On the way to the ferry we introduced Mum to the local 'Park n Shop' supermarket (big chain here like Tescos... well sort of). Much hilarity looking at stuff she might buy as souveneirs from them - chickens feet (raw/ cooked snack) off her list, but the odd packets of mixed dried 'things' (could only ID some of the pulses and shaved mushrooms - rest pretty but a mystery!) she's tempted by. Did I say we got a tray of 'chicken snack' from there last week to eat on the ferry, looked like yummy little bits of coated deep fried chicken (like KFC popcorn chicken bites). Bit 1st one. odd crunchy but chewy unable to swallow sensations - same with next - and with Petes bits. Turns out it was deep fried battered chicken KNUCKLES ie the gristly bits we don't usually eat! Afraid they got donated as an offering to Tin Hau (goddess of sailors) and her fish.........
Mum bought flat sheets!!!! I STILL have not found anywhere in Hk that sells them, not even Ikea, so had been using a bit of cloth or a sari. Much better as also had only found rather garish patterned fitted sheets & pillows so is nice to have plain colour ones......oooh am I sad? Also she unloaded about 1/3 of a suitcase of choc, I maintain that is why it was heavy, not the few paints I asked for! And lots of casual trousers in my size, yay! Thanks for the Tshirt nighty thing too, Gran Black!
On Friday Pete was away by 7 as usual, but mum had a late morning, and as it was slightly brighter (usual grey polluted sky though), we walked to Tung O bay.
Tiny butterfly in symmetrical nibbled Convolvulus flower on Lamma
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
It MUST be butterfly season, I mentioned they are replacing the spiders (YAY) and we saw 15 different types in the first 5 minutes - from tiny pale ones in asstd colours to the big birdwinged types which I think are assorted 'Mormon' and katie species - need to find an ID book!
Butterfly - had weird sort of curved wings that almost made a bowl shape
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
At one spot in a marshy patch we were surrounded by all sorts and even a dayglo pink dragonfly. Then I noticed wings scattered around and realised 1 of the big nasty spiders was surviving there by munching the poor things. I very bravely took a pic for you lot (YUK), for size reference the wings under it were about the width of my hand.
Death of several butterflies - why the nasty big spiders are still around in this patch. YIK. To give scale the butterfly wings are about the width of my hand.
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Anyway, Tung O Bay was lovely and deserted as usual, though 1 old white guy was rather oddly taking photos of us from all angles at a distance - we had Tshirt & bikini bottoms on so who knows if he was a perve or not!
The spray/ surf/ swell from the typhoon thats just off the coast made it too rough to swim, but it was lovely and warm so we nattered & read.
Butterfly - glassy tiger - amazing blue/ white on inside of wings
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Tung O is where Chow Yun Fat, the chinese guy in the lead roles in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is from, by the way. Humble beginnings - the 'village' has about 6 houses and 1 friendly cute dog!
That night Mum & I walked down to Sok Kwu Wan and met Pete off the ferry for another fish meal, pig out!
Sadly had crab again, its sooo messy. I got a bit grossed out by the shops there selling dried/ decorated shells & fish, lots of little puffer fish, varnished.... wearing sombreros? Hello, where am I? All totally illegal I should think. Also finally realised the reason there are often rotting starfruit on the path is that they GROW there, duh! I didn't do a Botany BSc for nothing, eh?
Actual Star fruit (growing on a star fruit tree surprisingly) - forget what its called when it buds straight off the branch like that - cocoa is the same
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Saturday Mum & I went to Stanley to shop at the tourist market there.
About all I got at the market (thank god says my bank account!) was a couple of pairs of nice surf shorts for Pete, and I'll get repaid for them! (His work have a really good clothing allowance for their staff - as well as the RHKYC tops, shirts, polos, Tshirts, fleeces, waterproofs etc they provide each year, he also gets paid for 5 pairs of shorts of his choice each year!!!). While we did that Pete treated himself for his birthday by splurging on his first ever brand new windsurf board & kit - he has always had at least 2nd hand or 'found' stuff before. (i.e. the board that turned up on our Caye in Belize). Its a wooden one for those of you who are into it, last years model. We had to stop by the Stanley beach where his current board is stored (stashed behind a portacabin with 100s of others - why hasn't it been nicked???) to collect a bit he needed to join his new board & sail together, while he waited at Middle Island, where he works, as he wanted the new kit there to sail on his breaks! Sadly after nearly killing myself getting the bit he wanted (why does he store his stuff so high up?) when we met him it was needing ANOTHER bit, so he trekked off to Stanley to collect it & jumped on his new gear as soon as he got back with it.
Very pretty and VERY grippy board, he fell off once and the sand or whatever it is they add to the paint has taken all the skin off his leg, yuk.
We all ate at Middle Island (sneakily using part of his staff meal allowance); its lovely when its quiet (his HQ had their annual ball that night so most members were there instead of here sailing) and looks like the French Riviera. We all went to Central as it got dark, and took Mum on the 'famed' (for starting riots when they put their prices up) Star Ferry to Kowloon. It's just an old wooden ferry service - the most exciting thing is on all their boats, the backs of the seats are sort of metal & wood bars that all can be flipped to the other side so you are always facing forward if you want to be whichever way the boat is going.
Jakie Chan woz ere..and so were 1000's of others with mucky hands
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
We had tea in an overpriced but posh (nice not to have paper tablecloths and plastic chairs for once) waterfrontcafe, next to the Inter Continental Hotel. I had a prawn thing half the length of my arm with very colourful legs; Mums curry was amazing, with all sorts of fresh fruit in it which was surprising but tasty. Pete had steak and was really disappointed as the promised mashed potatoes he'd been dreaming of were forgotten and replaced with chips - they did bring him mash when we asked but it was about a tablespoon of instant smash! Still, the best thing was the loos - my dream loo - all tiny deep blue with gold mosaic, with ahuge glass bowl sink etc and fish - fab! We missed half the lightshow the buildings put on though, will have to take mum back to see it all again.
Sunday Pete had a sort of day off, but had to move a big-ish yacht (Benaetau 25?) from his HQ to Middle Island. He had asked 3 of his students (all adults - German, Swiss, Danish), 1 who had just bought her own similar yacht) to help him, and said Mum & I should come. 2 of them (the guys) he has asked to do the 'Round-Hong Kong Island Race' with him in 2 weeks so it was a free lesson & practice for them & him. As the only time I HAVEN'T been ill on a boat was the last 2 times I went on the Broads on flat calm days in Brians non-tippy boat, I wasn't too keen; but it seemed to good an opportunity to miss! Petes HQ had a few hung-over members & staff clearing up from last nights 'Shang Hai-d' theme ball (see the parasols!)
so we couldn't even get one of their famous breakfasts, sadly, but we stuffed some rather sad rolls down and got into the boat in the marina. Mum scrunched down in the middle bit & I was perched by the guy steering it.
Loo facilities were a bucket so I crossed my legs & hoped 5 hours would go fast. Lovely day with a nearly pollution-free blue sky for once, but pretty much from the start I was terrified & clinging onto the tiny wire edge/ boat edge. Pete SAID the thing was MEANT to be sailing tipped over at 45 degrees but a lot of the time we were staring vertically down at the other edge of the boat, trying to find something to put our feet against to stop us sliding down into the water. I know I'm crap at maths but that would make the angle closer to 90 degrees, right? We were also dodging cruise ships, rubbish boats, tugs, assorted tankers and container ships, ferries and fishing boats of all sizes from commercial to silly locals. Oh, and trying not to bump into the rocks/ shores to either side. Despite my white knuckles the bits where I wasn't sweating with fear were interesting, as we sailed from Kellet Island (middle of HK Island Northern edge), along the channel to the east, with Kowloon etc to our left (north) and Hong Kong's districts passing to the right. I must say all the HK waterfronts were rather posh looking high rise flats, starkly different to the more chinese Kowloon bank - massive terraced cemeteries &even a proper shanty village on stilts there! We passed the remnants of the notorious old airport runways too, right on the waters edge, which was made into a golf range I think but looked as if it was being demolished.
Sailing round HK - shanty stilt house village south coast of Kowloon mainland to the east
Originally uploaded by wildcatfin.
Further east and heading due south along HK coast it actually began to look really wild and rugged, green covered dragon-ridged mountains with tiny more traditional looking villages, some like shanty towns on stilts; but about then I stopped looking and fixated on one of those golf-ball shaped transmitting stations on a peak as it also got quite rough. (Pete kept drumming the whole 'stare at the horizon thing & you won't get sick' into me so thought I would REALLY try this time). The sailors were having fun doing the "whoa, watch out, BIG wave coming" and giggling when the boat flopped around & we got soaked, but I basically shut up and didn't move/ talk/ respond much from then on. It really was quite scary. What didn't help was Pete getting a bit twitchy with his students steering, & blocking my line of view when he wanted to swap with them & steer himself; worst was the swells got so big sometimes I couldn't SEE the land let alone any horizon that wasn't moving. Of course a local, in a tiny skiff with his little woven bamboo hat on, paddled calmly by us, perched, standing, as if it was a flat calm day. Shek O looked pretty, with an amazing golf course along the cliff/ beach - one for Uncle Dougie mum thinks! Some very glam houses there too, all a bit Scaramanga (James Bond secret billionaire hideaways). Round that peninsula we slowed a bit in the currents off SheK O, to let the guys put up the spinnaker (big extra sail) as they had never done it before.
That was WORSE for me as the waves were all over the place & we were not really moving to make it easier to get the thing up. Just as they had nearly managed it, a big military looking helicopter started circling us, really close. The 2nd time a guy hung out & waved & shouted at us. The 3rd time Mum & I spotted he had a huge banner saying "Ch 16" on it. No-one had a radio, of course, oops, tho Pete said most just use mobiles as they never go far from the island. Pete got nervous, he said he knew we weren't in the wrong place/ doing something wrong but basically had them drop the spinnaker in about 3 seconds flat and actually nearly shouted when they didn't do it fast, and burnt his hands on ropes speeding them up. Not good. The helicopter went round us again then left. (Back on dry land Pete admitted he'd seen helicopters capsize boats like ours - which are not supposed to capsize - with their down draught; and worse, the boats can't be righted or right themselves back up if the helicpoter stayed above it, so VERY dodgy which is why he got it down & us away). We sailed on a bit; I hung over the edge and was sick 3 times, great. Best was that rinsing off with salt water I found a nasty rope burn on my wrist, been so tense I didn't notice it until the salt hit it!
Near Stanley (heading north again up the coast) they put up the spinnaker again (no helicopters to trouble us this time) so we got going very fast, zipping along and losing a cap despite 2 goes circling to try and pick it up. Lots of huge gin-palace luxury motor cruisers kept zipping past creating huge wakes we had to steer into to stop being swamped by. Beginners steering the boat by then was not funny, - well funny but not conducive to feeling safe & secure - and at one point we all ended up upside down in the central bit with escaped icecubes all over us. (Pete had liberated leftover ice sacks from his HQ ball to keep our food & drink cool). Petes colleague Marcus then zoomed over in his speedboat from the kids he was teaching to say Hi and looked very confused to see me draped over the side, making faces, and mum& the rest with wet backsides. Pete took over again thank god & got us round into his harbour; I was VERY glad to see it and the cute Captain Pugwash logo on the yacht moored nearest us. Mum was fine, she can't believe it, she didn't feel ill or get the rocking head thing later on which even Peter did! Still, apparantly I was fairly discreet & he only realised I was throwing up as mum was giggling about 'Chinese fish celebrating Christmas'. I think that was only as he was mainly up near the bow between all the sails; the other 3 couldn't miss me lunging accross the boat & lying with my bum in the air, oh dear.......Still, that settles it, final straw I am NOT sailing around the world with him even if he does build a boat. So I now have aching shoulders form tension, managed to burn a strip accross my back where my Tshirt rode up when I was being ill, AND have a nice gooey rope burn despite not helping/ handling any at all, great.........
Monday I took mum onto the mid-level escalators, which run downhill all night until about 10 am, taking people to work in Central etc, and then they switch to run uphill the rest of the time.
Its a bit odd, gliding above smelly vehicle-stuffed streets and over pedestrians and shops. I wanted to show her the antique district - Petes mum had given me a novel about life in ancient China to read on the plane, complete with gruesome foot-binding descriptions, and I had seen some of the lotus-feet shoes in a window.
Each girl made her own; the ideal foot size was 3 inches, with the big toe left 'normal', but the other toes pulled under and back towards the instep, so the foot looked like a really steep hump-backed bridge form the side. The process took years, until the bones were broken into their new shapes, and the flesh often rotted - some girls dies, some were crippled, but others had few problems after the years of pain, and it was one way for poor families to get good marriages as tiny perfect feet would overcome lack of cash or ugly faces! They always have to bind their feet as if they don't the process will reverse partially, causing even worse pain and definitely crippling them, as the 'flesh' may return to approximate foot shape but ofteh the toe bones are fused into their odd positions. Anyway mum was so fascinated, that after a bit of bargaining she bought a pair! Definitely a talking point.
