Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Hike to (instead of Haiku) Tai O

Image of Lantau Island, Hong Kong.Hello Gentle Reader,

Weekends and holidays are good days to go outdoors and explore Hong Kong away from the buildings.

Forty five minutes on three different subways takes us, in a roundabout fashion, from Kowloon on the mainland to the island of Hong Kong and then onwards to the Island of Lantau (where the airport is located).

Today we walk around Lantau Mountain, up and over and across mountain ranges, and then down to the fishing village of Tai O.

For some reason, many people do not leave Hong Kong to explore her nature. For them, in your humble scribe's opinion, is too bad. 

Why? Because leaving Hong Kong's metropolitan splendour behind us we quickly find walks like this:

Image of hiking trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.The path we were on today was permanently closed. We found out why when we started coming across landslides blocking the trail, and covering it with loose debris...

Image of landslide blocking a trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Image of landslide blocking a trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Image of landslide blocking a trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Image of landslide blocking a trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Then, when we look back, from a peak...

Image of landslides on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.We invariably look ahead, to see more landslides dotting the hills...

Peaks and landslides on Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Rest, at a peak.

Image of the water on the backside of Lantau Island, Hong Kong, away from Hong Kong Island.
Look Ma, no buildings. 

This is why it is great to get out of Hong Kong and out of: the hurly burly bustle of the people; the scents; the noise; the consumer metabolism; the buying; the selling; the cheap, cheap, cheap but high, high quality; the "look beautiful sir? maam?", uncapitalized and trite; the litter of things to buy, things to have, things to throw away; and, the ever present massing of crowds of people who actually enjoy, live, and breathe that rampant consumption of knock-off, designer, plastic baubles with life-like simulcras of desire.

Right. Time to breathe again, look at the view, get up and wander away.

Then we commence a sharp, hard descent all the way to the sea to get to Tai O, a fishing village built on stilts.

Image of Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
Tai O has a great atmosphere and is a unique fishing abode. 

It is well worth its own post.

I hope you are well. Your Heroine is finally getting better (she has been sick); your humble scribe is falling ill. 

And no one gets sick like a man does...

Tschuess, 
Chris

12 comments:

Thom Gabrukiewicz said...

Chris,
No problems whatsoever. 3WW is pretty free-form. Bone (who I have never *met*) is the one who created it, and I started posting soon after. He put the site on hiatus, and several regulars - some from the very beginning - asked me to step in. That's been many weeks ago.

I hope you'll continue to play in our little literary garden.

Raph G. Neckmann said...

Definitely good to escape 'consumer metabolism' ... Your hike looks great - I'd have been looking over my shoulder for landslides!

Hope you feel better soon.

Unknown said...

Chris : Going by your pictures this Tai O seems to be an amazing location. Every image gives a beautiful account of this location and your experience. WOW

And thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on my blog...Thomas

Cloudia said...

GREAT photos! I love to go a wondering. . .
"life-like simulcras of desire."
Great words!
Hope you folks feel better soonest.
Aloha-

debra said...

Snow falling here-----again. It is wonderful to see green. Good health to you both.

Lauren said...

Cute title of the post. I love it!

What beautiful pictures. Looks like a wonderful place to spend some time getting away from everything and enjoying the outdoors.

bindu said...

Looks like a great hike - it's interesting that most locals don't go out to enjoy it! Your description of "getting away from it all" was spot on. Why were there so many landslides? Deforestation higher up?

Anonymous said...

David and I were planning a 4-night trip to Hong Kong in May, but will have to postpone it due to the rotten economy.

If we were to go, we would most definitely take a side trip to Macau. Chris, have you been there yet? What's it like?

Sepiru Chris said...

ThomG, Raph, T&S, Cloudia, Debra, Lauren, Bindu, Gigihawaii,

Thank you very much, I will respond later. It is back to bed, now.

Sorry. Ich bin sehr krank.

Tschüss,
Chris

Barbara Martin said...

When you have a moment, brew some fresh ginger with lemon and hot water. It will make you feel much better and boost your immune system. If you intend to get over this illness you must rest and not post for a week.

Sepiru Chris said...

Hi Barbara,

Thanks; I have been doing that and so much more. The week off is a good idea.

Fortunately, I have some pieces in reserve that I am enabling the auto-publish function on. I think I am out for a week, though.

All the best,
Chris

TracksAndTrails.ca said...

Thanks for the hiking trails info. for Hong Kong area! I often wonder if hiking is enjoyed by the general population as much as we enjoy it here in Canada. Thanks for pics, I am writing a post on my blog at TracksAndTrails.ca/hikingtrailsto share your blog with other Canadians who are "frozen" in this winter.