Good evening all, thanks for checking in.
Friday was chock full of great stuff, so let’s get right to it.
Lisa arranged another day of touring with HK Greeters. This time, we were lucky enough to draw Amy Overy, the Owner! We had such a great tour with Nadia, during HK 1.0 a couple of weeks ago, we hoped for another fun day.
Amy had arranged a couple of very comfortable Cars for our 10-person traveling band. She drove one and “Jack” drove the other. On the agenda: Some sights in the “New Terrotories” – The 10,000 Buddhas and a trip to Sai Kung for a boat ride with some Lunch along the way. The weather was misting a bit early on so Amy flipped the plan and we went to Sai Kung first – since the climb for the Buddhas was a little bit uphill. The forecast had the weather clearing a bit in the afternoon, so that made perfect sense.
We made our way out to Sai Kung, through some construction traffic, that slowed us down just a bit. Good news was that this gave Amy and us more time to get acquainted. She was very knowledgeable about the areas we were visiting, since she’s been a HK resident fo about 10 years, and lives in the New Territories.
First Stop, Blue Dot…
On the way To Sai Kung, we passed by a “Famous” Instagram site. The Choi Hung Estate is a huge Instagram draw because of the way its exterior is painted in order of colors of the rainbow, from bottom to top. Apparently, IG’ers take photos/selfies and play with the color saturation settings to make a rainbow effect. It’s probably more effective when the Photos are NOT taken from a moving car, but you get the idea…maybe? (A lot of IG’ers need day jobs!)
If you have time and need to waste it: #choihung (13k IG posts) and #choihungestate (10.5k IG posts).
We also passed Hebe Haven and the Hebe Haven Yacht Club! Amy and Jack parked the cars, and we were off on our walking tour of Sai Kung Hoi Pung Square area. These were our first views of the Harbor:
Amy led the tour, informing us about the history of the area, the people and the present status of Sai Kung, as a bit of a bohemian’s refuge. There is a HUGE Country Park nearby with lots of trails and opportunities to get back to nature. The proximity of this large Park to the Populations centers of HK and Kowloon and even the NT, reinforced HK as a city of contrasts.
We passed several famous Seafood restaurants along the waterfront – which could have easily passed as Pet Stores. You pick it, they’ll cook it for you to order.
Amy arranged our boat tour out to the Islands of Yim Tin Tsai. There we took a walking tour of the area where the natives were salt farming. The changing tides exposed a lot of small crabs scurrying from hole to hole, due to the vibrations of our footsteps through the soft ground.
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.
The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed…”
Have a look at the next 4 photos… The kids tried “sticky rice” dumpling snacks on the way back to the boat. Zachary was the only one who seemed to enjoy the treat! Judging by the way that Kyle, Dylan and Tyler are holding them – notice that there are NO bites taken, you’d swear that they were radioactive! Take it from me, they are an acquired taste!
We circled Sharp Island, and got a chance to walk around on the beach, and explore a causeway that’s only exposed at Low Tide. We saw a sand sculptor perfecting his Crocodile (or is that an alligator?).
Just before we boarded our boat back to civilization, we saw a collection of Buddhas. Amy told us that these were all “broken” Buddhas, and were brought here to live out the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, Buddhas do sometimes get damaged or broken, and rather than just dispose of them, people bring them to this shrine, where they hang out with the other broken Buddhas. All shapes, sizes, colors and personalities – all broken – but all together. Seems like a great way to handle them…
Soon, we were headed back to the Dock to enjoy a Chinese lunch at Hung Kee Seafood Restaurant. This was one of the several restaurants along the water front with a huge array of tanks for fish, crabs, clams, etc., etc., etc.
Amy helped us place the orders, and briefed us on the etiquette of chopsticks, and bowls vs. plates! The highlight of the meal was the fried “Duck Foot”. This was sampled by AM and Ryan, and eaten almost completely by Zachary. (Note to self: Find a Chinese Take-out Restaurant in or near Harleysville that has duck feet.)
Lunch was enjoyable and there was a little something for everyone, even Mom! While talking to Amy about our family, the Restaurant staff were very interested in Zachary, and wanted to know if he spoke/understood Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese). They tried to speak with him, but he was having none of it! We guessed from his body language the he likely understood what they were asking, but wasn’t about to let them know that! He simply turned his head and looked away, with a bit of a grin!
Shatin and the 10,000 Buddhas.
Amy told us that even though the path of the 10,000 Buddhas is well know, it is very difficult to find, since the entrance is hidden in plain sight at the end of a city street! We even had to park in a Mall Garage, near an Ikea!! But Amy was able to lead us in to start our walk.
There WERE Buddhas. Lots, and lots of Buddhas. They line both sides of a walkway, leading uphill toward the Temple at the Top. Each was unique, and was posed differently. There may have been 10,000…I lost count on the way up.
Did I mention there were Buddhas?
Most of us made the trek to the top, and were rewarded with views like the one below, looking back DOWN the path. It got progressively steeper and steeper as we neared the top!
After a last pit stop at the mall, we loaded up and headed back to the Hotel (near the airport). The day was long, but we covered a lot of ground, we learned a lot, and got to see parts of Hong Kong we’d never seen before. Thanks to Amy for helping us manage the kids on and off the boats, holding their hands, and making sure our day was enjoyable.
If you ever find yourself in Hong Kong, with time to spare, call Amy and Hong Kong Greeters! You won’t regret it!