Playing Tourist in My Own Back Yard

What I am about to type will result in  screams of “WHAT” or “HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?”  from my Hong Kong friends…

Until today, just about 32 months after I landed in Hong Kong, Corey and I had never…ever…been to the Fish Market, Flower Market or Bird Market in Kowloon.

WHAT??

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

Let me go back.

Today we had nothing on the agenda and Corey asked me what I wanted to do.  I actually went to the Hong Kong Tourism website to get some ideas. It’s a GREAT website www.discoverhongkong.com

These hugely colorful, local, historical and picturesque places are  a mere four train stops away from our home.  I don’t’ know why…but I’ve never been inclined to go see them. 

Maybe it’s b/c I don’t own a fish (don’t want to).  Maybe it’s because I don’t own a bird (don’t’ want to) or maybe it’s b/c I don’t’ have a nice vase (how do you like THAT reasoning?)

This little field trip gave me the opportunity to take my new “big girl” camera for a walk.

We decided to walk down Nathan Road and stop for coffee, lunch (hot and sour soup and dumplings at a 12 table hole in the wall that is AWESOME – thank you Jane Buck!)  then walk to the markets  It’s not far…but with HOURDES of people out and about…it took us awhile!

While Corey stopped for a water (getting puffy after lunch…MSG? Sodium? ), I stayed outside and watched three local men play a board game.  No table and chairs?  No Problem! No “real” board? No Problem!  A box, a stool and a stairway and a hand drawn  board is all one needs!

First stop is the Gold Fish Market.  It’s REAL name is Tung Choi Street , but who needs a real name when the map has it marked as Gold Fish Market? I will bet if I asked a local, they would know “fish” before Tung Choi Street.  EVERY type of supply or fish that you would want or need is here. 

It was interesting to me that some shops were PACKED and others empty.  We liked this first shop.  It had a fun tank with shrimp and other pretty creatures.

See the lizard like guy hanging on the rock?  Corey didn’t either!  I was happy to NOT see any clownfish or other real exotics out in plain sight.

There are ferns, and tanks and plastic bags of fish ready to be taken home

  This guy had a particularly cute face I thought!

I found these…albino turtles(??) very fun to look at!

(getting some air)   

The area is also very cramped with housing :

Living in these areas you use every space you can to dry clothes! I think at night the area would be beautiful (think Blade Runner and neon lights)

As we moved on, we came to the Flower Market.  Hong Kong does many things well, and one of them is MAPS. 

Before you really even get to “the street” there is this store…where in true Western tradition is READY for Christmas

All sorts of ornaments, etc., EXCEPT…if you go to Sham Shui Po in early December…you get the same things…even cheaper! We kept going…

The flower market is called…wait for it….Flower Street (someone was using their head).  It is shop after shop after shop of flowers, plants, orchids, trees.  There were many couples sitting inside the stores planning their weddings (I knew this b/c HE looked pained as SHE was pouring over the catalogues) 

Gerbera Daisy's are Kari’s favorites…it’s what we saw first! 

Once again, if you want it…you can be pretty sure they have it.  Some shops do NOT want you to take pics…and some say “please feel free ) I can only tell this by the signs on the walls, I have NOT become fluent in the last 15 minutes.

I know ONE friend who would love this place (Bo Ward!)

Corey sat and munched on his freshly roasted peanuts as I wandered.  He missed this guy:

 

People in Hong Kong sleep whenever and wherever they can…and shoppers just continue with their day!

Right at the end of Flower Street is the Bird Park.  This is where you can pick up all of your bird needs.

While most of us DON’T get the birds, I do know many friends who have decorated with the beautiful cages that can be found here! 

As we entered we passed older gentlemen sitting together chatting, their bird cages hanging close by.  Yes, that’s right, they take their little birds for a walk and then have a chat.  From what I have seen, if retired, this is done on a daily basis.

I realize as I type this I did NOT get pics of cages OR the visiting men (though I am VERY careful and respectful of taking pictures of locals…I try to be stealth like)

  Pretty bird!

Happy Talk !

    

                            Hello….

Our walk came to an end and we headed back home to put our flowers (yes, I bought flowers) into a vase.  I a NOT a flower arranger… but they are pretty…and I WILL be back before the next 32 months is up!

Morning Breaks

 

Hong Kong has been shrouded by thick black clouds for weeks. They hover at the tops of the high rises like hats, but hats that are permanently pinned in place.

It gets old, quickly, especially living high enough to be IN those clouds.

At street level, it is depressing, yet life goes on. We know this will pass, and all too soon, we will be complaining bitterly about the humidity and heat that summer will bring.

This mornings’ daybreak brings promise. The promise of sun. The guarantee of heat.

I awoke to broken grey and black clouds. Moving slowly to the East.

Directly in front of me is a dip in the hills that are Hong Kong’s backdrop. Between the hills,directly behind the Shangri-La Hotel and the Hopewell Center in Wanchai loomed a series of dark clouds. In the lowest part of the dip, was a starkly white cloud, almost dragon like, backlit by pink. It stood alone, so bright, almost heaven like. It moved up, it moved back, and now, it is slowly slipping behind the hills. All that is left now is a bit of white puffs, peaking over, not dominating the hill.

To the west, a large bright cloud is growing. As it develops higher, the top is bright white, while the bottom of the cloud becomes more and more pink. Under the pink, are heaps and heaps of clouds still in shadow. Are they trying to decide to take on the pink, or force their way to the top of the cloud which is being lit by the rising sun?

The grey clouds have moved away, the skies just about clear, except for that growing, luminous cloud over Sheung Wan.

5:50 AM. It is fully light. I am fully awake. The Harbour below me is slowly coming to life.

Another day.

I am blessed.

Xi’an–Terracotta Warriors & Horses

 

Have you ever watched Antiques Roadshow from the UK?  They are constantly appraising items that are many hundreds of years old.  Then there are the US episodes where most of the items are from the late 18th or 19th (even 20th) centuries.  Seeing history is pretty cool…and I think most of us find that the older the items the better…

One of the beauties of where we live is that history surrounds us. 

So imagine what it is like to be in the presence of something that was created in 210-209 BC.   It is just jaw-dropping awe-inspiring!

I traveled to Xi’an (depending on who you talk to is how you pronounce it…I have taken to saying “shee’awn”) with three friends.  Traveling in China, especially places not known for having much English, it is best to hire a guide.  Doyle, our FABULOUS guide in Beijing, connected us with an agency and our guide, Eric.

Xi’an is the capital of the Shaanxi Province. 

SO…the Warriors and Horses were buried to protect the first Emperor of the Qing dynasty.  It went undiscovered for thousands of years, which was odd and incredibly lucky.

First, the emperors were known for being buried with riches and protection. There are Tombs all over China (hills) with leaders and their treasures buried.  Many are undisturbed…OR…if disturbed…ravaged, yet marked with who was there.

I am positive that historians were curious why the very first Emperor did not have legions around him.  Other emperors did…but this one was a mystery.  It ends up, that this Emperor had his legions (protectors) buried over a kilometer away from his tomb.

Then…one day in the 1970’s …a group of farmers digging drainage ditches discovered a piece of a warrior.  Then more…The government was called in …digs proceeded, and VOILA…probably one of the richest historical finds of China was revealed. The timing could not have been better.

SO…we arrive and are greeted by our guide.  We had our Beijing guide (Love Doyle) help connect us with a guide for Xi’an.  China is MUCH easier with a personal guide…and it is just not that expensive,  In China…having a guide…and separate driver is helpful b/c of the crowds and difficulty in parking…AND…in complete contrast to Hong Kong…it’s just not THAT easy to get around.

Our first night we walked around our Hotel…street food was really the only fair, and some of us were not that interested in trying .

I have found that there are bar areas in most cities…these two were particularly fun to look at.  No one wanted to stop…sadly.

I think this was because language is an issue.  Communicating is tougher…so to avoid miscommunication and, well, mystery meat, we ate in the Concierge area and had wine. 

Be adventurous.  Dinner was awful, yet wine filled.

The next day dawned to our extended trip to the Terracotta Warriors!

Our guide and driver met us.  The night before I had read up on the area because we were scolded by ‘Eric’ for “never reading a book?”  (Love a good internet search…it’s where I got the info for above!)

We headed straight to The Warriors for an extended stay.  We had a walk in from where the driver dropped us.  There were some statues and stores not yet open. We kept going…we were on a mission.

Eric paid our fees and off we walked towards the digs..

China has done some great work here.  Timing truly WAS everything.  Mao didn’t get here.  They are still exploring and expanding.

You walk past the “scenic spot AND the big horses to get to the digs:

See the sky…I guess this was a GOOD day.  Xi’an is terribly polluted, and the sky is NEVER blue!

We enter the first building:

OH MY

The first dig is the biggest and the brightest when it comes to lighting.  Sadly, and of no one’s fault,  the Chinese had no idea what would happen when the Warriors were exposed to air.  Maybe very sophisticated Universities would have known…but, within minutes of exposure, the paint, which EVERY Warrior was covered with, began to peal. 

If you are VERY special, you get to go to a lower, yet closer, viewing platform.  The days of walking amongst the Warriors has passed…at least from what we saw.  There was an Irish diplomat there…not sure who…and they stayed below us.  I must say, I was quite satisfied with our view. 

I think a camera with a super zoom would be awesome…but I use my cropping function on my pics, and that seems to work.

Here is the sign for Pit 1. It tells the size (11 corridors divided by 10 walls, then the entire thing covered  by dirt)  I am thankful for such signs!

So here is how the historians have recreated the columns:

See, the thing is…ONLY ONE  of the estimated 8,000 figures was found in tact. All of the pieces you see here have been painstakingly put back together…one head, one arm, one hand, one foot at a time.  And the work is ongoing!

I need to take a writing course to tell you how awe inspiring this whole thing was.  My mother did not own a passport, yet here I was, among pieces of history buried in the 2nd century BC.  I had tears in my eyes more than once this day.  I know I felt the same thing when I was in the Yunnan Province looking at The Himalayas.  I am blessed…I can not say this enough.

Eric pointed out to us a “hole” in the walls between the rows of warriors. 

This was a tomb.  It seems, that during the years and years and years since the Warriors were buried, the area was a farmland.  And during those years, those farmers died,to be buried in the land they worked.  In ALL OF THOSE YEARS, with all of those buried…all of the tombs “just missed” discovering The Warriors.  Because, here’s the thing…if any of this had been discovered during The Cultural Revolution…THE WHOLE THING WOULD HAVE/COULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.   Mao’s Cultural Revolution would have seen to all of that.  All of it.  Look at that hole…dug “just so” in the wall that separated one row of Warriors from another…this is just another indication to me that higher beings are at work.

We got to see bits and pieces of Warriors being put back together. 

You can see here that some heads have not yet been found to match to the bodies.  Speaking of heads…EACH face is unique. Yes, each one.-and each one was individually painted

The workers are right there in the pits for us to see.  

Each Pit is a work in progress.

Here is a slight attempt to show you the scope of Pit 1

I could not miss this opportunity to pose with my Terrible Towel.  My travel mates were very accommodating, and the people around me were quite curious.  Our guide explained many times that it was a “football” thing…but I’m sure everyone was thinking soccer

I’m afraid this picture did not pic up NEARLY as much traction on twitter with Steelers groups…it seems truly “recognizable” places are more the flavor of  the fans (thus  the popularity of The Leaning Tower of Pisa )

We walked down the entirety of this pit and saw horses, and statues being worked on.  There were “staging areas”.  As things were ;unearthed, they were brought to areas, tagged, and cataloged.  Each piece waited for something…

We moved to the next Pit.  Here you can see how things were truly found:

 The top two pictures are mine…the rest are pictures of pictures…taken before all things disintegrated. 

From this….err…mess??…came ALL those Warriors you just saw in rows in Pit 1! 

This Pit was the “Headquarters” of the group protecting the Emperor.  The historians could tell this because there was just one “in and one out”…Here are the horses protecting that entrance:

  This is the Pit where there are pictures of what The Warriors looked like when they were unearthed.  As I said before, sadly, they did not remain this way, as atmospheric conditions deteriorated them quickly.

Like I said…there is ONE warrior that came out whole.  He is encased and to this day you can still see just a bit of color from being painted.

Look closely at the picture of his back…you can see the red paint.

Here is the official photo from all sides that is close to where the kneeling archer is today.  it shows the colors better.  They got it in a case…but not fast enough to keep it from breaking down.

What amazes me about most civilizations is that they all came up with some version of arrowheads for hunting. All over the world…centuries and thousands of mile apart…and the same innovation strikes.

We finished our tour here and headed out to lunch.  We had more to do today, but I can tell you…I’m not sure what I have seen or will see that could have topped this site.

I’m going to end this here.  We had a whole afternoon to fill, but this is long enough and I truly could go on and on!