Coming to a close.

Victoria Harbour from The Peak.

I am ashamed to say that I haven't been hiking since around last May. It's either been too hot, or too wet, or I've been too busy, or just too lazy. Nowadays the weather is perfect for hiking, so no more excuses. Yesterday I finally dragged myself out for a walk.

I decided to start off with an easy walk up to The Peak, the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island. I've never walked up The Peak before, though I have walked down several times via Pokfulam Reservoir and The Central Green Trail. There are many different routes for walking up and down The Peak. This time I decided to try going up Peel Rise on the Aberdeen side. I first came across Peel Rise when I walked The Hong Kong Trail Section Three and thought then that I should come back and walk up this road some time.

To get to Peel Rise, I went to Exchange Square Bus Station and got on bus 70P. This started out quite fast, going through the Aberdeen Tunnel and past Ocean Park, but when it reached Aberdeen, it got stuck in traffic for ages. I was actually tempted just to get off and walk the last stretch, but I didn't. I got off at Pak Sha Lau Yue Kong Chuen, (that's a bit of a mouthful for a bus stop) walked back down the hill to Saint Peter's Secondary School and found Peel Rise just below it.

Peel Rise.

Peel Rise split into two right at the start. I took the path on the right. Within a short distance, I was next to a large cemetery. I remembered this from The Hong Kong Trail. Chinese cemeteries in Hong Kong are normally located on hillsides and facing the sea, as these things bring good feng shui.

Take the path on the left.

Cemetery.

Past the cemetery, I went left at the catchwater. I enjoyed this stretch, as it was the only flat part of the whole hike. When my path split into two again, I went to the right. This was the correct way to go, but I should have gone left first to see a beautiful waterfall, then doubled back. The way I went, I still managed to see the waterfall, but I had to climb half way down a really steep bank to do so.

Waterfall.

Next, I crossed over a stream and reached a rest garden. I followed the sign for Peak Road. From this point the walk was all uphill. It was not a steep uphill; it was a gradual one, so it was not too demanding. There was shade the whole way, as the walk meandered up through the forest. On each side of the path there were streams for a while. It was very soothing, listening to the gurgling water and the songs of the birds.

Stream.

Rest area.

Follow the sign for Peak Road.

Every so often I came to a sharp hairpin bend. There were quite a few of these on this trail. There was lots of foliage but almost no flowers, except a few that had fallen from the trees.

Hairpin bend.

Fallen flower.

Selfie on the walk.

As I was in the trees there weren't too many views, until I was nearly at the top. I finally found one small gap in the trees.

View from the top of the trail.

View from the top of the trail.

When I reached number 7 Peel Rise, I had returned to civilization. There was a good view over Aberdeen from here, but I had to take it through a wire fence.

7 Peel Rise.

Looking down over Aberdeen.

Looking down over Aberdeen.

I noticed a wonderful old tree with beautiful roots.

Tree roots

There were posh, expensive houses here and Peel Rise was no longer pedestrianised.

Posh houses on the hill.

The Peak.

The Peak.

At the end of Peel Rise, I kept to the left and went up Gough Hill Path. This was to avoid the heavy traffic on busy Peak Road. There was a pretty little rest garden here, where I sat down for a while.

Gough Path on the left.

Peel Rise Rest Garden.

The next part of the walk wasn't pretty. It was necessary to cross Peak Road on the overhead bridge or at the traffic lights. I then walked along the slip road on the right of Peak Road until I reached Peak Galleria. The reason I didn't like this part of the walk was because I was walking along the sides of a busy main road. Mercifully this part of the walk was short.

Slip road.

At Peak Galleria I had a quick wander around, looking at The Peak Tower, the old tram carriage and the Peak Cafe

Peak Tower.

Old Peak tram.

The Peak Cafe.

Then I headed off to the Lions Pavilion. I passed a cafe with a spectacular view on route. It's a long time since I have been to The Lion's Pavilion. During COVID I could easily be the only person here. This time it was filled with Mainland Chinese tourists. Someone was selling paintings next to the pavilion.

Cafe with a view.

Paintings near The Lion Pavilion.

The views were spectacular. It was such a beautiful clear day.

View from The Lion Pavilion.

Buildings everywhere.

I had intended to go down Finlay Path and walk down Old Peak Road, but I couldn't resist going to Lugard Road on such a clear day, as I know it has the best unobstructed views.

Viewing platform on Lugard Road.

Looking towards the ICC building from Victoria Peak.

The ICC and boats.

So many boats.

View from another angle.

As it was a week day, it wasn't too busy though there were quite a few people around. At weekends this road can get as busy as wandering through Causeway Bay. To my surprise I was passed by at least seven people on wheelchairs. I wonder if I could push Peter around here.

Blue seas and blue skies.

I spent a long time enjoying the views. I've just got a new phone with a powerful zoom, so I was enjoying trying it out.

Harbour view with greenery.

Looking up the harbour.

Looking up the harbour.

Looking over Central.

Bank of China through the trees.

There is such an expansive view here, it is possible to get totally carried away with photo taking. I've been up here on days when you can't even see Kowloon, so a clear day like things this was wonderful.

View from The Peak.

Tall buildings and views.

Harbour view.

There are views up the harbour, across to Kowloon and, as you go further around, over the tops of distant islands.

Overlooking islands.

Overlooking islands.

There are other things to see on Lugard Road as well as the views. It has several very impressive old banyan trees and an old mansion that is meant to be the most haunted building in Hong Kong, though personally I wouldn't mind living in it.

Banyan trees.

Banyan trees.

Haunted house.

I noticed another beautiful old abandoned mansion behind the Buddah statues,too and a lovely old colonial style villa

Statue on Lugard Road, Victoria Peak, Hong Kong.

Abandoned mansion on The Peak.

Villa Vista.

When I reached the little garden between Lugard Road and Harlech Road, I headed off down The Morning Trail.

Garden between Harlech and Lugard Road.

Morning Trail Sign post.

I have only walked part of this before on my way to Pine Wood Battery. I didn't detour off to the battery this time, just stayed on the path. At one point a wild boar came out of the forest right in front of me. There was the occasional beautiful view.

Wild boar.

I found an old boundary stone, saying City of Victoria. There are several of these in Hong Kong. In fact I once read a description of a hike where the hiker walked from boundary stone to boundary stone. Not easy, as they are actually pretty far apart.

Victoria City Boundary Stone.

Having never walked all the way down The Morning Trail, I wasn't sure where I was going to come out. However, I soon realised I was heading for The Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre, which I visited just before it closed down. That means there's another trail up the Peak from here - The Lung Fu Shan Country Trail.

The Morning Trail distance marker.

Old building on the trail.

Pavilion on The Morning Walk.

Waterfall.

I headed down to Hong Kong University, yet another university campus. I can't seem to get away from them. I didn't really explore. I was getting tired by this stage, but I did photograph a couple of the older buildings and wanted through the Sun Yat Sen Garden. There were some pretty flowers and a beautiful tree in this area.

Grand old tree Hong Kong University.

Grand old tree Hong Kong University.

Eliot Hall, Hong Kong University.

Sun Yat Sen.

Sun Yat Sen.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea.

Indian Rhododendron.

The University of Hong Kong.

When I got to one of the MTR entrances, I discovered it was closed for renovation. I wasn't sure where the next nearest entrance was, so I ended up walking to Sai Ying Pun. I passed a few interesting buildings. I was greatly relieved to finally reach the MTR and get to sit down on the train. My legs were well and truly exhausted by this point. It was great to have got out and hiked again, but I must admit I am pretty out of condition.

St Anthony's Catholic Church.

Chinese Rhenish Church.

King's College.

At some point I will try another up and down route of The Peak, until I have done them all.

Beautiful tree outside Sunny Bay Station.

Might and Magnificence Ceremonial Arms and Armour Exhibition.

Am I pining for days gone by when I was a student? I don't know, but I'm back to university again, the second time in a week. Last time it was The Chinese University of Hong Kong, this time it is The City University of Hong Kong.

I've been to this university before to visit an exhibition about silk. This time I am back to the same gallery, but a different exhibition. This one is all about ceremonial weapons.

The University is right next to a large shopping mall called Festival Walk and as I arrived a bit early, I had a wander around there first. It was already decorated for Christmas. In fact they had one of those puzzling displays I really don't understand. This one was celebrating Hangyodon. Apparently he's a male fish created by Japanese company, Sanrio. They are also the makers of Hello Kitty and My Melody. I had never heard of him, but I photographed him nonetheless.

Hangyodon.

Hangyodon display.

Hangyodon's eyes keep changing.

Hangyodon.

Kids posing with Hangyodon.

Posing with Hangyodon display.

Hangyodon gift shop.

Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch.

After a quick wander, I headed to the university. I knew what to do this time. I just had to scan my QR code to get in. I remembered the best route to the museum was through the pretty Chinese Garden with its pavilions, waterfalls and greenery.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

I was still a little early, so I had a wander around the campus. There was some live music going on. I took a look, wandered to the swimming pool then headed back and into an area of the university I hadn't visited before. This one had quite an interesting Christmas display and an exhibition about the university's links with Sham Shui Po.

Live music.

Christmas decorations.

Christmas decorations.

Swimming pool.

There were bells ringing everywhere I went, but noone was paying any attention to them. Then there was an announcement saying the fire alarm had turned out to be a false alarm. When I headed back outside, a fire engine was just leaving. I headed to the exhibition which was on the eighteenth floor of the Lau Ming Wai Academic Building. I already knew where to go, as I've been before.

This exhibition was called 'Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour Across Cultures'.

Might and Magnificence.

We generally think of weapons as being something that's used in battles, but ceremonial arms are quite different. These are created for reasons other than warfare. They could be a symbol of wealth, status or power. They could be used in religious or cultural ceremonies. They could be presented to people from other countries as a symbol of friendship or respect. Ceremonial arms are generally much more ornate than ordinary weapons. They may be made using precious metals or expensive jewels. They are generally beautiful to look at and they are normally made by expert craftsmen.

Golden horse headed weapon.

Dragon headed weapon.

Jade horse headed weapon.

Elephant headed weapon.

This exhibition had almost two hundred examples of weapons from various different countries. Mostly these were Asian countries, but there were some African and European ones too.

Sri Lankan animal hilt.

Arm protector.

After the introductory section explaining what ceremonial weapons were, there was a section about the techniques used to create them. It began by pointing out that sometimes it's the tiny imperfections in an object that makes it valuable. A machine can produce thousands of objects that are identical in appearance and quality, but if objects are fashioned by hand, each one will be unique.

Many different techniques can be employed to make ceremonial arms. One technique is inlaying, which involves creating recessed areas on the surface of the weapon's base metal, then filling these in with precious metals. Then there's overlaying which involves applying a thin layer of precious metals over the base metal. Gilding is a kind of overlaying where the base metal is covered with gold. Enamelling involves fusing powdered glass onto the surface of a metal using high levels of heat. There's also a technique where metal can be hammered on the underside to raise it in different shapes on the upper side. Then there's piercing and openwork which involve carving intricate designs into metal, or cutting certain sections away using saws, chisels or drills. There are also several techniques for adorning metal with precious stones.

Bejewelled figure on the hilt of a sword.

This section was very interesting. I had never really thought about how much work goes in to creating an ornate metal object before.

The next part of the exhibition displayed weapons and armour from different countries and talked about some of their similarities and differences.

The first section displayed arms from the Ottoman Empire. These would be worn by the Sultan and his janissary guards among others. A common weapon from this time was the yataghan - a long sabre with a curved blade and no guard (guards protect the user's hand) between the handle and the blade. Ceremonial yataghan were often decorated with geometric or floral patterns.

Yataghan.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire. Some decorated with lapuz lazuli.

There was a section with weapons from Africa and The Middle East. This section included jambiya - daggers with short curved blades. These originated in Yemen, where males over the age of fourteen traditionally wore these as part of their clothing.

Yemeni Jambiya with sheath and belt.

Jambiya.

Jambiya.

My favourite section was the display of Indian weapons. I loved these because of the animal designs on the hilts of many of the swords. Indian royalty would wear their weapons to show their important status and would use them in religious ceremonies and cultural festivities.

Tiger headed weapons.

Elephant hilt Indian weapon.

Lion hilt Indian weapon.

Tiger hilt Indian weapon.

Indian sword with animal hilt.

Detail on Indian sheath.

The most famous of the Indian weapons is the katar - a type of push dagger with an H-shaped horizontal handgrip.

H-shaped Indian Katar.

H-shaped Indian Katar.

There was also a section on The Himalayas. This included weapons from Nepal, where the most famous is the khukuri. The khukuri is a knife with a distinct recurve in its blade. Khukuri are used for fighting, for ceremonial purposes and as a cutting tool. The khukuri is associated with the Gurkha regiments, who use them in rituals , festivities and parades. They even have a dance featuring them. There were also some unusually shaped weapons from Tibet

Gurkha Khukuri.

Gurkha Khukuri.

Tibetan weapons.

Tibetan weapons.

Tibetan weapons.

Stirrups.

The Chinese section contained, among other things, paintings, a suit of armour and bows and arrows that would have been used for hunting.

Chinese armour.

Chinese paintings.

Chinese weapons.

Chinese bow and arrows.

A lot of the arms on display in the Japanese section were produced during the Edo period when Japan was fairly unified and peaceful. At this time weapons were regarded more as a symbol of rank, power and wealth, rather than as a tool for fighting. The Japanese section also featured masks and helmets.

Japanese mask and helmets.

Japanese helmet.

Closer look at the Japanese mask.

Japanese weapons and stirrups.

There was a section for other areas of South East Asia. This included weapons from Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Myanmar.

One of these weapons is from the Philippines and it's decorated with American coins.

Indonesian Kris

Siamese sword.

Decorations on Thai scabbard.

The final section talked about the effects colonialism had on weapons production when Eastern craftsmen adjusted some of their designs to suit European tastes and the fact that those from the east and those from the west learned about different weapons and techniques from each other.

A more modern weapon.

Swords from colonial times.

Dagger from Colonial times..

Weapons presented as gifts in Colonial times.

After the exhibition I returned to Festival Walk to do a little bit of shopping. I noticed there was a Harry Potter popup shop. I'd have liked to look inside, but as it was the shop's opening day, so it was by invitation only.

Harry Potter popup.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Yesterday I went to Chinese University to see my friend Agnes who lectures there. As well as wanting to meet up with Agnes, I also wanted to take a look around the university campus, because it is said to be the most beautiful university campus in Hong Kong.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong was established in 1963 when three colleges - Chung Chi College, New Asia College, and United College - joined together. This makes it the second oldest university in Hong Kong. It's also the largest of Hong Kong's universities in terms of area, as it occupies 138.4 hectares of land and houses a hundred and sixty-nine different buildings.

To get to the university I took the train to University Station on the East Rail Line and exited through Exit D. To get onto the campus I had to pass through a security check. I was able to show I had an appointment with a member of staff at the university, but Agnes told me I would still have been able to enter even if I hadn't. I would just have needed to show some identification.

Once past the checkpoint, I headed straight to the university lake on Chung Chi Campus. I passed by a very colourful staircase on route. The lake I was heading to was at one time simply known as the lily pond, but nowadays, after going through a major renovation, it has a grander title -The Lake Ad Excellentiam. This echoes the motto of Chung Chi College - 'In Pursuit of Excellence'. The path around the lake probably also used to be just a path, but now it's The Philosophy Path, where students can wander around while contemplating the meaning of life, or perhaps just what they'll have for dinner that evening. Who knows? Either way it's a lovely place for a stroll.

Colourful staircase.

Chung Chi College.

There are two bridges over the lake. One is known as The Crooked Bridge and the other is The Arched Bridge. Together these bridges are meant to represent the twists and turns and ups and downs of life, but of course, as they are bridges they also imply that it's possible to pass over these and come out the other side.

The Arched Bridge.

The Arched Bridge.

Me by The Arched Bridge.

The Crooked Bridge.

The Crooked Bridge.

There was a statue at the side of the lake and there were floral tributes all around it. I later found out this was a statue of Chinese philosopher, Lao Siguang.

The statue of Chinese philosopher, Lao Siguang.

I liked the little red pavillion with a green roof, which was situated next to the lake. It looked very picturesque.This is known as The Lions Pavilion, as it was funded by The Lions Club of Hong Kong in the late 1970's.

The Lions Pavilion across the water.

The Lions Pavilion across the water.

The Lions Pavilion.

No self respecting university is without its ghost stories and there is one about this lake. Apparently a female university student had arranged to meet her boyfriend by the lake one evening, but he failed to turn up and she later saw him with another girl and realised he was two-timing her. She was so heartbroken that she threw herself into the lake and drowned. Nowadays her ghost wanders the paths around the lake and if she sees a male student wandering by himself (contemplating the meaning of life or what to have for dinner) she will approach him and ask him the time. If he answers her, she will drag him into the lake and drown him.

Reflections in the lake.

Reflections in the lake.

Reflections in the lake.

Bougainvillea.

I must admit as I was wandering around, a young male student came towards me and I was severely tempted to ask him the time just to see if he would scream and run away, but I controlled myself and behaved.

Lily pads in the lake.

Trees surround the lake.

Right at the end of the lake I noticed a monument. I'm not sure what it commemorates.

Monument.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong has the greenest campus of all the universities here and it's also one of the hilliest with many buildings situated on the slopes of the mountains. To get to where Agnes was I took bus number 2. It's not that I minded walking, but it's actually really easy to get lost here and without the bus I felt I'd never find where I wanted to go. Several bus routes serve the university's spread out campus.

I should have got off the bus at New Asia College, but I deliberately got off one stop early at United College, as I saw there was an excellent view point there and I wanted to take some pictures. The views over Tolo Harbour reminded me of the views from our roof garden when we lived in Sha Tin.

Looking down on the library.

View from United College.

View from United College.

View over Tolo Harbour from United College.

View from United College.

View from United College.

View from United College.

After enjoying the view, I walked onwards towards New Asia College. Before phoning Agnes to say I had arrived, I went to The Pavilion of Harmony. This dates from 2003 and was built as a tribute to Chien Mu, one of the New Asia College founders. It's meant to illustrate his work 'The Theory of the Union of Man and Nature'. The pavilion contains a reflective infinity pool which when viewed from a certain angle appears to be connected to Tolo Harbour. It was a very cloudy day and probably not the best for viewing it, but it was still pretty.

The Pavilion of Harmony.

The Pavilion of Harmony.

Me at The Pavilion of Harmony.

View from The Pavilion of Harmony.

View from The Pavilion of Harmony.

View towards Tai Po from New Asia College

View towards Tai Po from New Asia College.

View towards Tai Po from New Asia College.

I noticed another interesting structure which Agnes later told me was a water tower. In fact the university has two water towers. The New Asia College Water Tower is known as The Gentleman Tower and The United College Water Tower is known as The Lady Tower. Both of these structures date back to the 1970's and are no longer in use. Apparently the towers have security cameras on them as students like to try and break in and climb up them. There would certainly be a fantastic view if you could get to the top.

Water tower, New Asia College.

Near the New Asia College water tower there's a statue of Tang Chun-I, a Chinese philosopher who helped found the college and a statue of Confucius. The founders of New Asia College liked the idea of a modern China that still placed a lot of importance on Confucian principles.

Statue of Tang Chun-I.

Confucius.

I also noticed an interesting looking clock tower, which was apparently designed by a student in the university's architecture department.

Clock tower.

Having completed my sightseeing, I then tried to contact Agnes. I was under the impression I was in New Asia College, as that was written next to the building I was in. I hadn't realised that New Asia College was a collection of buildings rather than the name of one building. Nonetheless, I did eventually manage to reach Agnes on the phone and she came and got me.

New Asia College.

Mural outside New Asia College.

Agnes's students were busily working on an assignment. I had a chat with a very pleasant Vietnamese student who told me she had already completed her work.

When the lesson was over, Agnes, her friend Martin and I all went for lunch. We stopped off at The Pavilion of Harmony for a photo again first. When I visited originally there was noone there, but a busload of Mainland tourists had arrived to take photos. Apparently it is a very popular sight and a big hit on Instagram.

Agnes and I at The Pavilion of Harmony.

Agnes and I at The Pavilion of Harmony.

We went for lunch in The United College Staff Canteen. The vegetable dishes: pak choi and cucumber with peanuts were fine, so were the shrimp dumplings, but the meat dishes were either a bit too oily or undercooked, so we weren't that impressed with the food.

Pak choi.

Cucumber.

Siu Mai.

Shrimp dumplings.

Beef noodle.

Pork ribs that were very undercooked.

Building opposite where we are lunch. United College Adam Schall Residence.

After lunch, Martin headed off and Agnes showed me around the campus a bit more. Agnes works for The School of Journalism and Communication which is located in The Humanities Building. We returned there and Agnes showed me the lecture halls and filming equipment.She made me pose with some filming equipment, so I could pretend to be an on the spot newshound.

School of Journalism and Communication.

Standing in front of the newspapers.

Filming equipment.

My new career.

After that we went to see the walkway between the University Library and the Science Centre, which is normally referred to by its nickname 'The Million Boulevard." Some people say this name comes from the fact that the walkway cost a million Hong Kong dollars to build back in the 1970's, others say it's because the pattern on the tiles looks like the character for a thousand and lots and lots of thousands will make a million.

The Million Boulevard.

The Million Boulevard.

As we approached the library, we could see The Gate of Wisdom sculpture. University legend states that any undergraduate who walks through the centre of this sculpture will never graduate. Many universities have a similar belief associated with other sculptures.

Gate of Wisdom.

Library.

Another interesting place to have a look at was The Institute of Chinese Studies. This had a pretty court yard style garden with ponds, poinsettias and a statue of American Chinese economist, Li Choh-ming.

Institute of Chinese Studies.

Agnes in The Institute of Chinese Studies.

Li Choh-ming statue.

We also took a look at some of the university's sports facilities such as its beautiful swimming pool. Agnes told me the students have to attend PE lessons when they enrol on a course.

Swimming pool.

Swimming pool.

Sports facilities.

It was time to head back downhill to the MTR. Luckily Agnes knew exactly where she was going, because I was soon completely lost. We went through an array of buildings, down a series of lifts and eventually reached the station. On route we passed a few places with beautiful views.

I liked the look of this building, don't know what it is.

View on the walk down.

View on the walk down.

View on the walk down.

View on the walk down.

It had been a very enjoyable day despite the weather. It was lovely to catch up with Agnes and to meet her friend. I hope to go back at some point when I will also visit the university museums and I have read that the trees around the lake are beautiful in autumn when they change colour.

We were supposed to be going on holiday to Spain, France and Italy, but Peter hasn't been well and Spain is experiencing terrible flooding and here on the day our flight should have gone, there was a force 8 typhoon. (Typhoons don't happen here in November, but this is the second to take place in November this year and there's another one close behind it). So, long story short, it felt like this holiday was never meant to be and we cancelled it at the last minute. That's fine and yet this 'never to be holiday' has taken up so much of our time. I've sorted through wardrobes, washed, dried packed, shopped. We've spent hours planning and researching. We've had fight after fight about whether we should go or not, and in case you are interested these have not been straight forward fights. One day I'll say: "It's fine, we should go." and Peter will say: "I don't think I can do it." Then next day I'll say: "You are right. We should cancel." and Peter will say: "No, I really think we should go." We never agree and it goes round and round in a circle and this has been going on for weeks, but at least we finally made a decision. For my part my biggest bone of contention has been that this cancelled holiday has taken over so much of our lives, but now it's gone and the fighting is over.

Today when I woke up in Hong Kong knowing that I should have been just about landing in Spain, I just had to get out. I had no clear plan. I normally tell Peter where I'm going, but today all I could tell him was: 'I'm going out'. It was a pretty foul day weather wise and I planned my destination on route, eventually deciding that I would head to Nina Park, Tsuen Wan, which I have read has a collection of fossils.

I had never heard of Nina Park until quite recently, but I have been to Nina Mall One and Nina Mall Two in Tsuen Wan, which are next to the park. It never occurred to me that these might be called after an actual person. That was until I saw a little model of a girl with pigtails standing next to the park and I suddenly realised all these things are called after Nina Wang. Maybe that's not such a huge revelation as, although I have heard of Nina Wang, you could sum up my knowledge of her in the words: ' rich, contested will and pigtails.' But now that I have been to her park, I'm suddenly interested in finding out more about her, so here's what I have learned.

Cartoon type model of Nina Wang. She was famous for her pigtails, short skirts and bright colours.

Nina Kung , later to become Nina Wang, was born in Shanghai in 1937. Her closest childhood friend was a little boy called Teddy Wang, whose father had a paint and chemical business. However, the Wangs eventually left Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong where they established a business that later developed into the extremely lucrative Chinachem Group. Nina and Teddy were separated, but met again in 1948 when she was just eleven years old, and they married in 1955 when she was eighteen.

Unfortunately, the Wangs' successful business dealings didn't always bring them happiness. In 1983 Teddy Wang was kidnapped. He was kept chained to a bed for eight days until Nina paid a ransom of $33 million to have him released. Then seven years later in 1990, Teddy was kidnapped again, but this time he wasn't released and, to this day, his body has never been found. One theory is that Teddy had been taken on board a boat and his kidnappers threw him bound and gagged into the sea to avoid a police patrol boat finding him.

In 1999, although it was still the case that noone really knew what had happened to Teddy, he was declared officially dead. However, in trying to sort out his finances, it was discovered that he had left three different wills. The earliest will left half of Teddy's money to his father and the other half to Nina. The second one left everything to Teddy's father. Apparently it had been made shortly after Teddy had discovered that Nina was having an affair. The third will left everything to Nina and mentioned that Teddy was extremely unhappy with his family. After lengthy court proceedings, this third will was declared a forgery and all Teddy's money went to his father. However, Nina appealed against this ruling and managed to have it successfully overruled. Thus she regained control of Chinachem in 2005, but the nonstop stress of a missing husband and endless court battles had taken their toll. Nina Wang passed away two years later in 2007, aged just sixty-nine. At that time she was the richest woman in Asia with a net worth of US$4.2 billion. As well as being a successful business woman, Nina was famous for her pigtails, bright colours and short skirts.

Nina's death should have been the end of the story, but it wasn't. Nina's family stated that she had always insisted that she would leave the majority of her fortune to medical and educational charities in Mainland China, but after her death a will leaving money to these charities and a second different will were found. In the second will Nina left almost her entire fortune to her personal feng shui consultant, Tony Chan, who had apparently been her lover. Eventually this will was declared a forgery and Tony Chan was imprisoned.

So if you've ever wondered if excessive amounts of money always bring happiness, please think again.

Anyway, one final thing to note about Nina Wang is that she collected fossils and after her death The Chinachem Group decided that it would be a good idea to display them in a park next to the Nina Mall buildings. That's what I had decided to go and see.

I didn't head to Nina Park straight away. First, when I arrived in Tsuen Wan, I had a quick walk along the waterfront, looking at the ships and the bridges.

Looking towards the Ting Kau Bridge.

Ships passing the Ting Kau Bridge.

Ships passing the Ting Kau Bridge.

Looking towards Tsing Yi.

Looking towards Tsing Yi.

High rises in Tsing Yi.

More bridges.

I walked as far as the waterfront park that had a special display devoted to Din Dong and Jentle Cat cartoon characters last time I was here. I discovered many of these characters were still on display, but definitely not as many as before.

Din Dong.

Jentle Cat.

Other animal characters.

More animal characters.

More animal characters.

I retraced my steps and walked through Tsuen Wan Park. It started to rain heavily, but I had a wander around nonetheless.

I had a look at the flat drawings that look 3d when viewed from a certain angle.

Waterfall.

Bridge next to a fish pond.

I found a pavilion filled with beautiful plants in a wide array of colours.

Colourful plants.

Colourful plants.

Colourful plants.

I walked to the bridge next to the waterfall and for the first time realised it was possible to climb up inside the tower.

Waterfall and tower.

Inside the tower.

The bridge viewed from the tower.

At the end of Tsuen Wan Park, next to the bus station, I saw a sign for Nina Park.

Nina Park Sign.

There were people hosing down the stairs leading up to the park, so climbing them was like wading through a fountain. Apparently most of Nina Wang's fossils came from Java. The first one I saw is known as the Nina fossil. It is shaped like a heart and was formed from two conjoined trees.

The Nina fossil.

Further in and there's a rather odd looking fossil fountain.

Fossil fountain.

Lots of other fossils were dotted around. Some were surrounded by flowers and plants, some were themed such as: the Graduation Fossil, the Promise Rock, the Victory Rock. The Graduation Fossil was tied up in a bow like a degree scroll. The Promise Rock was positioned next to a giant wedding ring inscribed with the word love in many different languages. The Victory Rock looked like it was sticking up two fingers to make a V for victory.

Fossils surrounded by flowers.

Fossils surrounded by flowers.

Fossils surrounded by flowers.

Fossils surrounded by plants.

The Graduation Fossil.

The Promise Rock Sculpture.

The Promise Rock Fossil from another angle.

The Promise Rock Fossil.

Victory Rock.

The whole collection contains about a hundred different fossils. There were some attractive fossil arrangements all around.

I thought this bumpy fossil was beautiful.

This one was called Moonrock. It's a three hundred year old tree that was buried in volcanic ash.

Fossilized trees.

Fossilized trees.

Growth rings of a fossilized tree.

Stairway with fossils.

Then there were several scientific displays such as: The People Timepiece, The Sky Timepiece and The Earth Timepiece. These only operate at certain times. I wasn't there at the right time for any of them to be working. The People Timepiece shows how much water people waste each day. The Sky Timepiece shows how water evaporates to form clouds and then the clouds condense to form rain. The Earth Timepiece shows The Rock Cycle. Igneous rock weathers, erodes and deposits to form sedimentary rock, which gets compressed and heated into metamorphic rock, which liquifies into lava, then erupts and cools to form igneous rock. I actually don't ever remember learning about this in school. Maybe I was off that day!!!

People Timepiece.

Sky Timepiece.

Earth Timepiece.

I did see The Rainwater Harvesting System which recycles rain water come into operation. It works on the hour and half hour. It had plenty of rain water to recycle during my visit. There was also a water screw, one of the earliest ways to pump up water.

The Rainwater Harvesting System.

The Rainwater Harvesting System with The Fossil Discovery Centre in the background.

Water screw.

Water screw.

There was a sandpit with various animals bones in it.

Sandpit with bones.

Sandpit with bones.

There was even a bench that's supposed to check your temperature and cool you if you are hot, or warm you if you are cold. I didn't sit on it as it was soaking from all the rain.

Interactive bench.

I wandered in to The Fossil Discovery Centre. This had information about the park and about how fossils are formed. It displayed slices of fossilized wood, leaf fossils, flowers fossils, animal fossils and even dinosaur eggs and footprints. It was all very interesting.

Path leading to The Fossil Discovery Centre.

A mural made of wood fossils.

Palm wood fossil slice.

Wood fossil slice.

Agatized wood fossil slice.

Wood fossil slice with fungal rot.

Rock crystals.

Rock crystals.

Amber.

Fossilized flowers.

Fossilized leaf

Fish fossil.

Ammonite.

Dinosaur footprints.

Dinosaur eggs.

Mammoth tusk and shark tooth.

Tools of a palaeontologist.

Fossilized tree.

Fossilized tree from a different angle.

Inspirational sayings.

Inspirational sayings.

Back outside I couldn't help noticing the flowers were really beautiful after the rain, as some of them were covered in sparkling raindrops.

Frangipani.

Raindrops on Impatience plants.

Raindrops on pink trumpet.

Raindrops on pink trumpet.

Raindrops on cosmos flower.

Raindrops on cosmos flower.

Raindrops on cosmos flower.

Raindrops on Perigrina.

I had a leisurely walk around, then headed back home. Getting out and about and doing something had started to lift my mood.

Yesterday I headed off to Wanchai to meet up with friends and celebrate my fifty-ninth birthday. I always set out a bit earlier than necessary and go off and look at something or run some errands on the way. This time I decided to go via Tsim Sha Tsui and ride the Star Ferry to Wanchai, since it's been a while since I have done this.

I took some photos of the mosque next to Kowloon Park. It's much easier to photograph it from the far side of the road.

Kowloon Mosque.

Then, I walked past the infamous Chung King Mansions, headed through the lobby of The Peninsula Hotel and watched the crowds posing for photos in front of Heritage 1881. As far as I could see there were no special events or displays on at this time. I guess the next big event will be Christmas.

Chung King Mansions.

The Peninsula Hotel.

Heritage 1881.

The journey from Tsim Sha Tsui to Wanchai by Star Ferry only takes about eight minutes, but it's very pleasant. The sun was just starting to set as the ferry sailed across Victoria Harbour.

Waiting to board the Star Ferry.

Waiting to board the Star Ferry.

Artwork at the Star Ferry pier.

On board the ferry.

The Tsim Sha Tsui clocktower.

Looking back at Tsim Sha Tsui.

Looking back at Tsim Sha Tsui.

In the middle of the harbour.

The sun going down over Central.

Sunset over Central.

Arriving in Wan Chai.

Star Ferry Man helping us to dock.

I travelled on The Northern Star.

Near the Wanchai ferry pier there's a sitting out area by the waterside that's very pleasant. People come here to exercise and one area is used for staging the Hong Kong Harbour drone shows which have taken place here a few times recently. I haven't gone to see one yet. There are a few nice decorations around this area. There are also good harbour views from the ferry terminal roof, but I didn't go there on this occasion.

Area around Wanchai Ferry Pier.

Area around Wanchai Ferry Pier.

Decorations.

Decorations.

Animal statues.

From this point I should have got onto a footbridge and headed up towards Hennessy Road where the restaurant was, but instead I continued at ground level. This was a mistake, because I soon came to areas where I couldn't cross the road in the direction I wanted to go, so I ended up at the exhibition centre with the golden bauhinia statue outside it.

Golden bauhinia statue.

I walked along the waterfront looking for a way to get across the major roads that were blocking me from getting where I wanted to go. The sunset was getting more beautiful by the minute.

You can lie back in the park and enjoy the sunset.

Sunset over Central.

I also discovered there were lots of little Olympic statues in the park by the water. I only photographed a few as I was running out of time and light. I'll need to come back and have another look.

Fencing statue.

Fencing statue.

Fencing statue.

Volleyball.

Hurdles.

Martial arts.

Horse riding.

Archery.

Finally I found a way to get away from the harbour and up to Hennessy Road. We were meeting in a Thai restaurant called the Ban Ku Ya Club, which was located upstairs on the second floor at 18 Hennessy Road. The restaurant has lots of pictures of a cute, chubby little girl.

Elizabeth, Sarah and Lai were already there when I arrived and we all had a pleasant chat while waiting for Maggie and Linda. Sarah and Elizabeth sorted out the ordering. They decided to go for a set meal for five people, plus a green curry with pork, because green curry is my favourite Thai dish. The set meal included soft drinks, too. I had an iced lemon tea.

We had pomelo salad, chicken with cashew nuts, steamed fish, pork neck, roast chicken, flat noodles with vegetables and prawn. There was tonnes of food. It was all delicious, but I especially liked the steamed fish, chicken with cashew nuts and pork neck.

Pomelo salad.

Flat noodles with prawn and vegetables.

Chicken with cashew nuts.

Green curry with pork, though to be honest it tasted like beef.

Chicken.

Whole fish cooked at the table.

Pork neck. This was one of the best dishes

Roast chicken.

Fried rice.

When we had finished eating, I began to notice a lot of whispering, that I was excluded from, going on. Something was about to happen. My lovely friends, or should I say "friends" in inverted commas, know that I do not like to be the centre of attention, so they had arranged for the staff to make me wear a happy birthday crown, while holding up an enormous birthday banner and then for the entire wait staff to grab hold of microphones and sing Happy Birthday at a deafening volume in Thai, Mandarin and English. I believe at least twice in each language while they and pretty much all the other diners in the restaurant fell around laughing, as they filmed me cringing in embarrassment. It went on for around ten minutes, but it felt like ten years. Thanks guys. Just you wait till it's your birthday.

Me in my birthday crown holding up my enormous birthday banner and being embarrassed to death.

Yes still cringing for about ten minutes till the singing was finally over.

All of us.

On the plus side, having totally destroyed my cake whilst trying to cut it last year, I managed to cut this one easily. It was a mango and sticky rice cake with coconut cream. It was lovely.

My friends gave me a very thoughtful card, assuring me I wasn't really getting old, just more awesome and presented me with five hundred dollars of Marks and Spencer vouchers which I am already planning how to spend in my head.

My cake. At least I could cut this one.

In truth the whole evening was lovely and great fun. Thank you very much for a very special birthday dinner everyone.