Preparations - HK Style Part 4

As preparations continue, I must share the method we use most often to leave our neighbourhood....the escalator.  This is a brilliant way to move a whole lot of people up and down the hill.  It really is a series of escalators and stairs - the escalators run downhill from 7-10 am, and for the remainder of the day they run uphill.  So most often we walk down the stairs and then ride the escalators up (actually, we usually walk up the escalators)

We have video taped the trip for you....from Central to our street.  The escalators run up one more street after Robinson Road (our street).  A couple of things before you start up the escalators.  If you are standing, you must stand on the right hand side allowing those who want to walk to pass by.  This tape has been sped up to double speed to quicken the trip for you, but allow you to see what is around the escalators.  Jeff is helping you count the number of escalators...

Enjoy the trip!

Wasn't that fun?!  Another reason we enjoy this city so much!

No more sleeps....the cubs have arrived!

As usual, love you all

Linda and Jeff

Preparations - HK Style Part 3

Well, the last few days I travelled mostly by bus...very specifically, double decker bus.  Hong Kong has the most organized bus system, and it helps keep traffic moving.

There are regular buses like this one.....

...double decker buses like at this bus terminal (and many you saw on the blog previous to this one)....

...and on a couple main streets, there are still the trams that have been travelling down these rails (16 km of them) since 1904.  Today, they are the only all double-deck wooden0sided tram fleet in the world.

Along with that, there are two types of mini-buses - green tops and red tops.  Both are, obviously, mini, and can go places other buses cannot go.  You probably saw a few of them on the street pictures (previous blog) and you will see one or two as you travel with me on a double decker bus.



A few steps from our front door is, what we lovingly refer to as, the Magic Bus Number 23.  The mother of the man who owns the condo we live in (hope you followed that) told us when we looked at this place that she had a $1 million vehicle.  She said she had a chauffeur, and he was very nice and took good care of her.  She then told us about the magic bus number 23 that could take you anywhere in Hong Kong!  Know what?  She was right!  Jeff often takes it to start or end his commute to work.  I often take it when I head to other area of Hong Kong.  Come, join me on the Magic Bus Number 23 as we head down to Admiralty Station!

After the bus, I rode this:

 

it even went through town!

Okay, I didn't - but it was a spectacular display and I wish I did ride this train through a beautiful, wintery, mountain route!

More travels the next few days as preparations continue.....FIVE MORE SLEEPS!

As always, love you all

P.S...and don't worry, Jim, it is only 8 pm in HK (7 am in your home)...the time on this blog system must be based somewhere very different....

Preparations - HK Style Part 2

As preparations continue, today I did a lot of walking.  Hong Kong is interesting to walk around because sidewalks will come and go, streets will go up and down, people walk fast or very slowly, and at times wander a bit.  Carts arrive on sidewalks and streets as the hard working people deliver things to stores, and I am often surprised by what I find around certain corners. 

But this is all about the streets themselves.  Today I walked around Mid-Levels (where we live) and Central (just down the hill from us), so all of these shots are close to our home.  I hope you enjoy the variety that I saw today as much as I did.....and do every day! (remember to click on the picture to make it bigger if you want to see more details)

One of numerous stairs
that help shorten routes

There are often little squares to have a rest

Dusk settles (around 6 pm these days)
at a confusing corner where streets merge

One of many streets with little street food stalls

One of numerous alleyways full of
stalls....great, cheap shopping

 Sometimes we walk over the streets...this is when I am almost home

Last steps - the entrance to our apartment building
looking very festive!

Hope you enjoyed walking some streets nearby in Hong Kong with me as I continued my preparations for Christmas.  Once again, much easier than fighting for parking spots and dealing with traffic jams! 

Seven sleeps to cub arrival in HK!

How shall I travel tomorrow?????  Hmmm......

Preparations - HK Style

It struck me today as I started to work on my final list for Christmas (eight sleeps until Sarah and Chris arrive!) that my preparations may be similar to most years in Canada, but the method by which I do them is very different.  I am still seeking the turkey (found one today!), whipped cream and pumpkin (bought early last week!) as usual, and the search for the perfect gifts continue as they have every year.  There is no snow (which has happened a few times in Canada), and though not "cold" by Canadian standards, it is a welcomed 18 degrees and sunny, much cooler than the rest of the year. 

What struck me was that I was not riding in a car, driving from mall to mall, store to store, fighting to find a parking spot.  I thought about my next week of preparations and decided to share how I am getting around with you.  We have settled into life in Hong Kong so well we seem to think our transportation methods are the norm...well, maybe the norm here, but not in other parts of the world.  So over the next week or so I will update you on how I am getting around, and sharing some of the Christmas sights of Hong Kong with you.  We will experience preparations, HK style, together!

Today I needed to head to Kowloon.  We live on Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon is on the mainland but still part of Hong Kong itself.  Though you can get there by MTR (Mass Transportation Rail) or bus through the underwater tunnel, the best way is by Star Ferry.  The ride costs around thirty cents Canadian one way....really!  The Star Ferry has been in existence since 1888 when the trip from Pedder's Wharf (now on reclaimed land, but part of Central) to Tsim Sha Tsui left every 40 minutes. (The outfits the crew/sailors' wear look like they are from the 1880's)  Today the ferry leaves Central to Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (this is what I took) approximately every seven to ten minutes depending on the time of day.  Until 1978 this was the only way to cross from the island to the mainland, and only WWII and the occupation by the Japanese has stopped the ferries from running.

This seven minute trip dock to dock, depending on how many other boats they have to go around, is a joy - so peaceful, so beautiful.  Hong Kong people tend to read, stare, play on their smart phones while the tourists are easy to spot taking a thousand pictures and posing in front of the skyline.  I never tire of the view, and take the ferry whenever I have any excuse to.

So - sit back, enjoy the break from fighting car traffic, and enjoy this short video of some of the ride I took on the ferry today...

More to share in the next day or two as preparations continue!
Miss you all as this joyful season approaches,
Linda (and Jeff)

Anticipation.....

It is December and advent has started.  It is the season of waiting, anticipating, hoping for what is to come.  This means very different things to each of us....

What are you waiting for? For the cards to be written?  For the shopping to finally be done? For the busy December calendar of events to be over so that you can just relax? When I was very little, I waited for Santa Claus.  As I got older, I waited for holidays from school, then from work.  As I aged even more (insert age joke here) I waited for family gatherings, for feasts and great fun (with lots of laughter and silliness).  When we moved from Canada, I found I waited for any connections back home, and for Sarah and Chris to join us. I waited for the Skype Christmas around the family dinner table.  This year I wait again for Sarah and Chris to arrive so that the family gathering can begin.  What are you waiting for?

What are you anticipating this year?  Are you anticipating the usual useless, or thoughtful gifts? Are you anticipating new Christmas decorations - some lovely, some puzzling like this life sized Santa that plays the saxophone I found in Manila last year?   Are you anticipating fun times with the family, or tense times?  Are you anticipating the weight gain from over eating and then the guilt and work to lose it in January? Are you anticipating great fun, and creating new memories that will last for years to come?  Are you anticipating sadness in your season as you spend Christmas without someone you love? I anticipate great joy with the kids.  I anticipate sadness not being with the rest of our family.  I anticipate a relaxed Jeff that finally will get a few days off. I anticipate a Christmas unique to us as we spend it in Hong Kong and Thailand.  What are you anticipating this year?

What are you hoping for this season?  Are you hoping for a specific gift?  Are you hoping for lots or snow, or perhaps no snow? (please throw a snowball for those of us who are missing snow this time of year!  Feel free to throw them at someone from us!)  Are you hoping for lots of presents?  Are you hoping for enough food to feed your family?  Are you hoping for someone to acknowledge that they love you during this season?  Are you hoping for calm moments?  Are you hoping that this year will be different, that somehow the commercialism and "stuff" of the season (see picture of very confusing decoration) will fade away and the real joy of Jesus will come through?  I am hoping for great joy with Sarah, Chris and Jeff.  I am hoping for rest for souls as we gather. 

In your season of waiting, anticipating and hoping, remember to stop and just enjoy it.  Hong Kong is a bustling, very busy and fast paced city.....and yet I was stopped in my tracks the other day by a little child.  This toddler was slowly moving from side to side, carefully watching his shadow.  He would laugh, and then move and arm or two and watch his shadow, and giggle some more.  It struck me how wonderful that was...to just stop and enjoy the moments that life brings you. That is what I am attempting to weave into to my waiting, anticipating and hoping. Slow down and enjoy, pause and see, stop and live, rest and reflect.

'Tis the season of joy....may you truly experience that this year as you slow down, see the joy around you and truly, deeply enjoy the moments.

Let your gentleness be evident to all....the Lord is near - Paul

Love you all
Linda and Jeff

A Short Visit to Jakarta, Indonesia

The week before I headed to Canada, I travelled with Jeff to Jakarta, Indonesia for a few days.  We went a day before Jeff had to start working so that he could also see some of this city we had never been to before.  Well, we quickly realized we were not in organized Hong Kong anymore.  Jakarta is a city of just under 9 million people - all of which seem to be on the move, and not in an orderly fashion.

On Sunday, we took an organized tour of a few places in Jakarta to get a feel for the city.  The tour was in a mini-bus with three people from South Africa and Namibia.  As usual, it was fascinating to hear their stories and travel with them.

We started in old Chinatown, known as Glodok-very crowded, very poor and quite the market!  The main transportation in these alleyways was by foot, or....  we even saw one of these three-wheeled motorcycles with the Blue Jays symbol on it!

The trip through the market ebbed and flowed from fascinating to shocking to revolting.  Here are a few shots of the more unique things...not found in a Canadian market anywhere.  Some of these we find in Hong Kong, but not all of them.  Ready?  Let's head down the alleyway together.... (remember, you can click or double click on the picture to have a closer look)



live crabs with their feet tied...
don't want them running away!

nice fish, but he will shorten his
life span with the smoking
(why do people do this??)

these live toads had their feet tied
together...no hopping away

these toads aren't going anywhere
(there was a man sitting behind this
display skinning the toads with a
cigarette hanging out of his
mouth - the top of my list of jobs
NEVER to do!!)

live eels...seems rather tame
compared to the others

live turtle - I am pretty
sure there were a few
environmental laws
broken in this market

ah - live cobras that reportedly to add
years to your life (and, um, be nature's
viagara), with a great security
system - board with a rock on top!

 There were also beautiful things in the market, like these veggies and fruit....

...and little shops selling all sorts of things we find all over Hong Kong.  The people we were travelling with bought some things, and we just smiled and thought "I can buy that a five minute walk from my home!)

Next stop was an ancient Chinese temple.  This China town was the original home to Chinese who came to find work starting in the 17th century, and that is when this temple was built. Many parts of it were like most of the temples I have visited and shared with you, so I will just highlight some differences.

This little shrine is to a past Christian minister who helped the Chinese years ago when they were so oppressed - interesting to find this in a Buddha temple. I do like the inclusiveness of this. The two beds on either side were representative of the twins that this man's wife had.

 This temple was full of candles of a variety of sizes.....

and many many individual Buddhas in numerous 'houses' around the back of the main temple.  Here are a few of our favourites (they think of everything!)

the white tigers (in very stylish red
capes) were the gods to help
protect travellers

really....a guardian geometric shape??
The Hakka people must be
brilliant mathematicians

for our teacher and
professor friends

not sure what the "Dog of
Heaven" is doing on earth....

he just makes me smile : )

Yes - this IS a fire
extinguisher

The best part for Jeff was finding this...remember this temple is filled with candles (including some as tall as I am)...and this is the 'health and safety' just in case.....so covered in soot from the candles and incense that it was almost unrecognizable.

After the temple, we headed over to the old Batavia town area called Kota.  That is where the Dutch first settled when they arrived in Indonesia in 1596, and took over control in 1799.  Interestingly, as we met our tour guide he asked if any of us were Dutch - when we all said no, he laughed and then said he could talk freely about the country's history (what he did not realize was that our African tour buddies were Afrikaners of Dutch heritage!)

This area - huge square, large old colonial buildings - has amazing potential, and yet it seemed to be deteriorating before our eyes.  Some building seem to be left as they were after WWII and Indonesia received its Independence.  With the potential that this square held, it was just ...  sad.

There was one building intact in the square, and that was Cafe Batavia where we stopped for a cup of coffee. It has been renovated back to the state it was in when Dutch traders would have gathered for their coffee. Two stories high, white walls, dark wood, so elegant. As you can see, it is beautiful...showing that there such potential for the rest of the square.

Next was the puppet museum...may seem childish, but these people take their 'wayang' puppets seriously. Puppet shows last all night (up to eight hours), with only one puppeteers doing up to 40 characters. I was very impressed, having been exhausted using two puppets for one little song!!

the professional (one man)

Jeff gives it a try...

We then had a private little puppet show (only a few minutes long) but it gave us an idea of how complicated these shadow puppet shows can be!


There is much more to Jakarta.....

hundreds of boats that travel between
the 17,000 + islands in
Indonesia

have rug...will travel

friendly people

a picture is worth a
thousands words

motorbikes are the main
mode of transportation



where else would you leave your hat
when you park your bike?



much prettier than helmets,
don't you think?

...and so much of the city seemed run down, old, and sort of sad.  Oh, there were areas of modern buildings (such as where Manulife office is) and huge shopping malls with top of the line stores, so you know there is money in pockets of Jakarta.  This just needs to be spread around a bit and spent in rejuvenating parts of the city.  Such potential




We were surprised by two things:

One - this girl stopped me as we left the puppet museum and asked if she could practice her English with me.  Her friends all giggled as I said of course, and she pulled out a hand-written paper with questions on it.  She introduced herself, asked where I was from, questions about family and a few other things.  Then the obligatory Asian "take a picture".  It was a joy because I also asked her the questions back for more practice.

Two - this paper was available to read in the hotel lounge...read the name carefully....seriously!

Overall, Jakarta is a city that is starting to rise, but has a way to go.  I found it interesting, and yet I understand why people just travel through on their way to other areas of Indonesia.  Glad I went...probably won't be back.

Thanks for finding your way through this LONG blog about a short visit to Jakarta - love you all, Linda and Jeff