2.06.2010

HK Alphabet :: I, J

i :: islands


One of our salvations this past year and a half in Hong Kong has been the quick and total escape of a day at an island. These islands are a different Hong Kong--the pace is slower, buildings are low, bikes are everywhere. There are wide sidewalks, seafood restaurants lining the harbors, and narrow lanes to explore. And sometimes, you even find a scene like this--a couple taking their own wedding photos.


(I loved loved loved coming across this couple, combining the very typical Hong Kong camera culture with a very non-typical DIY mentality. It was a long empty stretch of beach and we watched for awhile from the road, behind some trees. It wasn't until after we had hiked on that I realized we should have offered to take a picture of the two together, but somehow it didn't feel right to intrude ... )

j :: junks


The "junk trip" is a time-honored way to celebrate an event in Hong Kong. Technically a "junk" is a traditional Chinese sailing vessel, but now it simply means any large boat that people hire, fill with beer and food, and take to the sea. The traditional ones are beautiful, certainly, with square, red sails, but they are all fun and offer that much-needed chance to breathe. No matter where one is in the world, I do believe, whether on the Ompompanoosuc or the Georgian Bay, the Muscongus Sound or the South China sea, a boat offers freedom.

"There is nothing--absolutely nothing--half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
--Water Rat to Mole in Kenneth Graeme's Wind in the WIllows

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