Playing tourist in our town

Time flies!  Jeff has been in HK for six months, and I'm ending month three.  Sometimes we feel like we've just "stepped off the boat", but most of the time we feel quite at home.  We have no difficulty navigating the city and its many alleyways and hidden streets.  Most of the time we feel this is "our" city, but, from time to time, we find ourselves in areas where we are the only Western faces and realize we are really just guests.
The expat community in HK is varied with respect to lifestyle.  Some live in apartment hotels - furnished upscale lodgings that come with many services.  Some live in the Mid-levels (our neighbourhood) in "regular" apartments (large and small) - with either their own furniture from home, or with HK-purchased furniture.  Others live up the Peak in larger, fancier apartments.  And many more live "way out" in the New Territories - closer to the Chinese border, quieter, leafier, better-smelling, but an hour away from Central.  A lot of permanent expats start off in the busier areas, and then gradually move away from the bustle.  Quite a few of the permanent expats have told me that they have moved several times during their 10-15 years in HK.  The one common denominator is that everyone rents.
Regardless of where we expats choose to live, each neighbourhood is replete with services - restaurants, cleaners, supermarkets, hardware stores, etc.  In North America, we see the same conveniences repeated in cities and suburbs (Loblaws, Shoppers, Canadian Tire), and the same occurs in HK, except the shops are usually small "mom-and-pop" operations.
I've met a few people who have lived here for 10-20 years.  Most speak almost no Cantonese, although one or two can get by quite nicely.  So far, my vocabulary is limited to hello and good morning, and lots of nods and smiles.  My plan is to take some lessons next fall, although I am torn between learning Cantonese or Mandarin.  Cantonese is more useful in Hong Kong.  Mandarin is the official language of China, and it is taught in all the schools.  Neither is easy.

There are times when we realize that we are strangers here.  When we were in the lobby waiting to enter the venue to see The Platters,  we noticed a crowd of young people taking photos of a pretty Chinese girl.  From the excitement, we realized she must be a celebrity, but to us she was just a pretty face in the crowd.  I took a photo of her, and Jeff asked his staff who she was.  Turns out she's Stanley Ho's daughter,  Josie, who is an actress/rock singer (have any of you heard of her?).  By the way, Stanley Ho is one of the richest men in Asia, albeit a bit of a shady character http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Ho   We wouldn't have recognized him either!


Our trusty guidebook, Leisurely hikes in Hong Kong, has led us on some interesting walks the past few weekends.  Last Saturday, we walked through Happy Valley, a residential area noted for the cemeteries that line the hills.  The Jewish cemetery was fascinating.  The entrance is through a small gate between a Buddhist temple and school.  The park-like setting makes it a very restful! quiet place.  We took photos of some interesting gravestones, including baby Mary Shaw, and Dina David, who was born in Harbin, China in 1910.  Many Russian Jews also escaped the Revolution by fleeing to Harbin in northern China (Manchuria).  The community eventually migrated south to Hong Kong.

The rest of the cemeteries are next door to each other, beginning with the Parsee cemetery, which was lined with beautiful potted flowers.  Since there are no vultures here, the Parsees bury their dead in lead coffins, rather than erecting a Tower of Silence.  The Christian cemetery had many memorials to ship crews whose boats were lost.  We were not allowed to take photos in the Catholic cemetery so we took them through the gate!  The last cemetery along the road was the Muslim one with very plain headstones in keeping with their culture.

Last Sunday, we walked the markets - separate ones for birds, flowers, goldfish and jade.  The photos speak for themselves.

Yesterday, we walked the Aberdeen Reservoir Trail.  All downhill, but very steep.  The end of the two-hour trek took us into Aberdeen, a working-class suburb of Hong Kong.  We did not see any other expats in that part of town.  We walked along the waterfront, taking photos of the sampans for hire.  We can't figure out why the sampan in this photo had a Hebrew sign (transliteration: Tom's sampan tour).


Tomorrow is Passover.  We will be attending a community Seder sponsored by the UJC (United Jewish Congregation).   The invitation said: "We suggest you bring your Helper to be able to assist you with the children ...  It is recommended they (the children) nap earlier in the day and then eat a hearty snack before arriving to keep them going."

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all of you.

Sign of the week and fashionista of the week.