Last weekend, a Malaysian monk I met last year opened a new meditation center in Tsuen Wan, one of Hong Kong’s 18 political districts, situated in the southwest of the New Territories. He used to be the abbot of a Chinese Mahāyāna temple, built in the 1930s. Last year, he had to leave his position…
A few weeks ago, I met with one of my friends in Hong Kong for some nice food (a fusion of Thai and Malay and some other styles as well) and conversations. After dinner, we strolled back to the Tai Wai MTR station, passing through Tin Sam Village, according to the website of the MTR –…
Monday morning. I sit in a coffee house in Mongkok East, enjoying my coffee, reading the newspaper, sending emails to different people. The coffee house I’m sitting in is one of my favorites in Hong Kong: it is on the fourth floor of a shopping mall, it is large, has lots of nice couches to…
Last Tuesday, after walking around the neighborhood of Tsuen Wan a while and chatting, one of my informants took me for ice tea – something which I longed for in the heat. She asked me if I wanted to go to a local place or MacDonalds. “Everything but MacDonalds” was my response (leading to a…
Today, in name of “science”, I did something which is officially considered a no-go in Hong Kong: I bought a sandwich at a station, entered the MTR (Mass Transit Rail, the train system that connects almost every corner of the region with the others) and ate my sandwich while riding on the MTR (or, more…
At the moment I’m living in the neighborhood Prince Edward, a neighborhood at the north side of Kowloon. It is at the far north of what I perceive of as the “urban” part of Hong Kong. Last year, I lived in Sheung Wan, on the west side of Hong Kong Island, right in the heart…
I’m back in Hong Kong, after having been away for over almost eight months. I’m back in “Asia’s World City”, as the region is advertised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board – a definition that well reflects Hong Kong’s global attitude, as well as its pride in being part of Asia with all its culture, tradition…
Over een paar uur vlieg ik terug naar Sydney om te beginnen met data analyseren en schrijven. Ik heb ruim tien maanden in Hong Kong gewoond – een stad met zoveel tegenstellingen, en altijd interessant. Bij deze een kleine ode aan Hong Kong of deze regio te bedanken voor:
One of the things you have to do as a foreigner in Hong Kong is go to a fortune teller. And so me and my friends sat down at a small table at the Temple Street Night Market a few night ago, in front of an older middle aged man, to have him look at…
Now, I know that this post has nothing to do with urban religion – but it does deserve a small post on my site: The commemoration of the June 4th student massacre of 1989, and the evening vigil held in Hong Kong last night to commemorate this. As every year, there has been much controversy…
Together with more than 1,000 other people I joined a four day retreat organized by the Plum Village, a Buddhist organization led by the famous Zen master Thich Nhat Hahn (Thay). About half of the people present were local Hong Kong people or expats living in the region; another quarter came from mainland China; there…
Friday 17 May 2013 (8th day of 4th month in Chinese lunar calander) Buddha’s Birthday Today is a national holiday in Hong Kong. Schools are closed, some shops are closed, and most people – though not all – have a well-deserved day off from work. Not me though: I am ‘working’ today, celebrating the day…
Ik ben elf dagen weggeweest – op vakantie in plaatsen op zo’n twee en een half uur vliegen van Hong Kong verwijderd. Het voelde langer en verder weg. Het waren heerlijke dagen, waarin ik vele kilometers heb gewandeld, veel heerlijk Chinees eten heb gegeten, veel Chinees heb gesproken (of althans, heb geprobeerd), veel heb gezien…
Resurrection followed by grave-cleaning? Seems kind of redundant, if you think about it. Still, that was my weekend – which started last Thursday and will last until at least this coming Sunday. The setting Every year around April 4th or 5th, the Chinese celebrate Ching Ming – ‘Tomb Sweeping Day’. On this day, they go…
Today, I finally – finally! – had the opportunity to stand at the bottom of the 73 meter high statue of Guanyin and look up at her face. I have been hoping to do this for a very long time now (read this blog post and this one), and today was the day. Together with…
Religious Anthropology in Urban Hong Kong 