.

Bling-bling, ding-ding and trrr, trrr, trrrrrrrrrr..............!

The trams that run up and down from East to West across central Hong Kong date back more than a hundred years. The tram's nickname is Ding Ding, so called after its distinctive bell ring. The tram ride is quite jolly - you hop on at the back, and when get to your destination, you slip 2 HK$s into the cash box or pay by the touch  of an Octopus card under the stern gaze of the driver. This must be the best value item in an at times painfully expensive town. The waist-high doors straighten out to close the open rear platform and gives a sense of old-fashioned security, but bus drivers seem to open doors quite casually in between stops for people to get on and off. EU health and safety regulations? Never heard of them. So it was with precarious pleasure that I hopped on, knowing that I was 'transgressing' faraway rules.

Apart from the incessant traffic noise, the zebra crossings in Central have three sound signals, one for go or the green pedestrian light, and another two for the amber and red signs. This additional sound level is oddly irritating in the already overloaded sensory street environment, but it raises the alertness level.

People who use the tram are everyday workers, unlike the bling-bling wearers inside the shopping malls. On Saturday evening, we attempted to live up to this advertisement of our apartment block on our way to the American Chamber of Commerce's Ball. Desperately out of practice, we consulted You Tube for a waltz demonstration.....that was sadly not needed!  A local TV series of Strictly Come Dancing could change all that?

Living amongst giants and dragon boats

Living amongst tall buildings is both exhilarating and oppressive, and it is strange being confronted with the gigantic after living in London where the buildings are on a more human scale. London also has tall buildings, but in Hong Kong it is the massing in close proximity of so many of these giants that swallow space and light. The L-shaped building on the left is actually an upside down U - and is part of the new government building lining the new waterfront. Over the years, what was the official colonial government buildings around Statue Square and the waterfront esplanade that used to be called the Praya, have receded deeper into the belly of the city as land reclamation pushed the water's edge further and further into Victoria Harbour. This new complex again provides government with a prestigious location overlooking the harbour and Kowloon.To get a better idea of the design, visit the Tamar Building Project's Design site. It is quite a clever design and allows the city behind to be connected to the water. Most probably good feng shui as well.

http://www.admwing.gov.hk/tamar/eng/design.htm

Many people visit the outlying islands on weekends and it is good to come up for some air that is not pumped through ducts. We visited Lamma and took the ferry from Pier 4.The island is slightly scruffy and untidy, adding to its charm. Unfortunately industrial sites mar the countryside and they are dotted across the island - no industrial zoning that contains the eyesores to one place. There were youngsters practicing for the Dragon Boat race on 6 June. The boat was very elegant and the drum they beat was huge. Had delicious salt and pepper prawns and something new for us, squilla, a local mantis shrimp, that has a very delicate texture and taste and beautiful white and black colouring. 

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/events/festival-dragon-boat-racing.html

Hong Kong looks like a wintry London day

Kowloon ports

Lippo Towers on the left, nick-named the 'Koalo tree'.

The bleakness of arrival is not broken by the blazing cerise bougainvillea along the roadside. It looks dry. We drive across huge bridges linking Lantau Island to Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. At last a close-up of the ports that most of the pictures of Hong Kong ignore, which is surprising, as the city still largely functions as a hub for imports and transhipment.

For breakfast, our lactose-free milk is from Australia, the muesli from Germany and the yoghurt from Greece, all sourced from an expensive supermarket stacked with items from Waitrose (UK). On the news this morning is a report of local food costs rising as more and more of the food in Hong Kong is sourced from mainland China. The Chinese Renminbi is no longer linked to the US$ which the HK$ is and hence the dear prices. A local shopkeeper mentions that 20% of items sold in his shop, is bought by mainland Chinese paid for in Renminbi and that he has accepted the currency for the past 6 years.

The view outside across Victoria harbour is shielded by tall skyscapers and only a snip of the building site on which the new government buildings will be and opposite Kowloon can be seen. Life on the 27th floor and the continuous hum of air conditioners takes some getting used to.

Anticipating Hong Kong