16 September
Tai O
Ingrid has written in more detail about the outing to Tai O and uploaded a slide show of some of the pictures we took. As she remarks, part of the purpose of the boat trip was to see the famous Pearl River estuary white dolphins. However, they decided not to put in an appearance. The lunch was fun as always with loads of dishes to share on the table and HK colleagues who insisted on serving us so we did not miss out on anything. There was also a workshop in which we learned how to cure egg yolks. One of the snaps shows Steffen, our Danish colleague washing the yolk before salting it and putting it out to dry in the sun.
The Giant Buddha of Lantau
On Saturday all four volunteers took the MTR (the tube) to Lantau Island. The airport is built on an artificial annex to the island. We sampled the outlets there (in reality a huge shopping mall) and had lunch before taking the cable car up to the giant Buddha, the largest such statue in the world and the neighbouring monastery and village. One can barely imagine the change this statue has brought to the village, making it into a highly popular tourist venue. On the way up we had incredible views of the Pearl Estuary and the new super bridge being built to Macau. From the village we took the bus to Mui Wo, a fishing village on the south east coast. The driver drove like a madman down the twisting, narrow road. At Mui Wo we enjoyed a tasty meal at a Turkish restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. They were not aware of the recommendation. Then it was the ferry back to HK Island and the bright lights.
Typhoon
The typhoon season is tiling off but an early warning said a latecomer Force 8 was heading our way, having already done considerable damage in the Philipines. Later on we were told it was no longer coming straight at us but had veered towards Hainan. Nonetheless at 10.40 a Force 8 warning was posted. It did rain quite a lot and there was some wind but nothing special so we headed up the road for morning prayers as usual. But clearly the shuttle bus had not brought the staff. On walking up the steps to LTS to take my morning class I was met by two of my students from Myanmar who told me classes were cancelled. Later on the authorities lowered the category to Force 3 so afternoon classes took place and the bus came up to TFS with the staff. A colleague described a Force 10 cyclone: she lived on the 29th floor of a tower block and could see stuff flying around below her window. Being in a bungalow in the woods we are obviously far more sheltered.
Tai O
Ingrid has written in more detail about the outing to Tai O and uploaded a slide show of some of the pictures we took. As she remarks, part of the purpose of the boat trip was to see the famous Pearl River estuary white dolphins. However, they decided not to put in an appearance. The lunch was fun as always with loads of dishes to share on the table and HK colleagues who insisted on serving us so we did not miss out on anything. There was also a workshop in which we learned how to cure egg yolks. One of the snaps shows Steffen, our Danish colleague washing the yolk before salting it and putting it out to dry in the sun.
The Giant Buddha of Lantau
On Saturday all four volunteers took the MTR (the tube) to Lantau Island. The airport is built on an artificial annex to the island. We sampled the outlets there (in reality a huge shopping mall) and had lunch before taking the cable car up to the giant Buddha, the largest such statue in the world and the neighbouring monastery and village. One can barely imagine the change this statue has brought to the village, making it into a highly popular tourist venue. On the way up we had incredible views of the Pearl Estuary and the new super bridge being built to Macau. From the village we took the bus to Mui Wo, a fishing village on the south east coast. The driver drove like a madman down the twisting, narrow road. At Mui Wo we enjoyed a tasty meal at a Turkish restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. They were not aware of the recommendation. Then it was the ferry back to HK Island and the bright lights.
Typhoon
The typhoon season is tiling off but an early warning said a latecomer Force 8 was heading our way, having already done considerable damage in the Philipines. Later on we were told it was no longer coming straight at us but had veered towards Hainan. Nonetheless at 10.40 a Force 8 warning was posted. It did rain quite a lot and there was some wind but nothing special so we headed up the road for morning prayers as usual. But clearly the shuttle bus had not brought the staff. On walking up the steps to LTS to take my morning class I was met by two of my students from Myanmar who told me classes were cancelled. Later on the authorities lowered the category to Force 3 so afternoon classes took place and the bus came up to TFS with the staff. A colleague described a Force 10 cyclone: she lived on the 29th floor of a tower block and could see stuff flying around below her window. Being in a bungalow in the woods we are obviously far more sheltered.