Day 3
It was a bit of a slow start today with the thought of facing the heat holding us back. Lorraine (our WONDERFUL host) took us out to ‘country’ Hong Kong. We got a taxi to a small fishing village, Sai Kung. It was wonderful seeing how so many people live outside the hustle and bustle of the city. We went up and around so many hills and saw the greener side of Hong Kong, which was great. This is one of the areas that Leigh and Lorraine go hiking in winter. There are some very steep steps up the hills… no wonder they are so fit! Sai Kung is a great little village with LOTS of fresh seafood. There were lots of boats filled with seafood and people selling it by passing it up to the customers on the pier. It gets put in a small container and you take the seafood and put money back in the container - clever! We opted for lunch at one of the many waterfront restaurants. We chose our live seafood from the containers outside the restaurant and they took it in and cooked it fresh for us. We had crab, prawns, scallops and steamed fish. It was all cooked Cantonese style and was all really delicious. I particularly liked the crab… yumbo! Lorraine said they’ve been to that restaurant many times. We washed down our tucker with a litre of Tsing Tao beer each.. goes down easily on a warm day as Lorraine says! Then I bought some fresh lychees from the market.. my favourite!
On our way to the bus back home we stopped at ‘Tinhau Temple’, dedicated to the goddess of the sea and sailors. They have fortune sticks you can shake. They burn incense to keep away the bad spirits and burn paper money and other offerings for their ancestors in the after life. Yesterday we also saw a whole ‘Funeral Strip’ which consisted of blocks and blocks of goods to cater for your funeral. The Chinese have their material possesions made from paper and burnt with them when they are cremated. For example, relatives will get replicas of their houses, cars and money made to place with the body. We entered one of the shops and were asked, “You want US dollars?” as in the paper money for a cremation. They didn’t understand we were just looking. Simon wanted one of the paper iPhones to place in his grave so he can find his way to heaven… Lorraine reminded him there’ll be some new gadget by then!
Anyway, after seeing the temple, we caught the bus back into the city. It was lovely seeing so many of the hills of Hong Kong and all the islands surrounding. It looked as if a thunderstorm was brewing but so far, so good! We got a very fast and efficient train back to the apartment. Thanks to Leigh, Lorraine and John we have managed to see and experience so much of Hong Kong in three days! We are very lucky to have had them to stay with and show us around. We are heading to the airport in about an hour.. next stop, Barcelona, Spain! Katie xo
