London: British Museum Treasures

After a security check, visitors can enter The British Museum

 

In recent years there has been a lot of debate about whether the British should have been allowed to take so many treasures from places like Greece, Egypt, Syria, and China, and some countries even demanding their priceless artifacts back.

The Rosetta Stone is a must-see

While it is understandable as a point of national pride for countries to want these precious items returned, but in some cases, they would not be kept in as good conditions as they would in The British Museum.

It was started in 1753 by an Irish scientist and physician Sir Hans Sloane who had his own collection, and the museum was opened in 1759 in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. In the following 250 years, it has collected some 8 million objects during the era of the British Empire and is the first public museum in the world. And free!

We were here for a short period of time, so we tried to be as efficient as possible.

The first stop was the Rosetta Stone which is near the entrance. It's very hard to photograph because it's behind glass, but a very important piece that helped archeologists figure out ancient hieroglyphics. On the black stone are carved Demotic, the everyday script of literate Egyptians, and the bottom is Greek, the language used by the government.

One of the many friezes taken from The Parthenon

At the time Egypt was ruled by a Greek dynasty and the Rosetta Stone records an event regarding Ptolemy V Epiphanes, the boy king.

And since we had been to the Parthenon in Athens, where about half of the real marble friezes were in The British Museum thanks to Lord Elgin, we had to see them in person. The marble pieces are housed in a long corridor and to be honest the details of the marble figures and animals are clearer here than in the Acropolis Museum, where they were already weathered down before being housed inside.

The musculature of the soldiers and the horses is evident, showing strength and grace. The robes people wore are detailed to show drapery. However seeing them one after the other numbs the brain's ability to appreciate every single piece. It's also worth remembering that these friezes were placed on the outside perimeter of the Parthenon and not facing each other in this room. Nevertheless to be able to look at them so close up is amazing.

Men holding onto an ox; the drapery is very detailed

One more Greek piece we had to see was the sixth figure that formed the Erechtheum Caryatid. At the Parthenon we saw the replicas, then five of the real figures in the Acropolis Museum, and now the sixth one in The British Museum.

All the figurines are columns holding up the building next to the Parthenon. They each have long thick hair that is plaited and falls behind their backs, and they wear short tunics. They also had baskets on their heads as part of the column.

And like the other marble pieces that Lord Elgin stole/took, this figure in the museum is very detailed from the plaiting of the hair, to the drapery of her tunic, though it's a pity her arms are missing and her face a bit weathered. There seems to be more detail of her hair at the back, but nothing of her feet.

The sixth figure from the Caryatids in Athens

Regardless, it was a thrill to finally see all six figures -- in one trip!

We also saw two Haida totem poles housed in the foyer from British Columbia that date back to about 1850, while we visited the China section, focusing more on the Tang Dynasty known for its porcelain.

One impressive piece is that of a statue of Buddha's disciple called a luohan. This one is in excellent condition, one of 10 found in a cave in the Yixian region of northern Hebei province in 1912. The statue is glazed in the sancai or three-coloured palette.

Another was of a figure who was the assistant to the judge of hell. A clerk carries a slim scroll, recording the names of those who have done good deeds in their lifetimes. The robes of the assistant are detailed particularly in the various layers of "fabric" denoted by the various colours and the draping is magnificent.

What a treat.

The assistant to the judge of hell

The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
britishmuseum.org

Frankfurt's Insightful Sights

Cathedral of St Bartholomew was spared during the war

Today we had a private guide and driver to show us around Frankfurt and a bit beyond. Originally from Frankfurt, he gave us some interesting details about some landmarks in the city.

The original 15th century stained glass

One of our first stops was to Romer, in the old city square. It's a medieval building that dates back over 600 years from the Romer family that made its money as merchants. It later sold the building to the city in 1405 and was later known called the Kaisersaal, or "Emperor's Hall".

Today is the old city hall where people can have a civil wedding, and if the football team, Eintracht Frankfurt wins a major match, the players can be seen on the balcony.

What's interesting is that across from the Romer is a spring water fountain, one of 160 of them in the city, though many are not in use anymore. On top of the fountain is Lady Justice, but on closer examination, she is not blindfolded -- that's because she is looking straight at the King and hinting that she is watching him and he had better make a fair judgment.

A short distance away is Cathedral of St Bartholomew (Dom St Bartholomaus) that was built from the 14th to 15th centuries. Our guide asked us to think of the many artisans who worked on the cathedral over 100 years. Designs changed according to styles of the time, and also how much money could be rustled up by the parishioners.

This popular sausage shop has been around since 1954

During World War II, the allied forces specifically used fire bombs on Frankfurt because it is a living city -- that meant the bombs would burn down buildings, while some facades managed to continue standing.

They did not bomb churches -- our guide explains this is because the war was not about religion, but also because they used them as landmarks to know their positioning. So the church was not damaged per se, but the fires were so hot that they melted the designs on the stained glass.

Sausages with mustard and bread. So good!

However -- all was not completely lost. One panel happened to be taken down for restoration and subsequently kept in a safe place -- and we are now very privileged to see the stained glass from the 15th century. The other stained glass panels looks very modern and the colours are muted pastels.

The tower of the cathedral is also 100 metres high and for a few euros you can climb up to the top to have a good view of the city.

After the war, people in Frankfurt didn't have much if anything left. Some had bunkers that may have stored some food, but other than that no one had much to eat. They would meet at this marketplace called Kleinmarkethalle and exchange food or give away some food so that everyone had a bit of something to eat and it was also a morale booster that the community would rebuild the city again.

The carousel in Wilhelmsbad State Park

We visited that marketplace, which is quite small and indoors, and today houses stalls selling fresh vegetables, fruit, meats and pastries, as well as cooked foods. One of the stalls is called Schreiber that has been there since 1954 and hasn't changed since then.

It sells thick sausages that are boiled and served with a blob of mustard and a portion of bread for 2.30 euros each. We got there just in time before the line started, which our guide says goes all the way out the door everyday.

The wooden horses are beautifully made

Because it was rainy and chilly today, having a bite of the hot sausage hit the spot, and it wasn't salty, and very meaty. The owner, Ilse Schreiber, prepares the sausages using a family recipe from her grandfather-in-law who started the business on Metzgermeile or "butcher's mile".

Then we had a short drive on the autobahn to Hanau, where we visited the Wilhelmsbad State Park that was originally the hunting grounds for Prince Wilhelm IX of Hessen-Kassel. To make his visit there more fun, a carousel was built for him in 1780 by Franz Ludwig Cancrin, who used his mining engineering skills in this project.

The carousel is built on top of a mound and is decorated with wooden horses and carriages. But underneath it is actually pushed around by donkeys and horses who walk around in circles. How ironic is that?

Palmengarten is very lush and green (and wet today!)

After lunch of pork knuckle, sausages, sauerkraut, potato dumplings, and apple cider (very sour!) we went to check out the Palmengarten or Botannical Garden. It's near Bockenheimer Warte subway station and best if you can go on a sunny day. Unfortunately for us, all day it would rain lightly then suddenly get heavier, then light again.

When we arrived here (admission 7 euros/$7.85), it rained lightly then got heavier and we would go into the various indoor gardens to try to stay as dry as possible. The garden was started by landscape gardener Heinrich Siesmayer in 1869 for Frankfurt residents.

The gardens house plants from then inaccessible, distant parts of the world, and includes a lot different species of palm trees, even cocoa trees, orchids, cacti, lotus, and even pitfalls, plants that have giant bucket-like receptacles that trap insects inside.

School children playing inside one of the pavilions

There wasn't too much organization in terms of the groupings of the plants, but it was a nice respite from the weather and warm too because of the tropical temperatures these plants usually live in.

However, when we finished, the rains still wouldn't let up and we found our way to a cafe on the grounds called Siesmayer Cafehaus where we had pastries and coffee. It turn out our server was from Xian, China and spoke to us in Mandarin. It turns out he has been in Germany for 30 years.

In any event, we tried some desserts -- I sampled the apple pie that wasn't too sweet, but a bit on the bland side. The lime yogurt cake was delicious and the Black Forest cake was heavy on the cream, but also not too rich.

Apple pie with cafe au lait for an afternoon treat

When we made our way back to the hotel, the sun started to peek out behind the clouds. Why now when the day is over?! It seems the rain is following us...!

Rome's "Wedding Cake"

The impressive-looking Altare della Patria in honour of Victor Emmanuel II

Rome has a massive monument called Altare della Patria or the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a united Italy.

He was King of Sardinia from 1849 until 1861 and at that point he became the King of Italy, the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century. He held that title until his death in 1878.

There are fountains and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

As a result he was named Father of the Fatherland, and so Altare della Patria was built in his honour.

It's a massive monument, featuring stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, a statue of Victor Emmanuel on a horse, and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas, or a four-horse chariot.

However while the monument is meant to honour the king, it has been mired in controversy every since it was built. During construction, part of the Capitoline Hill was destroyed for it, while critics find the monument too massive and pompous.

It also sticks out as the monument is made out of very white marble that some describe as "corpse-white marble".

But yes it does look like a wedding cake and other nicknames!

As a result, Altare della Patria gets many uncomplimentary nicknames, such as la torta nuziale, or "the wedding cake", la dentiera or "the dentures", macchina da scrivere "the typewriter", and la zuppa inglese, or "English soup" dessert, referring to trifle.

Very funny, but I can see the resemblance...

Silk Road: Leitai Han Tomb

The Flying Horse in its glory finally revealed at Leitai Han Tomb

When I was a kid, I remember my father bringing home a statue of a horse that was running so fast it was captured balancing on one foot. He glued it onto a granite slab, and while I thought the horse looked pretty cool, I didn't understand the significance of it -- until decades later.

An army of soldiers and horses led by the Flying Horse

It is known as the Flying Horse, galloping so quickly that it is stepping on a bird. The original statue was found at Leitai Han Tomb in 1969 when some farmers stumbled upon the tomb of an official from the Han Dynasty which held funeral treasures. The horse was quickly adopted by Lanzhou as its official symbol and you can see replicas of it displayed everywhere, like the airport and other government buildings.

The actual statue is quite tiny, along with an entire cavalcade of soldiers, horses and chariots. They can be seen in a museum, while much larger versions of them are displayed above ground.

It is believed the rest of the treasures were stolen by robbers...

Visitors can also go down into the actual tombs, which entails going down a long dark narrow path before you finally reach the end, which is very cool, but there's nothing to see, except the ceiling that is made of brick but reinforced with a metal web.

Farmers would pray to the God of Thunder

We went down into two tombs when once was plenty.

Above ground is Leitai Temple, Leitai referring to the God of Thunder, that farmers would pray to for rain to have a good harvest.

A Horse of Hope

Brian and Jan Vokes with their race horse Dream Alliance

I was completely disorganized this year about watching films from the Hong Kong International Film Festival, but managed to catch one this afternoon.

Called Dark Horse, it's a documentary about a horse from a small Welsh town that manages to beat the odds.

Jan Vokes is a middle-aged barmaid who in 2000 decided to breed a racehorse. It turns out she knows a bit about breeding racing pigeons and whippets. But horses?

Dream Alliance didn't come from an impressive pedigree

While she's the driving force of the project, she rounds up 22 more people to chip in £10 a week for a year to train the horse and house it in proper stables.

But bear in mind this horse doesn't have a particularly impressive pedigree at all -- and his owners are working class people from a town where the coal mines shut down, and so economic prospects are poor.

And because it is a syndicate that put in money for the horse, Jan calls it Dream Alliance, a beautiful chestnut coloured horse. He's spindly at first and the trainers aren't sure he's built for speed.

However, in his first race he came in fourth, then third, second...

Everyone in the documentary recalls the events with such clarity and colour, though they themselves are interesting characters. Jan's husband Brian has lost some teeth and has many tattoos, another, Tony Kerby whips off his shirt when Dream Alliance wins a big race, while the other members of the syndicate are just chuffed to watch the horse run because he's become part of the family, representing the town.

The documentary by Louise Osmond also talks about the culture behind horse racing, that it is an aristocratic privilege mostly because it is such an expensive sport.

However the Dream Alliance syndicate breaks through these barriers and together with the horse with a scrappy personality, they make a name for themselves for about eight years and win £137,000 in prize money.

Jan was thrilled to accomplish something in her life

Along the way, viewers learn more about race horses, how they are trained, and how you have to completely trust an animal to do what you hope it will do.

Dark Horse is a beautiful story with so many twists and turns that you can hardly believe Dream Alliance and the syndicate went through all of those peaks and valleys.

Osmond tells the story wonderfully -- the cast of characters really tell the story so well, while there are a few reenactments of the early days. It's too bad some of the older footage is too blurry on the big screen, but you get the idea.

Nevertheless Dream Alliance is a metaphor for life -- as Howard Davies, one of the syndicate members says, "It's elation when you can do something when no one gives you a chance."

Dream Alliance member Tony Kerby enjoyed the ride

Heck if an animal with a dodgy background can come from behind and win big, why can't we humans do that too?

Dark Horse (2015)

Directed by Louise Osmond

Audience Award Winner at the Sundance Film Festival 2015

Guanyin, Goddess of Lifesaving

Guanyin standing in her colourful tiled robes on a lotus flower in Repulse Bay

Today I got a chance to visit Repulse Bay, and with blue skies, and 32 degrees it was hot! The place was crawling with tourists, their coaches parked outside by the newest development, The Pulse.

It's a sleek shopping/lifestyle/dining destination that is perfect for the summer months, though can it sustain during the winter? It has some hip dining spots, a cool gym and yoga studio, and lots of options for kids.

Near her is this happy Buddha sculpture

Next to this complex though is a quirky place. It's where Guanyin or the Goddess of Mercy stands in her mosaic-tiled glory, several feet high. There's a quasi-looking temple building behind her, but it's really the Hong Kong Lifesaving Society clubhouse. Inside it are several glass-door fridges filled with cold drinks.

We noticed some Thai tourists who prayed in front of the Guanyin statue, and purposely rubbed some statues, probably in the hopes of good luck. There were also mini shrines with Thai script on them too.

The Goddess of Mercy is not related to the sea, but the society seems to have adopted her as the Goddess of Lifesaving.

And then there were lots of statues, like twin lions, horses, and so on, as well as tablets, each bearing plaques to explain who donated them and when, from British government officials from colonial times to wealthy local donors. These stone gifts were haphazardly placed so there was no rhyme or reason to where they were placed.

Nevertheless, further down from the Guanyin statue are more colourful tiled ones shaped like fish and people, creating a really kitsch sight.

Across from her is an emperor-like statue, also made of tiles

It reminds me of the Tiger Balm Garden in Tai Hang, that was Hong Kong's original amusement park, but that is long gone after then owner Sally Aw Sian sold the property to Cheung Kong, Li Ka-shing's company in 1998...

Admiring the Horses in Cavalia

Cavalia showcases a combination of horses, acrobatics and aerialists

Last night I had the chance to watch the opening show of Cavalia in Hong Kong. It's created by Normand Latourelle, who was one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil. And while the acrobatic and dance elements are there, the addition of horses makes things more interesting and dramatic.

The show is located by Pier 10 in Central, where there are several white tents put up there, and that's where the entrance is, not across from City Hall, where we thought there was a short cut, but we were wrong.

Nevertheless, once we made our way inside, we realized we snagged excellent seats and on top of that sat next to the Canadian delegation that included the former Premier of Quebec Jean Charest and the Canadian Consul General to Hong Kong! Charest played a big role in bringing Cavalia to Hong Kong, and also helped bring it to Singapore last year.

Beautiful choreography with aerialists and horses

He explained that even though he has seen the show over 10 times, each time it's different, with slight variations with the acts. But also with horses, it's hard to know how they will perform that evening, with some equines choosing not to cooperate.

While the show is based around the male horses -- 40 of them in total -- there are acrobats from Morocco and Ghana, as well as aerialists, a lasso artist and a singer to keep the audience entertained.

Everyone was thrilled to see the horses running bareback around the "stage" -- they looked wild, but were tame, for the most part following the trainer's orders. We were later told that they would only listen to their trainer who may have taught them in either French or English.

Parts of the show involved only humans and some incorporated both. We loved the two aerialists who danced in the air while below two men rode bareback on two white horses in a circle going around and around. The moves were not intricate, but were beautifully presented.

Then there was lots of energy from the acrobats, who used a lot of speed, strength and agility to do numerous backflips and balances with several people together. They also had no problems warming up the crowd, getting people to clap in time with the music and encourage them as they did their stunts.

There was a poignant scene of a guy walking on a large ball, and then a black horse with a very long mane meets him. The horse sees he's eating an apple and wants some too. The interaction between them was very cute and emphasized the loving relationship between horse and man, a theme echoed through the show.

Horses spring straight ahead with rider in various poses

One daring stunt were two men and a woman, each having one foot on one horse -- in effect riding on two horses standing up at a relatively fast clip. Towards the end, the woman tried to handle two more horses running in front and jump over a bar, but twice the horses refused to keep going and she wasn't able to finish it.

Later on, some horses ran around according to their trainer's instructions, but a dappled gray one seemed to want to bully another horse, trying to bite the other's bottom. It was amusing for us, and the trainer took it in stride -- which they have to.

It also explains why there is a group of musicians above playing music, so that it can easily be adjusted in case an act finishes prematurely, or they need extra time to set the stunt up again.

This was the case when a man was standing on a horse as it ran around the ring and he attempted to do a flip, but both times he didn't land properly and fell off. As a result, there's a lot of tension for the audience, but that's what make Cavalia exciting too.

After the show some of us waited behind so that the horses could be showered and we could visit them in the stables. We were given antibacterial solution to clean our hands before entering. Many of the horses were busy eating hay and had their backsides to us! But a few were willing to poke their heads up to see who was around.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to pet them on the nose, and their stalls were designed so that they couldn't even poke their heads out, probably for safety reasons. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to be able to see these magnificent creatures up close.

Cavalia

Now until May 10, 2015

Tickets HK$395-HK$1,995

www.cavalia.com.hk

Far from Eco-Friendly

Colourful floral horses prancing in the air at Landmark

The shopping malls have lots of horse-themed decorations to entice people in, take pictures and hopefully linger and part with some money along the way.

The Landmark in Central has floral horses dancing in the air that remind me of My Little Pony... or am I dating myself?

Equine-themed displays are a relief from the Year of the Snake -- how are you supposed to make an armless and legless reptile attractive?

In any event, I was shocked to read about a bakery in Olympian City use slices of bread to make a horse (that looks more like a lama) -- and the sculpture was next to World Vision's 30-Hour Famine.

The breaded horse sculpture was the work of bakery Bo-Lo'gne to celebrate Chinese and Western Valentine's Days that fall on the same day -- the second month and the 14th day which is why 428 slices of bread were used to make the horse, while hundreds more were thrown away while making it.

A spokeswoman for World Vision diplomatically said "the possibility of such a display sending a message that does not go along with the spirit of the 30-Hour Famine".

Meanwhile Sino Group which manages the mall became red in the face when this contradiction was mentioned, considering the company had previously pledged to reduce food waste.

The unfortunate breaded horse (lama?) at Olympian City

The animal, made in the style of a popular Italian inflatable horse character called Rody, was taken down soon afterwards.

The bakery had planned to use the sculpture for other events, but said it would be broken up and used as fertilizer.

However, glue and preservatives were applied on the slices of bread. Friends of the Earth's Celia Fung Sze-lai criticized the sculpture as wasteful. "Food is very precious. If they want to promote their bread, it would be a better idea to just let shoppers try it," she said. "Now it's a waste and they can't even achieve what they set out to do."

Fung added the used bread could not be used as fertilizer or fodder because the chemicals in the glue and preservatives could affect livestock and soil.

In this day and age, do we still have to educate people about food waste and what can and cannot be recycled?

How can Bo-L'ogne even conceive of the idea of making a large horse out of bread (wasting hundreds of slices in the process) and then think that it could be reused by literally breaking it down in the environment? Some people are completely clueless.

And then Sino Group totally dropped the ball, letting the bakery display the horse sculpture even though this went against Sino Group's corporate social responsibility ethics, and that it was placed next to an event trying to promote the awareness of people starving in the world?

One would have thought a gaffe like this would be found in China, but it's in Hong Kong. It's embarrassing and shocking that the place has a long, long way to go before it becomes a city with some kind of eco-awareness.

In the meantime we'll continue to have people who use more than one paper towel to wash their hands, not turn off the tap when they are lathering, order too much food they can't finish, and ask for plastic bags at the supermarket because they were too lazy to bring their own (mostly men).

When is Hong Kong going to realize we have finite resources and money will not solve all our environmental problems?

Horsey New Year Greetings

American Consul General Clifford Hart hanging out in a cha chaan teng

The US Consulate in Hong Kong has taken the opportunity to wish people a happy new year in the Year of the Horse.

Consul General Clifford Hart and his staff created a video that already has over 45,000 views.

In it a horse puppet named Hannah decides to go to from the United States to Hong Kong to offer herself as an alternative to green power.

She presents herself to the consulate's main doors where she is greeted by a security guard and then figuratively jumps through several interview hoops with various departments.

Hannah is questioned on how she can help each department and at the end of her pitch she adds "Did you know? It's my year -- the year of the horse!"

Finally she meets Hart and he uses the opportunity to show off his talent in speaking stilted Cantonese. A very good effort compared to most expats in Hong Kong, though Hannah responds back in English. He also likes to show that he likes to hang out with locals and eat egg waffles...

Might we add the British Consul General Caroline Wilson speaks pretty good Cantonese too in her video (over 26,000 views), though I hear she's better at speaking Putonghua...

She's more serious in tone with a few horsey metaphors in her speech, but we appreciate these diplomats for making an effort to bridge the cultural gap.

Will we see Hannah the Horse puppets available anytime soon?

Galloping into the Year of the Wood Fire Horse

The fragrant water narcissus welcome in the new year at Victoria Park

Happy New Year! All the best in the Year of the Horse!

Today was a half day of work for most people, and while there weren't many people in the gym, they were lining up at bank machines taking out money, and in supermarkets buying up food for the next few days.

I remember almost 20 years ago when the entire city was shut down for Chinese New Year. Literally nothing was open, except for public transport. My expat male friends would stock up on instant noodles because they didn't know how to cook...

But thanks to the Asian financial crisis and successive economic problems, stores open one or two days afterwards, or if you're 7-11 or Circle K you're open year round regardless of the holiday. Some shops still take the five days off as it's their one major holiday of the whole year.

In any event this year was not bad for those who sold items at Victoria Park. Some cut prices to get rid of stock to break even, others who had really popular items like phone app cushions even raised prices because they was running out of them.

The flower stalls did very well this year because the weather warmed up and the flowers started to bloom and apparently there were many people who shelled out thousands of dollars for orchid plants.

However the biggest losers this year were the chicken sellers, particularly live ones whose birds had to be culled because of the detection of the H7N9 virus in mainland chickens. But the issue is that the birds are not checked at the border and instead after they are mixed in with the local chickens.

This practice has to stop because it hurts local producers; all birds are culled because it isn't detected until an autopsy is done. Traditional Hong Kong people like to eat fresh chicken and not frozen ones, and their habits will not change. And so the government needs to rethink how it inspects food from China.

The possibility of contracting H7N9 from chickens scared of many people who would have otherwise bought a frozen chicken. It should be a must for New Year's Eve dinners, but again this year it's off the table.

Fortune tellers have predicted the Year of the Horse will be a rocky one as it is characterized by wood and fire, which could lead to "explosions" with fire consuming the wood.

Some have interpreted this as the economic bubble bursting, property prices dropping or the overall financial picture of Hong Kong. It will also be politically unsettling with the possibility of Occupy Central later this year.

What's also interesting to note is that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was born in the Year of the Horse so he will face many difficulties this year.

And by the way the Lufsig toy at Ikea was all sold out yesterday -- some 2,000 of them snapped up in a few hours. What does that say about Hong Kongers and their opinion of Leung?

Hope he's ready for the rough ride in this Horse Year.