Hong Kong Park

Monday was our last day before the deliveries begin so I spent several hours at Hong Kong Park. The park is about 20 acres in the Central area of Hong Kong. It's free to the public and has beautiful ponds, waterfalls, and gardens. How amazing to be in this lush oasis of calm surrounded by high rise buildings and commerce.

My first stop was the Tea Ware Museum in the Flagstaff House. The Flagstaff House was the office and residence of the Commander of the British Forces. It was built around 1844 and is the oldest Greek Revival style building in HK. The Museum of Tea Ware promotes the Chinese tea culture and Chinese ceramics.

I learned the correct methods of preparing and serving tea along with the history of tea throughout China. It was actually the Mongols who first used cream in their tea! Each area of China has their own method of tea preparation for the specific type of tea they drink.

How fortunate that I was able to view an incredible exhibit of tea ware pottery by local artists and students. I was expecting something mundane, but what I saw was far from it. Many of the artists created whimsical or comical pottery such as a large octopus pot with small octopi cups, a large seashell pot with smaller seashell cups and some very angular modern pieces. It made me want to take a pottery class!

Next I ventured back out into the park and watched the terrapin sunning themselves in the ponds and listened to the birds. I have always fancied myself an amaturer birder so everywhere I travel I purchase a bird book. It's great fun to know the names and habits of the different local birds. Well the birds here are truly beautiful! I saw a small flock of ring necked parakeets. They are bright green and about 10 - 12 inches in length. I saw many other delightfully interesting birds, but I need to find a bird book. Unfortunately I haven't seen even one bookstore yet.

Of course I took off for the aviary. The entrance begins on an elevated walkway so you are walking through the tree canopy. The aviary is enclosed by steel mesh which makes the experience open and airy. Naturally many of the birds where very colorful like the mynahs and barbets. It was great fun, but doesn't compare to the local birds on the outside.

I also toured the Forsgate Conservatory. It has three different sections: Display Plant, Dry Plant and Humid Plant. The Humid Plant House had a Cacao tree that was actually bearing fruit! It reminded me of the ones I saw in the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador. I believe that it is the only time I have seen the Cacao tree with fruit.

The Marriage Registry is near the edge of the park so it's not uncommon to see couples having their wedding pictures taken. I was lucky enough to view a beautiful bride and groom on my walk back to the hotel. They looked so young and innocent it made me smile.

I'm sure I'll be spending more time at Hong Kong Park especially once I find that bird book.