Again, it’s been a while since I last wrote here. Hong Kong has been hit with rainy weather over the past two weeks, so there hasn’t been much that I have able to do. And I’m not just talking about Vancouver kind of rain – you know, the type that’s not a downpour, but an ever present drizzle. No, Hong Kong rain doesn’t even feel gloomy. It feels angry. We’ve had a parade of amber, red, and black rain warnings, as well as thunderstorms. Seriously, I’ve never seen the weather report for Hong Kong look like this before.
Nevertheless, God has blessed me with good days when I need them! I went to Ocean Park on Monday, expecting an ugly and rainy day. Little did I know it would be an awesome day! The weather report didn’t look good, and so that’s probably why a lot of people stayed away from Ocean Park that day. The longest line I waited was 15 minutes for the gondola ride (which I haven’t taken in probably 6 years, and all because of the usual long line-up). In the afternoon, the sun came out, making it a pretty stuffy and hot day! But it was good.
I didn’t go on that many rides at Ocean Park. I still like rides, but there’s something about rides that doesn’t thrill you quite as much anymore, especially if you’ve been on that roller coaster before. I think for me, I either need something drastically more intense (like a Six Flags amusement park), or I’d rather stick to the cute rides with shorter lines (bumper cars, ferris wheel, carousel, etc). In the end, I only went on one roller coaster one one water ride (you know, the ones where its not that scary but you scream because you get soaked with water). The rest of the time, we spent in the aquarium, and then the north/south pole animal exhibits. I also watched the 3:30 dolphin show before leaving at 4, which made it a pretty short day at the park really, but I felt like I had already done everything I wanted to do. The short line-ups made it a lot easier!
While I was staring at the huge aquarium, this thought crossed my mind: I wonder how far I actually am away from the fish right next to the glass? I knew it wasn’t as thin as it seemed, and I guessed about a foot in width. Then right before I left the building, I found that they had the answer to my question! Turns out I was only half right, but I think it’s cool that I thought about the same thing right before I saw it.
(I know it’s hard to read, but it says “Did you know… this is the actual thickness of our Giant Viewing Panel!”, and then they have a real slab of the material at a width of 68cm.)
The penguin exhibit was freezing cold, but I still enjoyed chilling myself inside. The penguins were so cute! I watched as one penguin pecked at another one, and then they chased each other around. It was adorable.
(By the way, if you’ve never seen this before, you have to see it:)
Many of the animals they have at Ocean Park are endangered to some degree, and one of their aims is to help the situation of sustainability. So while I was staring at one of the endangered species signs, I was thinking… after all these years of creation, there are so many species of animals that are now extinct. Is it really such a bad thing after all? I mean, animals have learned to evolve and as the new generation of animals keep coming, only the toughest genes survive. I feel like there’s a reason to all of this, and that we don’t need to purposely protect these animals if it’s natural that they would eventually die out. Of course, I do agree that humans are fast-forwarding this process of their extinction. Our carelessness, use of non-renewable resources, waste, pollution… we really should be more aware of these things before all animals go extinct. And this is probably the number one reason why we need protect these animals at all. I guess my opinion is not necessarily directly targeted towards this particular issue… it’s just that it made me think, God has a time for everything, and if it’s the time for these species to naturally die out (including humans), then so be it.
Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything
1 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.
Anyway, let’s continue on with my day. I got back to Wan Chai and it was still pretty early – around 4:30 PM – so I decided to have a walk around. I went to a building that got revamped by the government, and now it’s used as a public space for exhibits, as well as a few stores. Across the street was a stall for 臭豆腐, and the odor was so strong, I just couldn’t resist! I also had an ice cream at a dessert place that I never noticed before. Tofu flavour! I hadn’t had the delight of this flavour since my adventures in Japan last year. Deliciously fatty day.
It’s halfway through May! I cannot believe time is ticking by so fast. I better head out for more adventures before it’s too late!
Adventures of a Wandering Flower 