CNY Hike to Cape d'Aguilar

The dramatic landscapes are quite the sight at Cape d'Aguilar

With Chinese New Year basically cancelled because of Covid-19 social-distancing restrictions, it was time to hit the hiking trails. My friend and I went to Cape d'Aguilar, a place we had never been to, which is near Shek O.

After arriving at Shau Kei Wan MTR station, we took the number 9 bus to Cape d'Aguilar which entailed a long and winding road that passes Cape Collinson where the military cemetery is, and also the start of Dragon's Back hiking trail where many people got off.

Different rock formations are in this area

Cape d'Aguilar is "hok tsui" in Cantonese and named after Major-General George Charles d'Aguilar, a British army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong from 1843-1848.

During that time he lived in Headquarter House, which was built for him in 1846 and is now Flagstaff House in Hong Kong Park. D'Aguilar was also an accomplished watercolour artist.

Meanwhile, the 14th bus stop is Cape d'Aguilar and we headed off down the road with the same name. It's a gentle road with many shacks and low-rise houses. After a while we came to a dramatic view looking over towards Stanley.

Further down we started seeing a secluded beach (though today was too chilly to hang out there) and then we spotted our end goal -- the marine reserve. There are different rock formations, some are smooth, others are jagged, with different colours. 

There's also The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong, a building very close to the water, with a slope built to have boats go into the water. The building looks relatively new and we wondered what they were studying there.

The waves constantly crash into the rocks

As we made our way towards the water, it crashed violently against the rocks. Swimming is prohibited here and it's easy to see why. Then we found it -- Crab Cave -- though many people were taking photos there so it was hard to take a nice photo.

It's a natural rock formation that looks like a cave, but again the waves crash in from behind and one could easily get wet if standing too far in.

Then we went to explore other areas that also had good views to avoid getting wet. However, one domestic helper got parts of her legs and feet wet and complained about being cold. The perils of trying to get the perfect picture...

In fact most of the people there were domestic helpers, enjoying their holiday. My friend YTSL who regularly hikes has observed that many domestic helpers like to go hiking in the Shek O area. 

Many people taking pictures at Crab Cave

After we wandered around, we turned back and went back the way we came and had a few minutes to spare before the bus arrived to take us back to Shau Kei Wan -- and it was the same bus driver too!

Remembering Raincoat Man

Over one thousand people left floral tributes to Leung tonight

If the Hong Kong government thinks after almost 9,000 arrests in the past year that the number of protesters has shrunk to only a small group of "rioters", then it is sorely mistaken.

This evening over a thousand people came to Pacific Place in Admiralty to remember Marco Leung Ling-kit, who was the first casualty of the extradition protests exactly a year ago, and to mourn the death of "one country, two systems".

They also mourned "one country, two systems"

From around 6pm onwards, mourners came clutching white flowers to place them at the exact spot where Leung, wearing a yellow raincoat, fell to his death while trying to hang a protest banner. And the people kept coming.

And coming.

And coming.

The line stretched all the way westwards along Queensway and around the corner up Cotton Tree Drive where the west entrance to Hong Kong Park is, about 1km. The floral tributes didn't stop until 11pm. Some people waited two hours in line to reach the floral shrine.

A female retiree in her 60s told one media outlet she was arrested last year for taking part in a protest last year.

The police had opposed to march organizer Civil Human Rights Front to hold a public gathering for Leung, and she said, "Whatever the government refuses to let us do, it is the right thing to do."

Most people wore black and a white ribbon, signifying their support for a strike to protest against the upcoming national security bill.

As expected the police were standing by in riot gear ready to attack, but all they did was warn the crowd about social distancing and advised them to disperse.

Inside the mall people sang Glory to Hong Kong

Also in the tributes was a sign that read: "RIP One country, two systems 1997-2020".

Inside Pacific Place protesters shouted slogans and sang the protest anthem Glory to Hong Kong while waving flags.

There were memorials also held in Tuen Mun and Tin Shui Wai.

The sheer numbers of people show they are still keen to defend Hong Kong's rights and freedoms from the impending national security law. But will the government recognize these people's views? More importantly will Beijing?

If the national security bill is of utmost importance for Hong Kong, how come residents, who will be most impacted by it are not consulted? Why is it being done in such a secretive manner? Why are Hong Kong officials and many businesses blindly supporting it without even knowing what is in this new law?

No one is defending Hong Kong except Hongkongers themselves. A year ago tomorrow, 2 million people came out to march against the extradition bill put forward by Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

There are still a lot of people who love this city and feel betrayed by Beijing for reneging on the Joint Declaration, where it was promised there would be 50 years of no change until 2047.

The remembrance ended at 11pm at Pacific Place

So while Lam and her senior ministers may think they are winning the war against the protesters, they are completely underestimating the sheer anger and sadness Hongkongers have, and that these emotions being channeled through every anniversary this year.

Protesters will make sure the Hong Kong government or the world will not forget what happened in the past year.

Wild Boars in the City

One of the wild boars wandering around Hong Kong Park...

When you're walking the streets of Hong Kong, beware of wild boars!

Last week there were two boars incidents above Admiralty, with one wandering outside the Conrad Hong Kong before disappearing into the trees, and the other spotted two days later nearby in Hong Kong Park. That one was tranquilized and returned to the wild.

.... another was scampering around the Conrad Hong Kong

These wild boars have also been seen in shopping malls, housing estates and theme parks across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.

"They're very funny animals.... whenever there is change, they just don't want to be there," says Dr Gary Ades, head of fauna conservation at the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden near Taipo.

"They create these beautiful animal highways in the dirt, which they use to get around, but the moment a new tree is planted nearby there is confusion."

Some theories as to why they are wandering closer to urban areas could be because people are feeding them, which is illegal, or the drier winters make it harder for pigs to unearth worms that they feed on.

A boar trapped in a children's clothing store in a mall last May

Whenever there are rainstorms, the wild boars have an increased risk of falling into storm drains, and may end up out on the coast.

Ades says with more rural development, there is a higher chance of conflicts between boars and humans.

So if you see a wild boar running around your neighbourhood, don't feed it, but report it to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (call 1823) so that they can hopefully contain the situation as soon as possible.

They're not too dangerous, but they are wild animals...

Park Visit Before the Deluge

A panoramic shot overlooking the park, Central and Admiralty

The Hong Kong Observatory raised the black rainstorm warning tonight for the first time this year with thunderstorm warnings and lots of lightning flashes.

The heavy rains are expected to persist throughout the week, though we hope not as severe as right now!

Beautiful orchids in bloom

Local media have reported that there was hail in Wong Tai Sin at 8.30pm with the size ranging from a golf ball to a person's palm. Festival Walk shopping mall was hit by hail too, causing the glass to shatter in the ceiling and caused flooding inside. There's a picture of torrential rain pouring down on an escalator area, an image that is movie worthy.

It's a huge contrast to earlier today when the weather held up and after a big brunch at Simply Life in Queensway, Admiralty, we walked off the meal with a visit to Hong Kong Park.

We first checked out the Conservatory and in the Humid Plant house we saw many orchid species as well as hydrangeas and even bamboo. It was quite pleasant in there as there weren't many people -- probably at the Rugby Sevens? Or worried about the weather?

Another section of the conservatory, the Dry Plant House, had numerous kinds of cacti that was pretty neat. Everything was laid out nicely, with signs labelling the plants and clear pathways.

A Bali Myna posing for his close up for us humans

Afterwards we headed to the aviary to see the birds, of which there are over 80 species in this man-made tropical rainforest. Again there weren't too many people, but there were a few kids at first who ran around scaring the birds away while we adults were trying to photograph them!

Nevertheless we did manage to get a few decent shots, particularly of the Bali Myna bird with its white body, black-tip tail and a distinctive blue skin around its eyes, much like a stylish exaggerated blue cat eye on a bird!

This bird seemed to be very photogenic today and posed for us humans as it stood on the wooden railing.

Pecking on a banana perhaps for dessert?

There were other avian species, like pheasants and pigeons, but the Bali Myna and some colourful parakeets were the only ones who didn't mind us taking pictures of them. The parakeets were very particular though, and would only hang around if they were being fed by hand by one of the keepers...

By the time we left there was a minor sprinkling of rain, which gave no indication of the deluge we would receive tonight...!

Picture of the Day: Turtles in the Sun

At Hong Kong Park, a lone turtle hangs out on his own on a rock by the pond...

Just before a family dim sum at Metropole in Admiralty, my mom and I checked out Hong Kong Park and it was quite busy with the domestic helpers having vanity portraits taken, while graduates wore robes minus motarboards, some clutching stuffed James P. Sullivan animals from Monsters University or bouquets of flowers.

Other than the aviary, another neat spot to check out in the park is the pond, where there are lots of Japanese carp, the odd dragonflies flying around, and then the turtles.

...while nine of them cram onto this one!

We saw many swimming around in the pond, but it was the one sunning himself magnificently on the rock that caught our attention. He closed his eyes and soaked up the sun's rays despite it being overcast and windy thanks to Typhoon Krosa, which raised the Typhoon 1 signal all weekend.

This turtle must have been the king of them all because as we walked further along we saw more and more turtles -- crammed onto one rock.

One in particular had nine of them -- some having no shame climbing on top of others to get a good spot.

Or perhaps they were doing the turtle version of a pyramid?