(written by Cait)
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Hong Kong Park, located in Central District
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It’s not even that tall! My sneaky fear of heights struck again.
My fear of heights sneaks up on me from time to time, and it came at me again at the Hong Kong Park. At the bottom of the tower, the sign reads, “30 meters high tower. No rest spots.” 30 seems like such a small number and my brain didn’t do the math that it’s around 100 ft… I could handle the ‘strenuous physical effort’ but the mental anxiety I was not ready for and didn’t handle that well. At the top of the tower, I didn’t feel any relief of reaching it and couldn’t wait to get down. On the way down, thank god there was a railing on each side for support. I actually sat down on a stair to get my shit together. It didn’t help that the weather was very humid (it’s Hong Kong, what’s new?), making me really hot and uncomfortable. Later when I walked a bit further and looked up at the tower, I shocked at how short it looked! What a wimp! I’ll blame this one on culture shock. At least I got some good pictures.
My initial goal that afternoon was to hike up to the top of Victoria Peak, but when I came to the beginning of the trail, I saw the sign for the Hong Kong Park, and just thought I’d check it out. I spent a couple hours walking through the various sections of the park (and decided the Peak hike could wait for another day), and still leaving some left unexplored to check out with Brad.
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Artwork at the Tea Museum. They had traditional and modern displays of tea culture.
The park combines history, natural flora and fauna, a restaurant, sports, education and arts centers, and the marriage registry. Several historical buildings have been preserved and maintained, like the former residence of the Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces. Another time at the park, when my friend was in town from Guangzhou, we killed some time when it was raining at the Tea Museum, built in a former colonial house. It’s busy during the day with businessmen and women on their lunch break, or school groups walking around.
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This is the SARS Memorial of the doctors who worked (and died) in the early 2000s during the SARS epidemic.
Image may be NSFW.
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The park also holds an aviary which has an elevated walkway that allows people to walk through a tree canopy to be able to view the birds in the treetops. So, what this really means is that you are in a giant net with birds free to roam. Jess loved it-getting up close to the birds, taking pictures and such, while I’m ducking and flinching at non-existent dive-bombing birds. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it, but I was anxious to get out of there. I think seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s, The Birds, as a child is what’s behind my bird anxiety.
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I like view much better from here-outside the aviary.
But what I think might be the coolest part of the park is the marriage registry. Couples must come to the park to officially register with the government, and what a beautiful place for it. When I saw the light pink building, surrounded by landscaping and flowers, I thought of the dingy government office in St. Paul where Brad and I registered for our marriage. I imagine it’s quite romantic for newlyweds.
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The wedding registry, complete with covered walkway in case it rains.