Casual on the Star Ferry, Hong Kong

A Star Ferry employee takes a short break before the run between Wan Chai and Kowloon. The 12 Star Ferries carry 70,ooo people per day, more than 26 million a year, across Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.

The service stared in 1888 and is still a popular and affordable way to cross Victoria Harbour. If you visit Hong Kong a ride on the Star Ferry is a must.

Hump day is over, from most of us. Here’s a smile from China (and what a smile) for your Thursday.

I met this model at a Beijing, China trade show in May. For some reason she ignored the gaggle of other photographers and kept looking at me. Must be because I’m a handsome devil. I hope she doesn’t see this photo of me, as Ron put it, in a dress.

I’m off to a trade show in Hong Kong next week. Hopefully there will be some pretty Asian models for my glass to capture. Assuming, of course, that my Canon 40D has been repaired. I better buy a sketchbook.

Cheers for the rest of your week. Keep a smile on your face.

It’s easy to take photos at sunset: At that point of the day most people are awake. Sunrise is something else entirely.

I’ve wanted to shoot Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour at dawn for a while. My problem has been not being in Hong Kong early enough. Arriving at 8:30 am via bus precludes any shots of the rising sun.

Near the end of July I had to spend the night in Hong Kong to complete the dreaded “visa run.” My guest house, in the infamous Chungking Mansions, was a hop, skip, and a jump for Victoria Harbour. Being an early riser is occasionally of benefit (although Mrs. Stevo would fight me tooth and nail on this point). I skipped down to the Avenue of the Stars, camera in hand.

I got lucky: I capture a great series. Photography is science but it’s also luck. You can plan for the perfect shot but you need The Fates’ assistance. I didn’t have a tripod (my tripod, in the patois of my youth, “blows” I will remedy this soon. I found a great carbon-fibre model with ball head while perusing the used photo gear shops in Sham Shui Po).

This sunrise is symbolic: The starting of my new life, post teaching ESL in China.

On the many corridors under the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense, formerly the Lei Yue Fort. The British built the fort in the late 19th century to protect the eastern approach, the Lei Yue Mun Pass to Victoria Harbour, from the French and Russian navies. (Ironically, the fortification look incredibly similar the Chinese Shajiao Fort in Humen China – that the British stormed during the first Opium War.)

The centerpiece of the fort is the redoubt that was dug deep into a hillside. The corridors and storerooms, containing ammunition and gunpowder, were covered with earth, making the fort hard to spot. A trench around the area, with stone caponiers, protected the fort if invaders found their way to land.

The fort was never used in the way it was intended. A shot was never fired at Russian or French ships. During the Battle of Hong Kong, Lei Yue Fort was used by British forces in an attempt to unsuccessfully repel the Japanese assault of Hong Kong Island. Evidence of the fighting is still visible.

After the Battle of Hong Kong and the Second World War the British used the fort as a training ground until it was vacated in 1987. Hong Kong government agencies decided to give Lei Yue Fort a second lease on life and created the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence in 1993.

A permanent exhibit covering 600 years of military defence in the Pearl River Delta is on display in the underground rooms that once held thousand of artillery shells and tonnes of gunpowder. A historic trail leads visitors through the batteries, a ruined settlement (destroyed during the Battle of Hong Kong), and the Brennan Torpedo station carved into the rock at the base of the fort.

The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense is a short walk from the Island Line’s Shau Kei Wan MTR station.

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That’s not entirely true. I cooked Jackie Chan’s pre-made frozen dumplings for lunch. Can a kung-fu star’s foray into pre-prepared cuisine be tasty?

Most North Americans know Jackie Chan for his humorous martial arts films. He’s famous for doing his own stunt work, and paying the price, in broken bones, for the fantastic scenes that make it onto film. But did you know Jackie Chan:

• Is a successful recording artist, having released 20 albums since the 1980s
• Owns a chain of sushi restaurants called Jackie’s Kitchen
• Has his own clothing line
• Don’t forget Jackie Chan’s Signature Club (gym), and his line of nutritional supplements
• And, Jackie Chan’s Anti-Falling Shampoo. That’s the English translation I see in the supermarket. The shampoo is supposed to prevent baldness. I should give it a try before I end up looking like the proverbial cue ball.

Mr. Chan’s is almost as famous as JFK for his philandering ways. He fathered a daughter with his mistress, Miss Asia winner Elaine Ng. The paparazzi has linked Jackie Chan to several other Asian stars. But enough about Jackie Chan’s mistress(es), on to the dumplings.

I was dubious upon seeing Jackie’s smiling visage in the frozen food section of the supermarket. What does a kung fu master know about dumplings? His father, I discovered, was a cook at the French embassy in Hong Kong. Had he passed a secret recipe to his son? Was I in for the dumpling treat of a lifetime?

For those unfamiliar with Chinese dumplings:

The jiaozi 饺子 is a common Chinese dumpling which generally consists of minced meat and chopped vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough. Popular meat fillings include ground pork, ground beef, ground chicken, shrimp, and even fish. Popular mixtures are pork with Chinese cabbage, lamb with spring onion, leeks with eggs, etc. Jiaozi are usually boiled or steamed. Jiaozi is a traditional dish for Chinese New Year’s Eve. Family members gather together to make dumplings.

From: Answers.com

Hungry (and lazy) I decided to try Jackie Chan’s Dumplings. I had purchased the pork and greens version. Luckily, the directions were in English, although it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to cook frozen dumplings. I opted to steam them, watching my waistline and all.

Into the steaming basket of the rice cooker the potential pasta-like treats went.

I waited.

And waited.

I have not had good luck buying frozen dumplings. In the past I’ve bought package after package (there are about a gazillion different types at the supermarket) only to find they taste like something prepared by McDonalds. The kindly family that runs the local hole-in-the-wall dumpling diner makes far better fare, but sometimes you’re too lazy to walk over, or unwilling to use your lackluster Chinese to attempt a home delivery.

After a thorough steaming I plated the half-moon-shaped dumplings. With a little soy sauce and Chinese vinegar in a condiment bowl, I tucked in.

I can’t say, “Meh.”  As far as frozen dumplings go, Jackie Chan’s were not bad. An 8/10. I was surprised. Jackie, despite the list above, doesn’t endorse a lot of products.

Hong Kong Superstar Andy Lau pimps everything. A trip to any section of the supermarket features his distinctive face. I’m waiting for his line of feminine hygiene products to hit the shelves: It’s only a matter of time. Mr. Lau should really wear a feathered-cap, a cape, and walk with a bling-encrusted cane. Dear Andy used little of that money to help the victims of the 2008 Chinese earthquake, but that’s another story.

Jackie Chan’s dumplings are still in my freezer. I’ll eat them when I have no other options (maybe today since there is little in my fridge.)  If his Anti Falling Shampoo works as well as his dumplings taste I may be on my way to a full, luxurious head of hair.

Caught up in my own little reality, I forgot that November 11 was Remembrance Day in Canada. The day commemorates the end of The Great War, and is used to remember Canada’s men and women that died serving their country in times of war or as part of peacekeeping operations. At 11 am, two minutes of silence are observed to commemorate those that made the ultimate sacrifice.

When I was a reporter I spent time with veterans, at the cenotaphs as they remembered their fallen comrades. Listening to The Last Post played on the bagpipes while standing under overcast skies on a cold November morning has the power to gut you. It’s haunting and visceral: Melodic sorrow that cuts right to the bone.

I was perusing the images of Randall J. van der Woning, who has has photographically documented many of the Hong Kong battlefields of World War II. On seeing his work, I realized I had forgotten Remembrance Day, something I once told myself I would never do.

Two hundred and ninety Canadians, ill-equipped and trained, their ranks marred with illness, died in December 1942, attempting to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese (a further 254 died while PoWs). The Battle of Hong Kong saw the first Canadians to fight and die in World War II. Most are buried the Sai Wan War Cemetery in Chai Wan, on Hong Kong Island.

The quote on the monument is from Ecclesiasticus: Their name liveth for evermore. Their names still live – the Sai Wan War Cemetery isn’t a place many people visit, but the visitors book lists a name or two for each day. Visitors have to be determined, the cemetery is up a twisted mountain road, accessible by minibus or foot (if you are a semi-crazy former journalist.)

As long as there are visitors, as long as someone remembers, Their name liveth for evermore.