Picture of the Day: Pink and White Shower

The cassia javanica var. indochinesis is blossoming now

 Spring is definitely in Hong Kong, and one tree that has blossomed is the cassia javanica var. indochinesis (節果決明) -- and there are only a handful in Hong Kong, one of the oldest ones is at the boutique hotel The Murray Hong Kong in Central. 

It was originally from Hawaii and grows extensively through tropical Indochina. When it flowers in April and May, the tree is also nicknamed "pink and white shower".

Looking up at the pink and white shower

This type of tree usually has a lifespan of 50 to 60 years, but the one at The Murray, previously the government building called Murray Building, is actually around 70 years old.

As a result it is registered with the government tree registry as an old and valuable tree, or OVT.

But from a photography point of view it's actually quite hard to take a decent picture of it, as it looks nice from far away, but up close the blossoms are sparse, not like cherry blossoms.

Nevertheless, it was nice to capture the tree in the midst of its "pink and white shower", hopefully for a few more weeks to come. 

Dreams Do Come True

Cathay Pacific pilot Hank Cheng realized his dream of flying a homemade plane

Back in late August Cathay Pacific Airways pilot Hank Cheng took off on a flight around the world in a locally-made plane and returned to Hong Kong safely earlier this week.

He flew 49,650km in the plane named B-Koo Inspiration and along the way touched down in 45 airports in 20 countries.

At times Cheng was forced to alter his flight path as he faced difficult weather conditions, including chilly winds, snow and typhoons, according to a project spokeswoman.

The small aircraft took seven years to design and build

After he landed, Cheng said he hoped his achievement would "put Hong Kong on the map".

"There are Hong Kong climbers who have climbed Mount Everest. I wanted to put the Hong Kong flag on the map, so this is a source of pride."

He said the most exciting leg of his journey was from Hilo, Hawaii to San Jose, California, a 3,800km flight across the Pacific Ocean that took 14 hours and 37 minutes to complete.

Flying in the plane, Cheng said "I brought together all the hopes and dreams of [my] team. It started as a personal project, but it became a bigger group and I was just the guy flying the plane, taking their hopes around the world."

Cheng and his co-pilot Thomas Ng wave from Karachi

It took Cheng seven years to make his dream of developing and building an aircraft into reality. It was a collaboration between Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company and St Paul's Convent School.

B-Koo Inspiration now joins the list of 14 amateur-built planes to have flown around the world, according to international aviation society Earthrounders.

Congratulations to Cheng and everyone involved in the project!

He has demonstrated that through patience, perseverance and hard work, dreams can come true.