Friday, June 17, 2011

Special P-Day

     June 13th was a special P-day for us.  Without a car, we usually only can go where there is public transportation.  Our dear President told us to make a list of places that we'd like to go if we had a car.  What an offer!  We and the Wilsons had a delightful time visiting places that we've been want to go.

1.  We went to visit the Sheung Shui Ward.  Elwin and I walked there one day and thought the chapel looked like the Kirkland Temple.  Poor President drove and drove and we couldn't find the place.  I guess one really gets a different perspective when walking than driving.  We visited some very old country side and were happy to see the old country homes and temples.  It was an unexpected bonus when we got lost.

2.  Fat Wai Hakka Village in Yuen Long:  Our dear President served in this area 45 years or more before.  We found this place from his memory of where it might be.  It was amazing.  If you've been to Hong Kong before, you know Hong Kong so a totally different place from 10 years ago, let alone 30, 40 or even 50 years ago.  It was amazing that he drove us right to the Hakka Village.  This Hakka village was established during the Ming Dynasty, a place that has been renovated to represent the old and the new.  As we walked in, 3 Hakka women put on their Hakka black rimmed straw hats to welcome us and told us to take pictures.  They were friendly, but aftwards, they each asked for HK$10 from each of us.  It was an expensive photo, but meaningful as it confirmed my belief that Hakkas were great merchants.  You can see many pictures in the slideshow below.  There is also a 3:51-minute youtube video that gives a more detailed account of the migration of the Hakkas to Hong Kong.  http://wn.com/Walled_villages_of_Hong_Kong

3.  Hungry bunch:  The temple president and matron spent some time in Wan Chai on their previous missions and took us there for lunch.  Wouldn't you know it, we walked into Tony Roma's restaurant for lunch.  It was a special western lunch.  I guess some of us miss American food.

4.  Aberdeen Harbor:  Home to hundreds of people living on fishing junks. Their traditional lifestyle is dramatically juxtaposed against a modern high-rise community spread over the nearby hillsides. In the evenings, the thousands of twinkling lights reflected on the water are a magical sight.   On the slideshow below, there is the magnificent floating restaurant anchored there, decorated with swirling red and gold dragons and other traditional Chinese motifs.  The interesting things were the make-shift rafts.  One of them was a baby crib mattress if my eyesight served me right.  Take a close look at the slideshow and decide for yourself.  It's much like asking my 4th graders to make a contraptions of sorts using materials I gave them.  Some creativity is definitely required.



5.  Stanley's Island via Repulse Bay:  We drove through the  Aberdeen Tunnel, a two-tube tunnel linking Happy Valley and Wong Chuk Hang near Aberdeen on the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It shortens the travel time between the north and the south of the Hong Kong Island.  We strolled through the shops of Stanley Market and had a great time there.


Aberdeen Tunnel traffic jam

6.  We drove through Shek O and Hok Tsui (Cape D'Aguilar) on the southeast corner of Hong Kong Island, then up to Chai Wan, to North Point, and crossed the Cross Harbour Tunnel to Hung Hom back to our home turf of Kowloon Tong area again.



7.  Grand Finale:  My sister told me that if I wanted good Cantonese food, follow the Cantonese people.  They know where to go.  Well, we did.  We went to the Luk Fu and had the wonderfully delicious food, including Peking duck (pictured below with the man serving) at Joy Luck Restaurant.    Wow, you see, you don't even need to go to Beijing to have Peking duck any more.  Just follow us!

Thanks, President, it was a great day and we appreciate the time, the company and the many beautiful places in Hong Kong.