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Charmaine Yu

Currently en route to Hong Kong, Ragasa is no regular storm – weather reports are calling it a “super” typhoon, with its name taken from the Filipino word ragasa, meaning rapid or fast motion.
As Ragasa skirts around the Philippines and Taiwan, Hongkongers are being advised to stay in safe, sheltered environments and avoid leaving home.
With all planes grounded and schools, offices, shops and restaurants to close across the city, your day’s itinerary may look a little different – but different does not have to mean dismal.
Here are five things to do at home while the city waits out the storm.
1. Read about the mythology behind storms
Shenlong is a spiritual dragon in Chinese mythology who is a master of storms and rain.
His control over the weather made him an essential part of worship in ancient China, and it was thought that he could be invoked during droughts or floods by conducting rituals and celebrations.

It is not just mythological creatures in Chinese folklore that can command the weather – there exists an entire celestial bureaucracy of gods and goddesses said to be able to do so.
This includes Lei Gong, who is the duke of thunder, and Dian Mu, known as the mother of lightning. There is also Feng Bo, who is the earl of wind, and Yu Shi, the master of rain.
Why does lightning strike before thunder? There is a Chinese mythological answer for that, so use the downtime afforded by the stormy weather to find out.
2. Use up the groceries in your freezer

We are all guilty of hoarding items in our freezer that we tell ourselves we will get around to using sometime, but never do.
With most shops and restaurants closing during a typhoon, there is no better time to look through that freezer and make good on that thought.
Let your creativity run wild with rogue ingredients and experiment with bold fusion flavours – you may just leave this typhoon with a new favourite home-made recipe.
And, if you end up hating it, at least you will have cleared out space for future groceries.
3. Rewatch old Hong Kong classics
The 1960s to the early 2000s were seen as a golden age of Hong Kong entertainment, from music to cinema.
Many veterans of that era continue to work today, starring in movies and shows and releasing songs, but there is something especially comforting about popping on an old film to keep you company on a stormy day.

From exhilarating kung fu films starring Jackie Chan to quiet movies about life in the city by Fruit Chan Gor, viewers have a wide selection spanning decades to pick from.
That list of classic films may include Twelve Nights (2000) by Aubrey Lam Oi-wah, Happy Together (1997) by Wong Kar-wai, or A Better Tomorrow (1986) by John Woo.
For a binge-worthy television series, perhaps revisit War and Beauty (2004). There are even documentaries such as Be Water (2020), which offers an intimate look into Bruce Lee’s rise to stardom in the 1960s and 1970s.
4. Dust off those board games
In this digital age with mobile apps and social media, any physical board games in your home are likely just collecting dust.
But with a super typhoon about to hit the city, it may be the ideal time to rediscover the magic of board games – if nothing else, just so you have a backup plan in case the power goes out. Grab your family members, partner or roommates to make a rainy day a little less lonely.
Scrabble, Monopoly and Uno are all classics, and a day off from the office or school is a rare chance to rediscover the simple ways of having fun.
5. Rest with the rain

There is a certain sense of calmness that comes with every storm.
Instead of streaming a four-hour YouTube video of rain sounds for your meditation session, take advantage of the real-life weather in the city.
Neuroscience studies suggest that listening to natural sounds, such as rain, decreases activity in your brain’s centre for stress and anxiety.
Listen carefully to the rhythm of rain – sit with the noise and allow your body to rest.


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Super Typhoon Ragasa

Stuck inside during Super Typhoon Ragasa? Things to do at home, from games to cooking

Monopoly is a classic board game that can be played during a typhoon with loved ones. Other fun activities include cooking and meditating. Photo: Shutterstock

Lei Gong is the duke of thunder in Chinese folklore. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Let your creativity run wild and experiment with the items in your freezer during the typhoon. Photo: Shutterstock

Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing in a still from Happy Together (1997). Photo: MUBI

Take advantage of the stormy weather and meditate to the sound of the rain. Photo: Shutterstock

Viral Instagram videos on Hong Kong’s libraries are ‘like a time capsule’

Steven Harrison Stratman in a bookstore in Hong Kong. 
His viral Hong Kong library videos on Instagram have captured the attention of many people in and out of Hong Kong. Photo: Li Anqi

Stratman first visited Hong Kong in 2016. Photo: Li Anqi

A child reads a book at Hong Kong Central Library. Stratman’s library series began with a video filmed here. Photo: Jelly Tse

Stratman holds a copy of his self-published novel, Blood Runs East (2022). Photo: Li Anqi

Rituals of Chinese legend the Seven Fairies examined in Hong Kong arts workshop

South Korean artist Mooni Perry (centre) visits Chat Sing Kung in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, one of the many temples she visited while researching the rites and rituals surrounding Asian folklore festivals. Photo: Chat

Mooni Perry, artist in residence at Chat, has been researching women’s communities, festivals and rituals in Hong Kong and southern China. Photo: Sun Yeung

Perry sourced a number of items for her research from a temple in Zhucun village, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where women who worship the Seven Fairies make and sell ornate decorative objects. Photo: Sun Yeung

Perry records at the Seven Sisters Temple on the island of Peng Chau in Hong Kong. Photo: Chat

Perry visits Tin Bo Lau, a paper craft store in Hong Kong’s Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood. Photo: Chat

How Ringo Lam’s Prison on Fire films, starring Chow Yun-fat, mix action and social comment

Chow Yun-fat (centre) and Roy Cheung Yiu-yeung (right) in a still from Prison on Fire (1987)

(From left) Tony Leung Ka-fai, Chow Yun-fat and Roy Cheung in a still from Prison on Fire (1987), directed by Ringo Lam Ling-tung.

Tony Leung (second left) and Chow Yun-fat (second right) in a still from Prison on Fire (1987).

Chow Yun-fat (centre) and Roy Cheung (right) in a still from Prison on Fire.

Chow Yun-fat (left) and Chen Sung-young in a still from Prison on Fire II (1991).

Filmmaker Ringo Lam at an interview with the Post in 1990. Photo: SCMP

Chow Yun-fat in a still from Prison on Fire II.

Winning mahjong strategies, from keeping an eye on the other players to playing mind games with your own hidden tiles

What are the simplest ways to win mahjong? We take a look at how to figure out the strategies of the other players and how to psyche your opponents out. Photo: Antony Dickson

With hand A, you can win with dot tiles one, four or seven. Photo: Antony Dickson

You can win with dot tiles two, five or eight in hand B. Photo: Antony Dickson

Hand C is an example of a special hand in which the player has 13 chances to win as only a pair is missing. Photo: Antony Dickson

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

Stay entertained during the coming typhoon with activities like Chinese storm folklore, classic Hong Kong cinema and board games


Stay entertained during the coming typhoon with activities like Chinese storm folklore, classic Hong Kong cinema and board games.


Extreme weather

Hong Kong

Jackie Chan

Stuck inside during Super Typhoon Ragasa? Things to do at home, from games to cooking

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Stay entertained during the coming typhoon with activities like Chinese storm folklore, classic Hong Kong cinema and board games

1. Read about the mythology behind storms

Stay entertained during the coming typhoon with activities like Chinese storm folklore, classic Hong Kong cinema and board games