Taipei holiday

Just returned from a very lovely holiday in taipei. Definitely love to visit again!

Central Police station @ Victoria Prison, HK

Central Police Station located at the eastern end of Hollywood Road, in Central, Hong Kong, is awaiting development following its decommissioning. Built between 1864-1919, the Central Police Station is one of the last physical reminders of Hong Kong's colonial heritage With its long history and antiquated architectural style.

The police station and prison are now open to the public for 2 weeks with exciting art & design exhibition and thereafter waiting for redevelopment.

It was fun sketching in the old prison. Each tiny cell still has a double decked bed. Not very much space to move around. No wonder people go crazy and turns violence in such a small environment.

Day out @ Cheung Chau island, HK

Spent my saturday afternoon visiting the very quaint Cheung Chau island south west of HK island. Fishing is still one of the main livelihood of the islanders. Here there are no cars but just bicycles & tricycles for getting around. Life feels generally slower too. I like the fresh air too.

Tai Po Rail Museum, HK

Morning at Sham Shui Po & Mongkok, HK

I just added colours to the same sketches I did over the weekend.

Busy morning at Sham Shui Po, HK

Mongkok, HK

This is probably a familiar scene in HK for everyone living here. I drew this from a covered overhead bridge when I was crossing to Mongkok mtr. The rows of red top mini public buses caught my eyes. They were all lined up along the road ready to pick up passengers. Cheap and convenient way to jet around HK quickly. I have yet to try one though.

School camp @ Pak Sha Wan Scout Camp, HK

I went for a 3 days 2 night school camp this week with my kids. We got to learn dragonboating, kayaking & sailing. It was fun for me to hangout with my students as their form teacher and get to know them better.

Wanchai, Hong Kong

Wanchai, Hong Kong, originally uploaded by PaulArtSG.

Lazy sunday so I did not venture very far from home to sketch. I sat at this very busy junction where Johnston and Wanchai road split into two. I like how this old curved building blended into with the other more modern looking buildings. This sketch was also drawn with my neglected hero pen with noodler's ink.

Stone Nullah Road, Wanchai HK

I went back to the Blue house for more sketching today. Glad to also had a guided tour conducted by the Wanchai livelihood museum which was next to this deserted old unit. Apparently the government could not locate the original owner of his house so it has been locked up and left empty before the major renovation next year. A single unit like this could house many families during the 1920s when it was first built.

This building has no flushing toilet so strange numbers were written on the risers of the staircase in order for the night-soil man to remember how many potties each house has. He comes at midnight to every household to remove their potties. Not a job for the faint.

Blue House @ Stone Nullah Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Blue House (藍屋) refers to a 4-storey balcony-type tenement block located at 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai. It is named for the brilliant blue colour painted on its external walls. It is one of the few remaining examples of Tong Lau of the balcony type in Hong Kong. All the upper floors of Blue House, apart from 72 Stone Nullah Lane, are of timber structures. The two wooden stairs, with all the original elements intact, are well maintained.

Urban Sketches Vol.1

Urban Sketches Vol.1 by Paul Wang | Make Your Own Book

Bumbu Restaurant @ Kandarhar St, Singapore

Bumbu Restaurant @ Kandarha St, Singapore, originally uploaded by PaulArtSG.

Lovely fusion of thai, indonesian and peranankan cuisine. The whole restaurant is also adorned with old peranakan antiques. Feels like you are actually eating in someone's home.

Kluang Train Station, Malaysia

My last sketch at the KTM train station @ Kluang. Sun was setting so the scene was gorgeous! I was experimenting with my Zig brush pen so not my usual drawing style. A little to control and draw with that brushy pen but I learnt something.

Train Ride to Kluang, Malaysia - 19/10/10

Train ride to Kluang, Malaysia

Don and Kat were sitting right infront of me and TIA. We were all very eager about the trip because Don & Kat has never taken the train whilst me & Tia rode the train many years ago. It is nice to see different parts of Singapore from a different angle.

For the 1st location me and Don sat at the coffeeshop to sketch  and also take cover from the heat. The 2 old men next to us was just enjoying the peace and quiet and talking about everything under the sun. The tranquility was a nice change for us especially for me.

Shophouse @ Jalan Wayang, Kluang,, Malaysia

Very charming row of old shophouses from the early 1900s. Sun was setting so i was trying out my yellow washes.

Fruits of our labour, Kluang, Malaysia

We placed all our sketches beside the train track for our final picture before taking the train back to Singapore. Hot, sweaty, tired but filled with lots of wonderful memories.

You can see other sketches by TIA & Don on our individual blog and flickr.


TIA's blog

Don's flickr

Paul's flickr

Dessert shop @ Central, Hong Kong

Dessert shop, Hollywood road, HK

A little dessert shop tucked away in a corner. The shop is actually balancing on a slope so customers have to beware about sliding off their chairs and holding onto their bowls. I had some delightful local dessert at the shop two weekends ago.

Sketches from my backyard (Part 2), Hong Kong

 
Hung Shing Temple @ Wanchai, HK

The temple was probably built in 1847 and may have existed previously as a shrine. The temple was built with boulders from the hillside and its right portion and back are sitting on rocks. It has been listed as a Grade I historic building since 1987 and it is part of the Wan Chai Heritage Trail.

I am always fascinated by how the giant tree is 'growing' out of the back of the temple whenever I walk past it.



Tailor shop @ Elgin Street, HK

A mahjong session was happening inside a small old cozy tailor shop along Elgin street near Soho last Saturday. I found another mahjong session being held upstairs at the same time. I guess business was slow on a Saturday afternoon so what the folks did was to create your own entertainment.