City folk walking on country roads, within lethal distance from bulls. Luckily for us, they were too busy eating and chilling.

This year, I’m going to have to worry about aging. I’m going to glare at young teenagers. I’m going to remove my birth year from Facebook. I’m going to feel too embarrassed to jump in the air. I’m going to gasp when I remember how long I have known some friends. I’m going to (painfully) part with backpacks so that I look my age. Or not.

All worries aside, I am grateful. There are still a lot of things I am not content with, but such is life. Life is exciting when you have places you desire to go. Nobody knows what the future will bring, but right now I have my hopes.

Happy birthday to me.

Last weekend, I went “camping”¹ with a group of friends from university. We had such a blast hanging out near the beach, walking around in the countryside (sort of), having a barbecue and staying up for Pictionary. There are more pictures, of course. I will post a couple as “Through the Lens” entries. There will be… bulls.

Mid-summer is meant to be the hottest, but I feel like it is also the brightest and liveliest.

1. In Hong Kong, campnig doesn’t necessarily means living in a tent. It can also mean just going somewhere remote and stay in simple apartments which we have rented for the day.

This corner of the internet seems a bit quiet at the moment. I have been feeling rather uninspired as well. There are a few things I want to write about, but they deserve more attention than I can give right now.

I am going to take it easy, relax a little and try to post weekly.

Despite not having travelled to too many places, I have been to a couple of major metropolises (New York in 2005, London in 2007) and I was born and raised in Hong Kong. Being the biggest city in the world, Tokyo, I believe, is the prime example of the concept of a city done right. The society is free and progressive. The city itself is clean, efficient and safe. It is a melting pot population wise but mostly retains its own culture. It’s not without its problems, but it’s definitely one of the most welcoming places a tourist can find himself in.

What you see in the picture above is Yokohama, possibly one of my favourite places¹. I posted a picture of Lovers’ Heart in the Sky Tower last year. It remains one of the best things I have ever photographed.

And the obligatory Mount Fuji picture (of mediocre quality):

A year after the trip to Tokyo, I began to quite miss it! Michael has always liked Japan. This trip made me understand its appeal in a greater depth than before. He used to say, “some places you only visit once for the experience, others you visit many times for enjoyment.” Tokyo would fall in the latter category. I simply can’t wait to venture there again (with the same great companion, of course ).

1. A large part of it is quite personal. In my teenage years, my favourite anime/manga series is set in Yokohama. The World Cup Final in 2002 was held in Yokohama.

Michael and I visited Pui O¹ in late March. The sight of a lovely family filled the deserted beach with warmth.

I wasn’t sure how to present both photos as they are sort of in sequence. This is, of course, put together with enhanced contrast on Photoshop. Comments are welcomed as usual.

1. A quiet little area on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. I spent a considerable amount of time there as a preteen.

The above photos was taken during my trip to the Cliffs of Moher near Galway, Republic of Ireland on the first of January. I kind of see myself in the three tourists, and we seemed to share a moment of reflection.

This photo post has a bit of a twist, though. I added two filters on it in Photoshop, trying to render a different feel, one that seems pretty common in online photo art. Here’s the outcome:

I’m not sure what I prefer, the authenticity of the original or the “retro” feel of the second one. What do you think?

It’s the year of the Tiger, so of course we have tiger decorations!

1. Kung Hei Fat Choy: It is the most commonly used blessing for the CNY. It means “wishing you a good fortune” essentially. I never get why fortune comes before everything else, but hey.
2. It means “wishing you good health”.

You will notice that most of the photos are of places in Hong Kong or animals. It’s probably true (to some degree) that your photos tell a lot about you.

This photo was of me,  at my happiest.

We have made it into 2010. All seem immensely hopeful and promising. On the other hand, going back to old mundane life after a great start of a new decade is rather depressing to say the least.

I am not sure if I want to keep blogging. I know I would regret it if I ever quit, but emotions sometimes get the better of me.

This is not the way I want to live my life, in 2009 I let it drag on. I hope in 2010 I will be able to change things around.