Dragons On The Wind.

Dragons on the wind.

"I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning."

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

By chance I had discovered that there were dragon boat races scheduled to take place at Tai Pak Beach today, so since we needed stuff from the supermarket anyway, I decided to wander down and take a look.

Overlooking the whole beach.

Dragon Boat Day is actually in June, but recently the races have been more spread out. I suppose that makes sense, as that way people can compete in more than one event.

First encounter with a dragon.

Dragon and drum.

It was lovely to see the beach so busy. There were lots of people playing beach volleyball. There were many little tents set up for the dragon boat teams. One tent was being used to store all the cups that would be awarded at the end.

The trophies.

Tent where the competitors store their stuff.

In the background there was live music from a group of singers singing a cappella.

A capella singers.

I wandered down to the waterfront and took some photos of the boats that were moored there while waiting for their races.

Waiting for the next race

Taking a rest between races.

Many little kids were having a go at beating the dragon boat drums. They were having a great time.

Little girl having a go on the drums.

I also took some pictures of the boats heading out to their races or coming back in.

Getting ready to race.

Wishing the competitors good luck.

Setting out for the race.

Setting out.

Sailing in at the end of a race.

The end of a race.

It was hard to get good pictures of the actual races themselves as the starting point is very far away and the finishing line is also far from the beach. I've seen dragon boat races at other locations such as Sha Tin or Stanley where you can get closer to the action.

The race.

Watching the competitors return.

Anyway the atmosphere at this event was very calm and laid back and it was lovely just to hang around and watch it for a while.

Later day that I took Peter swimming. The pool will close soon, about three weeks earlier than usual. Sob sob! So we are swimming as much as we can.

Peter in the pool.

Peter in the pool.

A seal keeping guard.

The sun going down.

After the swim, we went upstairs to Sienna Restaurant. Peter wanted a plate of German sausages and an Erdinger wheat beer which they are doing to celebrate Oktoberfest, even if it is rather later than the Germans celebrate it.

Peter with his Erdinger.

Not sure he's quite mastered chopsticks.

The German sausage platter.

After we got home, I decided to go and visit the Halloween street at night to see how the decorations looked lit up.

These chaps were beautifully lit up.

As were these.

I think this looks great lit up.

Pumpkins still looking cute.

In fact they look very nice lit up.

These witches are also cute at night.

There were quite a few new displays up that I hadn't seen two days ago.

This jumping unicorn was new.

I don't remember these happy Chappies.

Some were well lit up, others were quite dark. There were a few other people wandering around taking photos.

Creepy corner.

And another one.

Very short witches in very big hats.

I noticed that the skeletons like to stay up late.

Skeletons are party animals.

They love to sit around.

Chatting all night.

I decided to keep going all the way to the plaza to see the enchanted forest with the Jack-o-lanterns at night. Actually it was quite pretty because the forest constantly changed colour and the pumpkins looked good lit up.

Entrance to the forest.

Jack-o-lanterns.

The forest kept changing colour.

Red.

Blue.

Light blue.

Purple.

Light blue again.

Yes the pumpkins are definitely my favourites.

I walked home via the beach feeling quite exhausted. It had been a very busy day.

Tai Pak Beach by night.