the next day

i know, it was photo overdose of this place from yesterday. i just thought i'd put this one up, taken early morning of the next day, because that lone figure in the water may or may not be me bathing in the buff.

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long ke wan, sai kung

i had a great time in long ke wan (photo above - click for full size, a panoramic view taken from the hill as we walked from east dam of high island reservoir).  it was peaceful, weather was cooperative, water was clear, sand was fine, company was most agreeable. perfect weekend getaway. and right here in hong kong!

ok, so let me back track.  after visiting sai kung town, we took a taxi to the east dam roundabout of high island reservoir, passing by west dam (we asked the taxi to stop so i can snap the photo above and below).  in most websites you'll come across, the trip is usually described as a bus ride plus a three-hour hike. but we didn't go for the hike, we went there for the beach.  HK$ 6 for the bus plus a three-hour walk in this heat, or a HK$110 (including tip) taxi ride? was really a no-brainer (although we did see health nuts who did the hike).

photo above is the east dam of the reservoir where the taxi dropped us off.  from there it was another 20-30 minutes of walk (steep climb and descent) to get to the beach.  considering we were carrying our camping stuff and photo stuff and 16ltrs of water between us (ok, we over estimated. we were able to use up just more than half of that), it wasn't exactly easy.  no wonder there were so many boats there - it's still the easiest way to get there.

when we finally saw the place (photo, top) from the hill, and heard the voices of people having fun, the effort was really nothing.  first thing we did was look for a nice place to set up the tent (i bought one instead of sleeping bag - turned out to be a good decision). photo above is also a panoramic view from where we stayed - click image to enlarge.

by late afternoon most of the boats have left and we shared the whole beach with only two other groups of campers.  the water was nice and warm. it was most relaxing and i just couldn't get away from it. it was already very late when i dried off.

by sunset we already had a nice fire going (we brought our own charcoal, huh!) although it was really only for effect, as it was really warm, with only very gentle breeze. we didn't cook anything either.  we had bread and fruits and nuts and german sausages. 

we stayed out most of the night, lying down on the straw mattresses, watching stars and chatting and listening to iTunes.  was surprised how long the battery lasted when the screen was off, even if the speaker is on full volume.  there was no signal from my phone service provider ("3") so i didn't mind just using it as a radio.  the tent on the photo above was the one i bought in mong kok. 

all images taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II  and panoramas stitched with Adobe Photoshop Extended CS5.

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sai kung town, hong kong

following charlie's (ms. p. in disguise) suggestion, i finally got to visit sai kung town.  well i'm sure i've visited 20 or so years ago when i lived in hong kong the first time, but during that time all towns' names sounded the same to me so i can't remember any of it.  this time around, dick, an old friend (in this picture, my nephews, two of whom are now married, were actually watching him do silly things to amuse them), came along.  photo, above, shows a fishing boat selling fresh seafood at the pier.  dick was amused when one of them got indignant when a customer offered her own bag to put her purchased fish in, saying (dick's translation): "oh please, i provide special plastic boxes for these".

the town center has narrow passages and seafood restaurants similar to those in lamma island's fishing villages, but this one, being in the main island, also has the usual chains of groceries and shops as anywhere else in hong kong.  being favored by expats, it also has some of the shops they frequent in central/soho.   

as this was just a stop before going to the beach, we didn't spend much time here.

XXX