Global-Mariner

                                      HONGKONG

                                - on the trails of Lion Rock and Amah Rock -

                                                  -two prominent Hong Kong landmarks -

Page added:  2022-01-16

The mountain Tsz Tsz Shan,- Lion Rock-, is a very prominent landmark, that can be seen from almost everywhere in Hong Kong, high above the Kowloon peninsula.

Therefore Lion Rock cannot be unknown to the Hong Kong visitor, but still I believe, that only very few tourists actually take the time and effort to take a hike to the top. In fact I have only seen a couple of "gwei lo's" on the Lion Rock trails,- and they were all locals.

I have done the trip across Tsz Tsz Shan a couple of times, because it's really worth it to go up there to get away from it all, and have another look at Hong Kong.

If you go a little bit further and actually cross the mountain range, another reward is waiting for you on the other side. That's Mong Fu Shek ,- Amah Rock- , another well known Hong Kong landmark.

The whole area is a protected area, - a country park -, where nature reigns supreme.

Please enjoy my impressions from trips across the mountains behind and above Kowloon. The pictures are mixed from a trip 1997 and from a trip 5 years later in 2002.

This photo was taken in 1997, - the year that Hong Kong was reunited with China -, and apparently the various political fractions have used the opportunity to display their political stand on this rock high above Hong Kong.

Looks like somebody first painted the Taiwanese flag and written in blue and white: "Freedom and Democracy" and "Blue Sky, - White Sun" , - symbols of the democratic Kuomintang movement.

After that a Mao fan apparently has added some communist propaganda and written a wish for "universal love" and a "red Earth", - a combination that does not really make sense, but in those days you saw a lot of those political manifestations where the communists displayed their flag and the democrats showed theirs, so it was quite easy to distinguish between the areas or villages that preferred communism to those that preferred democracy and freedom.

And a part of this peaceful propaganda war in Hong Kong you see on this picture - - - Wonder if it is still there????

This trip on the "Lion Rock" was actually a trip in order to test Kit Yu.   Was she really adventurous - and had she really the same interests and talents as me????

So - one fine day when the weather was clear, I saw "Lion Rock" standing out in the horizon - far away, but very clear and sharp -  against the blue sky - 

I asked Kit Yu:  See that mountain there?  It's the "Lion Rock" - Would you like to go with me to the top of that mountain????

And I told her how nice and beautiful it was up there on the mountain trails, - and immediately she agreed!  Yes - she would like VERY much to go up there - - -

And one fine day we did!

And I watched her.  How did she perform?

But I did not have to worry - - -

Not even ONE expression of complain I heard!  No complaining that she was tired!  No complaining that she was hungry, - no complaining about being thirsty and no asking when we would go back - -

Instead she was "shining" - more than the Sun - smiling all over - and she was really happy and obviously loved this trip, which was the hardest test I had exposed her to so far - - -  And I had exposed her to many tests - without her knowledge - of course - and she really performed outstanding - - - Two tumbs up!

And me?  Well - I could put all worries aside, because now I was convinced, that Kit Yu really was made of the right stuff - - - and that she was not just talking in order to please me - - -

So - there on top of the "lion Rock" I was married - no more living in sin, - but of course we married officially too - here in Denmark - at the city hall, where they could fix some official papers and proof, that we really were married - lawfully wife and husband -