After speaking to E on Skype I went for another run in the Eastern District Country Park, further round the slope of Mount Parker, deep into the peaceful high valley above Quarry Bay. I think the path, which went along a contour, was at about 1,000 feet elevation, so quite a hike to get up, and then narrow and twisting under trees the whole way round, crossing lots of rocky ravines, each with a "Beware of flash floods" sign! Only the deepest of these had any water flowing so it must have been dry for months already. (photo to follow, it's on my phone) The only sound was the warbling and fluting (no prolonged song) of tropical birds, and the water in the main stream at the bottom of the valley. Bit hard on the knees coming down!
Off to Starbucks for breakfast again, this time Spearmint Green tea not milky green tea! We decided to go to Cheung Chau for the day, and what a good decision!
Getting to the island piers on the MTR took only thirty minutes, we got a "fast ferry" ie a sea cat. I noticed the ferries are run by the near ubiquitous First group.
Cheung Chau harbour is very busy with boats of all sorts (pic).
for a while before coming back to the harbour front for lunch, finding somewhere perfect from the people and boat watching point of view.
See also my food!
That is of course fried egg noodle soup. With pak choi, though that wasn't mentioned in the menu.
And then in the afternoon we went swimming in the sea
Not quite as warm as the Indian Ocean, but very pleasant, and much warmer than the hotel pool.
Not quite as warm as the Indian Ocean, but very pleasant, and much warmer than the hotel pool.
The most spectacular bit was coming back (deliberately on the slow ferry, $12=£1!) so that we could get a good view of the harbour light show. Completely stunning, so beautiful it was quite moving. The 120 storey building on Kowloon side that shows moving pictures and words up its side was displaying "Hopeful Autumn" with a maple leaf at the top.
The best bit was the ordinary residential skyscrapers along HK side as you come close, moving in and out of each other, with the dark Peak behind,
especially the improbably tall International Finance Building, which seems to be the home of the HK financial authority, right by the ferry piers.
The best bit was the ordinary residential skyscrapers along HK side as you come close, moving in and out of each other, with the dark Peak behind,
and with the super-massive brightly lit and coloured buildings of Central coming up,
And back to our hotel on the MTR again, with Quarry Bay station feeling quite like home.
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