Its Lamma Week-End

The graveyard tour was cancelled due to the forecast of inclement weather.

Not being able to enjoy Paul’s much anticipated historical tour of the cemetery at Happy Valley, we decided that the Museum of Art might make a suitable wet weather alternative.

And with that in mind, we caught the packed Star Ferry to Tsim Sa Tsui and the rain just about held off.

For reasons best known to Hong Kong's urban planning elite, the museum and its neighbouring cultural buildings are built in pink bricks and turn their back on the magnificent Kowloon harbour- front and the stunning panorama it offers.

Once inside this architectural oddity, we found an exhibition called Lofty Integrity by Wu Guanzhong which was quite lovely. His work combines a style connected to traditional Chinese ink landscapes and calligraphy with contemporary western style abstracts.

I liked his words too. They accompanied each piece that he had donated to the museum.

The easterly breeze blows open the wisteria. The isolated reds entangled in the midst are dots of lovesickness.

After an al fresco burger at Red Bar in the lofty heights of the IFC complex and overlooking the lights of Kowloon obscured in drizzly mist, we watched the Flowers of War. This movie is set amongst the tragedy of the Nanjing Massacre and stars the American actor Christian Bale. The seats at the IFC cinema are so luxurious that they let out a soft “whoosh” each time a patron sits in them. You feel embraced and relaxed at the same time and that’s before the opening credits have started.

The movie itself is a vulgar and sordid affair with countless scenes of bloodshed, rape and brutality without much emotion and only cheap Hollywood sentimentality and some crude Chinese patriotism to interrupt the horror.  Admittedly it would be a tough job to find much warmth and humour within the context of the Nanjing massacre, a humanitarian outrage, which still provokes strong feelings in China today. But this could have been a Chinese version of Schindlers List. Instead it ended up being closer to Rocky III in emotional subtlety.  At least the seats were comfy and you could admire some stunning photography.

It rained and rained some more on Lamma on Sunday which at least meant the tourists were kept away.

Craving fresh air we walked in the rain to Lo So Wan beach and then on to Sok Kwu Wan where we ate a late seafood lunch at our favourite restaurant on the island, the Lamma Hilton. I can’t imagine for a moment this typical seaside seafood eatery has anything to do with the international hotel brand now characterised by the exploits of Ms Paris Hilton but the food is very good. We always have the same set menu for two which includes deep fried squid with black pepper and salt and enormous fried prawns in black pepper, garlic and red chilli.

Jack, the manager, assumed we were getting the ferry home from Sok Kwu Wan and thought it “very romantic” when we advised him that we were walking back to Yung Shue Wan.  It turned out be more wet than romantic.

So that was our Lamma week-end as they like to call it here.