By this Author: irenevt

Lantern Festival, Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.
– Gautama Buddha

Peter surprised me by suddenly saying: "Let's go back to Macau." He had found another good deal at the Sofitel. I was fine with this, but I mentioned that I had actually intended to look at more Mid-Autumn Festival displays in Hong Kong. So he told me: "Look at them before you go." That just gave me one day to see them and there are lots, so I decided I might as well go for it and do a few on the same day.

I started by taking the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui to see the displays there. These consisted of different sized spheres next to the clock tower. Some were white and opaque and some were shiny and reflective. To be honest they weren't that exciting, but then I was visiting in the light. They may well be more impressive lit up at night time.

Lanterns, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Lanterns,Tsim Sha Tsui.

Lanterns, Tsim Sha Tsui.

After I had walked around this area a bit, I went to the star ferry terminal and took a ferry to Wan Chai. The journey across was very pleasant. The sun was just starting to go down and the light was reflecting off the windows of many of the buildings.

Looking back at Tsim Sha Tsui.

Looking back at Tsim Sha Tsui.

Looking towards Wan Chai.

Passing a colourful star ferry.

Star ferry man.

Star ferry man.

Waterfront in Wan Chai.

The beginnings of sunset.

Playground on Wan Chai Waterfront.

Playground on Wan Chai Waterfront.

In Wan Chai I headed off to Lee Tung Avenue, because I knew they always have beautiful lantern displays there. It was dark by the time I got there and the displays were already lit up. I think there are times when a dragon image is projected in one area of the displays, but I did not see this. As always the displays here were wonderful.

Lee Tung Avenue.

Lee Tung Avenue.

Lee Tung Avenue.

I visited a pharmacy near Lee Tung Avenue to get some things for Peter, then I took the MTR one stop to Causewaybay and headed to Victoria Park.

I have never been to the lantern display here before, because I always thought it would be so crowded you would scarcely be able to move. Maybe it gets like that at times, but during my visit it was fine. The displays cover a large area and there was plenty of room to move around.

Victoria Park at night.

Victoria Park at night.

The displays here were in several different groups. Near the entrance there was a flower and butterfly display which was amazingly colourful.

Flowers and butterflies.

Flowers and butterflies.

Flowers and butterflies.

Flowers and butterflies.

My favourite was nearby. It was a frog and waterlily display, which I thought was very cute. I don't think I have seen frog lanterns before.

Frogs.

Frogs.

Frogs.

I also liked the ocean display nearby. This was filled with a wide variety of different fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Fish.

Further over there was a display with rabbits and mooncakes that was very popular with the locals. It was hard to get in a good position to photograph that as people seemed to pose in front of it continuously. I had feared all the displays would be like that, but thankfully they weren't.

Hard to get near this one, but I battled through.

Nearby there was a giant rabbit lantern with smaller rabbit and mooncake displays next to it.

Rabbits.

Rabbits.

Rabbits.

Giant rabbit.

Then there was a lovely display with pandas, bamboo and purple blossom.

Pandas.

Pandas.

At the far end of the park there was a display with local animals such as: wild pigs, monkeys and squirrels. I must admit I liked the wild pig lanterns, most unusual.

Animals native to Hong Kong.

Animals native to Hong Kong.

Animals native to Hong Kong.

In one area a video of the Tai Hang Fire Dance was being shown.

In the central area there was a live performance of Chinese opera. You needed a ticket to go to this, not sure if it was free or if you had to pay. I didn't try and go in. I wanted to use my camera zoom to take some photos of the performers but although I thought I had charged my camera it hadn't worked properly and the battery was dead.

Not far away there was another Chinese opera stage but this one was made up of lanterns.

Chinese opera.

Chinese opera.

Chinese opera.

Overall, I was really impressed with the displays in Victoria Park. I thought they were spectacular. This event is free entry, too which surprised me. It's a great way to celebrate Mid-autumn

I headed towards the exit of the park, pausing to take some pictures of the fountain at the entrance changing colour. Then I headed home.

Fountain.

Fountain.

Fountain.

Garden in The Temple of the Pine Trees.

"No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees."

Thomas Merton

After looking around Lantern Street in Yuen Long, I decided I would get back on the train and go and visit Ching Chung Koon Temple again. I went here briefly once before when I walked to Por Lo Shan, the Grand Canyon of Hong Kong.

To get to Ching Chung Koon Temple I took the MTR to Siu Hong Station, then took the light rail train number 505 in the direction of Sam Shing. I got off at Ching Chung Station. The temple is on the same side of the railway line where I got off. I crossed the road at the crossing, then went right. It's easy to miss the entrance to the temple, as it's just a little path off to the left through an inconspicuous looking red gate. Here behind a fenced off area, there are many bonsai trees. This temple is famous for trees. There are also several bonsai trees on the opposite non-fenced off side of the path. Apparently some of these are actually hundreds of years old. A few pots contain ceramic figures and give the illusion of miniature landscapes.

Bonsai trees.

Bonsai trees.

Bonsai trees.

Ching Chung Koon translates into English as Green Pine Temple. This is a Taoist temple which was founded in 1949 by the Dragon Gate Sect of the Complete Reality School of Taoism. Ching Chung Koon was originally located in Kowloon, but as it expanded, it needed more space to grow, so in the sixties and seventies new temple buildings were built here in Tuen Mun. Apparently the Taoist group this temple belongs to does a lot of charitable work and provides two medical clinics specialising in Chinese medicine, eight free schools and several care homes for the elderly. Ching Chung Koon Temple has a vegetarian restaurant and also provides a very large number of resting places for the cremated remains of departed loved ones.

There are a few buildings past the lines of bonsai trees. I am not exactly sure which part of the temple they are. I think this may be the site of the clinic and the restaurant.

Temple building.

Temple building.

Temple building.

Temple buildings.

Temple building.

My favourite part of this temple is its wonderful rock garden. The steps down to this were guarded by two stone lions.

Lion guards.

Lion guards.

The rock garden has a pond with fish and turtles, a zigzag bridge, a waterfall and interesting jagged rock formations. There were lots of pigeons and doves here. They seemed fairly tame, as they did not fly away unless I got too close to them.

Pavilion in the rock garden.

Rock formations.

Picnic table.

Bridges.

Dove.

There is a stairway that leads up through the rock formations. If you climb to the top of it the top of it, you are right next to the waterfall.

Waterfall.

Waterfall.

Waterfall.

Back downstairs I crossed more bridges and saw lots more doves. At the far end of the pond there's a round moon gate and a rectangularish shaped gate.

Moon gate.

Moon gate.

Looking through the moon gate.

Rectangularish gate.

There were some buildings next to the two gates which were rather prettily adorned with tree roots.

Buildings and trees.

Buildings and trees.

The rock garden is bordered by a rather ornate wall.

Ornate wall.

Many plants were being cultivated near the pond. I found some Buddha statues hidden among the vegetation.

Plants.

Buddhas.

Buddhas.

After enjoying the rock garden for a while, I went through a large archway towards the main temple buildings. I didn't go in to the buildings containing the cremated remains. There were people there to pay their respects to their loved ones and I had no wish to disturb them. The cremated remains are stored in little drawers. Each drawer has the name of the person whose ashes are inside as well as a photograph of them.

Walking towards the archway.

Archway.

Archway.

There were a lot of workmen on the right hand side of the complex. They were building a bamboo structure. I'm not sure why, possibly it is connected to the Mid-autumn celebrations.

Building works.

Pond near the area the workers were building in.

I headed towards the main hall of the temple which is known as The Everlasting Jade Tao Pavilion. Outside it there was a drum tower and a bell tower. There was also a massive bronze cauldron surrounded by dragons and a little pond.

Drum tower.

Bell tower.

Bell tower.

Dragon cauldron.

Incense coils

Main temple building.

Outside the main temple building.

Looking back at the main temple building.

Inside there are three altars. The one on the right has a statue of the founder of the Quán Zhēn Sect of Taoism, the one on the left has a statue of the founder of the Lóng Mén Taoist Sect and the centre altar has a statue of Leoi Dung Ban to whom Chung Chung Koon Temple is dedicated. Leoi Dung Ban is one of the immortals of Taoism and his symbol is the evergreen tree after which this temple is named.

Altars

Altars. I think the lanterns here come from the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Altars.

As I wandered around, I noticed that there were several pretty red lanterns hung in the trees.

Lanterns in the garden.

Lanterns.

It was time to head home, but this time I wandered back closer to the temple buildings.

Temple building.

Temple guard.

Temple buildings.

Temple buildings.

Then I headed back along the path among the bonsai and went home.

A Luminosity of Lanterns.

I love looking up collective nouns. Some of them are brilliant, such as: a congregation of alligators, a shrewdness of apes, a sloth of bears, an obstinacy of buffalo, a glaring of cats, a bloat of hippos. I could go on....... I looked up the collective noun for lanterns and there isn't one, so I decided to make one up and came up with 'A Luminosity of Lanterns.' Anyway, it is coming up for Mid-autumn Festival and there's certainly a 'Luminosity of Lanterns' everywhere in Hong Kong at the moment. I hope to go and see quite a few.

Mid-autumn Festival is one of the most beautiful festivals here. It is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, meaning it can take place in September or October. This year it will be on the twenty-ninth of September.

This festival is based on an old Chinese legend. Long ago there were ten suns in the sky, making everyone too hot, shriveling up the people's crops and drying out their wells. A brave archer named Hou Yi, who could no longer endure the people's suffering, shot nine of the suns out of the sky with his arrows. He was rewarded for doing this by being given some elixir of everlasting life, but there was only enough for one person. Hou Yi wouldn't drink it, as he could not stand the idea of his beautiful wife, Chang'e dying and him being left all alone. However, his evil apprentice, Feng Meng, learnt of the elixir and broke into Hou Yi's home when he knew he was out. He threatened Chang'e and tried to make her hand over the potion. The only thing Chang'e could do to stop Feng Meng from drinking the mixture was to drink it herself. After gulping it down, she immediately felt herself grow lighter and lighter and she began to float upwards out of the window, into the sky and all the way up to the moon. She lives there to this day with her pet white rabbit. When Hou Yi discovered his wife had gone, he was devastated and he took to spending long periods of his time gazing up at the moon, hoping he might catch a glimpse of her.

Every Mid-autumn Festival families come together to eat moon cakes and brightly coloured round fruit. They carry lanterns and venture outside to gaze up at the full moon, wondering if they too might see the mysterious lady who lives there.

Brightly coloured fruit is popular at Mid-Autumn Festival time.

Brightly coloured fruit is popular at Mid-Autumn Festival time.

I don't actually celebrate Mid-autumn Festival, but I do like to look upon the moon when it is at its fullest and brightest. I also love all the lantern decorations. Apparently for thousands of years Chinese communities would get together at Mid-autumn and write their wishes on sky lanterns which they would then release in the hope that they would float up to Chang'e, goddess of the moon and that she would shower them with blessings.

I recently discovered that there is a Lantern Street in Yuen Long and that it is one of the few places in Hong Kong where you can still buy hand crafted lanterns. To get there I took the MTR to Long Ping Station, exited through exit D, walked down Po Fai Path, next to the nullah of the Shan Pui River, then turned left and walked across the nullah on Yuen Long On Ning Road. I crossed the road at the lights, just past the bridge, then headed left before taking the first road down on my right to Kiu Lok Square. Lantern Street is part of Tai Kiu Market.

Looking at the nullah from Long Ping MTR.

Entrance to Tai Kiu Market.

Yuen Long was traditionally a market town. Tai Kiu Market was part of Tai Kiu Village and sold lots of the agricultural produce the villagers harvested. Nowadays the market is much smaller than before and the village has dwindled to just a few remaining houses, surrounded by much newer high rise estates. The occupants of the village houses are mainly elderly.

Gateway to Tai Kiu Village.

Tai Kiu Village.

Sculpture outside modern housing estate.

Tai Kiu Market is a bustling wet market selling fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, dried goods and much more. Some of the meat sections were really gruesome. I didn't photograph these. Live chickens were also on sale here. This was once a common sight, but was banned due to bird flu. I hadn't realized it was allowed again. I took quite a few pictures of the market itself.

Tai Kiu Market.

Dried goods stall.

Vegetables.

Seafood.

Dried meats.

Market stalls.

Market stalls.

Lantern Street is located down a narrow lane behind a stall that specializes in fruit baskets. If you can't locate that, you can also find Lantern Street by walking round the perimeter of the market. You will hit upon it eventually.

Lantern Street is down the lane next to this stall.

Lantern Street is down the lane next to this stall.

It's a very popular place and at this time of year you can certainly expect it to be very busy.

Lantern Street.

Lantern Street.

Lantern Street.

The stalls on this street are all owned or rented by the same family. It's hard to find information about them. During the year I think this family make paper offerings and around Mid-autumn they make lanterns. They have been selling lanterns here since 1984. The lanterns here were originally made by the husband of the lady who runs the stalls, but now her son comes up with most of the designs.

I think the stall owner is the seated lady.

The lanterns have many different shapes such as: rabbits, fish, dinosaurs and fruit. Some are made of cellophane, others are made of paper. In the past people would place a candle inside their lantern. Now they are more likely to use an LED light for safety. Each lantern is handmade and they are time consuming to construct, but their prices are very reasonable. Many people also come here to take photographs at the stall because the lanterns are so colourful and beautiful.

Panda lanterns.

Panda lanterns.

Rabbit lanterns are very traditional because the moon goddess has a pet rabbit.

Elephant lanterns are very cute.

Elephant lanterns are very cute.

Dinosaurs or possibly dragons.

Dinosaurs or possibly dragons.

Dinosaurs or possibly dragons.

Pineapple lanterns.

However, I think my overall favourite are the fish ones? Which do you like?

Fish lanterns are my favourite.

So many colours.

Like wandering through an ocean.

Or at the very least an aquarium.

Children are as excited shopping for lanterns here at Mid-Autumn as children are back home at Christmas time.

Dad and child choose a lantern.

Parents get pretty excited, too.

When I had finished looking around here, I went to visit a temple, but I am going to write about that on a separate blog and keep this about lanterns.

In the evening when I was back home, a friend got in touch to say the Mid-Autumn Festival displays had just gone up in Discovery Bay. Naturally I had to go and have a look. These are located on the lawn outside 7-eleven. The display is made up of lots of rabbits of different sizes and colours.

Rabbits take over the lawn.

Rabbits, rabbits everywhere.

Rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits.

Must have been breeding like ....

Rabbits.

Reflections Lok Kwan Street Park.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

Old Greek Proverb

I always find lots to do in Hong Kong, but it has been harder recently. We have had storm after storm. A force ten typhoon one week, followed by a black rain storm that raged for hours and wreaked havoc the next. There were floods, landslides and countless trees were blown down. Now while the clean up is going on, many beaches have closed and many hikes are out of bounds. Hopefully, things will be restored to normal soon, but there's a lot to clear away and much to repair.

In between all the terrible weather, we managed one or two swims. We also had the occasional meal out: such as in The Chippy, a relatively new British restaurant in Discovery Bay. Peter was extremely pleased to find they sold chicken balti pie, which he often used to have at half time at Walsall matches. We also ate in our usual Bounty Bar where, to our horror, they told us they no longer sell Estrella, but to our delight, they now sell Sapporo and Singha. Disloyal people that we are, I think we just like beer in general rather than a particular kind.

Peter with his balti pie.

Fish and chips.

Peter with his Sapporo.

I was desperate for a bit of greenery though and thought rather than trying to find a trail that was open, it might be easier to find some new parks. I came across a video for Lok Kwan Street Park and when I found it was right next to Nam Cheong Park, I decided to visit both.

To get to Nam Cheong Park, I took the MTR to Nam Cheong Station and exited via exit D1. I have been meaning to visit this park for a long time and had the idea in my head that to visit it I would have to cross major roads. This proved to be wrong. I exited the station, walked up the slope, turned right and crossed one busy road at the lights and was at the entrance to Nam Cheong Park within a couple of minutes.

Sign for Nam Cheong Park.

Map of Nam Cheong Park.

This park is not as ornate as many others here, but it's certainly pleasant enough. Apparently in spring it is a great place to view golden trumpet trees. These line the stoney path in the middle of the park. I must try to remember to come back here in spring. Nam Cheong Park covers around 3.83 hectares of reclaimed land in the district of Sham Shui Po and was first opened to the public in 1998.

Near the entrance of the park there is an ornate stone pillar. There were shady benches and tables here and a group of elderly Chinese men were busy either playing or watching a game of chess.

Stone pillar.

I had a choice of paths and decided to head right which took me to a children's play area. As I continued walking, I noticed a set of stairs heading upwards. I climbed up to see where they went and discovered they led to a foot bridge across a major motorway.

I came back down into the park and wandered around the outside of its spacious green lawns. There were some lovely flowers here.

Chinese ixora.

Chinese ixora.

Chinese ixora.

Hibiscus.

Foliage.

Unfortunately, there were quite a few trees that had fallen down in the storms. These were cordoned off with warning tape.

Fallen trees.

Fallen trees.

Fallen trees.

At the far end of the park there was a community garden which I could look at but not enter. I assume this is like the community garden in Discovery Bay where you pay to rent a plot then grow your own vegetables in it.

Community garden.

Trellis.

Despite the fact that there are soaring residential buildings and busy roads all around it, Nam Cheong Park is incredibly peaceful.

Tall buildings and lush lawns.

Looking down on the jogging track.

I love parks in Hong Kong and Mainland China, because they are full of life. This one had a large group of ladies singing together in one corner. There were lots of people jogging and some people on bicycles.

I decided to walk all the way around the park. At one point I stopped on a bench and tried to photograph a bird across from me. Instead of flying away, it flew over to the tree next to me and posed for me. I took some pictures and when I left it came with me. It was quite funny, either it thought I had food for it or it was just very keen to be in my blog.

My fine feathered friend. I think he is a black collared starling.

My fine feathered friend.

When I had finished with Nam Cheong Park, I crossed Sham Mong Road at the lights and headed towards Lok Kwan Street Park. On the way I passed a little sitting out area called Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Sign for Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

Chui Yu Road Rest Garden.

I almost missed Lok Kwan Street Park. It was down a side street and not that noticeable from the road I was on, but from a distance I saw what looked like a park sign and went to investigate.

Lok Kwan Street Park Sign.

Map of Lok Kwan Street Park.

Lok Kwan Street Park is very small but it makes up for lack of size in simply being really, really beautiful. It's a Chinese style park with a large central pond surrounded by flower lined paths and poetically named Chinese style buildings. These include: The Hall of Companionship, The Pavilion of Benevolence, The Pavilion of Wisdom and The Pavilion Facing the Winds. Ironically The Pavilion Facing the Winds was the only part that was roped off due to typhoon damage. I guess it's a pretty accurate name.

The Pavilion Facing The Winds.

I quickly realized that I had come in by a side entrance and that the park had an impressive gateway guarded by lions on one side.

Entry gate.

Entry gate.

Lion guard.

I guess The Hall of Companionship is called this because there are lots of places to sit here and you can also sing or dance or do Tai Chi and that you might do these things in the company of others.

Seats inside the Hall of Companionship.

The Hall of Companionship viewed across the pond.

The Hall of Companionship viewed across the pond.

The Hall of Companionship viewed from a bridge.

The Pavilion of Benevolence is the services building of the park. I don't think it is open to the public. For a place of benevolence it had rather a lot of 'Dont' signs, such as: 'Don't Spit', 'Don't Gamble', 'Don't Litter', 'Don't post any fliers here'.

Stone lantern and path leading to The Pavilion of Benevolence.

The Pavilion of Benevolence.

The Pavilion of Benevolence viewed across the pond.

I'm guessing The Pavilion of Wisdom may be called this as it's a peaceful and quiet place to sit and read.

The Pavilion of Wisdom.

The Pavilion of Wisdom.

Pavilion of Wisdom.

I walked around the outside and also crossed some of the bridges in the centre. There were lots of people sitting on shady seats using the park's free wifi or exercising in some of the park's open areas.

Bridge over the stream.

Wandering around the pond.

Plants by the stream.

Stream.

There were lots of colourful flowers.

Flower.

Flowers and pond.

The pond was teeming with fish and turtles.

Turtle.

Turtles.

It's hard to believe there's a city all around you here, but there is. It's possible to glimpse it as you stroll along the walkways and look through the different shaped windows.

Walking round the park's walkways.

Reflection in a pond.

Through the window.

Through the window.

When I had finished looking at the park I noticed there was a Wellcome Supermarket across the street in Metro Harbour View Plaza. I went in on my never ending hunt for honey hoops for Peter. We were in luck they had six boxes. I bought three of them then headed home via Marks and Spencer's in Tsing Yi for even more shopping.

The shopping centre had a maritime theme going on.

The shopping centre had a maritime theme going on.

Aftermath.

(A History of Hong Kong Typhoons with photos of the aftermath of the most recent one.)

We are boring people. We swim, we eat out now and again, and a couple of times a week I go and look at something. This week, however, was largely hijacked by a typhoon and an accident. We had a life up until Wednesday. Then, on Wednesday night, Peter had a weird dream. In his dream he was lying in a bunk bed talking to a man from Durham, telling him that his father came from County Durham, when he suddenly felt himself falling and to save himself, he threw himself the opposite way. I woke up due to a loud bang. Peter wasn't next to me in bed. I wondered if he had gone to the toilet and fallen, but I found him on the bedroom floor, entangled in bedclothes and with a cut above his eye. It turned out not to be a very bad cut, but there was quite a bit of bleeding. It gave us both a real shock. He also now has a black eye. We were meant to swim on Thursday, but I wouldn't let him go with an open wound.

By Friday we were on typhoon three. That's not all that dangerous in itself, but it means a typhoon is probably coming. I went out shopping for provisions and we got ready to baton down the hatches.

Later on Friday the signal went up to a typhoon number eight, that's getting scary, and then it went to a ten, that's the highest possible signal and normally really scary. We have experienced a couple of typhoon tens here.

I went out briefly when the storm was reduced to an eight. I shouldn't really have done this, but I felt I had been inside forever.

The first one was Typhoon York in September 1999. We lived in Fo Tan at the time on a mountain on the twenty-second floor of a high-rise building. We didn't know that buildings here are designed to sway in a typhoon. We were at the top and had our roof garden above us. Our chairs and the lid of the steel casing that protected our washing machine came hurtling past our window. We thought that the next thing that came down would go through the window. All our lights were swaying back and forth. We felt seasick and we were terrified. We sat in our tiny hallway, the only place with no windows, huddled together, waiting to die. The mess after that typhoon was terrible. There were trees down everywhere and lots of buildings and infrastructure had been damaged.

Paths were strewn with fallen branches and leaves.

Slippy pathway.

Slippy pathway.

The second terrible one, we have experienced, was Typhoon Mangkhut in September 2018. That largely closed the whole of Hong Kong down for two days as workers battled to clear debris from roads. Many people's windows blew in during this typhoon. That must be terrifying and do massive amounts of damage to your flat. I remember walking down from school after Mangkhut and having to climb over and under downed trees to get to the MTR.

Fallen branches.

Fallen branches.

Some have already been heaped up for disposal.

Looking at the history of typhoons here, they are not to be taken lightly. In September 1874, years before typhoons were named, a typhoon struck Hong Kong and injured more than two thousand people. Some of them died. This same typhoon hit Macau more directly resulting in the deaths of five thousand people.

Strewn Paths.

Strewn Paths.

In 1906, again in September, a typhoon arrived here without warning. It sank lots of ships and boats. This storm killed around ten thousand people.

In September 1937 a typhoon generated an eighteen foot tidal wave and killed around eleven thousand people.

In 1960 Typhoon Mary lifted ships out of the sea and deposited them on the land. A hundred people died and eighteen thousand were left homeless.

Several trees were down.

Some had broken.

Broken tree.

Broken trees.

In September 1962 Typhoon Wanda damaged boats, killed four hundred and thirty-four people and left seventy-two thousand homeless.

In August 1971 Typhoon Rose brought dense fog with her, leading to several ship collisions and the sinking of a ferry with the loss of eighty-eight lives. Power lines were damaged and many people spent hours trapped in lifts.

In September 1983 Typhoon Ellen caused ships to sink or run aground. Ten people were killed and a thousand six hundred were left homeless.

The next one I already mentioned was Typhoon York.

This may have originally been on the road. These are quickly cleared.

Messy exercise area.

In July 2012 Typhoon Vicente struck. We lived here then, but had gone overseas. We had had the ridiculous idea of leaving a small upper window slightly open in our flat while we were away, thinking it would help keep the place aired. When we returned, the window was wide open and everything that should have been near the window was on the other side of the room. We initially thought we had been burgled due to the mess, but it was the wind and rain that the open window had let in. I even remember our brown leather sofa had turned green with mould.

In 2017 Typhoon Hato killed ten people in Macau and caused major flooding in coastal areas here. In one residential carpark in Heng Fa Chuen waters poured in and the cars began to bob around, banging into each other as they floated about. In this current storm all the drivers who use that car park took their cars out and parked round a nearby roundabout.

Terrifying Typhoon Mangkut was in 2018.

This is a seating area not far from our house.

This tree just missed the bench.

I'm glad I wasn't sitting there.

Or here

Trees are great for shade, but keep away in a storm.

The typhoon we have just experienced was called Typhoon Saola. It brought down trees and solar panels and caused two days of disruption, but even so it, fortunately, wasn't as bad as it was expected to be.

I had a wander around my local area when it had largely passed and took some photos. We were not in the worst hit part of Hong Kong but there was still damage, mainly to trees. Some parts of Hong Kong experienced flooding too.