Autumn bride
 Yesterday was a public holiday so this couple pretty much had the whole Lok Yew Hall (of the University of HK) to themselves. The weather was nice and sunny so I bet they had got some really nice photos. Actually, so did I.Just for a bit of entertainment I searched online and found these quotations to go with this post. No, they do not necessarily represent my views :-) "The roses, the lovely notes, the dining and dancing are all welcome and splendid. But when the Godiva is gone, the gift of real love is having someone who'll go the distance with you. Someone who, when the wedding day limo breaks down, is willing to share a seat on the bus." Oprah Winfrey The music at a wedding procession always reminds me of the music of soldiers going into battle. Heinrich Heine WEDDING, n. A ceremony at which two persons undertake to become one, one undertakes to become nothing, and nothing undertakes to become supportable. Ambrose Bierce There are three rings involved with marriage. The engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Woody Allen Also see this interesting post by Kris of Szentes DP! Tags: |
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Scene from my life: sunday breakfast at a quiet fast food restaurant. The food is so-so but I have to credit this chain group for being one of the first smoke-free eateries in HK -- way ahead of government legislation. But from January 1, 2007, smoking will be banned in most indoor public areas including restaurants, offices, bars and karaokes. By then, HK smokers will join their comrades in other big cities in standing and puffing on the streets outside restaurants and offices.
Beauty and the beast? Dream and reality? Old world meeting the new? This is part of the roof decoration of the Man Mo Temple and of course the temple is not for lease. If I have not mistaken, this beauty is holding a flute sitting on a phoenix, totally at ease next to fishdraganaconda (ok, I made up that name). The Chinese characters say: Guangxu 19th year, referring to the rule of Emperor Guangxu, ie, the second last Emperor! That would make the year 1894! 
If I succeeded in yesterday's photo then I have to show you a failure today :-). My mental composition was to capture a man and a woman, hopefully a couple passing in front of this advertisement because it says "Love.Live". Well, first I couldn't get the exposure right to show the words, then that couple never came along, then there was too much traffic, then I couldn't position myself where I wouldn't be reflected...
Pilgrims in front of Cathedral de Chanel. Cheongsam? What cheongsam? The lady in the left has already declared her loyalty with the shopping bag :-) I took this photo on Tuesday, the same day I took the cheongsam photos in the same area, ie, Central; imagine the cultural shock! LOL.
Timeless is the style and artistry, but not the popularity of cheongsam. For my mom's generation, most women owned a few cheongsams for daily wear. For our generation, I don't think I know anybody having cheongsam in her wardrobe, except maybe the one for their weddings. Beautiful these cheongsams are, but not many people in the busy street of Central stop by to look at them. See yesterday's photo for close-up.
I got this photo today in Central while I walked past 
No, this building is not exactly going to collapse but it really does look quite fragile even with those supporting beams. I wandered in the Mid-Levels and found this building right next to an old mosque. What really attracted me are the three doorways, particularly the one with curtain, it looks quite mysterious and yet attractive. Nobody was around and I suspected myself to be trespassing so didn't get to find out much, but they don't look like Chinese households to me. To see the whole building 
Browsing the florist shop I took this photo and slightly adjusted the color. Some visitors have asked whether I'm using a digital SLR, well, it's actually a Panasonic FZ10 digital camera, 3 year old, 4 megapixel, but it's good enough for me. Apart from that and a little about aperture and exposure, I'm ignorant about all photography technicalities, ask me more about the lense specifications or anything involving math my head will ache. :-)
Ladder Street is a quiet little street linking Mid-Levels and Central/Sheung Wan; function-wise pretty much like the Central/Mid-levels escalators as seen 
About staying young at heart: while I bothered the ants with my camera (
I have always loved this passage which was widely circulated through emails a few years ago:
Kids in the park...my camera was following the boy chasing bubbles and then he ran into these girls with their nannies. The baby girl standing and looking right into the camera is just so adorable. I loaded this photo in a wrong folder and just rediscovered it today, it was actually shot a few months ago and these little girls should have graduated from "diapers" now.
I took this photo while taking a walk in my friend's neighborhoold. This is Wah Fu Estate, a government-built public housing estate in the Southern district. These households are not likely to be decorated with chandeliers but I think collectively, their lights form a kind of chandelier-like glamor against the clear sky of the evening. You can also see Wah Fu Estate in 
(Last one from Cat Street)
These are some of the interesting stuff I found in Cat Street. I guess these colorful bowls would have certain appeal to my foreigner friends, while I would consider some of the ceramics in 
I'm not sure why but the most noticeable figure in Cat Street seems to be Mao Zedong, his figurines are dominating several corners of the sidewalk. Mao was never a really popular figure in HK but maybe he has become a cultural icon, pretty much like people wearing Che Guevara T-shirt without knowing who he was? There are also quite a lot of Cultural Revolution related items on sale in the shops. (for more about Cat Street, see yesterday's post)
I don't know how it is now, but "Cat Street" (an alley in Sheung Wan near Hollywood Road) used to have a reputation as a tourist trap mainly because of the antiques shops. It is still a popular tourist destination so maybe the vendors are "nicer" now? I would say it's worth a visit as I too, saw some interesting stuff, but be very smart if you want to make a purchase ;p, eg, I don't think those are antiques in this photo, so, you know what I mean (wink wink)!
This can go with a Chinese idiom: 一葉知秋. These four characters are literally: One, Leaf, Aware, Autumn; loosely meaning you can tell it's autumn by seeing a leaf, extending to other meanings such as awareness of nature, logics in daily life and mindful observations in life.
More than 90% of HKDP's photos were taken in the HK island and this is the first post on the New Territories ;-), the northern-most region of the city which is mostly rural area, 
So Mid-Autumn Festival has passed and it was a great one this year with lots of gathering plus my first time to the Fire Dragon Dance (see yesterday's photo). There were numerous celebrations in the city ranging from large scale ones taking up the whole Victoria Park attended by tens of thousands of people, to smaller scale ones like this neighborhood party in a carpark with karaoke, games and lucky draw.
When the dragon dances, it rocks!
Last night, we went to Pokfulam to photograph a spectacular festival ritual and it was absolutely exciting. The Fire Dragon Dance features a 67-metre dragon studded with thousands of burning joss sticks that wends and dances through the Pokfulam village; while local participants bang drums and cymbals along the way! The ritual started more than 100 years ago when there was a plague and the sulphur from the firecrackers, the fiery dragon and the noise from cymbals were believed to help drive germs and evil spirits away.
I took this photo at my parents' Mid-Autumn Festival dinner last night (the festival is today but my family traditionally gathered the day before). Zero on presentation and no surprises in terms of the dishes -- we used to joke that Mom photocopied the dishes and put them on the table for every festive gathering; of course, now we appreciate that having the usual people, the usual place and the usual dishes are actually the precious things.
This is a beautiful blue door I found in the SoHo area a while ago. A mysterious place with a worn out door and a small sign saying it is a private club. The pile of cardboard papers was left by an old lady who I thought was going to sell it to some recycling factory.
Laundry outside an older building in Sheung Wan, looks like there's a fan of checker shirts in this household ;p
Here's the view from the Peak to the south-western part of the HK island. You can see the Pokfulam reservoir and I once lived in a building on its left. You can also see Lamma Island and the three chimneys of the power plant, they are also seen in these previous posts in 
"Handsome and the beast" can be an alternative title :p
Working in a hectic city makes taxi my friend, especially when I have to work late, am tired and dying to go home ASAP. There is nothing more comforting than seeing a long line of taxi lights and "For Hire" flags when I step out of the office building; you know, it's quite like seeing some knights in shining armour signalling "I'm available" to me :p.