I took a rather impromptu trip down to Hong Kong this week, and I am very glad I did. Hong Kong is not very far from Guangzhou -- you can be there in three hours by train or by bus -- but it feels like another world entirely. There are scores more foreigners, you hear English (and half a dozen other languages) spoken by passersby, and you hear a lot less Mandarin. Most of all though, everyone is nice and polite. Really nice and polite. People even manage to queue properly, stand to the side on escalators, and move away from the doors while riding the subway. Now, I don't mean that people in Guangzhou are rude, it's just in Hong Kong, it feels deeply ingrained.
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| Lamma Island |
Hong Kong also has the advantage of having the ocean, gorgeous mountain, and abundant green space. My friend with whom I was traveling is a couchsurfer, and we were staying with a very nice woman who lives on Lamma Island with her two kittens.
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| Our host's apartment building. |
Lamma is only a 25 minute ferry ride from Hong Kong Island. Instead of skyscrapers, it has mountains. Instead of cars, it has footpaths. Instead of shopping malls, it has beaches. It was balm to the city-worn soul. Here's a little photo tour.
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| This is the main road on Lamma Island. |
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| A small shrine at a local temple. |
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| A gorgeous beach, from the angle where you don't see the giant power plant. |
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| To my family. |
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| It's February? I wish I had a swimsuit. |
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| Can any of you guess what this is? |
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| papaya tree |
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| These are the weirdest looking lobsters ever. |
On our way back to Guangzhou, we took a moment to stop in Kowloon, where we took a look at the infamous Chungking Mansions (don't know what that is? Go read
Ghetto at the Center of the World and watch
ChungKing Express).
Finally, we had afternoon milk tea and caught our bus back to the mainland. Back to old Canton. Ah, well. At least I have three new books to read!
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| Ah, milk tea and a warm bun. Proof that British colonialism wasn't always terrible. |
Grrr, lost my first post. Looks very lovely. How does your hosts apartment compare in size with yours? Cats are an obvious improvement. You say that's the main street? It looks like a alley, not even a big alley. Your family loves you just as much!!! As to the guess what is picture I will probably be totally off base. A little thrown off by the structure on the left and the apparent good maintenance. I'm thinking former important Crown colony would have coastal defense batteries somewhat similar to what is at Popham and Portland Harbor. So, gun emplacement, entrance to a bunker, something along those lines? Kind of amusing as I type this. Mom just called. She and friends are in Portland and she wanted directions (again) to the Hong Kong Market ;)
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