Sai Wan Swimming Shed

I recently came across the photo of a place that didn’t look like Hong Kong… It looked like somewhere in Europe. As soon as I realised it was Hong Kong Island I was determined to go.

 

The Sai wan swimming shed (or rather jetty) on the west coast of Hong Kong Island is the last public swimming shed still in activity in the city. The swimming shed is still used by a few swimmers, but it has mainly become a big photography spot. It’s very popular with wedding photographers, Instagram keen teenagers and landscape photographers.

 

I waited several weeks until both the weather and the husband cooperated. I had been warned to avoid weekends as the spot is too crowded, so we ventured out on a Friday evening one hour before sunset.

I’d scouted out the exact location on Google Street view and I’m glad I did as it’s very easy to miss: an opening in the fence with a sign in Chinese, leading to steps going down into dense vegetation, a shed and finally the jetty.

 

Once we arrived, a couple in wedding attire were gingerly standing on the jetty while waves crashed around them and a wedding photographer tried to take some nice shots. Half a dozen other photographers & tripods were lined up on the platform anxiously waiting for the couple to get out of the way.

I realised another platform was available on the right hand side of the jetty and it was empty. I quickly ran and claimed the best spot – just seconds before a dozen teenagers turned up!

The whole purpose of this outing was to play around with long exposures and take some photos, objective reached – even though it was wind and so the trees are blurry.

 

The currents are pretty strong and waves regularly crash on the rocks… swimming here doesn’t look safe at all.

 

Sai Wan Swimming Pier

Sai Wan Swimming Pier

Sai Wan Swimming Pier

Sai Wan Swimming Pier

 

Hong Kong: the last 2 months

I knew it would happen, I wanted it to happen, but it happened much faster than I thought it would.

We are leaving Hong Kong at the end of July to return to the UK.

I love Hong Kong to bits, it’s such an amazing city full of contrasts and adventures, yet there are a few issues that mean it may not be the place where we settle.

These issues are:

• The job market: simply put, I currently do not fit in.

I am a New Product Development Project Manager, but food companies with manufacturing operations in Hong Kong can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The few times I did see an offer, they regarded Chinese food, which I have no knowledge of…  Additionally, I do not speak, read or write Cantonese AND Mandarin fluently.

Mastering both Chinese languages is becoming increasingly mandatory and only a few sectors are exempt (banking being one of them).

 

• Housing: renting a small apartment at high price doesn’t bother me too much. However, we want to eventually buy property, yet buying anything in Hong Kong seems unachievable. Not only is the price very high, the flats are tiny and the deposit is hefty. It simply isn’t achievable for us in the short/medium term.

 

• Work culture: this one concerns Jeff rather than me. People at work are extremely competitive and do not hesitate to backstab colleagues and shoe-shine managers in order to get promoted. I’ve been told this behaviour is very common in certain industries/teams with local staff as it is instilled in people since kindergarten.

You see, there are only a handful of universities in Hong Kong, so parents put extreme pressure on their children to stand out from their classmates. This starts at a very young age with kids being enrolled in music, sport, arts & language classes, the only goal being to enter a prestigious primary school, then a prestigious high school and finally university. Children compete with one another on all aspects and this behaviour is carried over into their working lives.

 Hong Kong has so many good points: it’s safe, has easily reachable countryside, varied landscapes and no end of activities to try. Let’s not forget the food, central location for Asian holidays and warm weather.

 

I’ve learnt in the past seven years that no place is perfect and that it’s not about finding the place that ticks all the boxes, but the one that ticks the most important boxes…

I don’t know if England will tick the most important boxes (I’ll be honest and say I am concerned about safety)…but we thought we had to try, so when the opportunity came, we grabbed it.

 

We will try our best, but I would not be surprised if we eventually return to Hong Kong or try another country.

 

 

P.S: I do not plan on stopping the blog for now, even after I return to the UK

 

 

Fun activity in Hong Kong: Trick eye museum

I was recently contacted by the Hong Kong Trick eye museum to visit and review their attraction. Since this type of activity is something Jeff and I would do of our own accord, I agreed.

 

The Trick eye museum is located inside the Peak Galleria on Hong Kong Island. We headed up the mountain while an orange alert rainstorm was issued and that alone gave us a new experience: the peak was shrouded in clouds and visibility was down to 10 meters, making the mini bus drive up surreal.

 

The concept of the trick eye museum is quite simple: visitors are an integral part of the mural paintings, while props and specific photo angles make the artwork appear 3D on camera.

For this reason it is best to visit with at least one friend and a camera/smartphone (to alternate being the model and the cameraman).

 

I had visited the original Trick Eye Museum in Seoul a few years back, so I was keen to see if the Hong Kong version would be exactly the same.

The answer is no! This museum features a few mural paintings depicting famous Hong Kong spots. It also has physical props for visitors to grab/cling/sit on.

There are approx. 50 paintings in total, this may not seem like a lot, but it took us a bit over 1 hour to do most of them – and that was just the 2 of us.

I thought some of the paintings were really quite fun and different from what I had seen in similar museums. We did have quite a laugh while posing for some of them!

 

Here are some of our favourites:

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   Jeff is a better model than I am…or I am a better cameraman.

 

This would be a great rainy afternoon activity for couples or families with (not too young) children.

 

Tips:

• Visit with at least one friend. In fact, the more the merrier!
• Don’t forget your camera.
• Book your ticket online for 10% discount.
• You don’t have to go to the Peak on the Tram unless you want to. Mini bus 1 from Hong Kong Station and Bus 15 from Exchange Square bus terminus also go up to the Peak.

 

 

Trick Eye Museum

http://trickeye.com/hongkong/

Shop No.1 on Level 3

The Peak Galleria

118 Peak Road

Hong Kong

Price: $150 for 1 adult, $100 for children under 11 and seniors

 

 

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post, however I did receive free entry to the museum for my review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

 

Discovering Tokyo – Ueno Park, Asakusa, Meiji Shrine & Calico cat café

After 6 days in Japan it was finally time to visit Tokyo! It’s such a big city with tons to see, I was really looking forward to it.

We took a stroll through Ueno Park, famous for cherry blossoms, but the trees hadn’t entered full bloom and only a handful of individual trees had flowers.

Ueno Park – Tokyo

Ueno Park – Tokyo

When evening fell we visited Asakusa Sensoji, Tokyo’s oldest temple. The gate at the entrance has a humongous lantern and it’s a very popular spot with tourists. We had a blast taking photos of the lanterns and architecture.

Asakusa – sensoji temple

Asakusa – sensoji temple

Asakusa – sensoji temple

Asakusa – sensoji temple

The next day we visited the Meiji shrine in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. The shrine is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and is surrounded by a forest. The shrine displays big sake barrels that are donated by brewers around the country as offerings to the shrine.
I had read that Shinto weddings sometimes take place at the shrine and being able to see one is very rare. I was stunned when I suddenly saw a bride, groom and their parents in wedding kimonos walk to the temple!
It was such a sight, my jaw dropped: the bride had a white kimono with a paper hat covering most of her head, the groom had a black jacket with a stripy robe, the mothers had the most elegant black kimonos with golden patterns and the priest carried a big red parasol.
After posing for their photographer (and dozens of tourists) they vanished into the temple for their ceremony.
These details are proof of a rich culture that makes japan a very interesting and exotic country to visit!

Sake barrels – Meiji Shrine

Shinto wedding – Meiji Shrine

Shinto wedding – Meiji Shrine

Since our feet were very achy we took a rest in a cat café.
The concept is simple: it’s a café with cats. This quite common in Japan and they now have cafés with bunnies, owls and even goats! We paid our entry fee, got a drink and a box of chicken breast to feed the kitties.
They are no fools, they know who has food, who hasn’t and when fed up with us humans, climb up the cat tree to sleep!

Calico Cat Cafe Tokyo

Calico Cat Cafe Tokyo

Calico Cat Cafe Tokyo

Calico Cat Cafe Tokyo

We had dinner in Omoide Yokochō, a small alley lined with Japanese grill (yakitori) restaurants. This once again could have been a scene from a movie: dozens of open front restaurants with lanterns and the smell of grilled meat filling the air.

Omoide Yokochō

Omoide Yokochō

Omoide Yokochō

Fun activity in Hong Kong: Chinese Dessert Cooking Class

I’ve wanted to take some Chinese cooking classes for a while but never got round to it.

Since I’ve got plenty of free time recently, I thought it would be the perfect time. After browsing various websites, I realised that English speaking classes in Hong Kong are on the pricey side (no surprise), so I decided to start with only one workshop.

I chose the Towngas cooking center, as it has plenty of interesting classes designed for leisure (no need to enrol in some kind of training program) and offers workshops in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

I absolutely love Hong Kong style desserts so when I saw a class was coming up I enrolled in a heartbeat!

The three hour workshop taught us to make 3 dishes:

• coconut noodles in mango soup with sago
• mango rice rolls
• mango ice cream (teacher demo only)

 

Each workstation was already prepared with utensils and ingredients set out and weighed for us. We were each given printed copies of the recipes, in Chinese and English. Once everyone had put their belongings in the cupboard we were called to the front of the room were the demo station is.

 

The teacher demonstrated each task and then sent us to do it ourselves at our station.

Each time a step was completed, we were called back to the demo table for the next task.

Once the teacher had finished the demonstration desserts, we were all invited to taste them.

 

Joanne, the teacher spoke very good English and made sure everyone had understood the steps. She also walked around the workstations in case we had questions. Kinda felt like I was in Master Chef!

 

workstation – Towngas cooking center

Demo station – Towngas cooking center

Demo station – Towngas cooking center

Most of the attendees were middle aged local housewives, who seemed to be regulars. They were quite competitive, completing tasks before the teacher had instructed us to do so, peering over their neighbours shoulders and calling after the instructor “Missy! Missy!”!

 

The desserts were easier to make than I thought they would be and I’m glad I learnt how to make these iconic HK desserts… I feel I learnt to “make” a bit of the local culture.

Teacher’s coconut noodles in mango soup

Teacher’s mango ice cream

Teacher’s mango rolls

I’m making my mango rolls

my mango rolls

Doesn’t look so pro in a Tupperwear – My coconut noodles in mango soup

I recommend the Towngas cooking Center, they have plenty of adult & children, Chinese and Western cuisine workshops and the teacher was good. I recommend taking a class if you want to experience the local cuisine in a hands on way.

 

 

Tips:

• Bring 2 or 3 Tupperware boxes with you to take your creations home
• Bring a sheet of paper & a pen to take notes
• Bring your own apron

 

 

Towngas cooking center

9F Lee theatre

Causeway Bay

Cost: 450HKD

Course: Sweet Delicacies – Sweet Mango Rice Rolls

https://www.towngascooking.com/en/Course/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Onsen: a guide to Japanese hot springs

Taking advantage of the volcanic activity in its islands, Japan has a strong and ancient hot spring culture.

Few countries in the west have anything similar and I know it can feel daunting to use these facilities for the first time. Onsen ((温泉, the Japanese word for hot spring) is a great experience and really should be tried while visiting Japan.

I thought I’d write a small guide on how to use them to demystify the experience.

 

The concept:

Onsen are communal baths of mineral rich water coming straight from geothermally heated springs.

Different locations have different temperatures (20°C – 90°C) and mineral contents (sulphur, iron…) , each believed to have different virtues.

The baths are separated by gender and are located outdoors or indoors.

Japanese Hot Spring Pool

General etiquette:

• Check if tattoos are banned. Many resorts still ban them as they are linked to the Yakuza (Japanese triads) and foreigners are not exempt to the rule.
• Check if swimsuits are permitted. Most of the time they are not and everyone must enter the water in their birthday suit.
• Enter the correct bath! Men and women are separated.
• You will usually be provided with two towels: a small one to wipe sweat from your face, a big one to dry yourself after bathing.
• Entering the water with a towel is often forbidden.

 

General Layout:

Behind the first set of doors is the changing room & toilets.

Behind the second set of doors is the showering area and hot spring pool.

 

Process:

1. In the changing room users are required to remove their shoes and place them in a specific cabinet at the entrance.
2. After that one must undress completely and place all clothing either in a locker or an individual basket (whichever is provided). Take your small towel and locker key with you to the next area, usually behind sliding glass doors.
3. Proceed to the bathing area where you will find shower hoses along the wall, with a small wooden stool and wooden bucket.  Rinse the stool, sit down and wash your body carefully, make sure to rinse off all soap residue! In some facilities you may only find the wooden bucket on the side of the main hot spring bath. In this case dip the bucket in the bath and splash yourself with water while standing further away (so the water from your body doesn’t splash into the communal bath).
4. Once clean, proceed to the main hot spring pool. Depending on the facilities they may be only one pool or many. If given the choice, start with one which has a temperature between 35°C & 40°C, to give yourself time to adjust. Place your towel on the rocks by the side of the pool, sit it on top of your head or wrap it around your forehead like a scarf. Do not dip it in the water or try to hide your body behind it as the Japanese do not like anything unclean to enter the water.
5. Enjoy! Sit in the pool with water up to your neck and relax! I recommend getting out to cool off every 10 mins to avoid any dizziness. Some places even provide benches for this purpose. If there are multiple pools, try them all as they each have different minerals or “flavourings”.
6. Once finished, proceed back to the shower area and wash yourself again.
7. Then return to the changing room, get dress and off you go!

Tips:

• If you’re really feeling self conscious, go to the hot spring late at night or early in the morning, there will be a lot less people.
• Feel free to bring a bag with clean clothing and cosmetic products to use for your shower.
• Onsen makes one sleepy and peckish, so I like to enjoy them in the evening, followed by a hearty snack and a good night sleep.
• If in doubt: when in Rome, do as the Roman’s do. Each onsen is different and facilities and rules may differ. If you’re unsure ask or copy the locals!