A different kind of rain

I finally went to this nature reserve last Sunday! One of my guidebook mentions it and shows a picture of one of these but I'm sure they are impossible to spot. It was so relaxing to go hiking where there were no other people to be found! It was only after I finished hiking that I realized the main reason people go there is to take "nature photos" and try to one-up each other with their fancy camera equipment. People taking their photography hobby seriously in Hong Kong! (Lots of camouflage, big lenses and tri-pods). From what I could tell, they were mostly getting shots of birds and butterflies. I felt a little sheepish with my point-and-shoot, but I managed to take some flower pictures.

Angela's Birthday

Last week was Angela's birthday so her boyfriend, Christopher, planned a surprise dinner at a Balinese restaurant (they just went to Bali for Spring Break and loved it!) The food was amazing and then we all went to a "omni-max" movie at the space museum- which is the next step after i-max. You sit reclined and watch a movie in a dome so it feels like you're in 3-D. Really cool! The movie was about baby elephants and orangutangs being rescued and rehabilitated.

Aberdeen

I had been meaning to check out this neighborhood for a while because it's known for having a lot of fishing boats and a big live seafood market. I also ride past it every day on the bus so last Friday I got off the bus and walked around. Unfortunately the fish market is only in the mornings, but there is a nice walk along the water and quite a few house boats and "junks" (big fishing boats).

Ching Ming Festival

paper dim sum

Tomorrow is a public holiday! It is Ching Ming Festival (also known as "grave sweeping day" or "ancestor remembrance day"). Families visit their ancestors grave for the next 2 days and burn paper offerings, leave a feast out as an offering (apparently they can eat it too) and clean and sweep up their graves. I heard that some might even dig up the bones and clean them before re-setting them back in the grave.
I never get tired of these paper offerings that you see for sale... I love the idea of buying your dead ancestor's favorite items in paper form. I'm hoping to maybe catch sight of some of the celebrations tomorrow before I head off to Beijing!
YES- tomorrow I leave for Beijing! I'm not sure what kind of access I'll have to the internet so I lined up some posts to automatically post while I'm away. I'm sure I'll have plenty of photos and stories to post when I get back.

National Autism Awareness Day

Today is Autism Awareness Day and I wanted to share this video that FEAT showed at the most recent auction. I know several of the parents being interviewed (even Xabi's whole family is on the video) and it's very touching. I really miss working with the autism community and can't wait to get back to that type of work.
I just heard that the rate of autism has just been increased to 1 in 88 children! I even saw a poster for an autism awareness event happening today in Hong Kong! (Unfortunately it was while I was at work).

Protest

I ran across this massive protest in my neighborhood as I was coming home today. I had to do a little research online to figure out what it was about (I had an idea, but all the signs were in Chinese so I wasn't completely sure). People are really upset because this new person (Leung Chun-ying) who was "elected" as chief executive of Hong Kong last weekend who is basically a puppet for Beijing and people think he's a communist. You can read about it here.
I watched the protest for a while and what's interesting is that there were tons of police there- keeping it organized, yet they were not the "enemy" (unlike protests I've been to in the states). Also, people were being very civil (also unlike some protests I've seen). And man, can Hong Kong gather a crowd! There were thousands of people of all ages! I love that I live in the heart of Hong Kong- so close to all the action... you never know what you might run into!