By this Author: irenevt

Bride's Pool Falls.

Again this week we spent some time swimming and already Peter is swimming longer and with less coughing. Plus we had a meal out with our friend, Bonnie, and a meal in the club at Siena where we swim. Siena is a bit hit and miss with its food, but this time they got it just right. Peter loved his fish and chips and I thought my Malaysian laksa was delicious, especially the spicy coconut sauce.

Me in Siena.

Peter in Siena.

My laksa.

Sunset at Siena.

When I used to work here, I always wanted to spend Sundays in Discovery Bay with no travelling. After all I spent nearly three hours commuting to and from work every weekday. Then when covid struck and there was nowhere to go and nothing to do, I started exploring on Sundays. Nowadays I explore on weekdays when most people are working and things are not as busy as at the weekends, but there are some places that only have transport at weekends. I want to go to these, but am put off by the crowds. Well today I decided to give one of these places a go. I decided to go to Tai Po Market Station, then take the 275R bus to Bride's Pool. The 275R bus service only runs on Sundays and public holidays.

275R bus stop.

I noted from the bus schedule that the first bus to Bride's Pool left Tai Po at 9.40am. I knew it would take me about one and a half hours to get to that bus, so I left early and arrived around 10am. To my utter amazement there was no queue. I began to panic that maybe this bus didn't actually exist any more, but then more people joined the queue behind me. When the bus arrived about fifteen minutes later, there were about seven of us waiting to board it. No sign of the crowds I was expecting. This journey is very scenic. It bypasses Tai Po Waterside Park, then follows the coastline heading towards Tai Mei Tuk. I've done this part of the journey several times before. However, this time the bus went further into the Plover Cove Country Park. I got off at Bride's Pool, the second last stop.

Bride's Pool is deep enough to swim in and is located at the bottom of a beautiful waterfall. So why is it called Bride's Pool? Is it because the cascading white water looks like a long bridal veil? Sounds like a sensible theory, but no, of course not. Traditionally in China brides dressed in red. White was a colour associated with death. So why the name? Well, tragically it comes from an old legend.

Long ago, a beautiful young village girl was getting married. On her wedding day, she dressed in traditional heavy red embroidered wedding clothes, then climbed into her wedding sedan chair. When girls married, they left their traditional village and went to live in their husband's. They were taken there in a sedan chair carried by four bearers. Now on the day of this poor girl's wedding it was wet and stormy and when her bearers were crossing a treacherous pathway above a tall waterfall, one of them suddenly slipped and fell. This caused the sedan chair to tilt precariously and the unfortunate bride was thrown out of it right over the edge of the waterfall. Her bearers and other members of the wedding party rushed down to try and save her, but the fall itself may have killed her, or at the very least knocked her out. Then the heavy ornate wedding garments must have weighed her down, and if there was even the slightest chance she had survived the fall, she must assuredly have drowned. By the time her distraught family had reached the pool, the young bride's body had been washed away, never to be seen again. Since then, many people claim to have encountered the unfortunate bride's restless spirit wandering sadly around the pools and streams here, even to the present day.

I've no idea if this story is based on fact or entirely a work of fiction, but when I looked up information about the pools, I encountered not only this legend, but a long list of tragic events that have taken place in this area and are blamed on the restless spirit of the vengeful bride. The road above the waterfall is a well known traffic black spot and several people have foolishly attempted to try and climb the Bride's Pool Waterfall only to slip and plunge to their death. Only last year a couple were foolhardy enough to visit here during a red rain storm when the forest paths become raging torrents and one of them was swept away to her death.

I even encountered one rather tongue in cheek video where three women claimed to be investigating the truth of the legend and had one of their friends follow them around in a long white wedding dress pretending to be a ghost that they could not see. I like hearing about legends, but I'm not convinced about the presence of this vengeful ghost. This area was calm and peaceful and beautiful. It wasn't scary at all.

I left the bus at the Bride's Pool stop and after visiting the conveniently located public toilet, which by the way has a drinks machine outside it, walked slightly back the way to the Bride's Pool Barbecue Area. I noticed a sign declaring this area part of the UNESCO Global Geopark and a huge rock made of purple slate which apparently originated from the neighbouring mountain, but must have eroded off. There's a pavilion in this area and it's possible to view the Bride's Pool Falls from here.

UNESCO Sign.

This huge rock got here from the neighbouring hillside.

Pavilion at the start of the trail.

Bride's Pool Falls viewed from next to the pavilion.

I went down some steps to a barbecue site. From what I had read if I went left here, I could get to Bride's Pool and Waterfalls very quickly. If I went right, I could also visit Mirror Pool and complete the Bride's Pool Nature Trail. I went to the right. I descended more stairs, crossed a bridge and entered another barbecue site. I found a rather large spider on one of the information signs.

Barbecue site.

Cross this bridge next to the barbecue site.

Stream.

Stream.

Rather large spider.

I saw a sign for Mirror Pool and followed it. This is where I feel I should say something like: "You probably think Mirror Pool is called this because it reflects the scenery around it, but it's actually because long ago there was this giant mirror which suddenly shattered and killed ...." Ok, no, I'm just making this up now, I guess it's probably to do with reflections. However, there are claims that lone hikers have arrived here only to find a beautiful but sad young Chinese lady, dressed in ornately embroidered red clothing, sitting gazing into the pool as she brushes her long black hair.

Luckily I arrived here not to find a grieving bride to be, but a Chinese family out for a walk and taking some photos. I got them to take one of me, too. From the main nature trail going to Mirror Pool involves going up some stairs, but it only takes around five to ten minutes to get here, so it's well worth it.

Stairs up to Mirror Pool.

People enjoying the waterfall.

Waterfall at Mirror Pool.

Waterfall at Mirror Pool.

Me at the Waterfall.

After enjoying the scenery, I retraced my steps. I noticed something that looked rather like a grave, but this turned out to be an information plaque about the nearby stone bridge. It was built in 1906 and the bridge's construction was funded by local donors, some paid in sterling and some in US dollars indicating they had already left the area to work overseas, probably temporarily.

Information tablet about the stone bridge.

Information about the stone bridge.

Bride's Pool Stone Bridge.

Bride's Pool Stone bridge.

Now I was a bit nervous about the next part of the trail. This had nothing to do with expecting to encounter ghosts. It was to do with contradictory information. One article I read said: "Just follow all the signs, the trail is very clearly marked." Another said: "You must ignore the signs and take the path on the left or you will miss the pools and waterfall all together." Another said: "Just get down to the stream and you can't go wrong." And one blog even said: "We walked the whole trail without ever finding the falls and in the end just used our drone to film it from the barbecue site near the bus stop."

I later realized it is true that the trail markers direct people away from the waterfalls, that's because they are dangerous. The rocks there are slippy and the area can suddenly flood.

Follow this to complete the trail, but it won't take you to the falls. To get there go left at this sign, not straight on.

Information point explaining that it is dangerous to go to the falls.

At the time I went with the 'just get as close to the stream as possible' advice which proved to be good and bad. By following this advice I went off the main trail too soon and crossed the stream too early, but in doing so I found some lovely secluded pools that looked swimmable in. I then saw a bridge which I later found out I would have come to almost immediately if I had headed left at the first barbecue site. My mistake was to try to get up the stream at water level from here. I was just concluding that this could not really be done without grave personal injury when I turned round and saw one of the people I had seen at Mirror Pool shaking his head at me and indicating I should return to the path and go further along it. I followed his advice. He didn't speak English, but he was very helpful and showed me the way and made sure I could do it.

Pools I found by going the wrong way.

Pools I found by going the wrong way.

Pools I found by going the wrong way.

This is the bridge you will come to if you go left at the original barbecue site at the entrance.

Basically I should have deviated from the main path onto a side path to the left, followed this to the very end then crossed the stream on some rocks which were not too precarious, then clambered over rocks on the left side of the stream, sometimes not that easy, but again short, until I reached the falls.

Follow the path to the end then cross here.

You will see this where you cross.

As you clamber over rocks on the left side of the stream, you pass lots of lovely pools and tiny waterfalls.

On the way to Bride's Pool Falls.

On the way to Bride's Pool Falls.

On the way to Bride's Pool Falls.

Fungus on a log I passed on the way.

Its possible to hear the falls from quite a long way, even when they are not in full flow, then suddenly it's possible to see them from a distance, so you know you are going the right way.

Bride's Pool Falls in the distance.

Nearly there.

There were quite a few people at the falls, more than there were at Mirror Pool. I think this is because of the legend, as Mirror Pool is probably more impressive but not as much visited. Of course Bride's Pool Waterfalls would be more impressive after heavy rain, but at the same time potentially much more dangerous and slippy, too.

People enjoying the waterfall.

People enjoying the waterfall.

Bride's Pool Falls.

Bride's Pool Falls.

Me at the falls.

There was a little boy who had brought his pet bird out for a walk. It seemed to be enjoying the fresh air.

Young boy walking his pet bird.

Young boy walking his pet bird.

I sat in the shade at the pools for a while and watched people swimming and climbing up behind the falls, then I returned to the path and finished the nature trail. This involved some stairs but it wasn't too long or strenuous. At one point the path passes directly above the falls, but I didn't climb down to the top as I think this would be quite dangerous. I noticed burning incense sticks here. These are usually placed on a shrine or a grave, perhaps they were a homage to the unfortunate bride.

This path leads up to the top of the falls.

Bridge at the top of the falls.

Sticks of burning incense.

Eventually I came out at a pavilion right next to the return bus stop. The bus stops are not directly opposite each other in this area. I noticed that the Pat Sing Leng Nature Trail was directly opposite the end of the Bride's Pool Nature Trail. I'd like to walk that some time, but not in this heat.

Bride's Pool Nature Trail.

Pat Sing Leng Nature Trail. Just cross the road and you are on the next trail.

Pavilion at the stop for buses back to Tai Po.

This walk was quite short and I realized a day out here could easily be combined with a trip to Tai Mei Tuk, the artificial beach on Plover Cove, or Tai Po Waterfront Park, all of which the bus passes. I didn't combine it with anything as although it was short, it was just about the right amount of heat exposure for the current weather. I'll have to rethink Sundays. It seems they may not be as bad as I thought, depending on where you are going, of course. I passed lovely scenery on the bus ride back.

View over Plover Cove from the bus window.

View over Plover Cove from the bus window.

View over Plover Cove from the bus window.

In The Gardens of Wun Chuen Sin Koon.

I've still got a very long list of things to visit in Hong Kong, but I wasn't expecting my list to grow any longer. Therefore, I was quite surprised to come across a wonderful Taoist temple in The New Territories that I'd never heard of before. This temple is called Wun Chuen Sin Koon Temple and it is located very close to the Chinese border in Ping Che.

To get there I travelled to Sheung Shui by MTR, exited through exit A4, and made my way to the bus station, where I boarded bus 79K. I took this to Wan Chuen Sin Koon bus-stop, which is right outside the temple's main entrance. It's also possible to board this bus at Fanling Station, or to get to the temple on the 52K minibus. The minibus is much faster, but I took the bus as I didn't know where to get off and buses display their route electronically on board, while minibuses don't.

Wun Chuen Sin Koon Temple is a Taoist temple. Taoism literally means following The Way. This religion is based on the teachings of the Ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, who recorded his beliefs in a book called the Tao Te Ching. Taoism teaches its followers about balance and how to exist in harmony with the universe.

Wun Chuen Sin Koon was founded by a group of Taoist monks from Xiqiao in Guangdong Province, who were driven out of China by the Japanese Occupation in 1938. They escaped to Hong Kong, where they built a replica of the temple they had been forced to abandon.

At the entrance to the temple there is a large gateway, guarded by stone lions, and just behind this there are images of three Taoist gods.

Taoist gods.

Gateway.

Near the entrance to the temple there is a vegetarian restaurant which is supposed to be excellent and very reasonably priced. I didn't try it, but everything I have read raves about how good it is.

I enjoyed the temple, without really knowing what everything was. There was no information in English about anything and all the signs and maps were in Chinese only, but I didn't really mind this.

Map.

I walked towards the main temple. Its entranceway has statues of different Taoist gods. I think these are supposed to guard the way to the main temple. The walls here are beautifully decorated. I especially liked the mural of cranes.

Entrance to the main temple.

Images guard the way.

Images guard the way.

Cranes.

I passed through the doorway and I was in a courtyard with the main temple building at the top of the stairs in front of me and other buildings off to the sides.

Looking up at the main temple building.

The main temple building.

Mythical creatures guard the way.

Mythical creatures guard the way.

Looking back at the entranceway.

Looking back at the entrance way from the main temple.

Side view of main temple building

I looked around, then I climbed up the steps to the main temple. This was lavishly decorated. It had a main altar and a side altar. Its walls were covered with golden dragons. Its ceilings were hung with ornate lamps.

Inside the temple.

Inside the temple.

Golden dragons.

Golden dragons.

If you walk around the walls at this upper level, there are gorgeous views over the gardens, over the temple and over the courtyard. There are also bell towers and some wonderful strangely shaped rocks here. I found an image of a golden bat on one of the walls.

Main temple viewed from on top of its walls.

Entranceway and courtyard viewed from above.

View of the courtyard from above.

View over the garden.

View over the garden.

Gemstones.

Golden bat.

When I had finished looking at the temple, I went to the gardens. Wun Chuen Sin Koon has wonderful gardens which are famous for their lotuses in summer and their chrysanthemums in winter. I visited at the wrong time of year for either of these, but the gardens were still stunning.

I started by looking at the lotus ponds. There were no lotuses in bloom yet as it's too early in the year for them. The ponds were covered in lush green lily pads. There are many bridges here, statues in the water and little shelters to sit in.

The Lotus Pond.

Lotus pond.

Boats in the lotus pond

Stream.

Bridge.

Bridge.

Around the edges of the gardens there are various columbaria, housing the remains of the departed. I didn't go inside these, but wandered around the little ponds that were dotted round about them. The ponds have water spouting fish statues and are connected to each other by small bridges.

Ponds with spouting fish.

Columbaria.

The walls of the Columbaria had beautiful scenes from Ancient China depicted in stone on them.

Stone scenes.

Stone scenes.

Stone scenes.

In another stretch of the garden there were lots of potted bonsai trees. I stumbled upon a pond filled with turtles. They all dived in the water when I approached. At first I thought I had scared them, but as they came straight towards me, I realized they were actually hoping I would feed them.

Bonsai.

Bonsai.

Bonsai.

Turtles.

Turtles.

I realized there was a second part of the main temple underneath the part I had been in originally, so I had a look around there, too.

Under the temple.

Under the temple.

Under the temple.

At one point I came across a beautiful Chinese gateway with an image of a dragon and various figures from Chinese mythology next to it.

Gateway.

Gateway.

Through the gateway.

Dragon Mural.

Dragon Mural.

There were also some statues of oxen dotted about on the lawns. The gardens are a wonderful place to just sit and relax.

Ox statues

Ox Statues.

Ox Statues close up.

There were lots of different shelters in the garden where it was possible to sit peacefully, alone with just your thoughts. Each shelter was slightly different from the others.

Shelter.

Shelter.

Shelter.

There was an ornate dragon wall and several other features.

Dragon wall.

Dragon wall.

Dragon statue.

In the gardens.

In the garden.

In the garden.

There were lots of lovely views of the temple buildings from the garden.

Temple building viewed from the garden.

Temple buildings viewed from the gardens.

Temple viewed from the gardens.

Temple viewed across the pond.

Naturally there were beautiful flowers and plants everywhere.

Jackfruit.

Water hyacinth.

Flowers.

Bamboo.

When I had finished looking around I decided to walk to Ping Che Village which is known for its murals. I noticed there's a strawberry farm opposite the temple where you can pick your own strawberries.

Strawberry farm.

I hadn't fully researched how to go to the mural village and went the wrong way at first which led to me being attacked by a village dog. Fortunately I was able to get past it without getting bitten, but it nearly made me give up and not bother with the murals at all.

Anyway, I eventually realized I was just on the wrong side of the road for the murals. There are some lovely old village houses in this area. The temple and the mural trail are only about fifteen minutes walk away from each other.

Old houses.

Old houses.

Old houses.

Colourful houses.

The Ping Che Mural Trail was created in 2013 in response to government plans to demolish parts of the village and redevelop it. The locals thought that if they decorated the walls and paths of their village and made it into a tourist attraction, then the government would leave them alone. They were helped in this endeavour by lots of university students and local artists and decorated their village in all the colours of the rainbow. I'm not sure if it was as a result of the villagers actions or not, but the proposed redevelopment did not take place.

Colourful sign for Ping Che.

Nowadays, unfortunately, the Ping Che Mural Village is looking rather the worse for wear, many of the murals have faded or have been vandalised. I personally found it a little bit disappointing. To be honest if I had come all this way just to see this, I wouldn't have been happy. Fortunately, the temple had made my journey completely worthwhile.

The first murals I saw were on a warehouse fence not far from the main road. At least these let you know you are on the right track.

On a warehouse wall.

Warehouse wall.

The trail is to the left of this shop.

Mural Village Sign.

The path through the village would once have been very colourful, but of course these paintings will have been frequently trodden on. Some had survived better than others.

Keep smiling mural.

Cow mural.

Mural on the path.

Flower mural on the path.

There were, however, some houses that were beautifully decorated.

The murals on this house still looked good.

Close up of the front.

Children and flowers.

Boy reading.

Bird hammock.

Flowers.

Rice farmer.

Leaping fish.

I really liked the butterfly house. It was like something out of a fairytale.

Butterfly house.

Butterfly house.

There was another house with a butterfly theme, too.

Butterfly house

Butterfly.

Another house had the low wall around its garden decorated.

Painted around the edges of the garden.

One house should have had lovely murals but they had been vandalised.

The murals on this house got vandalised.

As well as the houses there were decorations along stretches of wall.

Long landscape.

Closer up.

With a lion.

And houses.

More decorated walls.

At one time there were sculptures and other things here that added to the colourful, arty farty air of the village. Most of these have gone, but one or two still remain, such as the sweetheart post fridge which encouraged people to leave positive messages for the villagers in a decorated, abandoned fridge.

Painted abandoned sweetheart post fridge.

Sweetheart post fridge.

Coco the dog, one of the friendlier members of the species.

An owl stands guard.

Painting behind a fence.

Decorations hung in the trees.

Welcome sticks.

Naturally I also took some time to examine the flowers growing all around me, too.

White ivy flower.

Chinese wisteria.

Flowers.

Flowers.

As well as flowers, this area is known for its fields of tall silver grasses. Apparently there is a viewing pavilion with great views into China in the middle of these fields. On this occasion I did not look for this.

This area is famous for tall silver grasses.

I decided not to bother going to see the ruined village school which was also part of the original art project. This is located nearby. In the 1950's the villagers grouped together to build this school, but unfortunately it was closed down in 2007 due to falling enrollment. Having read up on the school when I got home, I was glad I did not go, as someone wrote it was full of stray dogs. I think being attacked by one dog is quite enough for one day.

There are other things to see around this area such as a Tin Hau Temple and some old ancestral halls. I didn't look for these, so there's a possibility I might come back. But there's a limit to how much walking it's possible to do when it's humid and I had had enough for one day. I returned to the main road and jumped on a 52K minibus back to Fanling and went home.

Most of this week, when it hasn't been pouring, I have been taking Peter down to the swimming pool to try and start rebuilding his strength. We also ate out a lot more than usual. We ate in our sports club after swimming on Tuesday, in a Thai restaurant, with our friend Bonnie, on Wednesday and in the Bounty Bar after a swim on Thursday.

Beer and gyoza after a swim.

Singapore vermicelli rice noodles for me.

In the Bounty Bar.

Enjoying fish and chips.

On Friday I was having a girls night out to celebrate my friend Linda's birthday, so I decided to go across to Hong Kong Island much earlier than our meeting time and revisit two museums. I have been to these museums quite a long time ago on a staff development day to check whether or not they would be interesting for children to visit on a school trip. The short answer to that was - probably not. Plus I was there at a time when I was neither interested in, nor knowledgeable about Hong Kong. On this visit I was much more interested.

Before heading up to the museums I had to go to a pharmacy and pick up some medicine for Peter. Then, since it was on my route, I went into Central Market. I noticed a shop devoted entirely to Harry Potter here. Maybe these are common, but I have never seen one before, so found it quite interesting. I had a quick look around Central Market, then headed up onto the Mid Levels escalator system. I passed many, many restaurants and bars on route.

Harry Potter shop.

Harry Potter.

Display in Central Market.

Display in Central Market.

Cafe in Central Market.

On the escalator.

Going up the escalator.

Restaurant viewed from the escalator.

Shop from escalator.

The first museum I visited was The Sun Yat Sen Museum. This is located inside a stunning old mansion called Kom Tong Hall. Sun Yat-sen never actually lived in this building, but the area around it is associated with many important events in his life, plus he went to school with the building's original owner.

The building's original owner was Ho Kom-tong. He was part of a very influential Eurasian family. One of his most famous family members was his older brother Sir Robert Ho Tung, a very wealthy and influential businessman and philanthropist.

Ho Kom-tong was also a wealthy businessman and philanthropist. Among other good deeds, he funded The Kau U Fong Public Dispensary to help Chinese people get through constant outbreaks of bubonic plague and he also served on the Tung Wah Hospital Board.

Kom Tong Hall was built in 1914 by two well-known English architects: Aston Webb and Ingress Bell. They also designed the eastern façade of Buckingham Palace, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Signal Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Hong Kong Supreme Court. Ho Kom-tong lived here together with his twelve wives and concubines and their thirty children. One of his daughters, Grace, married Cantonese opera star Lee Hoi-chuen, and together they gave birth to a son, the martial arts legend Bruce Lee.

There were rules in those days about which racial group could live where. Kom Tong Hall is situated in what was once a whites only area. Eurasians could not live there. Ho Kom-tong lobbied against these rules and used his considerable influence to get the racial restrictions removed.

Ho Kom-tong passed away in 1950, but the Ho family continued to live in Kom Tong Hall until 1960 when they sold it to a merchant surnamed Cheng. He then sold it a year later to The Church of Latter-day Saints. They maintained it for a while, but in 2002 planned to demolish it. Fortunately the government intervened and bought the building from them in 2004. It became the Sun Yat-sen Museum two years later and is now a declared monument.

Kom Tong Hall is made of red bricks, has windows lined with granite and ornate ironwork balconies. It was one of the first buildings in Hong Kong to have a steel frame with concealed electrical wiring. Inside the building there is a wonderful grand staircase, lots of lovely fireplaces, tiled flooring and colourful stained glass windows.

There are several exhibits about the life of Sun Yat-sen inside the museum, but while it's possible to photograph the building, it's not allowed to photograph the exhibits. Sun Yat-sen was a revolutionary who fought to overcome the Qing Dynasty and modernize China.

Kom Tong Hall.

Sun Yat-sen statue.

Sun Yat-sen statue.

Grand staircase.

Grand staircase.

Stained glass window.

Fireplace.

Hall.

Bust of Sun Yat-sen.

Bust of Sun Yat-sen.

Balcony.

Balcony.

View from the balcony.

Next I headed off to the nearby area of Tai Ping Shan. Historically this is a very interesting area. It was at one time a residential area for the Chinese population of Hong Kong, but as more and more people flooded in from the mainland, it became densely packed and overcrowded. There was no proper sewerage system and the area became filled with rats. In 1894 there was an outbreak of bubonic plague and many people lost their lives. This outbreak was followed by several more. Something had to be done. The government built plague hospitals, then sent soldiers around to check for people who were sick or dying and remove them to the hospitals. Sometimes the Chinese population hid their dead relatives. They practised ancestor worship and their relatives' bones were very important to them. They didn't want them taken away. Another anti-plague measure was to provide disinfected rat bins. These were often attached to lamp-posts. They could still be found in Hong Kong up until the mid 1970's. Dead rats were placed in these and the disinfectant helped kill off the plague germs. The rats' bodies were collected frequently and examined for signs of plague in the Pathological Institute. This was where I was heading next.

The Old Pathological Institute is an Edwardian style red brick building which opened in 1906. It was built to find a solution to the plague outbreaks. Nowadays it is The Museum of Medical Sciences. It costs HK$20 to go in, about £2.00. This museum contains the old laboratory where the dead rats from the plague bins were analyzed. It also has displays on the SARS outbreak, information on foot binding, models showing the inoculation of cattle to combat Smallpox, a herb garden, a reconstruction of a Chinese herbalist shop and autopsy tables.

The Institute of Medical Science.

The Institute of Medical Science.

The Institute of Medical Science.

The Institute of Medical Sciences.

The herb garden.

The herb garden.

Statue of Alexander Yersin. He was a Swiss-French physician, bacteriologist and the co-discoverer of the bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague.

Painting showing insanitary living conditions and a plague victim.

Government inspectors check houses for plague victims and locals try to conceal the dead or dying.

Government inspectors removing the dead and sick.

The staircase in The Institute of Medical Science.

Staircase.

Furniture and window.

Fireplace.

View through a window.

Old laboratory. These scientists are dissecting plague rats.

Old laboratory.

In Memory of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole, a philanthropist. There's a hospital here named after her.

Exhibition on SARS.

Chinese herbalist shop.

Inoculating cattle.

Model of densely packed housing in the Tai Ping Shan area.

I was also interested in the exhibition on foot binding. For many years in China women with small feet were considered desirable. To make their feet small, females were forced to bind them. This process began in childhood. Women had their toes broken and bound flat against their sole. The process was agonizing. They could no longer walk properly and risked infection which may even result in their death. Foot binding was banned in 1912.

X-ray of bound feet.

Model of bound feet.

Embroidered shoes for bound feet.

The streets around this area are known for being very steep. There are lots of restaurants and bars in this area, plus lots of street art.

Ladder Street.

Ladder Street.

Ladder Street street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

When I left The Institute of Medical Science, I had a look at Blake Garden. This was at one time the epicentre of the densely packed housing where plague thrived. Sir Henry Arthur Blake, who was Governor at the time, had the slum houses here demolished and a park built in their place to ensure there was more open space and fresh air in this area. Nowadays Blake Garden has some incredible banyan trees.One in particular is really huge and elaborate.

Blake Gardens.

Banyan trees.

Banyan trees.

The Tung Wah Hospital is not far from Blake Garden.This owes its origins to a small temple called Kwong Fook I-tsz, which was on Tai Ping Shan Street. This temple provided refuge to the sick or destitute, but it gradually became overwhelmed. A group of Chinese community leaders became concerned about this and raised funds to build a hospital for these poor sick people. They called it The Tung Wah Hospital.

Tung Wah Hospital.

Tung Wah Hospital.

Tung Wah Hospital.

Next I headed to Upper Lascar Row, home to Cat Street Antiques and Flea Market. This street is nicknamed Cat Street because in the past some of the merchandise here was stolen goods. Stolen goods in Cantonese are known as 'rats' and those who prey on rats, i.e. in this case purchase them, are called cats. This market is quite fascinating. Much of the stuff here is cheap imitation, but there are also some interesting historical or cultural goods such as Chairman Mao memorabilia.

Cat Street Market.

Cat Street Market.

Cat Street Market.

Cat Street Market.

Cat Street Market.

Cat Street Market.

I still had a bit of time left before meeting my friends for dinner, but I decided to find the restaurant, just to make sure I knew where it was. I wandered the whole of Jervois Street looking for it and didn't find it. Fortunately, my friend Yang, who chose the restaurant, sent us all a picture of the front entrance of the building. It's not obvious there's a restaurant there as you have to go up in a lift to the second floor.

No wonder I couldn't find it.

Bear on the second floor.

The restaurant is called The Moon Thai Restaurant. There's a huge bear like the Harrod's bear at the entrance. It's good for taking photos with.

As Yang was the most familiar with the restaurant, she chose the food. It was really delicious. We had an excellent pomelo salad, a selection of cooked meats and spring rolls, crab baked inside a loaf of bread, spring greens, tom yum soup and a selection of Thai desserts. It was lovely to finally celebrate Linda's birthday and see Yang, Lai, Sarah and Maggie again. We all had a lot of news to catch up on.

Our group.

Our group.

Sarah and I.

Pomelo salad.

Cooked meats and spring rolls.

Tom yum soup.

Crab baked in bread.

Linda with her desserts.

Happy Birthday Linda.

Posing with the bear.

Posing with the bear.

Linda's flowers.

Next day I had offered to take my friend Janet hiking. She brought her friend Rachel along, too. We were originally going to walk from Stanley Mound Pumping Station along Tai Tam East Catchwater to Tai Tam Harbour, but as it turned out to be a really hot humid day, I suggested we did the Tai Tam Heritage Trail that I did recently instead. My reasoning being that it had no stairs to clamber up and down. This walk turned out to be just right for the sticky weather, especially the areas with a bit of breeze.

Janet, Rachel and I.

Janet, Rachel and I.

At the end of the walk Janet and Rachel headed off to Stanley for lunch. I decided not to join them as I had left Peter alone two days in a row so felt I should go home and spend some time with him, plus I was still full from the Thai meal. I was glad I did actually because easy walk or not I felt I'd had enough sun for one day.

Pale Blue Waters of Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

The weather has been very unsettled this week. There was a red rain storm with thunder and lightning that went on for hours on Sunday. Monday was pitch black and pouring with rain. Tuesday actually had sunshine, but Wednesday was cold and windy. Today, Thursday, the weather was dull and looked like it may rain. We had swum the day before and eaten out with our friend, Bonnie, so Peter wanted a restful day. I decided to leave him in peace and go for a hike around some of the Kowloon Reservoirs by myself.

The Kowloon Reservoirs are all located within Kam Shan Country Park. They include: Kowloon Reservoir, Kowloon Byewash Reservoir, Kowloon Reception Reservoir and Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Sign posts for Kam Shan Country Park.

Map of Kam Shan Country Park.

They were all built to meet the increasing water requirements of a growing population in Kowloon. Before they were built, people had to rely on water from wells. The oldest of the reservoirs is Kowloon Reservoir, which was built between 1907 and 1910. Then, as Kowloon's population continued to grow, Shek Lei Pui Reservoir was completed in 1925. Shortly afterwards in 1926 the Kowloon Reception Reservoir was finished. The last one to be built was the Kowloon Byewash Reservoir which dates from 1931.

To get to the reservoirs I went to Sham Shui Po and headed to the bus stop on the opposite side of the road from Mei Ho House. My options were bus number 72 or 81. An 81 arrived almost as soon as I got there, so I got on that.

I passed by Garden Bakery in Sham Shui Po.

Although my walk was around some of the Kowloon Reservoirs, I should have alighted at the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir stop, rather than the Kowloon Reservoir stop which is one stop further on. I didn't realize this and had to walk back from the wrong stop. The only positive about this was I got quite a nice view of the Kowloon Reservoir at one point.

Kowloon Reservoir from the road.

Kowloon Reservoir from the road.

When I got to the correct starting point for the hike, I went down Golden Hill Road. I noticed that the overpass on Tai Po Road was absolutely covered with monkeys. I was relieved that I was on the correct side of the road and did not need to use it. I walked down a slope to a bridge and then to the Kowloon Reservoir Dam. There were monkeys here, too.

Monkey surveying it's kingdom in front of the bridge before Kowloon Reservoir Dam.

Bridge before Kowloon Reservoir.

Monkeys on the fence as I walked down towards the bridge.

The road on top of Kowloon Reservoir Dam is very narrow and I was happily enjoying the view and taking photos when a car decided to come across. There was no room for it to pass me, so it had to crawl along behind me until I was able to step into the doorway of the valve house to let it pass. I was just thinking how rare it must be for cars to cross here when another one arrived, forcing me to rush straight to the end of the dam to let it pass. This wasn't a very relaxing start to the walk.

Standing on top of Kowloon Reservoir Dam.

Kowloon Reservoir with its curvy dam.

Selfie on Kowloon Reservoir Dam taken in between being harassed by cars.

View of Kowloon Reservoir from the dam.

Kowloon Byewash Reservoir from Kowloon Dam.

Monkey on the dam.

Monkey on the dam.

Once I had crossed the reservoir, I saw lots of monkeys everywhere. This area is home to huge numbers of macaques. These ones didn't seem to be too aggressive, but if you have got food with you they will try to steal it off you. They can be tricky little rascals. I am happy to photograph them using a zoom lens but I would never go too close to them.

Monkey on the slopes.

Monkey on the slopes.

I continued along Golden Hill Road for a minute or two past a picnic site with a macaque sculpture before I saw a sign post and stairs going up the side of the hill. The stairs led to Shek Lei Pui Reservoir where I wanted to go. There weren't too many stairs to climb thankfully, because although it isn't that hot yet, it is very humid. At the end of the steps there was a bit of a slope and then a catchwater.

Macaques sculpture at picnic site.

Signpost for Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Jogging Trail.

Stairs up to Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Jogging Trail.

Catchwater towards Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Catchwater towards Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

I noticed lots of lovely rock roses growing here. They were really beautiful. Their bright colours really cheered up the walk.

Rock roses in different shades of pink.

Rock roses in different shades of pink.

White rock roses.

Pink and white rock roses.

Pink rock roses.

White rock roses.

Eventually the path split into two: with one side continuing straight ahead and a path off to the right which crossed the catchwater. I took the path to the right to get to the start of the Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Jogging Trail. Before starting on the trail I had a quick look at the valve house and the views from next to it. I then headed around the reservoir.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Valve House.

Start of Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Jogging Trail.

This is a pleasant walk. It is all flat. Every now and then there's a view through the trees to the reservoir or a way you can step down to the water.

Path.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

A View Across Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Looking back at Shek Lei Pui Reservoir small dam and valve house.

Looking back at Shek Lei Pui Reservoir small dam and valve house.

The path passes a few streams. One in particular is very pretty because it has a waterfall flowing down into a little pool.

Waterfall and pool.

Waterfall and pool.

Selfie at Waterfall and pool.

Stream feeding into Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

Stream feeding into Shek Lei Pui Reservoir.

There was a lady singing very loudly by the water. I could hear her from everywhere. I don't know if she was just happy or if she was practicing for something.

Near the end of the reservoir, I came to a blue fence. I walked along next to it and ended up at the reservoir dam. I could see that my walk followed the sign for Kowloon Reception Reservoir rather than crossing the dam, but I stepped onto the dam anyway to see the views. If I looked to my left I had a view across the lovely turquoise waters of the reservoir to the hills in the background. All around there were trees, shrubs and flowers. If I looked to my left I could see high-rise blocks and urban development. The contrast was quite amazing, though it wasn't the best day for city views as it was very cloudy and unclear.

Looking towards Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Main Dam.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir Main Dam.

Shek Lei Pui Reservoir on top of the main dam.

View over Kowloon and towards Hong Kong Island.

I retraced my steps and then headed down lots of steps to Kowloon Reception Reservoir. Again I went to the right when I got to the bottom of the steps, so that I could wander around the jogging trail. It was very peaceful here and shaded. Every now and again I got a clear view of the reservoir. I noticed some people were camping at the edge of the reservoir.

Stairs down to Kowloon Reception Reservoir.

Path.

Kowloon Reception Reservoir.

Kowloon Reception Reservoir.

Selfie at Kowloon Reception Reservoir.

At one point I came to quite a pretty bridge that crossed a stream feeding into the reservoir.

Bridge on Kowloon Reception Reservoir Jogging Trail.

Bridge on Kowloon Reception Reservoir Jogging Trail.

Stream flowing towards the bridge on Kowloon Reception Reservoir Jogging Trail.

Pond on the other side of the bridge.

I continued along the edges of the reservoir before crossing over a stream at the end of it. There were some ghostly looking trees growing in the water here. I thought they were very pretty.

Trees in the water.

Trees in the water.

There were some pretty flowers here and some bright orange fungus growing on a fallen log.

Yellow and white flowers, commonly known as Buddha's Lamp..

Yellow and white flowers.

Jasmine.

Fungus.

Fungus.

Eventually I reached Kowloon Reception Reservoir Dam. I crossed over it towards the reservoir valve house. There were some steps leading down into the water and a measuring device to check the water level. Despite the recent rain, I would imagine water levels are a bit low. It tends to be summer when it rains a lot here.

Kowloon Reception Reservoir Dam.

Kowloon Reception Reservoir Dam.

Measuring device next to Kowloon Reception Reservoir Dam.

Soon I came to a wire fence. I followed the road next to it down the way until I reached Cheung Yuen Road. Once on the road I headed left. I was heading towards Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam. Before going across the dam, I climbed up to a pavilion for a view. This was a good spot to photograph the Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.There was a large picnic area next to the pavilion.

Pavilion.

Picnic sites.

Picnic Site.

Looking down on Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.

Looking down on Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.

View of Kowloon Reservoir Dam from the pavilion.

There were some lovely purple flowers in this area. I spent some time photographing them.

Golden Dewdrops.

Golden Dewdrops.

Golden Dewdrops with insect.

I walked to the Byewash Reservoir Dam and wandered across it. There were no cars to disturb me here.

Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.

Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.

Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Valve House.

Looking down from Kowloon Byewash Reservoir Dam.

When I reached Tai Po Road, I was happy to see there were toilets and vending machines. I also saw a sculpture of a macaque.

Macaque Sculpture.

I knew I had to cross the road, but the footbridge was covered with monkeys. I started up the slope to the top of the bridge, but it was narrow and I realized I would have to go much closer to the monkeys than I wanted to be. I couldn't do it. I don't mind the monkeys from a distance, but I'm way too scared of them to go close to them. I saw it was possible to cross the road at a little traffic island, so I did that instead, very carefully because the traffic flies by at top speed here.

Monkeys on the foot bridge.

Monkeys on the foot bridge.

Monkeys on the foot bridge.

Monkeys on the foot bridge.

I saw a monkey cross the road, too. I wonder how many get hit by cars or if most of them have some kind of road sense.

This monkey successfully managed to cross the road.

Once I crossed the road I was at the Lion Rock Country Park. There are lots of walks from this area. I'll have to come back and do one or two. From this side I watched a man fearlessly run across the monkey covered overpass. The monkeys just totally ignored him.

Sign for Lion Rock Country Park.

I caught the 81 bus and got off in Sham Shui Po again before doing some quick shopping and going home.

Salt Production at the Little Salt Field.

Saturday 6th of May 2023 is a historic occasion. It is the Coronation Day of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It's an important day for me, too. Today I finally made it to Yim Tin Tsai, a trip I've wanted to do for months. Yippee!!

Yim Tin Tsai is an island off the coast of Sai Kung. Its name means Little Salt Field. Around three hundred years ago a Hakka family surnamed Chan moved here from Guangdong Province. They made their living on the island by fishing, farming and manufacturing salt. In its heyday this island was home to several hundred people.

It was not easy to farm on Yim Tin Tsai. There was better, flatter land on the neighbouring island of Kau Sai Chau, so many Yim Tin Tsai villagers planted their fields there. At low tide they could walk along a muddy path between the islands to tend their crops. At high tide this path was covered over. In the 1950's the whole village worked together to construct the Jade-Girdle Bridge to join the two islands together and make the farmers' trek to work easier.

In front of Yim Tin Tsai Village there are lots of old salt pans. In the days before refrigeration people used salt to preserve their food , so at this time it was a very important commodity.

To produce salt, the villagers dug out salt pans, then filled them with sea water which they pumped in through an opening they had made. The seawater then went through several evaporation stages in the sun. Some of the salt they produced was used by the villagers and some was sold in the markets of Sai Kung. In the 1920's salt production went into decline, due to the influx of cheaper salt from overseas, and the salt pans were abandoned.

Unlike in most seaside villages in Hong Kong, it's not possible to find temples to Tin Hau in Yim Tin Tsai. This is a Catholic village. In 1864 Josef Freinademetz and Johann Baptist von Anzer, two Catholic priests were sent on a mission to Sai Kung. Freinademetz visited Yim Tin Tsai and began to work on converting the villagers to Catholicism. Around 1890 he set up a chapel, called the Chapel of Saint Joseph. Over time most of the villagers were baptised into the Catholic Faith.

The village of Yim Tin Tsai had its own small primary school called Ching Po School. This was in use for around a century before closing down in 1997 due to falling enrollment.

Life on Yim Tin Tsai was hard and over time many of the islanders moved into the city to work in factories, or went overseas in search of work. By the late 1990's Yim Tin Tsai had become abandoned and its buildings had been left to crumble.

However, each May former villagers returned to Yim Tin Tsai to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph. In 1990 one of these former villagers was a man called Colin Chan. Colin Chan had spent his childhood on Yim Tin Tsai before his parents moved to Sai Kung and then to the UK. He had not returned to Yim Tin Tsai for many years and was horrified when he saw how run down the village had become. He could not even enter his old house, as it was completely overgrown by trees and bushes. He decided to do something about this, but he couldn't do it alone, so he contacted other former villagers, both in Hong Kong and overseas. Plus he got in touch with various government agencies and even the Catholic Church. With help and funding from all these sources, he set about trying to restore the village. In 1999 Colin Chan was elected the new village head of Yim Tin Tsai. He worked on getting money to repair and extend Yim Tin Tsai's pier. Then he secured money to restore Saint Joseph's Chapel. He was helped in this endeavour by the fact that Josef Freinademetz was canonized on October 5, 2003 by Pope John Paul II and so interest in him had greatly increased.

By 2004, after a great deal of hard work, the chapel restoration was complete and in 2005 the restored chapel received an Award of Merit from the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Saint Joseph's Chapel is now a listed Grade 2 Historic Building.

Work also began on restoring the village salt pans. These are now used to teach people about salt production. These restoration efforts won an Award of Distinction at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2015.

Another building that has been lovingly restored is the little village school. Nowadays this is used as a Heritage Exhibition Centre.

Work is also being carried out on the old village houses. Some have already been restored and some will be in the future.

I went to Yim Tin Tsai with my friend Agnes. I arrived a short time before her and took a quick look at Sai Kung Seafront before she arrived.

This pond and these boat sculptures are next to the bus station.

Pond and boat sculptures.

The waterfront from the waterfront gardens.

One of Sai Kung's piers.

Boats on the waterfront.

Once Agnes got there, we bought tickets for the Fat Lady boat, which can be identified by its rainbow coloured flags. The tickets cost HK$50 return. They didn't include entry to the Heritage Exhibition Centre or the Salt Pans. For each of these we had to pay an additional HK$20, making a total cost of HK$90. The Hakka lady in charge of the Heritage Exhibition Centre said if we had used the official boat we would have paid HK$70 and it would have included entrance fees. However, it seems the Fat Lady boat runs more frequently, so you win some, you lose some.

Fat Lady Boat.

The boat ride to Yim Tin Tsai leaves from Sai Kung Pier and only takes around fifteen minutes. It's a very pleasant journey as it passes some of the other lovely Sai Kung islands.

Leaving Sai Kung.

Scenery on the way.

Scenery on the way.

Scenery on the way.

Agnes on the boat.

Me on the boat.

Agnes had been to Yim Tin Tsai several years previously and was impressed by how it had changed. There are now several places to eat and drink and a lot more of the island has been restored. If Colin Chan continues following his dream, the whole island may eventually one day be restored, which would be wonderful.

Map of the island.

A short distance from the pier, I noticed a village house with gorgeous stained glass panels. There are several of these on the island and they depict scenes from village life.

House with stained glass.

Stained glass showing a wedding.

Stained glass showing a worker in the fields.

There are also various other art installations dotted around the island, because in 2019 the Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival was held here and then later during the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival six artists created artworks on the theme of 'Sequencing' here.

Art on a surfboard.

This art work by Dylan Kwok is supposed to look like God's hands. I have to admit I didn't see it like this. I just saw a maze.

The Salty Breeze by Sherman Sun and Sarah Mui.

Art on the wall of a house.

Art on the wall of a house.

We began by visiting the church. This is a beautiful building. There's an ornate stairway leading up to it and an old bell on display outside it. Inside there is a statue of Josef Freinademetz and some lovely stained glass windows. According to village folklore, Yim Tin Tsai was at one time plagued by pirate raids. When the islanders converted to Christianity, and Saint Joseph's Chapel with its large rooftop cross was built, they claim this frightened the pirates away.

Saint Joseph's Chapel.

Inside the Church.

Stained glass window inside the chapel.

Bell outside the church.

View from outside the church.

After looking at the church, we went to the Heritage Exhibition Centre. This was once the village school and still contained some of the desks and chairs from this time. It also had various articles from Hakka Culture such as ceramics, traditional clothing, including lots of Hakka ladies' hats, and a dragon head. The lady in charge here was very friendly and told Agnes a lot about Hakka culture and Yim Tin Tsai.

The Heritage Exhibition Centre.

Model of Saint Joseph's Chapel on on The Feast of Saint Joseph.

Hakka clothes and utensils.

Ceramics and other utensils.

The old school room blackboard with children's work on display.

Agnes talking to the Hakka lady in charge.

Old photo of the school.

Art installation outside Heritage Exhibition Centre that was inspired by the process of crystallisation and the geometric structure of salt.

Next we went to the salt pans and saw where the sea water went through various stages of evaporation. We were also shown some of the salt that has been produced here. Apparently this is available for purchase. It is possible to do a workshop here and actually have a go at producing some salt.

Looking down on the saltpans from the exhibition centre.

Looking across the salt pans.

Venturing out into the salt pans.

A salt pan.

Looking back at the village across the salt pans.

Showing some of the salt produced on Yim Tin Tsai.

Agnes holding some of the salt produced here.

Salt inspired artwork.

Artwork and reflection in the salt pans.

There are lots of mangroves on Yim Tin Tsai and Agnes noticed some fiddler crabs in the shallow waters near the salt pans. Male fiddler crabs have one normal sized claw and one huge claw. Females have two normal sized claws.

Mangroves.

Agnes among the Mangroves.

Fiddler crabs.

We walked to and across the Jade-Girdle Bridge which connects Yim Tin Tsai and Kau Sai Chau. Since 1995 Kau Sai Chau has been home to Hong Kong's only public golf course. I have actually been to the driving range here several times years ago. I remember the golf course had an excellent restaurant.

Sign for the Jade-girdle bridge.

Jade-girdle bridge.

Jade-girdle bridge.

Agnes on the bridge.

This artwork is called 'Fragile World', by Anthony Ko.

Me on the bridge.

Me on the bridge.

View from the bridge.

View from the bridge.

View from the bridge.

After looking at the bridge, we went to the twin pavilions at the top of the island. There are beautiful views from here. We could see the whole of Yim Tin Tsai Village. In the distance we could see other islands, a small dam and Sai Kung.

Pavilion.

Looking back at Sai Kung.

View over Yim Tin Tsai.

Closer view towards the church.

View over the dam.

From a second pavilion we could also see Yim Tin Tsai's cemetery and decided to look there next. Agnes pointed out that every tomb stone bore the name Chan. In Hakka culture it's the sons who continue the family name. The daughters marry outside and become part of their husband's clan.

Graveyard.

Graveyard.

As we walked we passed lots of lovely flowers and plants.

Flower.

Flower.

Typical island scenery.

Next we went to find the Spring of Living Water. This well was the islanders only source of fresh water right up to the 1960's when a small reservoir was built on Kau Sai Chau. Some of the water from this reservoir was diverted to Yim Tin Tsai. The Spring of Living Water still yields fresh water all year round.

The Spring of Living Water.

The Spring of Living Water.

From this point we headed back into the village and visited the former residence of Josef Freinademetz. There's a statue of him here. He was of Austrian/Italian descent, but dressed in traditional Chinese clothing and could speak fluent Hakka. There was more beautiful stain glass here and a sculpture of a book inscribed with the words: "The only language understood by people everywhere is the language of love."

The former residence of Josef Freinademetz.

Statue of Josef Freinademetz.

Book sculpture.

Stain glass panel.

Stained glass panel.

After this we had a look at some of the village houses, both restored and unrestored, then headed back to the ferry pier.

Ruined houses.

Ruined houses.

Ruined houses.

Ruined houses.

Ruined house.

Ruined house.

Ruined house.

House that has been restored.

A group of people were kayaking at the beach next to the pier. The sea looked pretty inviting. Overall I had found Yim Tin Tsai to be incredibly peaceful and beautiful.

Looking down at the pier

Kayaks on the beach.

Kayaks and pier.

Looking back at the beach.

The journey back to Sai Kung was pleasant and scenic. We were meeting our friend Ivy in Sai Kung for lunch. Ivy had originally been coming with us to Yim Tin Tsai, but unfortunately had been called in to work unexpectedly.

We went to Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant on the seafront where Agnes very kindly treated us to dim sum. I was quite fascinated by the huge tanks of seafood at the back of the restaurant. Among a large variety of creatures, there were massive crabs here and one enormous fish that could probably have fed the whole restaurant. We had steamed pork buns, steamed vegetable buns, shrimp dumplings, turnip cake, rice noodle rolls and fun guo, a kind of dumpling stuffed with vegetables and peanuts.

Restaurants on the waterfront.

Restaurants on the waterfront.

Tanks filled with sea creatures.

Tanks filled with sea creatures.

Huge crabs.

Agnes and Ivy.

The three of us.

Steamed buns.

Dumplings.

It was a lovely meal and we had a really good catch up. Ivy has got lots of races lined up to do and Agnes is going to be doing quite a bit of travelling, both for work and pleasure. Hopefully, the three of us can get together for more exploring in the near future.

After lunch I felt I better head back to Peter. I feel guilty if I abandon him for too long and Agnes and Ivy headed off for a wander around Sai Kung.

It had been a lovely day out and Yim Tin Tsai had more than lived up to my expectations.