Advertisement
A fair bit has happened since my Shanghai trip and you'll all be glad to know that my bleeding feet healed rather nicely!
Besides the general grind of work, gym, eating, sleeping and not doing much during the week, it is the weekends that alleviate the burden of the working week. A lot of people tend to think that I don't have a real job and that I am travelling in Asia and therefore it is all a big partying holiday. This is not necessarily true. I have a REAL job, I am a trained teacher and I work hard. I am not travelling around and I don't party... I'm too tired!! And just like anywhere and everyone else in the world, I try to relax during the weekends to gear up for another week in my countdown to going home for the Summer.
Being in a foreign country is exciting but once you arrive here you lose sight that this is an exotic far away land and you just consider it home. How many people out there REALLY do touristy things in their hometown? How many of you know your city really well? I know that there
are many things in Porto that I have still not been too and I lived there for such a long time that it's almost shameful to say I'm from there!! That;s exactly what was beginning to happen in HK. I was becoming too comfortable to my surroundings, too nonchalant. So last weekend I went cuttlefishing and I went out on a boat ride to Turtle Beach.
Although I tend not to socialize with people from work, after the Shanghai trip I got to know a few of the teachers a bit better and on a more personal level rather than as colleagues. One or two of them more specifically have some of the same aspirations as I do to explore more of HK and get to know it a bit better so we decided to go cuttlefishing in Sai Kung in order to do something different. For those of you who do not know, cuttlefish are small squid like creatures. We were warned that they would squirt ink and so wore dark clothing. We were also forewarned that it would rain, so I wore my brand new wellies! I looked ridiculous in black shorts, knee high wellies and a
Capoeira in Sai Kung
On our way to the boat we pass by a group of youngsters doing capoeira! black t-shirt... I was definately out for the kill! The fishing of the cuttlefish has to take place at night time. The boat had huge lamps on the side of the boat to which the cuttlefish were attracted to and so the plan was to lure them with the bright light and then hook them throught the eye. Sounds mean, I know, but they tasted really good! We used the traditional Chinese way of fishing (although I think it's the traditional poor man's way of fishing worldwide) which involved a fishing line tied to a plastic handle on one end and a dangerous hook on the other. Throwing the line into the sea, you pull incessantly until you hook one of the delicious mini beasts. Sounds easy and I, being the competitive self that I am, managed to fish 7 cuttlefish but many of the others on the boat managed none (losers!). We had a lady on board who cooked them there and then and we all dug in to some nice garlicky and very fresh cuttlefish! YUMMY! It was something different to do and definately a lot of fun!
The following day the sun was shining and the
gorgeous weather was beckoning to get on a boat and out to sea for some sun, sand and frolick! Vickie's cousin's family has a boat and invited Vickie along, who in turn invited me and we set sail to Turtle Beach (it's proper name is Sham Wan beach). That Sunday was the last day that anybody would be able to set foot on Turtle Beach because, as it's name tells you, this beach from now until September has big female turtles depositing their eggs on the sand, and as a precaution, no people are allowed to dock their boats here or frequent the beach. Unfortunately, Vickie's cousin, who is a marine biologist, told us that for some years the turtles have not been coming to the beach to deposit their eggs but that there are conservationsits trying to rectify the situation. The boat was docked about a 10 minute swim from the beach so off we went swimming in the 'interesting shade of green' sea. I was happy to find that the sea was a nice temperature unlike the soup that I found it to be in Vietnam!! When we swam back it was time for lunchtime and we had
a very nice lunch on the boat.. it was very St. Tropez dahling, except in HK...! And what that means is that the weather can drastically change in a matter of seconds, which it did by firstly scaring the living daylight out of me by thundering horrendously and then the forceful rain and crazy lightning show.... and we were in the middle of the sea!!!!! I was picturing a huge storm like the one in the Little Mermaid (I'm serious, that's what kept creeping into my mind! I am so not old enough to have children yet...) but alas it was nothing of the sort. Still scary but not the huge waves that I was anticipating. That put an end to our afternoon of sun, sand and fun and we returned to HK wet, cold and bothered. It was a great day though. I met some other people on the boat who emphasised how international HK really is. One of the families on the boat had a French father a Dutch mother and both girls had lived in Hong Kong since they were born, so they could speak French, Dutch, Mandarin, Cantonese and English. And Vickie's cousin, who is from
Cuttlefish
Inky tosspots! HK was married to a French man (what is with all these French!), and had 3 boys, who could also speak an insane amount of languages and were now moving to live in Canada. Their boat is for sale by the way, does anyone want to chip in to the 'Please Give Marta a Boat' fund?
Before this adventurous weekend I bought a new SLR camera (not a Mercedes Lisa...) and took it on both trips. I love it! It did fall down the stairs on the boat the very first day I bought it but suffered no visible damages to it. I love Nikon! So well built! Well done Japan!
More recently, and rounding this entry off nicely, I was concussed by a student, a kindergarten student, who flew at me with a well intentioned hug but quickly turned into a disaster as she flung me off my chair and I fell down and hit my ear on the sharp table corner! On my way home to see the doctor that day I was also bitten by a very, very small caterpillar that caused an insane reaction likened to the ones from jellyfish stings. So from now
on, I was stung by a jelly fish and not bitten by a caterpillar, alright!!??
I'm now 6 weeks and counting from being home, which I am very excited about although it's giving me no time at all to look for housing for next year and move my stuff to Vickie's. Roll on the summer! Oh and I also booked my Christmas holiday in Bali! Sweet!
Enjoy the pics.
Hope everyone is doing fine. Oh and as usual, no photos of me.. I don't like being on the other side of the camera!
Rooj xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.091s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 59; dbt: 0.0382s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Rosie
non-member comment
Hey marta, glad to hear all's well with you- sorry im so crap at responding to you, but i do love hearing about your life in HK. Keep it up!!! xxxx