Luica’s Blog

Hong Kong has a total area of 1,104 sq km. Surprisingly, about 70 per cent of the totally area still remains remote and rural. Po Toi is one of the 235 outlying islands.

To make the most out of these beautiful rural areas, we had a health day out in Po Toi. Maggie, Ming and Inni met us in Causeway Bay at 8am and we took the dangerously fast mini-bus to Stanley, then a 30 minute ferry ride to Po Toi. It was a bit of a trek, but it’s well worth the effort.

People usually go to Po Toi for rock spotting; the famous rocks include the Buddha’s Hand, the Turtle and the Monk. It’s also a popular place for bird watchers.

A health day out ended with a couple of pints (for the boys) in an English pub and a posh Chinese meal with the rest of the group who couldn’t make it during the day. It was definitely a fun day!

We decided to go to see the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Shatin because we were going to meet Sue, Luka and Fion for dinner in the same area. Brad highly recommended this place for photography as he took some really nice photos there a couple of years ago.

It wasn’t a long walk from the train station and on the way, we took pictures of some really old but interesting village houses. They are so rare in Hong Kong these days and I love capturing disappearing buildings like these before they are all gone.

The Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery was indeed picturesque and I am pleased that I have bought my first digital SLR a few days ago. The Monastery also had an excellent view being on top of the hill. The way up to the Monastery was very pretty and peaceful, which is an exact opposite of the rest of Hong Kong.

Millie took a day off today, so that we could have a whole day together. We went back to our second school and chatted to a lot of our former teachers - Mrs A.M Law (or P.M. Law after midday), Peggy Ho (the headmistress’ secretary), Miranda (can’t remember her last name), Mrs I Chui, and those-who-should-not-be-named. It’s so strange to see them looking exactly the same as a decade ago - perhaps being with young people most of the time can really help stay young (and childish?? - I guess it only applies to some).

I don’t know why but evey time I am back in Hong Kong, I always ended up in Stanley with Millie, Inni or Agnes. No compliant though - I like Stanley. Where else can you go shopping, have afternoon tea (or a pint) and be close to the beach at the same time?

I have never really liked Kowloon - it may sound strange as Hong Kong is such a small city and yet the distinctions between two sides of the Victoria Harbour are intriguing.

To be fair, I don’t know Kowloon very well. Perhaps due to unfamiliarity, I find it difficult to relax. I was recently told that a friend from school had never been in Kowloon before she turned 18! TST is probably my limit when it comes to any street knowledge of Kowloon. Mong Kok has always been a mystery to me. Temple Street, the Jade Market, the Women’s Market all sound exciting but dangerous.

I had never been to the temple in Temple Street and that’s why we decided to explore. We followed the route recommended by the Lonely Planet Best of Hong Kong Guide (I did not buy the guidebook myself!). We spent hours wandering the Mong Kok district - Shanghai Street, Laundry Street, etc. Taking loads of photos every time we saw something old.

I was fascinated by the garden in front of the temple in Temple Street and made a point of walking around the area even though it wasn’t part of the route. We saw many interesing activities going on - people playing chess, push-up exercises, stallholders preparing for the night market, locals having lunch and chatting.

An excellent background for a story about lives in Kowloon - nothing glamorous but real!

I am back in Hong Kong again - it is always nice to be home.

No one picks us up from the airport this time - I think most people are used to the fact that I don’t live here anymore and it becomes a routine for me to come and go every year.

It was good to see my mum again - it was in May when we last saw each other. It was even longer when I last saw my friends. We had dinner with my mum, Millie and Inni at a restaurant called ‘Ka Kee’ before we left for LKF for a drink.

I like LKF - I always do. It’s so vibrant and always busy. I guess that’s why lonely people like to hang out there - they can always be surrounded by people, who are like themselves.

Of course, there are people like us (me and the girls), who used to spend a fair bit of time there and would love to be back once in a while to pick up the lost memories. We met up with Niki just before we headed home.

I can’t believe I will have to get up so early tomorrow morning to go to the border of China.

It was great to be back in Hong Kong, even though it was just for a short period of time. It had been a year since I was last there and it had been even longer for Brad. It was also very nice to see my mum and friends again.

We had so many wonderful meals that we could talk about for hours - Japanese Teppanyaki with Lisa; Chinese Private Meal with Karen; Hotpot with mum, Lisa and Gordon; Barbecue with the SPCS gang; and of course my favourite meal prepared by my mum at the Mak’s kitchen.

Brad was pleased to see quite a few more places in Hong Kong. Besides the usual spots, such as the Peak and the Star Ferry, we went to Cheung Chau and had really good fun taking pictures in Wan Chai, SoHo and the dried seafood market in Sheng Wan.

I fulfilled my promise to take Brad to the In the Mood for Love restaurant in Causeway Bay. In fact, we had two meals there. It was a shame that we didn’t have enough time to go to Felix at the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel. Well, there is always next year.

A big shame is that I didn’t have enough time to see all my dear friends. My apologies to them and I promise to make time to see you all next time.

Can’t wait to hear from you soon!