Today, I did the tourist thing – partially to get over jet lag and partially to acclimate myself to the temperature and humidity. Though I’ve been to Hong Kong a number of times, I’ve never taken the time to go to any of the outer islands. Cheung Chau was a fishing village; actually, it still is, but it has also become a tourist attraction and a day trip for Hong Kongers wanting to get out of the city. As far as I can tell, motorized vehicles are not allowed on Cheng Chau and the only vehicle I saw was an ambulance. There is a hospital, a seminary, a couple of beaches and some very nice walking trails – definitely different from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.
I wandered away from the beach front and back some side streets to eat in a small restaurant. It was crowded (a good sign) and I was the only Westerner. There were no empty tables, but here people think more in terms of an empty seat, so I just took a seat in a booth with another guy. We didn’t talk, but when he left, he told me to “go slowly,” sort of the equivalent of “take it easy.”
“Desiccated” is a word I often use to describe how I feel in southern China in the summer. After several hours of walking and climbing around Cheung Chau, I was feeling really dried out (even though I drank lots of water), so I came back to the Booth Lodge and took a nap. (So much for getting over jet lag and getting acclimated!)
This evening, I went back to the Night Market and had supper. The guy in the picture here has a t-shirt that reads, “Terry’s Barber Shop;” I took that for my teammate Terry Rayles.
Tomorrow, I head into China. I’m not sure I’ll be able to blog for the next few days.
