Hidden Surprises

I am continually amazed by the "hidden surprises" of Hong Kong. No matter where you go, there will be something unexpected. Sometimes these surprises are small like a tiny shrine tucked into a store front. Sometimes they are bigger like an entire park hidden between office buildings.

I went to Hong Kong Park to pick up some things at the Tea Ware Museum gift shop. Although I have been to the park several times there is always something new to find. This time I found the best view of one of my favorite pairs of buildings in Admiralty. They are the Lippo Buildings and they remind me of children's building blocks.

No photo can ever show the amazing reflections that make these buildings catch the eye.

Once in the park I discovered a statue outside the Tea Ware Museum (which is a former garrison building for the British forces). It is dedicated to the troops of every nation who defended Hong Kong in 1941. There is also a marker in Chinese. I have not yet found out what it says, but it is lovely none the less.

After leaving Hong Kong Park, I decided to try a different way to walk home hoping for more shade on a very hot day. As I was crossing walkways between office buildings, I came upon on of the bigger hidden treasures. Cheung Kong Park. This gem is literally located between several office and government buildings on a level at about the third floor of the buildings on the street below. It has beautiful paths through lush foliage along a small stream and waterfall.

The city sounds fade away and in just a few steps you are surrounded by nature. The park is small yet it is a great place to escape the city that surrounds it. 

At the end of the garden path sits St. John Anglican Cathedral. It is a very old church in Hong Kong. Another building is the Court of Final Instance (I think that is the appeals court).

After arriving at this spot, I wasn't sure how to leave the area. There were gates to government buildings above and of course the way I entered, but finally I saw the entrance to the Battery Path. This park land had been a British battery used to defend Hong Kong. The path was tree lined and sloped downward. At the end I found myself on Queen street which is one of the busy, high end shopping streets in Central.

But my surprises were not over yet. Recently someone had told me about the gas lamps. Hong Kong was the first Asian city to convert to gas lamps from kerosene in the mid 1800's. The city used these lamps until the advent of electricity for street lighting. Although now they are on timers, for the entire time the lamps were in use they were lit and extinguished by a lamplighter and his pole.

The remain lamps (there are four) are on Dudell Street. Many streets in this part of Hong Kong are both streets and stairs. You can drive to a certain point then the street becomes a stairway to go up the steep grades. Dudell Street is one of these. Once the roadway ends, there is a steep stairway with one of the original gas lamps on each corner. I do want to return and see them after dark. They are lit each night at 6 P.M. and extinguish at 6 A.M.

As I continually find these hidden surprises, I can't help but wonder what is around the next corner.