HIKING FUN (Route:from Yuen Long to Sham Tseng)

Being occupied with work or studies is a typical phenomenon in Hong Kong. This resulted in the lack of leisure. Yet, I think people should relax themselves from time to time in order not to be too tense and stressed. Activities like hiking or jogging should be promoted. These are some good ways to improve our health and reduce stress, bring both physical and mental benefits.

Last Sunday I went hiking with my parents. It took 5 hours to walk from Yuen Long to Sham Tseng. Its level of difficulty is not high because it only consists of plat land and stairs. It makes hikers feel exhausted.

There are many pools for dogs.

Ferns

Podocarpus macrophyllus

Tai Lam Chung Reservoir is in the middle of our way. It has been a great source of freshwater since 1937, the year it was completed. It is scenic and leafy which looks a bit like Amazon! 

A license is needed for fishing!

Hong Kong Orchid Tree, the hybrid of Bauhinia purpurea and Bauhinia variegata, is the floral emblem of Hong Kong. Its images are cast on Hong Kong coins.

Bauhinia x blakeana 

Tsing Fai Tong is our halfway destination

There are many newfangled plant species alongside. Some of them do look weird. lol

Ganoderma

Pine

There is a little eatery, which only serves noodle with luncheon meat and egg, inside Tsing Fai Tong Village. You can also buy cold soft drinks there and cool yourself down after walking for a couple of hours. There are oxen eating grass quietly and a large lotus pool. It is such a relaxing place.

When I was taking photos of lotuses, my mom called my name loudly. Because Mr. Chow Yun Fat, the international movie star, was here! I was shocked and excited to see him! It was such an honour to take a selfie with Fat Gor! He was so nice.

A wondrous waterfall!

It was almost the end of the journey when we saw the sea and bridges. It had been five hours since we last saw the modern architecture because we were completely surrounded by lush vegetation throughout the walk!

My legs were so fatigued after walking constantly for so long. But I still felt happy! It was not only because of Fat Gor, but also my refreshed spirit after a healthy walk. With fresh air as a bonus, hiking is so much fun. I highly recommend hiking as a relaxing activity at your leisure!

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Find me on instagram:@tiffanypoontw

CHRISTMAS IS YET TO COME! (with Santa Claus' addresses below!)

Oh, didn't I tell you that I am a Postcrossing lover?

I joined Postcrossing since the summer holiday last year and until this moment, I've been its member for 507 days already (as counted)! To be honest, as first I doubted its certainty and security because I just found it from an unknown forum. You know, online information is not always trustworthy. However, I still registered it. After reading the brief mechanism from the website, I excitingly sent a few postcards and looked forward to receiving some in return.

I still remember the joy of receiving the very FIRST card! It was really excited and heartwarming!

BUT,today I'm not going to introduce Postcrossing here. Instead, I'm going to show some exquisite Christmas stamps issued last week (exactly, on 4 NOV 2014). Postcards always come with beautiful stamps. So, this is the reason why I also partly fall into philately.

Christmas stamps

Despite the vivid designs, there are actually many hidden Hong Kong elements in this set of Christmas stamps! So, I just quoted the introduction from Hong Kong Post Stamps:

"$1.70 Donning a red hat decorated with patterns of a junk and Chinese white dolphins symbolising Hong Kong, Santa Claus is in town to give us his best wishes.

$2.90 The reindeer playfully hides an outline of the golden bauhinia sculpture in its antlers, which are festooned with Christmas ornaments. Are your eyes good enough to spot the sculpture?

$3.70 The snowman’s funky beanie suggests that perhaps he would like to have an offbeat Christmas walking his caged bird and enjoying dim sum in a traditional Chinese teahouse.

$5 The little angel carries a lyre under the night sky aglow with fireworks, and joins the snowmen musicians at the Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui for carol singing."

Colour postmark

My whole collection

Presentation pack

Never forget to send out some season greetings!

As Christmas is coming soon, Santa Claus' post box is now activated! You can write to Santa Claus from many parts of the world. Receiving their replies is exciting too! The letter really made my days last year!

Addresses below↓↓

Hong Kong
Santa Claus
General Post Office
2 Connaught Place, Central
Hong Kong

Finland
Santa Claus
Arctic Circle
96930 Rovaniemi
Finland

Canada
Santa Claus
North Pole HOHOHO
Canada

Germany
Weihnachtsmann 
Weihnachtspostfiliale 
16798 Himmelpfort 
Germany

France(you can write to Santa online!)
http://www.laposte.fr/pere-noel/LaPoste-PereNoel.html 

Though there are quite a lot more Santa Claus around the world, last year I have only written to these Santa above.

United Kingdom
Santa/Father Christmas, 
Santa’s Grotto, 
Reindeerland, 
SAN TA1 

New Zealand
Santa Claus 
Santa's Workshop 
North Pole 0001 
New Zealand 

Austria
Postamt Christkindl 
Christkindlweg 6 
A-4411 Christkindl 
Austria

Belgium
Sinterklaas, 
Spanjestraat 1, 
B-0612 Hemel, 
Belgium

Sweden
Tomten/Santa Claus, 
Tomteboda, 173 00 
Sweden

Belarus
Väterchen Frost, 
225063 Kamenets District, 
Brest Region, 
Belarus

Russia
Väterchen Frost, 
225063 Kamenets District, 
Brest Region, 
Belarus

Slovakia 
Jezisko 999 99 
Jezisko 
Slovakia

Switzerland 
Santa Claus 
La Maison du Pere Noel aux Rochers de Naye 
Switzerland/SWISS 

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Sources
Christmas stamps: http://www.hongkongpoststamps.hk/eng/stamps/latest_stamp_issues/2014/20141104a/index.htm
Santa's addresses: http://forum6.hkgolden.com/view.aspx?type=AC&message=5469670

Find me on instagram: @tiffanypoontw

DAZZLING MUSIC IN TOWN

Last Sunday, the Tuen Mun Beach Festival was successfully held in Hong Kong Golden Beach. It has been an annual event since 2010. This year I attended its Music Festival in which many stars performed, including both local and Korean singers.

Personally I really like Dear Jane (a local band) as they sing a lot of great songs. They performed the songs "John and Yoko" (約翰與洋子) and "Never Be Alone" (不許你注定一人) at the Festival. What an awesome live performance!!

Dear Jane

Dear Jane

As One

BOP(Bird of Paradise)

Two X,from South Korea

N-Sonic,from South Korea

The aim of this event was to let more people know about Tuen Mun/convey positive messages through different activities, as the emcees claimed. Well, I think it's quite right because the Festival might have attracted people from other districts. (Though there were actually not much people, as you can see from the picture.)

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Extended reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuen_Mun_District

Find me on instagram: @tiffanypoontw

Homemade "Chen Pi" (陳皮)!

When it comes to the windy season, Autumn, it indicates that the season of making "chen pi" has come!

You may ask "What a strange name! What's it?"  Don't worry! I'm going to tell you in a second.

"Chen pi" is actually dried tangerine/mandarin peel which is a traditional Chinese raw ingredient. It can be used for cooking (for steaming fish or green/red bean soup) or as Chinese medicine(for soothing coughing). Its medical benefit will be enhanced and it will be more monetarily valuable when it has been stored for a certain number of years. That means, the older the chen pi is, the more valuable it is!

Our collection.

Chen pi is not so easy to be made. Firstly, you have to buy a heavy box (usually 15 kg/box) of Xīnhùi tangerines from the wet market. Next, wash them thoroughly and let them dry. Then use a knife to cut open its peel into three segments and use your hands to separate the peel and flesh. After that, you can dry them under the sun. However, the process has not yet been finished! You still have to steam then dry the dried peels repeatedly for a few times. Finally, you can consume them after a few years' storage. So, it can be concluded that the process is troublesome and costly (15 kg-tangerine can only be made into approx. 2kg-chen pi).

Raw tangerines

Separating peel and flesh

Three obvious segments

Three obvious segments

Drying near the window

Yet, my mom makes chen pi every year as a tradition. Despite the troublesome process, she still makes it because chen pi has a wide range of application and benefits. Besides, it actually shows the genuine care and love of her to our family. Thank you my mom!

The darker the colour, the more the benefit.

Made in 2005.

Made in 2007.

Made in 2012.

Chen pi is a part of the traditional Chinese culture as it has a long history on Chinese cuisine and medicine. Though it is widely used, not many people notices its existence. Thus, I hope more people can know about this magical food and know more about our cuisine culture!

Find me on instagram:@tiffanypoontw