New Territories...

Today I thought I would go to visit the Wetlands in Tim Shui Wai part of the New Territories. So I got my map and headed off, three MTR rides, a light rail, crossed the overpass to the Wetlands and it was closed! Tuesday's they are closed! Crap! So I got back on the light rail and went to the center part of town and saw a Pagoda and decided to take a walk before heading back, after all, I had just taken an hour ride to come out here, had to make use of my time.The Pagoda is the beginning or the end of a trail called the Pin Shan Heritage Trail. The Tang Clan one of the five great clans settled here in the 12th century. These photos are just a few of the buildings and architecture representative of the beautiful old Chinese style, many of them in disarray. These buildings are what much of the New Territories look like, dozens of buildings clustered together, with thousands of residents. The table and bookshelves are in Andrea Oschetti's home in Hong Kong, last night Ken and I attended his lecture as part of the Cathay Camera Club. Today Ken and I visited Cecilia, a painter, and a very animated and fun person.Ken will start painting with her on Thursday! The photo of the restaurant where we had dinner and our building and the view from the lobby area.  I thought I would share some of Ken's work Saturday at Hong Kong Park. Tonight it was much cooler and sprinkling. Good morning, everyone!

This last one is Ken, a gentleman that saw Ken painting sketched him.

Weekend Outings...

A few days have passed since I have written, I think I needed a little breather from shooting and writing, and really just wanted to reflect a bit on what I have seen so far. I think what has impacted me so far is the amount of wealth, the attraction to the material world and the lack of interaction amongst the people in Hong Kong. We have noticed 

hardly anyone smiles, I walked for blocks one time just smiling to see if anyone would smile, the answer was no!

Yesterday we went to the park, Ken painted for a bit and I shot, not a very productive day for me, I really got frustrated with my ability to shoot! Today made up for it, we went to Stanley on the other side of the island, made a few purchases and walked around and  people watched. We saw a little bit of everything, people having lunch, shopping, working, and enjoying the day with their families. Speaking of, I realize more and more each day how the only thing important to me are my friends and family. Ken in I have been blessed to have great friends & family. I love you all and am thankful to have you in our lives. I am thrilled that Nery is my first visitor in a few days and I hope to see the rest of you sometime soon.  Factoid for the day for those of you planning to visit:

Hong Kong's climate is sub-tropical, with temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius in winter and exceeding 31 degrees Celsius in summer. It is warm, sunny and dry in autumn, cool and dry in winter, and hot, humid and rainy from spring to summer.

• Average annual rainfall: 2 371.7 mm
• Wettest month: September
• Driest month: January
• Winter: January-March
• Summer: July-September

p.s. the last photo is the real color of the flower. :-)

A small break from shooting

Yesterday I decided to take a break from shooting and go for a much needed mani, pedi. I am now a member of Iyara salon and spa. After sipping tea and having the ladies work on my hands and toes for an hour and a half. I was under the toe dryer for twenty minutes. Why you ask, I was afraid with three coats of color on my toes that they would smudge since I had loafers on. Well, when the lady saw my shoes, she took my toes, swabbed oil on them and then wrapped them in glad plastic wrap! I thought okay she definitely knows something I don't know! When I arrived home after my visit to the church and to the park and uncovered my toes. No smudges, no smears nothing, the toes were perfect! Sharon, a lesson for the Vietnamese people at Gulf stream. I thought I would share with you a few photos of those napping during the day. I am off to lunch with Elaine, she is going to give me all the details of her trip to Myanmar, which will be my first country to visit with my friend Nery next Friday! I am so excited!
Factoid for the day: Iyara, not a Chinese word but I thought I would share what the letters stood for in this word. :-)
Not really a factoid, but it is pretty!

Iis for instill, the lesson of life.

Yis for young, the years never show!

Ais for accepting, your forgiving nature.

Ris for relish, you seek a challenge.

Ais for agreeable, the best side of you!

Waterfront for the birds....

Yesterday I went down to the waterfront after having a great morning speaking to SaraLee, thanks Sandy! My 84 year old neighbor was tickled pink that she could Tango me all the way in Hong Kong! The waterfront has changed so much since the first time I came. Sad to see the amount of fill to what was once a breathtaking bay, has been reduced to a channel of water with polluted waters, ferries bringing passengers back and forth from Kowloon. I had a leisurely morning walking along the three mile waterfront. Enjoyed watching this Egret try to swallow his catch, put
things in perspective. After the bird dropped his fish over 25 times he finally swallowed it, not easy task when you only have you beak to work with!  I then had a lovely lunch with my husband and then went to Hong Kong Park.A lovely setting in the middle of chaos, the most fragrant flowers ever! Hong Kong does a nice job of keeping green space and having places where people can take a break. And they do! I will show you photos later of people taking cat naps everywhere.

After the park, I went to a medial clinic to see an acupuncturist, this it turns out is much easier to find in Florida than in HK. After waiting for a half hour, I was escorted in to a room where the woman proceeded to stick me with needles and then put a heat lamp over the needles, I felt like a chicken on a slow roast. Not exactly what I was looking for, the search continues. Last night Ken and I went to the movies to see Girl with the Dragon tattoo, great movie and the theaters in HK do things with style. When you buy the tickets, they give you a seat map so that you can select your seating, aside from the concession stand, they have a fully loaded wine & liquor bar! My kind of movie theatre!
The seats are leather and roomy, much better than many business class seats especially Lufthansa's A380 business class. Leg room, no problem here, no people knocking your knees or stepping on your toes here. Today I awoke with a sinus headache, the recycled air in the apartment finally got me, hopefully nothing Zyrtec can't take care of and hopefully when my ionizer arrives this will resolve this issue. We shall see what the day brings. Good night to you all. Oops I forgot your factoid for today!  Singapore kicks ass in GDP, with 5 million people Singapore ranks higher than the U.S. in GDP at around $53,000.00 per person. Hong Kong ranks 5 and the U.S. 7, who is the super power.
When your people are enabled, so will be your country. On that happy note, night night.

Winged ones.....

Today I decided to go to Kowloon park once again and really try and focus on using my Macro lens. I now have
a new appreciation for those that have mastered macro and nature photography. This requires a steady hand and a lot
of patience. I started off with a tripod, but waiting for a bee to land on a particular flower is like watching grass grow! In the afternoon I went to Sol-wellness center. An establishment the offers from A to Z in physical and spiritual health. A very interesting place with many options on how to achieve the balance the body needs to be healthy. I am excited because Chan had an acupressure matt that I have been looking for. I will let you know if sleeping on plastic needles really works! Ken and I visited a gallery on the way home, that had interesting contemporary artists.
I think people in Hong Kong are hooked by the worst invention in modern history, a smart phone! These people have their noses buried in their phone 24/7! They walk playing, texting, reading and doing whatever they are doing and NEVER looking up to see where they are going! It is crazy, so I just say "look up" and then bump them in to reality! They have no idea what color the sky is or whom is passing them by because their phones are up their nose! Sickening! So you factoid for today is that there are between 30 to 40 thousand U.S. citizens living in Hong Kong.
Good morning. Maria to answer you question, the old man with the gold hair was just on the street, no dogs allowed at the bird park. p.s. if you look closely at the fifth photo, this bee has a tic or something like it on its nape! crazy stuff!