Sketchpacker Diaries: Sketchpacking Hong Kong

I went to Hong Kong just over a year ago for a sketching trip but haven't uploaded the sketches till now. I was meaning to complete some of the pages that I didn't manage to during the trip, but life just got busier and busier. It's quite unlikely I'll revisit those sketches, but I've finally scanned the ones that I did manage to complete. Here they are!

First, why Hong Kong? Well, I've been wanting to visit the place again. The last time I went was before the territory was handed back to China in 1997. Back then we landed in the old airport smack in the middle of the city. Pilots needed a special license to land in that tight space right in the middle of a congested residential area, I was told. So when I got to know some HKers and when my colleague asked if I wanted to go there for a sketching trip, I jumped at the opportunity.

I sketched the scene above of the coast of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon with Kai Siang and Sandy. It took me about 2.5 hours to complete? That was the first drawing of the second day, and the first urban sketch of the trip. I put it on the second page as a "cover page", even though it was drawn on the second day.

On the first day, we met up with Alvin near where we were staying at Austin. He took us around Tsim Sha Tsui and up to Mongkok. Alvin is one of the leaders of USK-HK. It was a pleasure catching up with him after Sketching George Town 2 in Penang the previous year.

Alvin took us to visit Bruce Lee and Anita Mui at the Avenue of Stars along Victoria Harbour. There was a memorial to Leslie Cheung too, who killed himself on 1 April 2003. We arrived on 2 April so the memorial was still standing when we were there. He was an immensely popular singer.


Copyright © Favian Ee April 2015 Bruce Lee and Anita Mui statues

After our tour of the harbour, we headed up north. Alvin brought us to an art shop and to have some famous milk pudding. I almost left my Timbuk2 bag of drawing materials behind!!

On the second day, we met up with my friend Sandy. Sandy took leave the few days we were there to accompany us around and join us for sketching. It was great catching up with her after 3 years.

After meeting some members of USK-HK for sketching at Graham Street Market, the three of us headed up to Victoria Peak to catch views of the city at night. Unfortunately it was so foggy we could hardly see anything at all!

The next day we took a bus out to Stanley, which is a somewhat upmarket coastal town near the famed Repulse Bay, one of Hong Kong's premium residential areas.

After a sweltering afternoon in Stanley, we headed back to meet an old friend of mine for dinner. I didn't make plans before the trip, but she noticed my posts on FB while I was there and we arranged to meet up.

The fourth day of our visit began with a visit to a church Kai Siang had connections with. It was an interesting experience. Quite different from my church at home, but quite a sweet experience.

After church, we met up with Alvin again and a group of Urban Sketchers for a sketchwalk. We had lunch in a traditional Hong Kong "cha chaan teng" (teahouse). One of the strange drinks quite common there was boiled coke with ginger and lemon. Good for colds, I'm told. We went for a sketchwalk after that.

After the sketchwalk, the 3 of us went back up to Victoria Peak to catch the sunset and try to see the city lights again. This time we were fortunate. The sky was clear and there was no fog. We got our photos and came down for dinner at The Dining Room at Causeway Bay. That was our last night in Hong Kong. The next morning we would have breakfast at Dim Dim Sum below our apartment before flying back to Singapore.

Here are the earlier posts and photos from the trip:

http://sketchpacker.blogspot.sg/2015/04/sketchpacking-hong-kong-2015-day-1-2.html

http://sketchpacker.blogspot.sg/2015/04/sketchpacking-hong-kong-2015-day-3-5.html

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Sketchpacking Hong Kong

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