貓頭鷹

Yesterday, I learned from Sasha the wonderful word for 'owl' in Cantonese: 貓頭鷹: mau tau ying; literally, cat-head eagle.I think this is an eminently sensible appellation! 

Another cat-headed creature.
Things that cats kind of look like - from the awesome Pusheen.
All content © Emilie Pavey

Scaffolding superheroes

I've been spying on the bamboo scaffolding men. The guys in these photos are all 15-18 floors above the ground.
They are fully kitted out with essential protective gear, e.g. gloves...

...sunhats...

...and, er, safety harnesses? 

Pah! Pull the other one!
Fiddling on the roof.

All content © Emilie Pavey

Multi-purpose mooring space

Same spot, two different times of day:

The second shot was taken for a Time Out HK series on cruise ships. See the full set at the bottom of this post.
Sailboats in Victoria Harbour.
All content © Emilie Pavey

黃色

黃色= wong sik: yellow (also has another meaning, which does not apply here!)
Bright yellow turns out to be the perfect camouflage colour for the urbanite who wants to blend in.
Out and about:

At an exhibition:

The ultimate exercise in MTR camouflage.
A classic HK colour.

All content © Emilie Pavey

The Day of the Triffids, HK edition

Lions' Nature Education Centre near Sai Kung is a treasure trove of, get ready for it, 

I know! All that's missing are the exclamation marks! And we never said they were interesting in a benevolent way. For example, here is a herbal specimen whose sole purpose (pun fully indented) is to take revenge on those disrespectful people who ignore the signs in parks saying 'do not walk on the grass'...

...and I wouldn't get too close to the following bit of botany or you may go the same way as this poor lassie:

Who needs a triffid when you can have one of these interesting plants, eh?

Another comedy sign from this park.

EXTRA, EXTRA:Out today, Time Out HK for this fortnight, featuring an assortment of waterfalls for this issue's 'Hidden Hong Kong' theme:

All content © Emilie Pavey

Downtime

Just the screen and me.

More chefs in nooks...
More girls in crannies... All content © Emilie Pavey

Lucky dip

Lamma Island ferry terminal:

Hong Kong Art Fair:

Another kid appreciating art. All content © Emilie Pavey

And the other one is hailing a taxi cab

I'm broke, but I'm happy

I'm green but I'm wise

I'm short but I'm healthy

Baby
(Big green taxi)
All content © Emilie Pavey

綠色棚

綠色棚 = lok sik pang: green shed
A classic colour.

Also green...
Why is Hong Kong so green?
All content © Emilie Pavey

How to cross the road in the rain

'Tis the rainy season in the land of no cheese. It is often possible to walk along the pavement without getting too wet due to covered walkways or cantilevered buildings which provide shelter. But sometimes, there's just no way around it: you have to cross the road in a torrential downpour. Here are two strategies I observed recently:
Last week: 2/1

This morning: 1/4

Umbrella as parasol.
All content © Emilie Pavey

Tubes, trousers and enlightenment

Mystery 1:
A couple of weeks ago, my American friend and I saw a guy sitting in a corner of our local MTR station wearing maroon trousers and a yellow t-shirt, which looked a bit like a uniform. My friend wondered aloud whether the man might be some kind of demi-monk due to the colour combination of his getup (the Dalai Lama did seem to be the chromatic inspiration for this look!). I said I didn't think monks wore pants. 
Mystery 2:Then, just last week, I saw these tubes on the floor in the MTR and I was quite puzzled as to what they were for (so I went over and took a picture):

Following which I went up the escalator and was enlightened:

Another poster change (I obviously did not pay enough attention to the trousers!).
All content © Emilie Pavey

Abandoned in Quarry Bay 2

Someone in Quarry Bay must be losing their marbles. Or other small objects.Seen in the last two weeks:

Other unlikely abandonments in Quarry Bay.
EXTRA, EXTRA:A sneak peek at my latest page in Time Out HK - click to enlarge. (This fortnight it's the very cool Art Issue, championing local artists like Kacey Wong. And rightly so.)

All content © Emilie Pavey

好重

好重 = hou chung: very heavy
Sunday morning in Silvermine Bay, 10 am and I was already sweating. So I could feel for these ladies:
Heavy water buckets balanced on one shoulder...

... and pushing a loaded shopping bike up a long, steep incline (the photo is misleading, but what you can see bottom right is actually a downward flight of steps)

By comparison, a kilo of camera is as light as a feather!
More country chores.
All content © Emilie Pavey

Daydreaming with paper

Paper Tales, presented by the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (Dec '11 - Jan '12) and Daydreaming with... the Hong Kong edition presented by FutureIndustries (now showing until 7 June '12) both at ArtisTree, Taikoo Place, feature curiously similar flights of fancy.

The former, focussing on paper as a medium, had a distinctly crafty vibe, whereas the über-cool latter combines multi-sensory art in subtle and... less subtle ways. The former showcased local artists and students; the latter, international cross-disciplinary artistic heavyweights including the curators themselves, James Lavelle and Simon Birch. Despite this apparent difference in calibre I spotted some shared visual and conceptual themes. See what you think:
Left: Daydreaming with...                                             Right: Paper Tales

More thematic crossovers in exhibitions recently: bicycles and rubbings.
More paper daydreams...
EXTRA, EXTRA:If you like illustration and language, let me draw your attention to another local talent, Sasha and her new site of visual aphorisms: it's fun to know.
All content © Emilie Pavey

Innocence / experience

A pair of photos from Hidden Hong Kong which appeared in November 2011 in Time Out HK magazine.

More from a city of opposites here and here.

All content © Emilie Pavey

Owl's eye view

A day-bird's perspective. All content © Emilie Pavey