Tsim Bei Tsui, Lau Fau Shan

This is about as far northwest as you can go before you hit the marine based border line that runs through the middle of Deep Bay. It takes some getting to but as a result it benefits from being attractive to only certain types of people: idiots like me and birdwatchers…

Lui Seng Chun, Mongkok

Lui Seng Chun is one of those buildings that just has to be seen first-hand. It is truly amazing to be walking around the streets in Mongkok and suddenly find this large, but elegant, cornerpiece lunge into view. It sits on the corner of Lai Chi Kok Rd and Tong Mi Rd and truly brings something special to this neck of the woods.

Bruce Lee Residence – results announced.

I guess I should really be attaching this to the proper 41 Cumberland Road entry that I first did about 2 years ago. That was the entry which really kick-started all the HK Locations stuff that has led to so many great things (and still more to come). But I feel that a separate entry is deserving because the story isn’t over yet and there are still many hurdles to jump before the thing finally gets off the ground. The main one seeming to be the vast differences in expectations between the Govt and the house’s owner, Yu Panglin.

Chinese Celebratory Banners

I can’t really think what else to call these things simply because I can’t find any reference to them in any of my books, but one thing is certain, whenever there is any sort of celebration in Hong Kong – from the large Da Jiu festivals to the simple (but rarely humble) opening of a new shop – these brightly coloured edifices sprout up and remain in place for the duration (and then some).

Rainbow Organic Strawberry Farm, Fanling

A couple of years ago we (the family and I) decided to try out a place in Fanling called Lavender Garden. It’s just down the road from the Hok Tau BBQ site and is a bit of a traipse but is nestled in a lovely part of the territory just behind the Pat Sin Leng range.

Former site of M.W Lo’s Tai Tam Mansion

This blog isn’t just about the stuff you can visit today, every now and again I find a snippet of information that relates to the history of a place. Apologies for these sudden bouts of nostalgia but I can’t help myself. It’s often the case in HK that the most innocuous looking building has some amazingly rich history, or if not the building, then at least the location. More so the latter because innocuous looking buildings are usually knocked down to be replaced by less innocuous looking ones with a higher rental yield *sighs*.  One such place  is the American Club in Tai Tam Bay.

Twitter

I’ve decided to come crashing into the 21st Century by joining Twitter (well, my camera is broken and I have nothing better to do at the moment). You can find me at: http://twitter.com/OrientalSweet

By the way, while you’re there you may want to follow David at Gwulo as well: http://twitter.com/Gwulo

Incidentally, I have also changed the name of the site to “Hidden Hong Kong (and Macau)” because I noticed there is a new HK forum that uses the name Hong Kong Stuff.

Another cool art-deco style house in Tai Po

This one is well hidden though unless you head away from Tai Po towards Ma Wo village and Cheung Wo Ching Sze Temple. Actually, this is pretty much right next to the entrance to the columbarium/graveyard grounds next to Classical Gardens.

The Old Well, Tai Po

I have David Leffman and his new Rough Guide to thank for this one. Like many things in HK, history is often staring you in the face but you carry on iin ignorance until you read a book that opens your eyes (much like Patricia Lim’s book did for me regarding Pan Chung Village).

Po Toi Island

If you have access to a boat (or you can catch a ferry from Aberdeen Harbour) then Po Toi Island is one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands worth a visit. Being away from the main Victoria Harbour area, it’s not usually the first choice for visitors when they decide to visit an outlying Island (I think we can all agree that Lamma and Cheung Chau probably win hands down in terms of populariity in that respect) which is a shame because there is a great olde world feel to Po Toi which is immediately obvious when you disembark from your boat.

The not-so-eco Eco Trail, Tai Po

A couple of years ago I wrote about a recently named “Eco Trail”(‘opened’ doesn’t seem to be the right word because the pathway it’s on has always been there) in Tai Po that runs up and down both sides of the Tolo Harbour nullah that sits at the bottom of Shan Yin Road. You can read the original entry here, however, I have an update on the place that is a little bit sad, a little bit infuriating but above all is a great example of the Govt really doesn’t give a flip.

More shophouses, Kowloon

My quest for Guangzhou-style shophouses, as mentioned on this earlier post, continues and for the most I am finding similarly designed ones that, although great and I’m glad they’re still around, don’t really stand out from the others. However, a couple of recent trips into Mongkok to purchase various homeware items have yielded a couple of absolutely fantastic looking buildings.

Steps to nowhere, Tai Po

Actually, you find this kind of thing all over the territory, but seems as though Tai Po also has its own set. Travel all over the place and pay attention to the slopes (the hill/mountainous nature of the place means there are over a zillion slopes – I know, I’ve been counting) and you will see steps zigzagging up them at often treacherous angles.

St Andrew’s Church, Tsim Sha Tsui

Here’s one that has been on the back-burner for a while as I cleared a backlog of stuff. It’s one of the many true pieces of history that are scattered around TST (Tsim Sha Tsui – a place full of an immense amount of history thrown in with an equal amount of tat).

Hong Kong Scuba Diving – a quick guide

As an avid scuba diver, and one who dives fairly regularly in local (HK) waters, I figured that a post on such a topic might actually be quite useful to non-locals/tourists who fancy taking the plunge when over here but had no idea it was possible (in HK). Or perhaps a local resident who wants to learn, but feels that HK doesn’t provide a decent enough environment.

I’ll be honest, despite having visited  HK on many occasions prior to me coming to live here (maybe 5 or 6 trips), I too had no idea that it was possible to dive here. It wasn’t until I went to the Caribbean (of all places) and did a certification under the tutelage of an ex-army chappy called Mick Hayward (hello Mick if you are reading this) that I found out the diving scene in HK is fairly big. It turned out he had friends in HK, also instructors, who were heavily involved with some of the local diving schools. As someone who thought I knew HK pretty well (yeah right – given the amount of stuff I now have on this blog – and still so much to add – I realise how deluded I was) I was astonished to learn this and made a note to give it a try next time I was over.

Kei Lun Shan, Lok Ma Chau

Kei Lun Shan is a fairly nondescript hill in the northern New Territories that commands an excellent view over the new border checkpoint at Lok Ma Chau. It’s sandwiched about half way between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui and so can be reached by using the minibus services that run from Fanling, or by catching a cab. If you have a bit of time then walking is always an option, but on this occasion time was against us.

Penha Hill, Macau

Penha Hill (Colina De Penha in Portuguese) is one of the higher points of the Macanese peninsula,  literally and figuratively. Perched on the top is the Penha Church – a Catholic Chapel that claims a long history in Macau, dating back to 1622, although the current incarnation dates back only as far as 1837, it still just manages to predate the British takeover of HK by a few years.

Yuen Long Park, Yuen Long

During a recent excursion to Yuen Long, on my fruitless search for the now infamous “Rose Garden” (for those who don’t know more about this read here, but basically seems to have been a popular location for HK films back in the 1970’s), I found out that Yuen Long has a very large (by HK standards) park.

How not to do heritage preservation – Li Chit Street

There is a small road in Wanchai, just down from the intersection of Hennessey and Johnston Roads, called Li Chit Street which has one of the most bizarre contributions to “urban renewal”.

Ho Sheung Heung, Sheung Shui

Following on from my recent re-discovery of Bruce Lee’s last filming location, I though I would mention a couple of other things found nearby that are worthy of a look, especially if Bruce trivia isn’t your thing.