I woke up early in the morning to take a stroll in the public park behind Alan's house. I think the Brits did a good job in planting trees all over Hong Kong. Across the border in China, many hills are just bare rocks. Those in Hong Kong must have been the same, since they share the same climate, and they are just a few kilometers away from each other. The vegetation can't be that radically different.
The park has Chinese herb gardens and walking trails with Chinese qigong and 養生 theme. It is very tastefully done, and far better than fake Euro-Japanese style often seen in Taiwan.
Hong Kong style, early morning. I saw some old Indian ladies practicing taiji. The old taiji master spoke English. He must have taught many non-Chinese Hong Kong residents.
This is the building in which Alan's flat is.
Don't know which flat, though...
At the top of the hill in the park, there is this pavillion. I did my morning prayer there.
Down the hill towards Chinese herbal garden.
Despite the fact that the important highway connecting the international airport with the city center was right behind the park, it was very quiet there. It was a very nice park, and I think the government of Hong Kong is doing a very good job designing and maintaining public spaces. I wish Hakone-yama in Shin-okubo was as nice as this one...
After a healthy morning stroll, unhealthy breakfast. At a tea house underneath Alan's flat.
That tutorial center famous in Manila was also here. Not a single Chinese word written in all of the tutorial centers I found in Alan's flat, reminding of English-medium education in Hong Kong. They spelt "math" the Philippine way! (It should be "maths" in the Hong Kong style.) Could many tutors be from the Philippines, as in many other countries?
Despite the fact that teaching model in Hong Kong schools is still the RP, I noticed that more and more children there are sounding rhotic. Could this be Philippine influence? Although the Hong Kong presenter I met at the conference denied the possibility and attributed it to American influence through the media, it is still true that those kids in Hong Kong get most exposure to English through their Philippine yayas.
Every year, the same lunch at the City U! I skipped the western style lunch provided at the conference and went to Festival Walk to eat this. I feel that the price of food in Hong Kong to be about the same level as Tokyo.
At the back gate of the City U, awaiting coach to China. Coaches in Hong Kong and China looked much more trustworthy than those we see here on Taipei roads, at least on the surface. No amateurish paintings of fake Donald Duck and Doraemon next to a Chinese fortune god, nor unpronouncable Chinese transliterations, different on the both sides despite the same Chinese name, on the body.
Now, off to China! Professor Moody of Universidade de Macau explaing the immigration requirements. People were wondering why on earth only the Japanese and Singaporean passport holders were not required a visa, when even those Macau residents holding US/European passports needed one. I felt the strong link between Japan and the People's Republic, despite all the recent fuss.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please tell me what you think!