The Hong Kong Hike



When most people think of Hong Kong they visualize all the skyscrapers. However, Hong Kong is surrounded by green hills and has many well developed trails. We haven't done a lot of hiking because it is usually too darn hot, but the weather was perfect this Sunday afternoon so with hiking book in hand off we went to do a 12k hike around the South China Sea headlands not far from Sai Kung.



The Hong Kong idea of a trail means that the whole thing is a concrete walkway. The trail we chose took us to what is known as the most beautiful beach in Hong Kong. And it is a darn good thing they were right, because we had no idea what the concrete path was gonna be like.



The trail book did not give us elevation information. Nor did it include in the total distance the part of the trail that you had to cover to get to the trail described, nor the distance to get to a road to get a ride home. All total we walked 20k and only about 2k of that was flat. There rest included going up and down 3 crests about 800 to 1000 feet each.



Much of the hinterland of Hong Kong is inhabited by feral cattle. Going up one crest we shared the trail with this cow. I'm happy to report I was brave enough to pass the cow and beat her up the hill.



Once we got down to the beach and had been on a concrete trail for 10k, the trail crossed the beach and this stream. The stream crossing was on this decrepit single-plank bridge. Guess they ran out of concrete.

Long Lost Friend

Way way back the first year that Denis & I were married we lived in South Lake Tahoe and got to be friends with one of the gals I worked with Margaret. About three years later Margaret moved back to her home town of San Diego, CA and we only saw her once again a couple years after she moved. For the past 20 years Margaret has stayed on my Christmas card list, but we hadn't been in touch other than the annual exchange in cards until this year.

After getting this years card, Margaret sent me an email saying she had vacation time and would love to see Hong Kong. Within 4 days she had a ticket. What fun to be waiting at the airport to greet her after 20 years. We recognized each other immediately and had a great visit.

I think one of the things Margaret enjoyed most was trying the different cuisines. Here you see us at a Korean BBQ and at the "Family Bar," our favorite bar at the Intercontinental Hotel lobby lounge.

Even though the weather was foggy we decided to make the trek to the Biggest Buddha in the world that is here on Lantau Island. They just opened the world's longest cable car ride that takes you there.

Taking in the Culture in Phuket, Thailand

We wanted to make sure the kids didn't get bored with all the temples, museums and such so we whisked them off to Phuket, Thailand where our friend Roger from the UK had just bought a condo.

Thai massage was a hit during a day on the beach. A one hour massage was about $12usd. We spent an evening wandering Patong Beach where we were entertained by these lovely men. Yes men. And the girls built a temple of their own in Roger's rooftop pool. They called it the Beeramid.

Fun Wherever We Went

Our Hong Kong son, Louis joined in the family fun in a local Sai Kung bar. Louis worked with Denis at SML and is my go-to person when I get stuck communicating. Laine picked dinner out of the tank at the seafood restaurant.

All the Durgin's Do Hong Kong

Chaz made his first visit to Hong Kong along with Laine and friend Lindsey to start off 2007. Daily we took the sampan across the harbour. We had a beautiful day to take the tram up to the peak on Hong Kong island.

First Original Design

My nephew Peter asked me to knit him a ski mask, but he wanted a long tail on it. Couldn't find a pattern so created my own and then added a Chinese symbol. The symbol is for Wisdom, hoping it will give him the wisdom not to wear this to a bank.

Cookies Anyone?

This year cookie decorating got pretty wild after mimosas and bloody mary's

Scaling Back at Christmas

Back when we had the big lodge in Buffalo we were used to lots of room for our Christmas tree. This year in the St. Cloud house Denis thought we'd save room by using just half of the artificial tree.

From the Far East to the Midwest

We returned to the US in time to spend Thanksgiving with Denis' Uncle Don and Aunt Kathy on their horse ranch in Ohio. The weather was great and we got some riding in. Oh those muscles were sore!

Besides riding we went hiking in a nearby state park where I found a waterfall to hide behind.

The Best Man is a Dragon

We awoke one Saturday morning in November to the sound of beating drums which in Hong Kong means a dragon is on the loose. Running from window to window we see that a dragon is disappearing from our street into the small village across the street followed by a bunch of black tuxedoes.

I scurried down to my resident Chinese advisor to find out what was going on and Robert the security guard told me that a marriage was in the making and the groom with dragon in tow was going to the bride's home to swoop her off to the wedding party.

Back upstairs a little while later the drums started up again so up to the roof I go and see the dragon emerging from the village and heading to a yacht at our pier. Evidently the wedding party was on a boat and the dragon was going along. Once the dragon was onboard it took up most of the upper deck.

Another Thailand Garden Plot

Before we head back to the US for the holidays we decided to squeeze in one more trip to Thailand. This time to Koh Samui on the South China Sea side of Thailand. You know it's gonna be good when you arrive at the airport and the terminal is a thatched hut and ponds surround the immigration counter. We stayed in a bunglow on the quiet side of the island (a whole 20 minute taxi ride to the busy side) right on the beach.

Denis settled in by hanging his new tie-dyed hammock in the trees in our front yard. We found the resort next door had the best food and Denis had to have his picture taken with his new favorite cook. A 4-course Thai meal including a couple beers ran about $4usd. One night we did go over to the busy side and had to eat in the restaurant that had this roast pig in the window. Good, but near as good as the $4 meal next door.

The Bitches

I had my Stitch n' Bitch gang over for roof top BBQ but we couldn't bitch cuz our spouses were there too and we couldn't stitch cuz we were drinking. Had a good time anyway.

There's more in the group, we're just the camera hogs.

Bonsai

With Denis' extra time at home he took more interest in improving our roof top garden and went with me to the local nursery. The nursery has been run by the same family for 5 generations. The father of the current generation in charge is a master at bonsai and is retired except for providing bonsai for sale at the nursery. This sago palm bonsai that we fell in love with has 5 generations of the same palm in its design in honor of the family. All the bonsais the father is creating now has 5 generations.

Best Seat on the Bus

For the first time since I've been in Hong Kong I was lucky enough to get the best seat on the bus...front row on the top of the double decker. This photo gives you an idea of the terrain we go through to get from the big city to our community of Sai Kung which is surrounded by country park land.

Beware of the Speed Bumps

In downtown Saladan, the only village on Koh Lanta, they have to control the speed of scooters and tuk tuks.

Denis in the Garden

Most of you know Denis has been exiled to the SML garden for 6 months after which time he can re-enter the workforce. A week after he was put in the garden, we decided to hit the road to a remote beach in Thailand. Koh Lanta is off the coast of southwest Thailand, 3 hours from the closest airport by car. For 2 weeks we beached it, went snorkeling and diving and elephant trekking.

Dry Skin
When we got back from our US vacation my first task was a trip to the foot salon to get rid of the dry skin on my feet. The pedicurist was amazed at how my skin had dried up in only two weeks away from the humidity.

Fort Feline
This village was set up in a parking area in Gold Beach,OR. The inhabitants seemed quite happy inside their homes.

Cruising the Coast

Denis & I have always thought that we'd eventually retire back in the pacific northwest so we spent a few days driving down the coast and found a spot we'll keep our eye on...Gold Beach, Oregon. Here the Rogue River meets the pacific making for some great salmon & steelhead fishing. It's still a quiet little fishing village.

Couer d' Alene Cabin

Next stop was to see Jim & Teresa's boat-in-only cabin on the lake. The fishing and boating was great.