Another week is over, which means another ‘Week in Pictures’ instalment!
Where are the weeks going? Seriously!
My Irish friend Carla is featured twice this week. I’m getting my ‘Carla’ fix before she jets back to London for her pending nuptials.
I’m really going to miss her!
She is a super awesome human and I will make it my mission to catch up with her again in some part of the world….London, Dublin, Sydney…who knows?
There is a fair bit in this post – make sure you keep scrolling to the bottom to see the Wan Chai Night Lights!
Your imperfections are an asset, so why not have a free cup of herbal tea to celebrate this?
Chinese herbal tea is a significant part of Hong Kong culture and teahouses were once communal places for everyone.
To experience this sense of community Carla and I headed out to the I’mperfect Teahouse in Fortress Hill.
We discovered that this cosy little Teahouse is all about embracing your flaws and having a more positive attitude towards imperfections in our daily lives.
Sounds good, right?
The I’mperfect movement was founded by Eddy Yu and Hung Lam who have an intriguing back story.
Graphic designers by trade, they were commissioned to work with a local ceramic label who produced about 2 million pieces of ceramics every month in their factories, including about 600,000 pieces of defective products.
Shocked by the huge amount of waste, Yu and Lam made use of the defective products and turned them into something valuable with a special product line.
An example is the mug in the image below, where you can see a small chip in the rim.
Yu and Lim believe there is always something good in imperfections and flaws are worth celebrating.
Taking the notion one step further, the I’mperfect Teahouse was born.
Nestled in the teahouse, we got into the spirit of the I’mperfect movement and shared our flaws on an I’mperfect coaster.
In exchange we were gifted a mug of Chinese herbal tea.
An extensive list of teas were on offer including honeysuckle flower and chrysanthemum, winter melon and job’s tears seed water and dragon’s tongue leaf and preserved kumquat tea just to name a few!
When it came to reveal our imperfections, funnily Carla and I shared very similar flaws.
Note to self – be less judgemental of others and of ourselves!
The most enjoyable aspect of the teahouse experience was feeling the strong sense of community.
It was awesome for us gwilos (white people), to sit happily amongst the mix of teenagers and older folk and scribble down our imperfections whilst chatting and sipping herbal tea.
A great new-life experience.
Where: The I’mperfect Tea House
Location: 12 Oil Street, North Point
How to get there: Take MTR to Fortress Hill station, Exit A.
Admission: Free
According to the ‘Leisurely Hiker’s Guide to Hong Kong,’ the Amah Rock and Lion Rock hike is a ‘half-day leisurely adventure.’
First of all I’m writing to the author to say this isn’t the case (it was 13km and pretty darn steep) + he really needs to work on his instructions.
It took Carla and I just over an hour to find our way from the MTR station to the start of the trail! (We take no responsibility for this…we weren’t talking like last time).
The hike took us over the hills that separate New Territories from Kowloon.
Over past centuries the Sha Tin valley has undergone significant change.
A once sandy estuary became premium rice fields, whose produce was reserved exclusively for the Imperial Court.
Now, in stark contrast, Almah and Lion rock look over thriving Kowloon.
From the top of Lion Rock you can enjoy the panorama of Kowloon, spotting the old Kai Tak airport and Hong Kong island sitting hazily towards the south.
Unfortunately we didn’t time our hike well in terms of visibility.
Apparently we should’ve waited until after Chinese New Year when the factories in China have closed down and aren’t producing so much smog!
On a clear day the view would be spectacular, so I definitely plan on doing the hike again!
Where: Lion Rock Hike
How to get there: Travel to Won Tai Sin MTR station, Exit B3. (This website has all the details).
I mentioned here that I am doing an online photography course and this week’s assignment focused on shutter speed.
I (finally) worked out what I was doing and then decided to randomly venture out to Wan Chai to snap the stream of headlights from the bustling pedestrian foot bridges.
I think the result isn’t too bad seeing as though this is my first attempt and I didn’t have a tripod!
You need very steady hands!
That’s it for this week!
If you have any photography tips in terms of night shots or shutter speed, let me know!
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