Hong Kong Museum of History, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon

Sunday, January 12, 2025 - we heard the 11:30 AM mass at Saint Anthony's Church in Pok Fu Lam then lunch at Bayi Restaurant, one of our favorite dining places known for its Xinjiang (Central Asian region) cuisine that consists mostly of lamb dishes with flavorful spices.

Lovely weather to head over to the Kowloon side of HK and explore a museum. After a long bus ride from Water Street, we headed on foot towards the HK Museum of History (established in 1975) in TST East.

Free Entrance!

The National Security Exhibition Gallery which we breezed through quickly.

The main hall displays the Multifaceted Hong Kong exhibition series. 

The Kowloon Canton Railway started operations in 1910, running from TST to Wu Lo
It connected Kowloon to the New Territories.

During the mid 19th century, Hong Kong was the main entry point for Chinese emigrants to California where they worked as laborers under harsh conditions for meager wages. It also became the hub linking goods, people and cultural networks across the Pacific Ocean. Between 1850 and 1939, more than 6.3 million Chinese emigrated through Hong Kong to foreign destinations and 7.7 million Chinese returned via Hong Kong.

In 1852, the clipper Challenge sailed from HK to San Francisco in just
33 days. A new record for trans Pacific travel as sailing boats often 

overloaded took 50 - 60 days for a one way voyage on treacherous waters

I also discovered the substantial contributions of the Hong Kong Portuguese community in the development of modern day Hong Kong. Their ancestors arrived in the East during the15th century and majority settled in Macao in the 16th century onwards. 

Coming from Macao, they formed one of the earliest foreign communities in Hong Kong. They were Eurasians so they could communicate well in Cantonese and were culturally attuned to Chinese society. Mostly merchants, clerks and employees of trading companies, they played leading roles in different fields of endeavour like governance, legal sector as well as in the recreational and leisure industries.

In the second half of the 19th century, just a few Americans and Europeans worked in Hong Kong and this led to a shortage of clerical workers. This prompted the British Hong Kong government and other foreign firms to hire Macanese because they were proficient in English and Chinese, playing the middlemen roles as clerks, bookkeepers and interpreters.

 

Taipei Confucius Temple, Dalong street

Sorting through tons of pictures captured during my month long winter vacation (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau) is a daunting task. I decided to post randomly and not in any chronological order of the places we visited.

Taipei in winter is lovely with temperatures ranging from 11 to 16 degrees Celsius. On a cold Wednesday afternoon (January 15, 2025) at around 4:20 PM, we alighted at Yuanshan MRT station and walked for about 10 minutes to reach this temple. I was surprised though that the Confucius Temple was empty and devoid of any devotees

This temple located in the Datong district honors one of the greatest Chinese philosophers, Confucius. Born in 551 B.C and surnamed Kong, he was given the first name Qui and the social name Zhongni. Until his old age of 73 (he died in 479 B.C) his life was dedicated to learning and teaching young disciples. He believed in education without discrimination and taught over 3,000 pupils in his lifetime.

Wall of Knowledge and the Pan Pond

He took the word "Ren" (benevolence) as the basis of his thought process. Confucianism his broad and profound teachings has been the cornerstone of Chinese culture for more than 2,500 years with great influence beyond China, reaching places like Japan, Korea, Vietman and even the Western World.

He also valued simplicity and most temples dedicated to him are austerely designed. Emperor Tai Tsu from the Ming dynasty decreed all images of the sage Confucius be replaced with memorial tablets and this rule is still followed to this day.

The Dacheng Hall is the main building of the Confucius Temple, constructed in 1927 and completed in 1929. It enshrines the tablets of Confucius, 4 sages along with 12 philosophers. The hall is as wide as 6 columns and as deep as 7 columns. It was built with 42 huge strong pillars, the hall has ornaments and delicate decorations. The ceiling is an octagonal platform with 24 brackets concentrated in the center also known as a spider web. This architectural style was inspired by traditional architectural art from southeast China.

Tanay, Rizal: Pilgrimage site, tasty food and windmills.

February 15, 2025: an unplanned, spur of the moment road trip to Tanay. This municipality in the province of Rizal is an upland area within the Sierra Madre mountain range while its lowland portion is nestled in the shores of Laguna de Bay.

According to Waze from our place in Mandaluyong to Regina Rica in Tanay, it is 46 kms. We left home at 08:20 AM passing through White Plains, Bonnie Serrano Avenue then to Marcos Highway all the way to winding, sometimes steep but well paved roads through mountainous ranges.

We reached our first destination the Regina RICA  (Rosarii Institute for Contemplaion in Asia) two hours later, occasionally losing signal on Waze but found the correct entrance.  This 13.5 hectare religious institution run by Dominican Sisters of Regina Rosarii and a non profit organization is a pilgrimage site located in the hills of the Sierra Madre mountains.

A solemn place of meditation and serenity with a 71 foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary with a stone laded pathway as the focal point. Inside, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for prayerful reflection in quiet solitude. There is also a chapel where there are daily masses, a wishing well, a columbary, a meditation area, the 14 stations of the Cross is scattered through the terrain and a  gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains.

The 11 AM mass had already started but was able to hear the homily.

After a teary, earnest, contemplative prayer at the Blessed Sacrament asking the Blessed Virgin Mary for fortitude and guidance to handle life's challenges, it was time to find a place to have lunch. A slight drizzle had started but after about 8 minutes drive downhill, we found Tanay Highlands Cafe, an alfresco dining place with an overlooking view of the mountains and Laguna Lake.

Lumpiang sisig, lechon macau rice and tanigue steak rice with
sago't gulaman

By the time we were done with lunch, it started to rain but it was time to head to the Pililla Windmills Farm also in Tanay. Passing through the same winding roads emitting rustic small town vibes, we got higher into the mountain range and caught sight of the giant wind turbines after almost an hour and 20 minutes drive. 

A small rough road leads to a private establishment named Santi's Farmhouse which charges 250 pesos parking fee per car entering its premises. Inside there is a coffee shop, Cafe Grey with an open viewing deck where you can feast your eyes on the panoramic view of the hills and mountains, Laguna de Bay and of course see the massive windmills up close. 

There are 27 wind turbines aligned on top of the hills, each of them towering at 125 meters tall. Too bad it was raining heavily so we couldn't enjoy it as much as we wanted to. But nowadays, I am all about celebrating small victories and was simply grateful to see them.