Tung Ping Chau is a small but fascinating island possibly as far away from Hong Kong as you can get without leaving Hong Kong. It is literally a few kilometres from Shenzhen and the Chinese Mainland, which is easily visible from much of the island. That’s China across the water… but I’m standing in Hong … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Tin Hau Temple
Hong Kong has some amazing temples hidden in plain sight. There are the touristy ones like Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road which allow photography but are smothered by coach after coach of tourists walking through their doors. Alternatively, one can leave the tourists behind and head over to Tin Hau to visit a similarly … Continue reading
The hunt for an 800 year old tomb … in Hong Kong
Coming from a country where humans only arrived around 1280 AD (approximately 700 years ago), anything that dates back further than that is always mesmerising. In Hong Kong, where urban renewal takes on an accelerated pace and the old rarely survives the onslaught of the new, the possibility of seeing something dating back to before … Continue reading
A stroll through Kowloon Walled City Park
One of the surprising things about Hong Kong is how interesting some of the parks are. I’ve mentioned Kowloon Walled City Park before, but it never ceases to amaze me when I go to the park how much of an incredibly seedy and disturbing history it once had. Yet now, it is a paradise full … Continue reading
The hidden (Modern) history of Sai Ying Pun – Part 2
Earlier in the week I took you on a stroll through the University of Hong Kong and a couple of its hidden historical buildings. Continuing on from there, we then took to the streets of Sai Ying Pun and uncovered a few more surprises. I’ve been walking the streets of Sai Ying Pun for a … Continue reading
The hidden (Modern) history of Sai Ying Pun – Part 1 – University of Hong Kong
In the 5 years I have lived in Hong Kong I have seen the fast paced change of the city. I have seen beautiful old buildings reduced to rubble to make way for urban renewal and it had left me wondering how much of Hong Kong’s historical architecture is being lost through this process. Along … Continue reading
6 Years on…
WordPress kindly informed me last week that I have been blogging for 6 years. Woah! I thought. I couldn’t quite believe it so I went back to look at some of my earlier posts. Woah! I thought … again. Mitchell wasn’t even 1. Bethany was still a toddler. We lived in a different country and … Continue reading
You know you’re a kid of the 80’s when …
A 5 1/4 inch floppy was your method of portable data transfer for your home computer. Long before external hard drives and USB sticks, years before writable CD and DVD’s, even before the 3 1/2 inch discs, there was the distinct black 5.25″ floppy disk. Thin and floppy in nature (you could bend them, and … Continue reading
The STAR of Hong Kong Harbour
As Hong Kong Harbour shrinks noticeably from reclamation after reclamation, one thing remains constant. The Star Ferry chugs backwards and forward between Central on Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon (or Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui) at regular intervals continuously throughout the day, every day of the week. This group of … Continue reading
History Repeats …
When I moved to Sydney many moons ago, a rather common sight on the harbour was the HMAV Bounty – a replica of the ship commanded by Bligh and taken in mutiny by Fletcher Christian in 1789 built for the movie The Bounty. Back in Oz, the tall ship was used for lunch and dinner … Continue reading