Being a Tourist in Hong Kong

The past few days have been exhausting as Caroline and I have tried to pack as much as possible into our time in Hong Kong. We knew we would have to be selective in what we could see as we only had a few days so we chose to explore both the cultural and the popular. We'd already visited Wong Tai Sin Temple and Flagstaff House in the first couple of days, and we added to the cultural extent of our trip with visits to the History Museum and the Chi Lin Nunnery.

The Hong Kong Museum of History is excellent, and we were lucky as our visit coincided with an exhibition of historical photo's detailing the history of photography in Hong Kong. The main historical galleries details a 4 million year timeline of the region which is currently Hong Kong. While the natural history of the region is fascinating, I think the most impressive part of the exhibitions were those which pieced together the historical development of man in the region from prehistoric times up until the 1800's. As someone completely ignorant of anything about Hong Kong, this was a great learning experience.

Pavilion of Absolute Perfection, Nan Lian Gardens

Another learning experience was at the Chi Lin Nunnery. This Buddhist temple complex and connected Nan Lian Gardens are well structured and beautifully kept. Compared to the Taoist Wong Temple we visited earlier in the week, this seemed more serene and austere, though no less beautiful.

Bronze Wishing Lamp in the centre of the Buddhist Halls of Chi Lin Nunnery

As tourists we don't just go to the educational sites. We've seen our fair share of touristy things (though we haven't bought a fridge magnet...yet!) including the Peak Tower view, Victoria Harbour Tour (we jumped on a junk that toured the harbour), Victoria Harbour Light Show (the buildings put on a light show at 8 pm each night), and just walking around the central areas looking up at the tall buildings. Here's a few photo's to show some of these things.

Peak Tower, great views from the top!

View from the Peak Tower

Chinese Junk, Victoria Harbour Tour

Avenue of Stars

Polish Festival in Melbourne

It was a lazy Sunday morning where I had few plans, so I thought I'd head into central Melbourne and visit the Polish Festival in Federation Square. My father is Polish, though he has lived in England for over 60 years, so I have an affinity with Polish culture. I have never learned the language, but I do know a few words, and even more than I realized I knew started coming back to me as I wandered around the festival. The stage in Federation Square hosted a series of traditional Polish folk entertainment (I thought I could hear Chopin at one point, though it was probably coming from a stall I was passing). There were children singing when I was there this morning, but adults were waiting in the background in traditional dress.

There were a number of stalls around Federation Square where local Polish businesses were selling goods, such as Polish language books, jewellery (a lot of amber), and homewares. There were some handmade gifts being made as you waited, and stuff for the kids.

Carved wooden gifts, and hand loomed materials

Along the Yarra, there were plenty of food stalls. For me, this is always one of the highlights of the various cultural festivals held in Federation Square.

 Mmmmm, pretzels

 Granny's (Babcia) Kitchen

 Europa Bakery

Lots of stalls spread along the Yarra River

There was an excellent Festival Guide given out for free with loads of information about Polish culture, history, language and contacts around Victoria. I live fairly near to a large Polish community in Bentleigh. In Centre Road, Bentleigh, the excellent Europa Bakery and cakeshop is situated, though there is another in Acland Street in St. Kilda.

Poland and Chess

Of course it also interests me to follow Polish chess players. Poland have never had a chess World champion, but they have certainly had their share of great players. Perhaps top of the list was Akiba Rubinstein, who for a couple of years before the First World War was considered among the very best in the World. He won a string of strong tournaments, but didn't get a shot at the World Championship. A contemporary of Rubinstein's was Savielly Tartakower, who was a probably a greater writer than he was a player (though he was a strong enough player). These 2 spearheaded Poland's victory in the 1930 Olympiad, and Tartakower was the teacher of the next great Polish player, Najdorf. Although Najdorf lived for most of his life in Argentina, he was born in Poland and represented Poland at an Olympiad before the Second World War. During the Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe after the Second World War, no great Polish players emerged, and it was not until recently we have seen an upsurge in Polish chess again, most notably with Wojtaszek being chosen to be part of World Champion Anand's team. But he is just one of a number of young strong Polish players, so the future of chess in Poland looks pretty bright.