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Hong Kong 12

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Biking Po Kong Village Road Park

  Nara Biking Up Steep Hill
Last year Claira was biking with training wheels.  She could do pretty well, but the Po Kong Village Road Park requires two wheels to go on the big loop.  This year, Claira wanted to go on the big loop.   The bike park was much busier than last year - a school group had arrived were generally learning to bike.  The bike rental still had bikes free, but it took a while to get on the road.  Claira's bike had some deficiencies (one brake handle didn't work and the other worked poorly) so we had to trade it in for a second one.

Once we got the bikes sorted, we went out onto the larger loop track.  This is the first bike ride with both parents and both kids together.  The track has great views but it also has some hills which quickly tire out smaller bikers.

Claira In The Pull OutBiking In Tight CornersDown The Fast BackFamily In The Pull Off

We bike for two hours in total.  We had a few accidents (the learn to bike students really were dangerous) so a break for lunch at the nearby mall was appreciated.

Wong Tai Sin Temple

After biking at Po Kong Village Road Park, we decided to have lunch at a near by conveyor belt sushi place and then walk back to the train (MTR).  The route happened to take us past Wong Tai Sin Temple and the kids wanted to see.
Blowing Pinwheels
I visited Wong Tai Sin once at Chinese New Years.  I figured it would be much quieter because it was weeks after Chinese New Years.  Turns out the temple is still pretty busy outside of the big holiday.


Claira Touching Lion Statue
The temple has a large number of beautiful statues outside the main courtyard.
Decorated Animal Statues
 

Incense And LanternsIncense With CrowdLighting Incense

Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve


Red Helen
Last year I visited the Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve in the afternoon and had a great time spotting butterflies.  This year I decided to take the kids and have a visit.  The weather wasn't as good (many butterflies come out for warmer weather) and we didn't stay as long (be reasonable with kids), but I still had a good time.


Yes, there are butterflies and other flying insects and if you are patient, you can get some nice photos.  I'm shooting with a longer lens (400mm) with a teleconverter that gives me closer focusing.  I have a 100mm macro lens, but many of these animals fly if you get too close with a short lens.

Russet PercherCabbage WhiteSouth China Bush Brown

Helen and kids really enjoyed seeing the reptiles.

Changeable Lizard Male Breeding

Kam Shan Country Park

Start Of Hike
Kam Shan Country Park is sometimes called Monkey Mountain because it's the place in Hong Kong where you are most likely to see monkeys.  It's surprisingly close to Mong Kok - grab a bus on Nathan road and you are there in less than 30 minutes.  The monkeys in Hong Kong have had a tough life - many of them a descendants of abandoned pets and they have long been fed junk by people.  Apparently they have tried harder to enforce "no feeding" rules, but that has sometimes made the monkeys aggressive.  There are warnings not to bring your lunch in a plastic bag.

Macaques At Shelter

We walked to a shelter with a small parking lot and found a bunch of monkeys hanging out.  We waited a few minutes and sure enough, a car came by and people dropped off food.  The food was orange peels in a plastic bag, but it was enough to start fights by the monkeys.   The younger monkeys went flying for the trees, the older ones tried to hold ground.

Macaque PortraitRed-whiskeredBulbulYoung Monkey On Branch

Baby With PealSolo Sitting In Low Tree
After a few minutes, the troop of monkeys moved into the forest and another troop came down the road to replace them.    We went for a little hike to see to see what the rest of the park looked like.



Troupe Comes Down Road
Further down the road, you find some picnic areas but I can't image how you could eat your food outside with so many monkeys around.  There were some pocket views of the reservoirs and lots of stabilized (covered in concrete) slopes.  Not planning to make it a long day, we turned back to the park entrance and got back on a bus.

Hiking By Dam

Mai Po Marshes

Eurasian Curlew Missing Foot
This is something like my fifth visit to Mai Po Marshes, the third in the same few weeks of spring. 

Chinese Pond Heron

Caspian Terns In CrowdEurasian Curlew In Flight


A real treat for me this year was to see the Black Faces Spoonbills up close.  Our shelter was busy, but as the tide came in, so did the birds.  There were 20 spoonbills in the water but one in particular was ranging closer to shore.

Black Faced Spoonbill ProfileBlack Faced Spoonbilll BeakBlackface Spoonbill Swallowing Fish

  Little Ringed PloverMudskippers Showing Fins

Flower Show at Victoria Park

Victoria park is a massive park on the Hong Kong Island side next to the shops in Causeway Bay.  It hosts a few majors show - a massive Chinese New Years market and a flower show in the spring.  We went to see the flower show once before so I knew what to expect.  I could take the kids by myself and let Helen go shopping for a few hours in Causeway Bay.

In 2013, just off the airplane, we took Claira to the Flower Market.  She was about 10 months old and wasn't walking consistently.  We got her to stand with help from her sister and Mom.  The kids saw the picture on my phone and wanted to try and do an updated version:

   Nara And Claira At Flower ShowNara And Claira At Garden SceneReverse Helping To Stand

Our course being silly, they wanted to do a version where Claira was helping Nara stand.

Daisies With City BehindCosmos With City Behind
There are a lot of different things to see at the flower show.  There are large displays put on by city works, tourist attractions and foreign countries. 

Kids With Sunflowers

Hydrangea Pink To PurpleRed Calla Lily
The show goes on for more than a week so most of the flowers are planted, not cut.  Because we were there early in the show, many of the flowers were still in really good shape.
Two Pink Dahlia
 
Miniature Village IkebanaStark Ikebana
The kids got hot so we found a large tent with a stage and kids watched videos.  While they cooled down, I wandered around some of the smaller exhibits showing Ikebana and creative + flowers projects.


The event is really setup for photographers.  They had a huge mural + foreground elements so you could take make believe photos of people in Amsterdam.  They had large fields of tulips for photographers to take "flowers forever" type shots you would normally get on a tulip farm.  They had wall displays of flowers at the right height to be backgrounds for your family photos.  The only challenge was the crowds - there were so many people there who wanted to take photos.

Our Brief Visit To AmsterdamShoot Out Over Tulips
 
  Ice Cream At End
The kids were tired of flowers and Mom was nearly done shopping so we want into Sogo for crazy expensive ice cream.   You can buy a soft serve ice cream at a Mr. Softy truck for about $2.50 CDN.  These ice creams were from Hokido and cost about $7 CDN.  Every kid is an ice cream expert - I think they can tell the difference.


Biking Kowloon West Cultural District

  Start Of Bike Trip
The kids enjoy biking and it's nice and warm (but not too hot) in Hong Kong so we decided to try a second bike ride, this time at Kowloon West Cultural District.  Details were a little thin - there is a kiosk (two converted shipping containers) that rent bikes and helmets to kids, and a bike rental card system for adult.  Bike rentals turned out to be cheaper than Po Kong Village Road Park and the bikes were in pretty good shape.

  After Snacktime
 
Nara Claira Biking With Two International Finance Centre
West Kowloon Cultural District is basically a park and sea wall cut off from the rest of Kowloon by the entrance to the West Tunnel linking Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.  The place was basically empty and has amazing views of Hong Kong Island.

Nara With CentralSeawall With The Center

Claira Dwarfed By International Commerce Centre

Hong Kong Disneyland

Kids Helping Mom On The Train

We went to Hong Kong Disneyland last year so we had some idea of what to expect on a visit.   From Mong Kok, we take three trains and about an hour to get to the gates.  Last year we bought our tickets at the gate and waited perhaps 15 minutes.  This year we bought them online and save ourselves a few minutes.  We were in the park for the rope drop.  Where did the kids want to for their first line free ride?  The Carousel.  We were first on - I believe we were the only on first the first ride. 
 


After the ride, the kids turned around and got on the next ride carousel ride - still no line up!  After our secondride, a line had formed so we decided it was time to find other attractions.

Nara Riding CarouselClaira On CarouselClaira Read For Second Ride

Jungle Cruise
Claira and Nara did remember some of the rides from last year and wanted to go on the boat ride again.    Last year it was a bit much (the kids got scared) but this year they knew what was coming and enjoyed it.  They were uncertain if the animatornics were real people and animals or not and as parents, we didn't give anything away.


Claira being a bit bigger and a lot more adventuresome, we could go on rides that we didn't go last time.  We tried our first flying ride (dumbo) and the kids really liked it.  In each car there is a joystick to go higher and lower so splitting over two cars allows each kid a control.  We tried the "It's a small world" ride (lots of bright colours and scary animatronic dolls).

Dumbo Ride In AirOrbitronIts Small World Ride

Nara Jennie Getting Ready To StartHelen Claira Getting Ready To Start
Another new one for us was the mad hatter cup ride.  I get seasick just looking at it, but Helen and Jenny were both willing to give it a go. 

Swirling Teacups
Nara Happy With Hotdog
Sunset is fast in Hong Kong.  The kids love hotdogs so we had a quick dinner to get a last ride on the carousel in.

Claira Happy With Hotdog

Nara Trying Disney Ears

Of course you can't exit Disneyland without walking through the gift shop.  In our case this was literally true - the castle was closed for renovations and the fastest way to walk to main street was through a gift shop.  Our kids chose this moment to decide they wanted to spend their money on Disney.

Claira Likes New Disney Ears



A Day at Disneyland is intense for kids and as much as we wanted to stay for the last parade and fireworks, the kids were too tired and we still had a long train ride ahead of use.  We took some photos before the parade arrived and started the trip home.

Waiting For Final ParadeGoodnight Disneyland  

 

Hong Kong Walls

Stacked Birdcages Alex Croft Central
Something new!  The Hong Kong Walls project is a yearly art project where a neighborhood gets an upgrade - large walls are covered with street art.  It's well organized - building owners need to volunteer the surfaces and the artists are given a few weeks to paint.  The event started just before we left so we really only got to see the start.  This year the neighborhood is part of central and it has no shortage of art already on the walls.

Stacked Birdcages Overrun With Tourists

The event has a google map you go on a scavenger style hunt to find the locations that will be or are painted.  This was nearly the last day of our trip but the first day of the Hong Kong Walls event so we found a lot of blank walls.  That said, central has a lot of graffiti already so there was lots of work to see as we walked around.

Invader Tiles - HK 78Kids Pretending To Be DragonsNew Dan Kitshner Piece

Our final destination turned out to be just starting painting.  The artist had a huge wall to work with and with a little hand waving, I got my kinds to help paint the undercoat.  It's always good to have your kids participate.

Nara Painting WallClaira Painting Wall
 
 






Kids With Sunflowers
Person: Nara, Claira
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira Likes New Disney Ears
Person: Claira
Tags: shopping
Nara Biking Up Steep Hill
Person: Nara
Tags: biking, Hong Kong, Po Kong Village Road Park
Daisies With City Behind
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Family In The Pull Off
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara
Altitude: 74m (242 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong, Po Kong Village Road Park
Claira Painting Wall
Person: Claira
Altitude: 89m (291 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, paint brush, painting
Little Ringed Plover
Species: Charadrius dubius curonicus (Little Ringed Plover)
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Young Monkey On Branch
Altitude: 135m (442 feet)
Location: Go To...
Red-whiskeredBulbul
Species: Pycnonotus jocosus (Red-whiskered Bulbul)
Altitude: 134m (439 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong
Invader Tiles - HK 78
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 24m (78 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: art, graffiti, Hong Kong
Shoot Out Over Tulips
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: flowers, Hong Kong, photographer
Black Faced Spoonbill Profile
Species: Platalea minor (Black-faced Spoonbill)
Altitude: 7m (22 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Blackface Spoonbill Swallowing Fish
Species: Platalea minor (Black-faced Spoonbill)
Altitude: 7m (22 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Nara Painting Wall
Person: Nara
Altitude: 89m (291 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, paint brush, painting
Red Calla Lily
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Mudskippers Showing Fins
Species: Boleophthalmus pectinirostris (大彈塗魚)
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Start Of Bike Trip
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 10m (32 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong
After Snacktime
Person: Nara
Location: Go To...
Its Small World Ride
Tags: Hong Kong, riding, theme park
Our Brief Visit To Amsterdam
Person: Claira
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Macaque Portrait
Altitude: 132m (433 feet)
Location: Go To...
Caspian Terns In Crowd
Species: Hydroprogne caspia (Caspian tern)
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Nara Happy With Hotdog
Person: Nara
Macaques At Shelter
Altitude: 132m (433 feet)
Location: Go To...
New Dan Kitshner Piece
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 63m (206 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: art, graffiti, Hong Kong, mural
Nara With Central
Person: Nara
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong
Stark Ikebana
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Lighting Incense
Eurasian Curlew Missing Foot
Species: Numenius arquata (Eurasian Curlew)
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Cosmos With City Behind
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Goodnight Disneyland
Person: Claira, Helen, Jennie, Nara
Tags: Hong Kong, theme park
Claira Touching Lion Statue
Altitude: 32m (104 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, statue
Orbitron
Person: Claira, Helen, Jennie, Nara
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, riding, theme park
Decorated Animal Statues
Altitude: 33m (108 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, statue, temple
Changeable Lizard Male Breeding
Species: Calotes versicolor (changeable lizard, Oriental garden lizard)
Altitude: 39m (127 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, Hong Kong
Swirling Teacups
Helen Claira Getting Ready To Start
Waiting For Final Parade
Nara And Claira At Flower Show
Person: Nara, Claira
Altitude: 28m (91 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: flowers, Hong Kong
Dumbo Ride In Air
Person: Helen, Nara
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, riding, theme park
Cabbage White
Altitude: 51m (167 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: butterfly, Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, insect
Russet Percher
Species: Neurothemis fulvia (Fulvous Forest Skimmer, Russet Percher)
Altitude: 37m (121 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: dragonfly, Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, Hong Kong, insect
Nara And Claira At Garden Scene
Person: Nara, Claira
Location: Go To...
Start Of Hike
Altitude: 136m (446 feet)
Location: Go To...
Biking In Tight Corners
Tags: biking, Hong Kong, Po Kong Village Road Park
Troupe Comes Down Road
Person: Claira
Altitude: 135m (442 feet)
Location: Go To...
Miniature Village Ikebana
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira Read For Second Ride
Person: Claira
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: carousel, Hong Kong, theme park
South China Bush Brown
Species: Mycalesis zonata (South China Bush Brown)
Altitude: 51m (167 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: butterfly, Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, Hong Kong, insect
Claira In The Pull Out
Person: Claira
Altitude: 66m (216 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong, Po Kong Village Road Park
Stacked Birdcages Overrun With Tourists
Altitude: 63m (206 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: art, graffiti, Hong Kong
Eurasian Curlew In Flight
Species: Numenius arquata (Eurasian Curlew)
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: flock in flight, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Kids Helping Mom On The Train
Person: Claira
Two Pink Dahlia
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Stacked Birdcages Alex Croft Central
Person: Claira, Helen, Nara
Altitude: 63m (206 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: art, graffiti, Hong Kong
Nara Claira Biking With Two International Finance Centre
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong
Chinese Pond Heron
Species: Ardeola bacchus (Chinese Pond Heron)
Altitude: 8m (26 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong
Nara Jennie Getting Ready To Start
Person: Jennie, Nara
Tags: Hong Kong, lights, theme park
Nara Trying Disney Ears
Person: Nara
Incense With Crowd
Altitude: 33m (108 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, incense, temple
Baby With Peal
Altitude: 133m (436 feet)
Location: Go To...
Solo Sitting In Low Tree
Altitude: 156m (511 feet)
Location: Go To...
Incense And Lanterns
Altitude: 33m (108 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, incense, lantern, temple
Reverse Helping To Stand
Person: Nara, Claira
Location: Go To...
Black Faced Spoonbilll Beak
Species: Platalea minor (Black-faced Spoonbill)
Altitude: 7m (22 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: bird, Hong Kong, Mai Po Nature Reserve
Seawall With The Center
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong
Kids Pretending To Be Dragons
Person: Nara, Claira
Altitude: 67m (219 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: art, dragon, graffiti, Hong Kong
Jungle Cruise
Altitude: 3m (9 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Riding Carousel
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: carousel, Hong Kong, riding, theme park
Down The Fast Back
Altitude: 85m (278 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, Hong Kong, Po Kong Village Road Park
Hydrangea Pink To Purple
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira On Carousel
Person: Claira
Tags: carousel, Hong Kong, theme park
Claira Dwarfed By International Commerce Centre
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking, building, Hong Kong
Claira Happy With Hotdog
Person: Claira
Red Helen
Species: Papilio helenus (Red Helen)
Altitude: 31m (101 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: butterfly, Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, Hong Kong, insect
Hiking By Dam
Altitude: 141m (462 feet)
Location: Go To...
Ice Cream At End
Person: Claira, Nara
Tags: Hong Kong, ice cream
Blowing Pinwheels
Person: Claira
Altitude: 16m (52 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Hong Kong, pinwheel, temple
Tags: Hong Kong(47), biking(10), theme park(8), bird(8), Mai Po Nature Reserve(8), Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve(5)
People: Claira(24), Nara(22), Helen(5), Jennie(3)
From: John Harvey Photo > Trips out of the Country > Hong Kong 12

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Last Modified Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 00:00:55 Edit
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