One of the things I have in common with C S Lewis is my dislike of the word "hike", a word perhaps not coincidentally beloved of Hong Kong people.
Lewis objected to the use of the word on the grounds that its use for "something so simple as taking an ordinary 'walk'" was an instance of language abuse, of "the passion for making specialised and self-conscious stunts out of activities which have hitherto been as ordinary as shaving or playing with the kitten".
I'm not sure what he would have made of "ramble", but Rambles in Hong Kong is the title of a gem of a book originally written by G S P Heywood (civil servants didn't do Christian names in the 1930s) and given a new commentary by Richard Gee in the early 1990s. Published by OUP, my copy was bought at Cosmos bookshop in Wan Chai in 1995, and I note from the Hong Kong Public Libraries website that copies are available at branches around Hong Kong.
Most of the 12 chapters give details of walks in the New Territories, a place that was quite different 70-odd years ago. No Spanish-style villas, no used-car dumps, no returnees from Chinese takeaways in Nuneaton, no fruitcake "indigenous" village chiefs wagging the Government dog through the ludicrous Heung Yee Kuk. It was an exotic place to which chaps like Heywood would travel by sea of a Sunday morning with their burden of cucumber sandwiches, Thermos flasks of piping-hot coffee and hip flasks of the finest Scotch, as they walked the treacherous north-east face of Ma On Shan, something all but impossible these days, I fear, as the Marine and Country Parks Authority attempts to herd walkers onto the Maclehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails.
Gee provides a parallel text to Heywood's (left-hand page: Heywood; right-hand page: Gee), which complements the older account by bringing it up to date, by, for instance, noting that what used to be a swamp is now a town of 600,000 people owned by the Brothers Kwok. For an accountant, Gee is surprisingly interesting, matching Heywood's unselfconscious colonialist discourse ("If your sampan is waiting for you at the jetty, you will be tempted to take a short cut to the left ...") with some wit of his own ("You don't need nailed boots for Kowloon Peak. My girlfriend did this walk wearing ballet shoes").
In the past month or so, I've been out in the hills most weekends, conquering the likes of Ma On Shan, Lantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Kowloon Peak and Grassy Hill. I've generally avoided the motorways, preferring to trail blaze what my vintage Countryside Series maps call, without any understatement, "seasonally overgrown paths". So, starting some time soon, I'll introduce what I hope will be a weekly series of accounts of great Hong Kong walks, some of which will be accompanied by spectacular shots captured by my Canon Powershot. Those with arachnophobia, you have been warned.
Lewis objected to the use of the word on the grounds that its use for "something so simple as taking an ordinary 'walk'" was an instance of language abuse, of "the passion for making specialised and self-conscious stunts out of activities which have hitherto been as ordinary as shaving or playing with the kitten".
I'm not sure what he would have made of "ramble", but Rambles in Hong Kong is the title of a gem of a book originally written by G S P Heywood (civil servants didn't do Christian names in the 1930s) and given a new commentary by Richard Gee in the early 1990s. Published by OUP, my copy was bought at Cosmos bookshop in Wan Chai in 1995, and I note from the Hong Kong Public Libraries website that copies are available at branches around Hong Kong.
Most of the 12 chapters give details of walks in the New Territories, a place that was quite different 70-odd years ago. No Spanish-style villas, no used-car dumps, no returnees from Chinese takeaways in Nuneaton, no fruitcake "indigenous" village chiefs wagging the Government dog through the ludicrous Heung Yee Kuk. It was an exotic place to which chaps like Heywood would travel by sea of a Sunday morning with their burden of cucumber sandwiches, Thermos flasks of piping-hot coffee and hip flasks of the finest Scotch, as they walked the treacherous north-east face of Ma On Shan, something all but impossible these days, I fear, as the Marine and Country Parks Authority attempts to herd walkers onto the Maclehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau Trails.
Gee provides a parallel text to Heywood's (left-hand page: Heywood; right-hand page: Gee), which complements the older account by bringing it up to date, by, for instance, noting that what used to be a swamp is now a town of 600,000 people owned by the Brothers Kwok. For an accountant, Gee is surprisingly interesting, matching Heywood's unselfconscious colonialist discourse ("If your sampan is waiting for you at the jetty, you will be tempted to take a short cut to the left ...") with some wit of his own ("You don't need nailed boots for Kowloon Peak. My girlfriend did this walk wearing ballet shoes").
In the past month or so, I've been out in the hills most weekends, conquering the likes of Ma On Shan, Lantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Kowloon Peak and Grassy Hill. I've generally avoided the motorways, preferring to trail blaze what my vintage Countryside Series maps call, without any understatement, "seasonally overgrown paths". So, starting some time soon, I'll introduce what I hope will be a weekly series of accounts of great Hong Kong walks, some of which will be accompanied by spectacular shots captured by my Canon Powershot. Those with arachnophobia, you have been warned.
12 comments:
Looking forward to these very much, Ulaca! Kudos for tackling that series of peaks in mid-summer. I mothball the 'rambling boots' till autumn.
What would CSL have made of "pay hike", I wonder.
I still can't get used to "raise".
Mr T, walking in searing heat was a habit formed in my far off Trailwalker days. Makes rambling partners a bit hard to find/retain.
Oi! Be nice about accountants or we'll set the Phiz on you
Lantau peak is hardly rambling! Think that justifies the name of "hike"
Richard Gee threw over accountancy at Ernst & Young some time ago. He's now a counselor with ReSource in Central.
SMW - don't get Ulie fantasising about the Phiz and rollover relief
I have 30 odd years' worth of outdated Countryside Series maps, and was thinking of getting the latest edition, lest I venture into an appealing swamp only to find ir occupied by Tin Shui Wau people dump, sorry new town.
As for the terminology, surely a hike is somewhat more strenuous than a walk or ramble? And a ranble should be somewhat spontaneous and loosely planned, otherwise it risks becoming an expedition.
I think all accountants are looking to move up the career ladder, Nonnie.
No, PB, a hike is a walk round the Shing Mun Reservoir with a hiking pole, a French Foreign Legion style hat and a radio.
Not quite true, ullie, some accountants go over and out.
Fumie, you're too polite. Sure you meant retirement relief?
It was a toss-up between the two, but fumie finally opted for the nudge-nudge-wink-wink rather than the ageist. It's hard-wired in his genes, you see.
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