Letter from Hong Kong - #19

There are over 236 islands included in Hong Kong; many have little or no population. Lantau is by far the largest island and with the infrastructure put in place in Lantau when Hong Kong International Airport was moved from Kai Tai in Kowloon in 1997 and with the completion of Disney Land on Lantau, the population has soared.

Peng Chau is a very small island just over a square mile east of Lantau Island and west of Hong Kong Island. There are basically no cars, apart from constuction vehicles on the island so one gets around using bicycles or walking.

Peng Chau is a great place to go for good, inexpensive seafood and to get away from the traffic in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The above picture shows some of the family who  took a little trip over to Ping Chau for some seafood and hiking.

A laid-back view of the harbor.

Compare the Peng Chau picture with the above shot of Kowloon taken from Hong Kong Island as we left for Peng Chau earlier in morning.

Main Street in Peng Chau

Shot from our hike to Finger Lookout

Another shot from the hiking trail. Note the fishing boat in the center.

Another sunset from Ping Chau. It seems as though I'm taking as many sunsets as Laura H.

Letter from Hong Kong - #18

A few more "walking around" photos:

As I indicated in an early post, here is a shot of the Hong Kong-Canton Railway Tower. Of course the the Station moved to Hong Hom in 2003.

A Shot of the harbor from the Promenade. I love this shot: a million dollar yacht  docked at the Star Ferry Terminal with the IFC Building in the background; a Chinese junk in the middle of the harbor and a Chinese sampan to the left.

Currently called 1881 Heritage, this restored Marine Police Barracks, built in the mid 1800's, is now a beautiful shopping area, of course, and favorite tourist area for those interested in history. The restoration started in 1996, so I used to walk pass the original everyday on the way to work. Go to this site to see a picture of the original building.

A shot in the Jordan area, just north of Tsim Sha Shui.

My favorite butcher in Sham Shui Po!

I love these old building but unfortunately each time I come back I find more and more have been replaced with high-rise.

These residential buildings on the right may not be standing the next time I return.

This is a neat photo. In the foreground are tangerine skins drying on a street corner in front of a fruit stand. The lady that runs this stand peels the tangerines and gives the tangerine to her favorite customers so she can dry the skins which she sells to be used in cooking. Apparently she makes more money with the skins than the fruit!

Letter from Hong Kong - #17

Today let's go to Lai Fau Shan in the New Territories on Deep Bay or Shenzhen Bay just across from Mainland China. Another fishing village where in the past I have fond memories of going there with a group; we would pick out the food we wanted to eat then take it to one of the restaurants there for a truly magnificent feast.

A shot of part of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor which links Hong Kong with Mainland China. The highway-bridge started in 2003 and was completed in 2007.

Just some of the items available for sale in the village. As you can see, there is a lot of dried foods and a lot of it is fish.

Circle in the village.

If you can believe this: this shot shows the structure which houses many of the shops and restaurants in the village.

After visiting Lai Fau Shan we decided to stop at the Tang Clan Wall Village in Ping Shan Hang Mei Tsuen on our way back to Yuen Long to catch the MTR back to the hotel. This is the third walled village we have visited over the years. 

Tang Ancestral Hall which dates back to the 14th century.

Just to the right of the Ancestral Hall is the Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall which dates around 16th century.

One of the entrances to the compound.

Inside one of the buildings that served as a school.

Letter from Hong Kong - #16

A visit to the doctors office in Hong Kong is an experience, but of course not one I recommend simply because I hope, when you are here, you do not need a doctor. In any case I ate something that I should not have and everything that I put into my mouth for two days came running out of me within an hour or so!

Our hotel recommended a medical center here in the mall just outside our hotel. The lady indicated that many of their staff went their and were satisfy. The doctor I saw had a M.B. B.S. from Hong Kong University (HKU), which I think is a medical degree generally awarded to schools in the United Kingdom and countries such as Hong Kong and India, who were formerly colonies. The training for this degree, I am not completely sure, but I do not think it is extensive as the M.D. training in the States. I believe the M.B. B.S has about six years of training and some internship but not residency requirement.

Anyway the doctor I saw spoke very little English, which was surprising since I thought that the courses in medicine at HKU were giving in English. This gentleman was around sixty so maybe the requirements when he was in school was different.

Anyway the big, big difference in seeing a doctor here and in the States was getting all the medications as you leave his office and not have to go to a drug store with a prescription. Yeah, the doctor is a doctor and a druggist!

When I left I had four medications: ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic approved in 1983 by USDA but has some serious side effects (Tendinitis, sun sensitive to mention a few, but I guess all drugs have side effects),Dhamotil, Panadol, and Kaopectate. The total cost to see the doctor and for the medications: HK$350 which is about US$45.

Summation: I was very fortunate to have Jenny with me to translate or I would have been in trouble at the doctor's office! Today is the start of the second day after seeing the doctor and although I think my diarrhea is better I'm not out of the woods yet!

Letter from Hong Kong - #15

Yesterday was Chung Yeung Holiday or some call it Double Nine because it falls on the ninth day of the ninth month each year. It is the day that most if not all visits the grave of their ancestors. Jenny and I participated in this tradition with the family.

A shot from the Tsuen Wan Permanent Cemetery looking toward Tsing Yi.

Here is the family enjoying dinner on Chung Yeung Holiday.

More on getting around in Hong Kong:

Getting around Hong Kong is really easy if you don't mind taking public transportation. Since being here we have taken a bus, subway, light bus (a mini-van with about 14 passengers), ferries, taxis - water and land. In every case, except land taxi, we can use a smart card payment system called: Octopus. This Card was developed in 1993 by the five major transportation companies in Hong Kong. Today you can use this smart card not only to travel but to also buy groceries and in many shops. It is so convenient and reduces the amount of local currencies one must carry. Replenishing the card is very simple; it can be completed at any MTR station and also 7-Eleven stores.

Above is a shot of Tai O located on the Southeast corner of Lantau Island. To go from Hung Hum to Tai O using public transport it takes about one hour and forty-five minutes. Before the improvements in the MTR and roads on Lantau it would have taken, most likely twice that much time, if not more. Before 1997 the only way to get there was via ferry; now one has many other options with the MTR/bus being the fastest.

Letter from Hong Kong - #14

Tai O Island located just on off the southeast tip of Lantau Island has got to be one of my top ten places to see while in Hong Kong (maybe in my last post before I return to the States I will list my top ten). Tai O is an old fishing village and during the revolution war in China, it was one of the entry points into Hong Kong for people fleeing the war.

The bridge connecting Tai O to Lantau.

In about three hours, I took over a hundred pictures of Tai O, so I am having difficulty planning which ones to post. Also, Jenny took another one hundred plus!

Tai O is the home of the Tanka people who built their homes on stilts; these homes are inter-connected making for a tight knit family community.

Tai O Hertage Hotel , above, was once a former marine police barracks now a beautiful hotel about twenty minute walk from the village.

Sunset at the tip of Tai O adjacent to the hotel.

Letter from Hong Kong -#13

Hung Hom is just a short distance northeast of Tsim Sha Shui (TST) and is where the train station is now located. In 1974 the station moved from the TST Star Ferry area to Hung Hom because it was just too small. I'm sure I will take at least one photo of the old train station tower at Star Ferry.

The Hotel Metropolis is located in Hung Hom just a short distance from The Tsim Sha Shui Promenade, shown above. It is a great place to walk or run and scenery is beautiful.

As you might expect, walking around Hung Hom and seeing all the places to eat, it doesn't take long before we are sitting down eating some local cuisine. At this little restaurant, maybe 300 sq ft, Jenny had congee and I had jin doi.

This is what jin deui looks like. Crispy on the outside with sesame seeds and soft and chewy inside: love it!

The shop next door was the butcher in case you wanted to take some meat home for dinner!

Or some Chinese Medicine!

A shot from one of the pedestrian overpass.

 I took this picture in Hutchison Park then looked closely and saw all of these photographers with some serious cameras.

Serious equipment right? It turns out that these photographers were photographing a migratory bird, named Chinese Fly Catcher. I thought. But when I went on line to check it out, it was a different bird than the one we saw at the park. Anyway, they said that bird would only be in Hong Kong for three days before it migrated.

Back to the hotel in time for the sunset!