A busy start to the month

It's finally December, but the weather is now similar to Scottish summer. Yesterday I was out in a short dress and a wrap for the whole day and I was only really chilly in the evening. I haven't written for a while because my life out here has suddenly got hectic - I've started 8 weeks of volunteering on a Social Welfare programme on Wednesday evenings, I've joined a musical society and now have rehearsals on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays AND my parents have been in town so I've been tour guiding them around!

Last weekend I took them to Stanley for a leisurely lunch on the promenade and a wander round the market, and we went to visit the Chi Lin Nunnery and Wong Tai Sin temple. The nunnery buildings are really impressive, made out of dark wood and held together without a single nail, but the atmosphere there is very quiet and austere and, aside from the visitors kneeling to say a quick whispered prayer, you don't really see anyone actually worshipping the big buddha statues that they have there. I think the contemplative atmosphere was good for my jet lagged parents, but I much prefer the hustle and bustle of the temples I've visited here, so we popped in to Wong Tai Sin temple at the next MTR stop so they could experience that too. Wong Tai Sin is one of the busiest temples in Hong Kong and the day we visited the courtyard in front of the temple was packed with people laying out offerings (including a whole chicken and a huge chunk of ham) and burning incense and shaking tins of fortune telling sticks. After 10 minutes or so taking in the atmosphere we retreated to the left side of the main temple, where we discovered a lovely garden with pagodas and covered walkways and a HUGE waterfall feature and a pond full of technicoloured carp.

All that wood and not a single nail at Chi Lin nunnery

The hustle and bustle at Wong Tai Sin

Dad and Mum in the Wong Tai Sin gardens

I've also been taking advantage of the visiting parents to do some slightly classier activities. Rather than watch the nightly Symphony of Lights show from the Avenue of Stars with the masses (I've already done this about 3 times!) we hopped aboard the Aqualuna, a big wooden junk with red sails (although it relies on motor power) and colonial style furnishings, to take a tour of the harbour and enjoy the light show from the water. The rattan seats are surprisingly comfortable and it's all very elegant lying back with your 'complementary' drink, although the best bit of the experience might just be the jealous looks on other peoples' faces at the pontoon!

Me and Mum on board the Aqualuna

For our luxury highlight this weekend we decided to take in the Peninsula, a historic hotel where the Brits officially surrendered to the Japanese during WW2. It's so posh that the bathroom attendant actually hands you a cloth to dry your hands on and then produces a wicker basket for you to discard it in. Sadly, the Felix bar on the 28th floor doesn't open till 6pm so we couldn't take in the views, but we had drinks in an elegant lounge bar and admired the subtley shimmering Christmas decorations in the foyer.

The Peninsula foyer, decorated for Christmas

We spend the rest of Saturday wandering around Hong Kong Park, where I finally got to see inside the conservatory. The plants are pretty and the displays are nicely set out, but only in Hong Kong would you find fake plastic reindeer and Christmas decorations in a hothouse! Christmas make take longer than usual to arrive here, but once it's December people really seem to get into it. It'll be interesting to compare Hong Kong's efforts with whatever I find in Borneo over the holidays.

Christmas in the Conservatory at Hong Kong Park