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Take a look at the results and photos! [PHOTOS BY Andrew Spires.] More than 104 young and daring competitors took to the track for the 10th anniversary edition of the HLG Kart Race on November 22. Hosted by Harvey Law Group in partnership with Milwaukee, the event provided all participants with karts and transformed the Discovery Bay Road cycle lane with an impressive eight-foot-high ramp. Children aged 7 to 12 put their skills to the test, racing against peers in a spirited display of energy, courage, and sportsmanship. This year’s event wasn’t just about speed - it was about giving back. A total of HK$25,000 was raised and donated to Heep Hong Society, a local charity dedicated to providing education and support services to children with diverse abilities and their families. Photo Slideshow: 2025 Results: Age 7: 1st: 1117 – Olivia Henderson 2nd: 1111 – Neo Simpson 3rd: 1024 – Nico Casati Age 8: 1st: 822 – Aneliya Khabibullina 2nd: 825 – Francisco Tomaz Daros 3rd: 1014 – Ava Allan Age 9: 1st: 904 – Edoardo Lavenia 2nd: 922 – Liam Wright 3rd: 916 – Filip Wong Age 10: 1st: 1005 – Alexis Tsang 2nd: 1004 – Kilyann Kyle Sharma Mansart 3rd: 1002 – Max Chiu Age 11: 1st: 1101 – Adam Wilkins 2nd: 1102 – Manon Perreau 3rd: 1103 – Viktoria Schnatterbeck Age 12: 1st: 1203 – Tianyi Yu (Olivia) 2nd: 1202 – Nathaniel Mccurrach 3rd: 1205 – Miles Chen

Discover how small changes in your living space can invite harmony, relaxation and positive energy. Samantha Wong reports Formalised as an art and science over 3,000 years ago in China, feng shui’s aim is to improve quality of life. Feng means ‘wind’ and shui means ‘water,’ and both are associated with good health, so if you get the feng shui in your home right, you can expect good things to follow. Feng shui contains elements of various branches of study, including physics, philosophy, astronomy and astrology. It’s a complex body of knowledge that takes years to master but you don’t have to be an expert or own a luopan (a feng-shui compass with 24 directions marked on it) to start working it into your home and reaping the benefits. The first thing you need to know is that according to feng shui everyone and everything is interconnected, and everything is filled with chi (energy). The way you arrange objects within a room influences how that energy flows, and how you feel. One basic tip is that your bed, desk and stove need to be placed in the ‘command position’ – this is important because the bed represents you, the desk represents your career and the stove represents your wealth. When you are in these spaces, be sure that you can see the door without being directly in line with it – this puts you in the command position, meaning you are in control of your life and receptive to positive outcomes. Feng shui is all about mindfulness too: slowing down and noticing the details in your life and living space so that you can create harmony. Dusty corners represent areas of your life that are stagnant and ignored, so clean them up. Get rid of or fix any broken objects because they are obstacles in your life, causing stress that holds you back. And create space in your wardrobe. If it’s overstuffed, you’re giving out the message that your life is complete and you don’t need anything else. We often intuitively know when something is not quite right in our homes, so work out where you feel uneasy and sit there, quieting the mind. You may be able to energise the space simply by moving things around, for instance placing an armchair in front of a window, but if that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll need to look to a core feng-shui principle – the theory of the five elements. Wood, fire, earth, metal and water – the five elements – are a big deal in feng shui. Simply put, feng shui works to balance these five natural elements in your home, and by extension in your life. You need to ensure that all five elements are present in each room and working harmoniously together. To achieve this in a living area, you might combine wood and metal furniture, light some candles (fire), install an aquarium (water) and place a clay pot (earth) in a corner. But you don’t have to think so literally – each element is represented by a specific colour (see the sidebar below), so colour use is an easy and effective way to harmonise the five elements within your home. For instance, if the wood element is lacking in a bedroom, paint a feature wall green or brown; if you need more of the earth element, pick up some yellow-toned soft furnishings. By using colour to include all the elements in your decor, you can improve your quality of life, but there’s more to it than that. Each element is also associated with a specific life attribute – wood with vitality; fire with passion and recognition; earth with stability; metal with clarity and self-discipline; and water with tranquillity and wisdom – so upping the presence of a particular element in your home can bring you more of the attribute it represents. To go at it another way, if something is lacking in your life, you will likely see that the element it corresponds to is lacking in your decor. Let’s say you lack stability and don’t take good enough care of yourself. Chances are you need more of the earth element (sand, yellow and light brown) in your home. If you’re looking for more clarity, self-discipline or structure, look to the metal element: add grey, silver or white to your colour scheme. By calling on the element of water, you can invite tranquillity and wisdom into your life. Try sitting on a blue or black cushion when you’re at your computer. Wood energy, associated with the colour green, can help kickstart new beginnings and increase your vitality. Alternatively, if you’re looking for passion or recognition, play around with red fire energy. Light some candles – fire is symbolised by real flames – or place red flowers in a favourite vase When reworking your home to improve the feng shui, good lighting is another must. Si chi (bad energy) breeds in spaces that are harshly or dimly lit, so don’t limit a room to a single ceiling lamp. Layered lighting works best, meaning you rely on a number of fixtures – ceiling, standing and table – to illuminate each living space. Mirrors are a great way to bounce light around but be a little bit cautious with them. Mirrors literally and metaphorically double what they reflect, which means they need to reflect something positive, like a beautiful view or favourite piece of furniture. A mirror above the sofa might look stylish but if it’s reflecting a neglected corner, that feeling is likely being doubled in your life. Mirrors are also linked to self-esteem, so stick to full-length ones in which you can see yourself completely. If your body is ‘cut’ in your reflection, your energy is cut, and you’re telling yourself that you don’t measure up. Last but not least, get minimal: a pared-back, clutter-free room is harmonious and well-balanced; it’s calming without being dull and it has a sense of flow – all essentials for good feng shui. So throw out what you can (that pile of old magazines on the coffee table) and find storage solutions for things you use on a regular basis. It’s worth investing in a few simple pieces that will free up space – perhaps you need a fitted wardrobe in the bedroom and a couple of bedside tables. One of the reasons minimalist design schemes appeal to so many of us is that they radiate sheng chi (beneficial energy). You’re aiming to fill your home with only the (attractive) necessities, and this goes for larger pieces too – get rid of the chair you never sit in and the painting you no longer look at. Paring down will immediately up the feng shui of any home, as will giving some further thought to furniture placement. Group chairs to promote conversation and togetherness, and put the TV in a cabinet so that you can really switch off from it every now and then. Work with scale and proportion to create harmony between pieces of furniture, and make sure the chi can flow.

6 terrifying novels to freak you out GHOST STORY: PETER STRAUB (1979) In the sleepy town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell each other stories – some true, some made-up, all of them frightening. But one story is coming back to haunt them and their small town: a tale of something they did long ago – a wicked mistake, a horrifying accident – and they are about to learn that no one can bury the past forever. HOUSE OF LEAVES: MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI (2000) Will and Karen move to Virgina with their family only to discover that something is terribly wrong – their new home is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. The children wander off and disappear but the couple can hear them whispering about an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door and an unholy growl which soon tears through their walls. MEXICAN GOTHIC: SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA (2020) Naomi hurries to High Place house in the Mexican countryside, concerned about her newlywed cousin. A tough, smart and worldly socialite, Naomi is not afraid – not of her cousin’s menacing but alluring new husband; not of his father, the ancient patriarch; and not even of the brutal nightmares she soon experiences about the house itself. PET SEMATARY: STEPHEN KING (1983) The road in front of the Creed family’s Maine home frequently claims the lives of neighbourhood pets. Near the house, local children have created a cemetery for the dogs and cats killed by speeding trucks. Deeper in the woods lies another graveyard, an ancient Indian burial ground whose sinister properties the Creeds discover when the family cat is killed. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE: SHIRLEY JACKSON (1959) Four seekers arrive at infamous Hill House: Dr Montague, an occult scholar looking for evidence of a haunting; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. They encounter inexplicable phenomena: soon Hill House will claim one of them for its own. THIS CURSED HOUSE: DEL SANDEEN (2024) Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago and the spirits she has always been able to see. She accepts an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans; an eccentric clan, all of whom seem to have a tenuous grip on reality. Soon, the shocking truth comes out: the Duchons are under a curse and they think Jemma can break it.

Serves 2 2tbsp butter 3tbsp flour ¾tsp salt ½tsp nutmeg ½tsp mustard powder 118ml milk ¾tsp lemon juice 50g each cheddar, gruyere, emmental 2 snapper fillets Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a saucepan, melt the butter and blend in the flour, salt, nutmeg and mustard powder. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Add the lemon juice and grated cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Place the snapper fillets in a greased baking pan. Cover with the cheese sauce and bake for 45 minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and basil to serve.

HARVEY LAW GROUP REVEALS HIDDEN PATHWAYS TO SLOVAK CITIZENSHIP FOR DESCENDANTS Many people are surprised to learn that it is possible to obtain European Union (EU) citizenship without having been born in Europe or ever having lived there. For those with European roots, this opportunity often comes through Citizenship by Ancestry programs. Among them, Slovakia now offers one of the most generous and accessible options in the EU. Nestled in the heart of Central Europe, Slovakia is a culturally rich country known for its beautiful natural scenery, particularly the High Tatras mountains, and laid-back lifestyle. Rich folk traditions are evident in Slovakia’s music, traditional crafts and well-preserved medieval towns, and it has the highest density of castles per capita in the world. Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, straddles both banks of the Danube River; it’s just an hour from Vienna and about two hours from Budapest, making it a well-connected hub with easy access to major European cities. In Slovakia, citizenship can be granted through jus sanguinis, or the right of blood. This means eligibility may be granted based on ancestry, regardless of where you were born, what language you speak, or how closely you’ve remained connected to Slovak culture. If you have a parent, grandparent, or even a great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak citizen born in the modern-day territory of Slovakia, you may qualify to apply for Slovak citizenship by ancestry. You are not required to pass any language, history, or cultural tests. Even if your ancestor lost or renounced Czechoslovak citizenship due to emigration, you may still be eligible. Obtaining Slovak citizenship offers significant benefits, particularly in terms of mobility and opportunities within the EU. You can live, work, or study in any of the EU member states without needing a visa or meeting strict stay requirements. A Slovak passport also opens up visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 164 countries around the world. And because Slovakia allows dual citizenship, you can keep your current nationality while enjoying the freedoms that come with being an EU citizen. Slovakia is currently ranked number 7 in the world on the Global Ancestry Index ( https://globalancestryindex.org ), reflecting its strong Citizenship by Ancestry program. This ranking emphasises Slovakia’s commitment to inclusivity, enabling descendants of Slovak nationals to apply for citizenship even if several generations have passed since their ancestors left the country. Many individuals may not realise that they qualify for Slovak citizenship. With over 1.7 million Slovaks and their descendants living overseas, as reported by the Office for Slovaks Living Abroad, a vast global diaspora exists. Many of these individuals may be eligible for citizenship through their ancestry, even if they have never set foot in Slovakia. A thorough examination of family records, such as birth certificates or citizenship documents, can often uncover an ancestor who qualifies them for this opportunity. DNA tests provided by consumer ancestry websites like MyHeritage are not accepted by Slovakian authorities as legal proof to claim citizenship by descent. Instead, establishing ancestral legitimacy requires official documents that prove a direct bloodline to a Czechoslovak citizen born within the territory of present-day Slovakia. The processing time for ancestral citizenship applications can take up to two years. For those unsure where to begin or how to navigate the application process, seeking legal guidance can make all the difference. Harvey Law Group, with over 30 years of experience in global residency and citizenship programs, can assist in confirming your eligibility, preparing the necessary paperwork, and guiding you through each step toward obtaining Slovak citizenship. What sets Harvey Law Group apart is its partnerships with genealogy companies that specialise in locating historical documents across more than 100 countries. This support helps individuals without lineage documents find essential evidence for their applications. Additionally, Harvey Law Group works closely with apostille companies and government-approved translators in Slovakia, ensuring that all documents comply with application standards and are accurately translated. With the support of the dedicated team at Harvey Law Group, those interested in exploring their Slovak roots and unlocking new opportunities in the EU can embark on the exciting journey of applying for Slovak citizenship by ancestry with confidence. SHOUT-OUT TO READERS: In the coming months, Harvey Law Group will be sharing a series of articles with Around DB readers exploring popular CBA programs. These articles will delve into various aspects, from eligibility criteria to the application process, p roviding ins ight s to help you navigate the often complex landscape of citizenship options and discover how your heritage might open new doors.

From deciphering Cantonese worksheets to hauling kilos of textbooks, the local school system can feel like an uphill climb for non-Chinese-speaking parents. But give it time and it all starts to feel like home. Andrew Spires reports PHOTOGRAPHY BY Andrew Spires If you type local vs international school into the World Wide Web, you’ll be offered the same information that’s been discussed for years; namely that international schools are great if you move countries a lot, that they offer a ‘global perspective’ and have a more holistic teaching style, whereas local schools provide in-depth local and cultural knowledge and proper bi- or tri-lingual capabilities. One is incredibly expensive and the other isn’t. But then you already know that. So what I’m going to do is spend the next five minutes telling you what it’s like to be an expat parent of kids in the local Hong Kong system, as that’s what I am. I need to caveat this article by saying that my wife is local and speaks only Cantonese to the kids when she’s home, which isn’t very often, as she’s always at work. That language base has given my two girls (10 and 8) a fantastic step-up at school. We also have amazing grandparents who occasionally assist with homework. Even with that local language help, both my kids visit the dreaded tutor once a week to help with their Cantonese. The local system takes about a year to settle into. We chose our local primary based on their open day, where we were told they had a very strong NCS (non-Chinese speaking) department. Turns out they did not. Worksheets would be sent home nightly causing my doe-eyed daughter and I to stare blankly at them, fumbling with Google Translate to figure out what needed to be done. After a few weeks of this, I asked to have a meeting with the NCS Head and armed myself with an Arabic worksheet. Halfway through the meeting, I slid the worksheet across the table and asked the teacher if she could complete it. Now she was the one staring blankly. “But how can I complete this? I don’t read Arabic,” she pointed out. “I don’t read Cantonese,” I replied, “But we’re expected to complete them daily.” It was a lightbulb moment for the NCS department. The local system is powered by textbooks. Hundreds of them. Approximately HK$2,500 a term’s worth. Each subject has its own volume that makes the Encyclopaedia Britannica look like The Beano. These need to be carried to and from school each day, like an educational flagellation. Little spines shouldn’t be carrying 5kgs. Scaled-up, that’s the equivalent of me carrying 15 litres of water. So, back into school I went for another meeting… Homework is famous in the local system for the sheer quantity of it. It’s not just the amount of homework given, but the bizarre code with which it’s indexed. When my eldest first joined secondary, we spent equal amounts of time simply figuring out what the homework was as we spent doing it. Each type of homework is encoded with numbers and letters, for example, WBP8 is workbook, page 8. That’s an easy one. Then there is DWP: to this day I don’t know what it’s short for, but it involves online maths quizzes. It’s quite bizarre. My final rant is about the literal nature of teaching in Hong Kong. My youngest is wildly creative, but that’s not viewed with any cheer in the local system. In P1, her textbook asked her to draw circles to make a chart for each of the different types of images on the page. As opposed to circles, my little artist drew little versions of the images. When the homework was marked, the whole page had a big red pen line through it, and a note saying she was asked to draw circles and that she was to re-do the work, even though her answer wasn’t wrong. Back to school I went for another meeting… With all that being said, I’m starting to fall in love with my children’s school. There are endless ‘interest’ classes to choose from including, and I’m not making this up, ‘fancy skipping rope, choral speaking, Chinese acrobatics and soft clay’, to name a few. My two are in school teams, which are taken very seriously indeed, and rightly so. Inter-school swimming competitions have professional timing boards deployed and are carried out in an Olympic-sized pool, and athletics events use a starter pistol, which always makes me smile. Nothing like a blast from a gun to get your kid sprinting in the 60m race. Academically, it’s tough and incredibly competitive. All kids, even the local ones, appear to use tutors to either keep their heads above water or to get ahead. All subjects apart from English are taught in Cantonese, although for maths you can opt to have the textbooks in English. Science isn’t taught as individual subjects until secondary school, so it falls under Humanities, which also covers sex-ed, politics and of course National Education lessons. Oddly, Mandarin doesn’t feature that heavily, with only one hour a week of instruction. There is little in the way of thinking around a subject and a heavy emphasis on rote learning, drilling in a subject until it sticks. My two are both learning to read and write Chinese brilliantly, which always feels like a superpower to me, but they’re not learning the ‘why’ of the language, just the form, meaning they struggle to use it outside of the structure of the classroom. This is counteracted by having local friends. Most of my children’s Cantonese language skill comes from interaction with their classmates at recess. Culturally, this is very important as my kids are naturally learning local customs. They’re not just learning about Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, they’re living it and adopting it into their own frame of reference. On a personal level, I do feel excluded at the school gates as my Cantonese is only marginally better than my Arabic! I sign up to be a parent volunteer when my workload isn’t too heavy, but I sense the tension in the room when I walk in. I haven’t formed the friends that I might have done had my kids gone to an international school, and I can feel useless when it comes to helping with Chinese homework. This is all down to me not learning the language well enough, but worth considering when you’re choosing schools. We have some western friends who started their eldest in the local system, but by P3 decided to move her to Discovery Bay International School, where she’s grown in confidence and is thriving. The kicker was that they couldn’t help their daughter with her school work which was leading to fights at home. At the same time, they were stressed by the focus on academics; they felt her childhood could be better spent. For them, transferring to an international school was the logical decision, and a little help with funding by Cathay helped to grease the wheels. International schools are by their very nature more culturally diverse than the local system. It’s great that kids can mingle with varied cultures from such a young age. The connections made at an international school will also help them later in life in a global economy. After all, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. My local wife went to an international school in the UK and now has useful connections all over the world. If I had the cash, would I send my kids to an international school? If I weren’t planning on staying in Hong Kong, then probably yes. But as Hong Kong and Lantau are very much my home, a local education is priceless.

Former French Foreign Legionnaire turned executive coach, Vladimir Bourov is helping Hong Kong’s men reclaim strength through service, community and conscious leadership. Elizabeth Kerr reports PHOTOS BY Andrew Spires & courtesy of Tatiana Bourov At first blush, Vladimir Bourov looks a lot like the rest of the bankers, insurers and consultants at Fuel in ifc Mall late on a Thursday afternoon. His white shirt is perfectly starched, he’s lean and manicured in a way that looks disciplined, not uptight, and the perfect square of the knapsack he’s toting suggests precision packing. None of that is surprising considering the seven years Vladimir spent in the French Foreign Legion prior to relocating to Hong Kong. Vladimir’s coming from Admiralty this day, where he’s just wrapped up sessions related to his consultancy business Servant Leadership, which specialises in leadership training and executive coaching for C-suite dwellers in need of guidance on corporate work culture (www.vladimirbourov.com). Vladimir guides his clients on how to be conscious in leadership and on how their influence will impact their people and in turn their families. It’s his way of contributing to a better world, and his time in the military is one of the reasons the city’s executives are requesting his services. “They trust I’m the person they can learn from,” Vladimir opens. “My 35 years have been rich in experience: unique life experiences, military service, Harvard Business School. What I convey to my clients is that leadership is about service, and that starts with a responsible mindset. I facilitate the fulfilment of individual needs and influence how they manage their business to create positive change. We all want a world where our children are going to grow up with leaders who are stewards – not people who confront each other for resources to line pockets.” Vladimir’s commitment to giving back and inspiring others by leading by example was also the driver behind his DB-based initiative Pushing Limits Forging Bonds – just now disbanded due to family reasons. For the past three years, he has provided High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) sessions for men three mornings a week, free of charge. He hopes PLFB will soon make a comeback, headed up by fellow residents, with a continued focus on commitment, resilience and raising the bar. Interest in leadership was indeed born in The Legion, but also of necessity. Vladimir moved to Discovery Bay with his wife Tatiana after they got married in 2019 and went on to have a son, like most preferring the environment for children. It was she who convinced him to move to Hong Kong after they met in a Paris train station in 2016 – “Tatiana’s to blame for everything,” he quips – where she’d been recruited by a Hong Kong firm after working in the mainland for a decade. And it was Tatiana who encouraged him to get certified in Life Coaching, NLP and as a Counselling Master Practitioner when it became clear he was struggling to transition to life outside the military. Vladimir says he loved Hong Kong and its security from the get-go, but it took a while to accept. “I remember we were walking in Tamar Park around 11pm one night. We saw a group of maybe seven guys coming towards us, and for me that’s a fight. I was already calculating my strategy... and they just passed by. I was super-shocked. My risk assessment failed,” he laughs again. For most of us The Legion is the stuff of fantasy – think of films like Beau Geste, Beau Travail or Legionnaire – but Vladimir credits it with straightening out his life and putting him on his circuitous route to DB. Born in the Soviet Union, in Irkutsk, his family fled to Spain in 1995, but a paperwork mix-up left him on his own in a small village with his grandmother and younger sister at just four years old. The mix-up lasted two years. “You can imagine. It’s 1995. There’s no Skype, no WhatsApp. The money that was left for us to live on is gone in five to six months,” he recalls. “There were very good people who saw that something wasn’t right, and they helped us out and got us into school. As kids we didn’t really realise the problem. What I recall well is that my entrepreneurial side was born there.” Vladimir learnt that neighbours would pay him a few pesetas to complete ‘odd jobs’ and manual chores, enough to buoy the family until his parents finally made it back to the small Valencia town they’d settled in. By the mid-2000s, however, a combination of Spanish nationalism at the time and regular bullying when he was younger meant he had “built a life on the streets”. None of this prevented Vladimir helping to fund his sisters through university – he also helped transform an old kebab shop that his parents had managed to buy into a thriving Russian/ Spanish takeaway (it’s still there). “I made the decision to go to France during the nights I was working on that small business, because I wanted to move forward with my life,” he says. “I finished rebuilding the shop, and one week before going to The Legion I gave my mother the keys to it. I had €120 in my pocket and I moved to France.” As a new recruit Vladimir embarked on a gruelling training programme before gaining a spot in an all-Russian squad. He spent three years as a sniper and finally got on a leadership track. “I was a sergeant, which isn’t high in terms of commissioned officers. But my function was Special Forces instructor which gave me a chance to work with different units and gain a lot of experience. That’s where my leadership skills really developed. The Legion gave me hope, a new life and a sense of feeling valuable and useful.” Vladimir has parlayed that feeling of usefulness into his leadership coaching and now into the six-month-old Wolves Private Club (www.wolveshk.com), a paid membership, men-only club whose mission is to ‘unite and empower like-minded men, pushing each other beyond ordinary, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in triumph and adversity, and forging legacies that resonate through time’. There’s a focus on outdoor activities, thought-provoking events and servant leadership initiatives. Every week, members come together to share challenges and triumphs, support, uplift and empower one another. In 2025, it’s still more acceptable for women to seek support from peers: Vladimir is targeting men because it’s what he knows; Tatiana, as Wolves’ co-founder, is in charge of the club’s wider reach. “To promote fatherhood within the club, my wife and I also organise family-focused events and seminars focused on strengthening the bond between fathers and children and promoting a healthy lifestyle for the entire family. “When I arrived in Hong Kong, I recognised the need among leaders for support and camaraderie similar to what I experienced in The Legion. This inspired me to create a private club grounded in my leadership expertise and my desire to help others grow. Alongside my wife’s knowledge in longevity, we aim to share valuable insights to help our members and their families foster healthy, fulfilling and long-lasting lives.” Wolves Private Club’s focus is on longevity, servant leadership and philanthropy. “Material success shouldn’t be your goal,” Vladimir finishes. “It should be service, a more inclusive environment, and a culture where people thrive and fulfil evolving needs.”

Historic streets, timeless beauty STAY AT HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, built from the ruins of Santo Domingo, once one of the most important convents in Central America. The hotel houses several museums and an art gallery, and you can explore the convent’s original chapels, crypts, gardens and courtyards. EXPLORE GUATEMALA’S COLONIAL PAST at Museo de Arte Colonial. Spanish rule lasted for nearly 300 years (1524– 1821) and the museum contains an extraordinary collection of religious paintings, sculptures and relics. Works by both indigenous artists and Spanish craftsmen are on display. VENTURE UP VOLCÁN PACAYA just 30km from Antigua for the best pizza you will ever have! This two-hour trek takes you across dried lava fields with striking views of the neighbouring volcanoes. You get to bake your very own pizza over the lava rocks and guides provide sticks for marshmallow roasting. ENTER THE MAGICAL WORLD of J.R.R. Tolkien on a tour of Hobbitenango, a whimsical eco-lodge and theme park located high in the mountains about 8km from Antigua. It’s inspired by The Shire from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with hobbit-style houses built into the hillsides, and there are panoramic views of the Guatemalan highlands. EXPERIENCE ANTIGUA AFTER DARK with charismatic tour guide Luis Francisco Gonzáles as he takes you on a walking tour of Antigua’s most haunted locales. Both spooky and educational, this tour is also a thrilling way to familiarise yourself with mythical figures from local folklore like La Llorona (the Weeping Woman) and El Sombrerón (the Little Hat Man). VISIT IGLESIA DE LA MERCED , a striking yellow Baroque masterpiece and former monastery that homes the largest fountain in Central America – 27 meters across, it’s shaped like a water lily, a traditional symbol of power for the Maya. The church remains active, with a candlelit procession held monthly. ONCE THE CAPITAL OF GUATEMALA , Antigua Guatemala is a lively city where history, culture and everyday life come together. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s known for its cobblestone streets, colourful colonial buildings and one-of-a-kind views of nearby volcanoes. There are countless iconic sights including picture-perfect Arco de Santa Catarina, built back in the 17th century.

There is no shortage of ways to stay active in Discovery Bay and in a place that loves both sport and being by the water, it simply makes sense to combine the two. Mervyn Black outlines how best to take the watersports plunge PHOTOS COURTESY OF DB YC, LBC & by P. Nishizawa Discovery Bay’s most visible and wide-ranging watersports hub has to be Lantau Boat Club (LBC, www.lantauboatclub.com), right on Tai Pak Beach. There are thriving paddling, rowing and sailing sections, plus opportunities for surf-skiing, stand-up paddleboarding and the like. Founded in the 1980s and run entirely on a voluntary, non-profit basis, the club offers a welcoming community for all, secure storage for equipment and a refurbished boutique clubhouse. “Being a member at Lantau Boat Club provides great access to both on-water and off-water activities,” opens rowing section chairman Gareth Hart. “Whether you're new to watersports or have previous experience, the energy is contagious and with a fleet of top-notch boats and beautiful routes to discover around Hong Kong, there’s no better time to get involved! “Each of our three sections has regular training schedules during the week and on weekends,” Gareth adds. “We also encourage friendly competitions amongst sections, particularly on Saturday mornings. Each section has its own events and thriving social side: we host regular barbecues on our lovely oceanside terrace.” For coastal rowing, popular routes include trips around Peng Chau, over to Mui Wo and around the local bays. The section boasts a first-class fleet of recently purchased boats including singles, doubles and a quad. There’s also a coastal rowing youth programme, held on Saturday mornings, focused on ensuring kids enjoy the sport in a stress-free and fun environment. LBC’s paddling section currently boasts 56 members and offers competitive and recreational paddling in outrigger canoes and dragon boats with sessions every day but Mondays. The section is always looking to help potential new members trial the six-man outrigger canoes and dragon boats, with no experience or equipment needed. On the horizon for LBC’s coastal rowing and paddling sections are this month’s Around the Island Race, a 45km race circumventing Hong Kong Island, and the 20km Round Lamma Race, with members currently training in earnest. Finally, the sailing section of the LBC consists of over 100 active sailors and 60 beach catamarans. There are regular casual sails over to Mui Wo and other nearby beach destinations for lunch and family fun, as well as spring and autumn racing series. This month’s Asian Open Regatta is the club’s annual flagship event, with boats from other Hong Kong clubs joining forces with LBC to create a fleet size approaching 40 boats. SAIL AWAY WITH ME Whether you prefer heading out for a cruise or a more competitive day at sea, Discovery Bay Yacht Club (DBYC, www.dbyc.net) has been the heart of big boat sailing in DB since 1999. The club prides itself on bringing local sailors together and providing beginners with the chance to enjoy the beauty of a day on the water. “When it comes to recruiting, we hold an annual open day in March,” opens DBYC commodore of three years Stephen Hart. “Usually, we take four or five members’ boats out and 20 to 25 people who are interested in joining the club. We tend to get 10 to 15 new members from the day. “New crew don’t have to have any experience – they can just come on board and learn the ropes. They don’t even have to join to start with, they can just contact us and come along to one of our events. Or if one of the boats is going out one afternoon, skippers can link up with crew on the members’ WhatsApp group.” Stephen says that while membership shrunk to around 60 during the pandemic, it has rebuilt to over 100 and the club is thriving both socially and competitively. “We cruise to Lamma or to The Outpost on South Lantau, have a nice meal and then sail home. And we join racing series held by other sailing clubs in Hong Kong – some of those races are offshore, to the Philippines for example, so the opportunities for crew are varied. “Our boats often do well in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s Around the Island Race, proving that for a little club we punch above our weight,” Stephen adds, pointing out that DBYC is separate from the Lantau Yacht Club and does not have a club premises. DBYC holds a series of events each year ranging from the Johnny Phillips Lamma Rally in May to this month’s Sokos Under The Stars, one of the marquee weekends on the club’s calendar. “We sail down to the Soko Islands, anchor in one of the bays, and spend the night. Typically we have about 15 boats join, some from other clubs around Hong Kong. On Sunday morning, one of our members, Richard Winter, leads a tour of the island, introducing people to its history as a camp for Vietnamese refugees, as well as its current status as a marine park,” says Stephen. DBYC is also community-focused, providing full support to boat owners. “We can help someone wanting to bring a new boat to DB to find a swing mooring and a place to put a tender,” Stephen says. “And we look out for each other’s boats when there’s a typhoon – if a boat owner is out of town, we all do what we can to help.” HIGH AS A KITE One of the more exhilarating watersports you can sink your teeth into in DB is kiteboarding, with the wide-open spaces offering some of the best conditions in Hong Kong. Martin MacRobert and fellow DB resident Warwick Kendall are the founders of DB Kiteboarders, which has over 60 members who eagerly keep an eye on wind and weather forecasts to ensure they don’t miss a chance to hit the water. Martin, who has been kiteboarding off DB since 2009, points to the quality of the adventure on offer. “One of the things I aspire to do every single time I’m on the water is depart the north beach, head straight up to the rocks next to Disney, take a breather and zip back. You’re rewarded with what’s called a down-winder, which is 2.5km of a lot of fun. With a 4-foot fetch in the bay, there are some really big jumps to be had “We benefit from having a really spectacular location and when it’s on, it’s unsurpassed,” Martin adds. “It’s really good compared to any venue in Hong Kong.” All this does come with a kicker, however: kiteboarding off DB isn’t an option for beginners. “The risks are very real and if you don’t know what you’re doing, if you don’t have some essential skills mastered, you will get hurt,” says Martin. “You need to know what you’re doing in DB – you must have the ability to sail upwind and you must be able to self-rescue.” From too much wind from the storms that often roll through Hong Kong to not enough wind, there’s a lot to take into account. Warwick explains: “The wind can be fickle and all of a sudden just stop. Then you drop your kite and, if you don’t know how to self-rescue, or know how to use a little bit of wind to get yourself back in, you’re in trouble. Landing is also risky if the wind dies. You’ve got the two north beaches and, if you really get caught out, you’ve got Tai Pak Beach but there are a lot of rocks everywhere.” Martin adds: “There are also some hidden aerodynamic hazards largely caused by the hotel and built-up areas at DB North. Within a 100m zone in front of the esplanade, there’s a dead-wind area and, if you put your kite in there, that’s it. You have to roll up your gear and swim back.” Before joining DB Kiteboarders, you’re well advised to master your skill set somewhere safer: South Lantau, for instance. “Or I tell people to go for a holiday,” Warwick says. “I learnt in Phuket and you can do it in Bali. Vietnam is really growing and Sri Lanka’s an excellent spot.”

How much do you know about the month of November? 01. Black Friday, the start of Xmas shopping season, kicks off in November: where did it originate? A. China B. Britain C. United States 02. What is November’s full moon called? A. Beaver Moon B. Badger Moon C. Bee Moon 03. Which Agatha Christie play opened in November 1952 and became the longest-running West End show? A. Go Back for Murder B. Murder on the Nile C. The Mousetrap 04. How do the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on November 5? A. Bonfires are lit B. Kites are flown C. Street parties are held 05. What is November’s birthstone? A. Ruby B. Emerald C. Topaz 06. Which meteor shower is active in November? A. Perseids B. Leonids C. Geminids 07. Which US non-profit made November National Novel Writing Month? A. NaPoWriMo B. NaNoWriMo C. NaNaHeyHey 08. What is celebrated on November 14 in India? A. Children's Day B. Independence Day C. Republic Day 09. The Berlin Wall fell on November 9 of which year? A. 1978 B. 1980 C. 1989 10. In the US, when is Thanksgiving celebrated? A. The fourth Thursday of November B. The first Thursday of November C. The first Friday of November 11. Where on the moon did Apollo 12 land on November 14, 1969? A. The Dark Side B. Mare Orientale C. Ocean of Storms 12. Which bird is commonly associated with Thanksgiving celebrations in the US? A. Turkey B. Chicken C. Goose 13. In November 1928, who made his debut in the animated short Steamboat Willie? A. Donald Duck B. Mickey Mouse C. Bugs Bunny 14. What is the focus of Movember, held annually in November? A. Men’s fashion B. Men’s facial hair C. Men’s health 15. Which race is held annually in Melbourne on the first Tuesday of November? A. Australian Grand Prix B. Melbourne Marathon C. Melbourne Cup 16. What are November’s zodiac signs? A. Scorpio and Sagittarius B. Virgo and Libra C. Cancer and Leo 17. Which US rock band released the mega hit November Rain on September 17, 1991? A. Aerosmith B. Guns N’ Roses C. Van Halen 18. Which author was born on November 29, 1832? A. Zora Neale Hurston B. Louisa May Alcott C. Gertrude Stein 19. Who stars in the Hollywood romance Sweet November? A. Gong Li and Colin Farrell B. Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn C. Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves 20. What is celebrated in Thailand during November’s Loy Krathong Festival? A. New beginnings B. Buddha’s bir thday C. Fishermen

How much do you know about the month of August? BY Kayli Liebenberg 01. Martin Luther King Jr gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech on August 28 of which year? A. 1958 B. 1960 C. 1963 02. What is August’s full moon called? A. Pigeon Moon B. Sturgeon Moon C. Bludgeon Moon 03. Which national day is celebrated in the US on August 5? A. National Underwear Day B. National Mountain Day C. National Kindness Day 04. Which iconic Hollywood actress died on August 4, 1962? A. Marilyn Monroe B. Audrey Hepburn C. Grace Kelly 05. Who opened the first-ever Woodstock on August 15, 1969? A. Richie Havens B. Arlo Guthrie C. Joan Baez 06. Where is the 1956 movie Teahouse of the August Moon set? A. Okinawa B. Hokkaido C. Honshu 07. Which music icon, often called the Queen of Pop, was born on August 16, 1958? A. Whitney Houston B. Madonna C. Kylie Minogue 08. What is August’s birthstone? A. Peridot B. Quartz C. Opal 09. Which Leonardo da Vinci painting was stolen from the Louvre on August 20, 1911? A. The Virgin of the Rocks B. The Last Supper C. Mona Lisa 10. Isabelle Allende was born on August 2, 1942: what is the name of her first novel? A. Eva Luna B. The House of the Spirits C. Violeta 11. Yves Saint Laurent was born on August 1, 1936: which fashion house hired him at age 17? A. Gucci B. Christian Dior C. Fendi 12. On August 24, 79AD, which mountain erupted destroying the ancient Roman city of Pompeii? A. Mount Vesuvius B. Gran Paradiso C. Mont Blanc 13. What are August’s zodiac signs? A. Leo and Virgo B. Pisces and Taurus C. Leo and Scorpio 14. Elvis Presley died on August 16, 1977: where was he buried initially? A. Graceland B. Forest Hill Cemetery C. Memphis National Cemetery 15. Which famous sprinter and Olympic gold medallist was born on August 21, 1986? A. Asafa Powell B. Michael Johnson C. Usain Bolt 16. August is the eighth track on which Taylor Swift album? A. Folklore B. Fearless C. Evermore 17. Who plays Tom, a dot-com entrepreneur, in the 2001 movie August? A. James McAvoy B. Josh Hartnett C. Leonardo DiCaprio 18. Which Wiccan sabbat falls in August? A. Litha B. Lughnasadh C. Mabon 19. Which famous explorer set sail on August 3, 1492, in search of a westward route to Asia? A. Ferdinand Magellan B. Marco Polo C. Christopher Columbus 20. John August co-wrote the screenplay of Aladdin (2019) with which British film director? A. Guy Ritchie B. Danny Boyle C. Ridley Scott