後記：香港攝影之行

從1999年第一次去香港到至今，一轉眼就11個年頭。。。每一次的經歷與旅行同伴都不同，到現在每次的經歷都還在腦海里。。。就是因爲建立了種種的回憶，而我又好鈡意聼港式的廣東話，香港給了我第二個家的感覺。這種感覺又包含了各種情意。。。就這樣不由自主地令我每三年就想回去，吃喜歡的食物、去重游熟悉的地方。

今年初開此，就已經在心理有把聲叫我再度去香港！想前想后，終于都讓我在有限的資金下去了一趟攝影之行。我從來都沒試過用那麽少錢去香港玩！我也從來沒試過最後一分鐘訂機票、宿舍與計劃行程。第6次的旅程是應該來點不一樣的嘗試！我滿心期待一個人的旅行。。。

打從開始，班機的延遲 + 挨餓就影響我的心情。。。住在一個不熟悉的地方，又人山人海的旺角區有種窒息的感覺呀！真是沒想到沒有回家的這3年，人潮好像增加了10倍！而我又發覺行出街，好多是内地過來的遊客！我住的那個大廈上下又多數是他們。。。我到底是在香港嗎？ 好才，我不鈡意shopping，不需留在購物區！因爲主要是為了攝影而來，已經計劃2日會去離島玩。。。從攝影到吃嘢，我到好想捕捉[舊香港的風味]，這就是為自己設定的主題。

這短短6日的旅程可以說是最辛苦的。。。不過也不是沒回報。恢復體力后，仔細想想，其實我都算有點成就感。。。自己一個與cam仔，慢慢地、靜心地去感受大自然。。。就是因爲沒同伴，所以我更加可以用心去觀察四周圍，去想要怎樣去compose每一個鏡頭。雖然我都好希望有志同道合的朋友一起去玩，但幸好雙子的我，也可以獨處，因爲有兩個我與自己對話， 哈哈！帶回來的收穫就是我的攝影作品，有部分是挺滿意的。儅我看到沮喪的天氣時，就想我不能左右天氣，只能左右鏡頭咯！我終于領悟到，無論你的composition有幾好，天氣真是有好大的影響！有朋友說我的相片不像她熟悉的香港。。。而不講也以爲是鬼佬拍出來的。。。聼了真是好高興 ~ 有人的認同就等於給我一支強心針 ^o^

在記載我的blog的當兒，也選了近來好喜歡的3首廣東歌來總結一下：

古巨基《心跳回憶》：有種懷舊的feel，會令人想回初時的感覺。。。就好像香港這個地方給我的種種回憶。 代表歌詞：“無論事隔多年我也心跳 留低這光線償還無限虧欠”

陳奕迅 《葡萄成熟時》：好比喻人生一樣，從剛畢業的我到現在經歷的事情。。。不知道何時會等到葡萄成熟，去迎接它的果子。6 次的旅程也代表不同階段的我。代表歌詞：“留低擊傷你的石頭從錯誤裡吸收”

小肥 + 吳雨霏 《逼得寵物太緊》：好鈡意這首曾經紅遍香港的K歌，沒想到在旺角的店裡面聽到小肥的 《寵物》，令我聼完才離開。合唱版也好正。代表歌詞：“淪爲行過寵物 貓狗了解我的淒慘”好有感觸阿！拿著行李在街頭，沒有德士去機場，真是慘字一個！

這次之後，我想會很久很久再回去，大致上我想探索的地方都走遍了。。。是時候去其它地方探險啦！

HK Day 6: Exploring Diamond Hill （鑽石山）

I've came to the last day of my trip & the places I wana visit were mostly done, except for this final stop... Prior to setting off, gotta visit the HK cafe downstairs for the last time. Today's breakfast would be  菠蘿油 + 熱檸蜜 ~ simply impossible to find the exact taste in Sg!  菠蘿 means pineapple but the bun does not contain any pineapple at all, juz a name given to its outlook, haha! This bun is also a staple in any HK cafe & ppl can eat it for breakfast or tea =)

Done wif breakfast, i did a chk out of my room & left my luggage wif the 9th floor reception. I only had 1 destination in mind ~ Diamond Hill (鑽石山). Usually I would go to Wong Tai Sin, but I wanted to find some new place for photography... Judging from my street directory, the Chi Lin Nunnery (志蓮淨苑) is pretty near to the MTR. Before spotting Chi Lin, there's also a Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池) sighted. Took me awhile to find Chi Lin's main temple area, which u had to walk up the stairs. The lotus pond provided a nice landscape for the temple grounds. Saw a few shutterbugs too & i started snapping shots of the lotus flowers & surroundings.

Juz when I was enjoying my shots, my hp buzz....shit! Sms fr Jetstar that my flight had been delayed till 10.25pm! How to spend the rest of my day & there's no room to return....damm! Hence, I took even a slower pace & walked over to the 南蓮園池, a nicely landscape park...wif neatly trimmed trees, pavilions & fat carps swimming gladily... I like the details, such as a wooden recycle bin & creative toilet signage....haha! One good thing coming to Diamond Hill was the better air & definately lesser tourists... which put one in a relaxing mood.

Lush landscaping

Can enjoy veg meal wif waterfall gushing down the glass

The nearest lunch venue would be Hollywood Plaza, situated next to the MTR. Lunch at the Food Republic food court & my 雙拼 of 叉燒+燒鵝飯 was huge & yummy! Since i dun wish to return to the touristy areas, I decided to catch a jap movie ~ Time Traveller. Sei, only me & another gal in the whole cinema! Wat a weird feeling! The leg-room was narrow too & it turned out that tis movie was the adaption of The Girl who Leapt thru' Time & I like its animation... this version was great too!

        Diff Pespective                             Cultural vs Modern Buildings

It's 5pm+ when i took a stroll along the Goldfish Street at Prince Edward. Then went over to Causeway Bay's SOGO to buy 老婆餅. I expected to be quite fast & shld return to Mong Kok by 6.30pm. Got a shock when I alighted at Admiralty station to transfer train... the platform was filled wif a humongous crowd I never encountered bef! There were MTR staff doing crowd control & ppl were whipping out hp to take pics of the situation! Siao! Only squeeze onto the 3rd train & luckily their train svc was speedy at 1min each.  By the time i got back to hostel was abt 7pm.... Had planned to take a cab to TST MTR, however no cab was in sight despite walking the hostel's area wif my heavy luggage! Damm! Worried that I wouldn't make it to airport in time, my last resort was take the MTR, which was extremely crowded.

Had never experienced such nitemare bef as I usually use the airport bus previously. But i had no choice since already purchased a 2-way Airport Express for Kowloon Station. Hence, I had to wait for the airport shuttle opp TST's Kowloon Hotel. I wonder how the drivers manage in tis city as it's forever jamming & ppl would simply ignore traffic lights... The shuttle bus was caught in a jam too...thou such a short distance away. At the Kowloon MTR, I wanted to check-in first & Jetstar's counter couldn't even be found! Luckily, a friendly svc staff led me to the last counter & told me that JS usually uses this. Haiz, this counter actually was a shared-svc counter wif philippines airline etc... Best part was the gal told me that boarding gate still unknown! Huh! I had never exp this!

Upon reaching the airport, the display board still showed old info of my flight & a tentative time at mid-nite, so confusing! It's 9pm liao, only managed to grab a BK burger in the bustling airport. Went over to T2 & duno which direction to go...was told to go thru' Immigrations first ... T2 was like a ghost-town, wif few passengers. Since no info & no one to turn to, I could only wait...the only console was there's TV here showing my tvb serial's final ep! Only at 10.30pm, the boarding gate no. showed up!  As i was chking the screen, a lady came up to me & asked if i'm taking JS. I told her ya & we shld be heading to xx Gate. While at the boarding gate, met another 2 aunties who chatted wif me. Turned out that they stayed in same hostel as me but on diff level! Finally, we had to Q up to take the connecting bus to the plane. Wow lau, felt so pathetic as we had to climb the stairs up the plane in extreme cold & darkness! Only at 12.30am, the flight departed for Sg....Wat a way to end my trip!

HK Day 5: Foodie's Day!

After using so much energy the past few days, today shall be foodie's day! I'm back to urbanisation & as long as i'm in the city, there's no worry of good food around! Started my morning wif a muz-have here... French Toast & a glass of warm honey lemon. 真係好有滿足感哦! I love to put the sweet maple syrup on the french toast, which had a melting slice of butter on top....inside was filled wif peanut butter! First time ordering the warm honey lemon...somehow the honey used in 茶餐廳 is diff from wat we could get at home! I had been relying on this for my dosage of vitamin C. haha! 

Wif a gd breakfast & gd mood, I headed to Central again! Remember my photography theme? I'm gg to hunt for this unusual Starbucks outlet in Central...Not a fan of Starbucks for sure, but i'm attracted to its interior design from a media report some time back. I was almost there but ended up still walked a de-tour route before spotting it! Cos it's at a not-so-obvious corner! Upon stepping into tis Starbucks, I was lucky to get a seat right inside, that's where it had this 冰室角落.  Coming here need to pick the rite time to avoid the CBD crowd.  Being located in the 'arts district', this outlet was chosen to collaborate wif G.O.D (Goods of Desire), a HK brand to re-create the old HK cafe. A fusion of East meets West coffee culture in support of the arts community, i really enjoy my photoshoot here, snapping almost every single details. Kudos to G.O.D for such an awesome idea! While sipping my ice-choc, i noticed 2 gals trying to take pics & i immediately knew they r s'poreans! Offered to help them take pics & briefly chat wif them too.

After leaving Starbucks, I rmbr G told me that there r 煤氣登 outside to take pics & TVB also filmed here...  Never expect coming to Starbucks would discover another GEM! haha! So retro & fits my theme perfectly! Built bet 1875 & 1889, the Duddell granite steps & the 4 Gas Lamps by its sides r declared national monuments by the Gov... Only after WWII, the gas lamps gave way to electric lamps. Next time, shld i spot these lamps in TVB serials, I would know where liao, keke!

No specific destination at this juncture & i randomly walked the roads & took pics of old architecture ~ saw a church & the old HK Police Post. I like how HK preserved their historical buildings alongside modern buildings. Wif rapid urbanisation & a growing population of 8million, this trip is timely as I'm afraid that the nice old stuff would be gone soon... Without that, it's like a missing piece of jigsaw puzzle. Along e way, I found a G.O.D shop & saw 泰昌餅家, the half a decade old bakery made famous after Chris Patten, the former HK Governor ate its egg tarts. I had sampled its egg tarts last time when cousin Olive brought me here. It doesn't suit my palates cos the egg tarts here r the cookie crust kind, rather than the puffy type. Hence, this round i decided to try its 2nd best-seller ~ the sugar puffs. Read somewhere that this bakery's original specialty was its sugar puff....wow! it's extremely sweet but the dough was quite unique, wif some crispyness. Definately not for the calories-conscious folks ;-)

Moving on, I walked till 上環 area & visited the 文武廟...nothing much. At the side's alley, noticed tis long stretch of stairs & the street name was so apt ~ Ladders Street! haha! Indeed a characteristic of HK.... it's so tiring climbing stairs everywhere, esp the unavoidable MTR exit leading home! Walked to Sheung Wan MTR & decided to go to Tin Hau (天后). Gathered fr the HKTB's web, there's a beef noodles shop there & tis marked my 1st time venturing 天后 area. Upon exiting the station, i sighted the 華姐清湯腩 situated at Electric Rd. Ordered their 清湯牛肉河 ~ the broth was veri sweet & this version of beef hor fun was diff from the beef noodles i had at Causeway Bay. As it's 清湯 style, seems healthier without the oil.

After filling my tummy, i decided to walk down the street to see if have any other interesting stuff... hey, i like here manz... seems like have quite a variety of restaurants & eateries lining the whole stretch! Spotted a shop selling traditional cakes & pondered if i shld try the 砵仔糕 (pudding cake) which i nv try before hk's version! But i'm suppose to look for a dessert shop 1st. Oh boy, so many temptations! Ah, spotted the 晶晶甜品 & I'm the only customer in this little shop. Ordered the 黑芝麻豆花 (black sesame wif jelly beancurd)...while savouring my dessert, i noticed the B&W pics hanging on the wall...veri artistic wo! Various street shots of HK, even hv my doraemon leh! Wif the huge bowl of dessert, i'm super full liao! no more space for my 砵仔糕 :(

Decided to head home for a rest before going TST to mit Olive. After re-charging myself, I strolled to across my place.... 女人街 & wandered around the MK area as it's still early. By 7.20pm, i reached TST & waited for sis outside the kowloon park exit. Geez, it's damm freezing tonite! By 7.45pm, there's still no sight of sis & upon ringing her, then she realised the time! Poor me stood in the cold for 1 hr before sis appear! We walked to Canton Rd's 糖朝 ~ my fav restaurant for dinner. We had 點心 &  糖朝炒飯。。。so shiok! Then, Olive saw the server holding a dessert wif dry ice & enquired wat's that? haha! She had never tried it & found it a novelty, while I would surely order a a cold Mango dessert here wif the dry-ice effects too! Supposedly i wanted to chk out Hardrock Cafe nearby but when we walked past the area, we couldn't find it! Later, we realised that Hardrock had relocated to The Peak! Boo! Cos this round i decided to skip The Peak since weather was bad. Time to head home as it's getting late & cold too!

HK Day 4: Hiking at Cheung Chau （長洲）

I was hesistant if I should stick to my itinerary ~ go hiking at Cheung Chau Island... Into my 4th day in HK, my poor toes had bruises & blisters liao... On the other hand, it's veri claustrophobic to stay in the city! Ahh...okie i shld do as follows:

Today I shld bring a slightly lighter load & leave my tripod at home... Head to Central in search of dim sum first! I had been wanting to try this 蓮香樓 located in 中環 since my last trip, but no time then! This time die die muz go find it! Armed wif my street directory, I exit D2 fr the station & walked along Wellington Street... Sei, it's really a long & uphill street... Now u noe why in hk have lesser 肥仔, cos alot of stairs & against gravity walks! I walked quite far & still couldn't spot tis elusive 茶樓, when i noticed a couple (suspected to be s'poreans too) also looking for this place. They even stopped to ask someone for direction, but i'm quite confident i shld be on the rite track. Yeah, Found! It's a 2-storeys teahouse, which is at least half a decade old. The 1st level is a bakery selling traditional cakes, while the teahouse is on the upper level.

The whole place was packed wif both tourists & locals... Took me awhile to locate a single seat; eating in hk, u have to get use to 搭桌which means sharing a table wif strangers. Once seated, the tea-uncle asked which type of tea i would like. Over here, u could choose the teapot or the single cup kind. I opted for the single cup (for photography's sake, nicer cup, haha!), which contained a really strong brew of tea leaves. Then, it was a long wait for the aunty pushing the dim sum trolley! So hungry! I realised once the trolley stopped in the middle, u have to dash out wif ur card to 'fight' for dim sum! Randomly picked 2 ~  got one that resembles siew mai, but wrapped wif a quail's egg on top & the other was huge beef balls. I wana eat 腸粉 but it juz din appear....The elderly aunty sitting next to me initiated to chat wif me in canto. Turned out that she & her hubby r regulars here & helped me asked when there would be 腸粉 dishing out! Finally got to try it but my verdict was so-so only...Overall, it's quite stressful to eat in this style but it's a veri localised experience!

After brunch, I walked quite a distance towards IFC... the cold weather digested my brunch veri fast, haha! Grabbed a mac & headed to the ferry terminal. I had learnt my lesson fr Tai O, muz fill my tummy since i never noe if there's food selling there! Ferries heading to Cheung Chau is run by First Ferry & i used my Octopus card to pay for the trip. Finally, at 1345 i was onboard the ferry & being a weekday, have the luxury to pick any seats. Thou the ferry was big, i could feel the sweeping currents beneath when the ferry was anchored. At 1425, disembarked from the ferry & marked my first time stepping onto Cheung Chau. I enjoy going to the islands as the air is definately less polluted since no vehicles r allowed except for bicycles.

Strolled along the pier & while checking for directions on their board, I got to know G, who's a HK-er on a photography trip too (wif his 7D)! Since both of us would be on a similar track, we explored the island together. Our first stop was a temple, abt 10mins away fr the pier. It's quite sunny by now & today was the first time i saw a blue sky in the whole week!  Afterwhich, we returned back to the main Praya street, which was lined wif seafood eateries & shops selling souvenirs. I wanted to sample the local 茶果 & went in search for it. We saw 2 stalls selling & G suggested to try the one at the end of the street... Oh, tis 新照記 got media coverage bef, haha! There's only the savoury type which was the radish & 眉豆 (a kind of beans). He bought 3 & we got into our photography mode again when i started taking pics of the food! Then, my turn to buy the 山水豆腐花... Abit odd to eat the cold 茶果 & i found that it tasted like our local soon kuey wif the radish fillings. I would pref it to be warmed up thou'. The radish one tasted better than the 眉豆.

We headed towards Tung Wan Beach after our tea-break... Omg! It's so bloody freezing! Despite the strong winds, I continued taking pics along the beach & we were supposed to look out for the cliff rock... But when we walked to the yatching area, we tot that there's no further pathway & u-turn into the sports school area. Thou Cheung Chau is not too big, neither is it that small too! When we traversed into the residential area, i knew for sure we were on the wrong path, cos i studied the street map before... to get to the ''mini-great wall'' (in order to reach the cliff rock), the stretch is along the coastline. I suggested to chk wif the hotel's reception. Oh, blur us... we should continue from the yatch area & there's a back-end route leading in.

                                                               The elusive rock-cliff

Hence, this kick-started the hiking trail... a densely forested area but the path was well-constructed. At 4pm+, we were considered late liao & factoring that sunset would be veri early. G was concerned if we had sufficient time to get out before dark & i assured him not a problem as i carried a torch wif me too!  To a pc-potato like me, certain part of the path was tiring as I needed to defy gravity to ascend steps again! When we spotted the elusive rock-cliff & tot we could get close to it, alas! the smaller path leading down to the rock was under construction! 好不容易才走到，卻有這麽近、那麽遠的感覺呀！As such we u-turn & G said that he saw another path leading downwards which we could chk it out. We met 2 gals walking in & told them abt the closed-path.  They wanted to walk till the other end & tot that 1hr would be sufficient. Fearing for their safety, i warned them that it's gg be dark soon. But they din wana heed our advice & proceeded...

The downwards leading trail seems abit 'endless' to me as we straddled down...finally, we reached a pavilion & stopped for some photoshoots here. Sei, for the 1st time, i walked till perspire these days! Saw a fisherman on the rocks wif his fishing rod...the currents was really strong! Becos of the fisherman, he created an interesting focus for our pics. The sunlight at this time casted an orangey glow on the cliff rocks which was nice! After satisfying our pics-taking, we headed back to the pier to wait for the sunset! Back here, it's veri windy again & for the 1st time tis wk, i finally saw a proper sunset! At tis moment, I'm glad i came to Cheung Chau today.

G suggested we take the ordinary ferry back, which would be slower but can take pics wif the open windows. His 50mm lens shld work well amidst the low light situation, while i couldn't even stablise my cam on board the ferry manz! 1hr later, we arrived at Central & changed to the small ferry to travel back to Tsim Sha Tsui. On this small ferry, i managed to capture a nice shot when sailing past the Wanchai Convention Ctr wif the neon lights illuminating the sea! Had dinner at 大家樂, a HK fast-food outlet which served a wide variety of food, from hotpot , western to eastern cuisine at a budget price. My beef bolognese rice wif sunny side-up & 冬瓜花生湯 was really yummy! Exhaustion, hungry & coldness...ah, all the feelings i disliked...tis meal certainly compensated! We baded goodbye after dinner & I proceeded to stroll along the waterfront.

Since already in tis area,i gotta admire the Victoria Harbour one more time before i depart HK! Along the way, I noticed many dslr enthusiasts trying to take pics & those without tripods were using the dust-bins as support, hehe! But i din & used freehand ... I knew it won't be as sharp. This is the 2nd time I'm strolling here in such cold weather... rmbr 5yrs ago i did the same! Seriously, never expect Oct would be so chilly in HK! Walked the whole stretch, past the Avenue of Stars & wanted to take pic at the statues....aiyo, the Chinese tourists kept snapping non-stop & there's no way i could take an all-clear pic.

Lastly, took me awhile to locate TST East MTR as I had never taken from here... finally have a sense of satifsation today ^o^

HK Day 3: Sunset at Kwun Tong Pier （觀塘碼頭）

Today would be spent in the city & sub-urban areas at a leisure pace... weather was abit chilly as temp was expected to dip these few days. I had wanted to try the congee at 海皇粥店 & went in search of its location in Mong Kok area. There's a number of their outlets as part of a franchise. When i stepped into this outlet, gosh! So cold! Not many ppl as the morning peak hour had past. I ordered my fav 皮蛋瘦肉粥+ 炸腸 (which is dough fritters wrapped in rice rolls). I simply love the 油條 in HK, somehow it doesn't turn soggy unlike Sg's type! It will remain crispy even when left in the open...I still yet to decipher how they do it!

After a scrumptious breakfast, I boarded the MTR to Wan Chai (exit A3)... Go 太原街 to see toys! haha! 3yrs ago discovered this street & realised have quite a few toy shops... Wana see if can get a doraemon replacement that Matt destroyed! Wif the Halloween craze in HK, one could see halloween related stuff & costumes hanging outside the shops. After walking one round, din see any similar doraemon :( 

Had originally wanted to take the electric tram ride to Tin Hau, but a tram heading to Causeway Bay came first, so i changed my route. It's so packed & luckily i got a seat on the double-deck to take pic. Everytime, i juz enjoy taking tis traditional mode of transport, thou i noe there's a high chance of getting lost! Cos i duno the exact routes of the electric trams, haha! Randomly alighted at Causeway Bay when i saw alot ppl alight! Checked out the bookstore & wandered around looking for food... Not too familiar wif this area. Finally, I saw a noodles shop ~ 利園okie, shall try try lah! These days, I had been eating at off-peak hours to avoid the dining crowd. I tink at least in Sg, even lunch hour, i could still secure a seat...but over in HK, the eateries r usually small & cramp... most ppl prob opt for 外賣.  I ordered the 牛腩面 & duno was i too hungry or wat....the beef noodles tasted damm nice! Thou the soup was abit saltish but u can taste the freshness of the beef & the springy noodles. After devouring my bowl of noodles, I still tot the serving was abit small, haha!

Went home to take a rest before heading out to Kwun Tong （觀塘）... while planning my photography itinerary, I had done a 180 degree change & chose places that I had not ventured bef! Upon alighting the station, I saw a light orangey glow in the skies  & i confirmed my direction wif a passer-by. Along the way,  I walked past “蛋撻王”, the egg tarts really made my mouth water! I couldn't resist the temptation to buy & it would be nice to enjoy a freshly baked egg tart in this chilly weather! I quicken my steps in order to chase the sunset! During tis period, the sun set extremely early, usually by 6pm! My 2nd evening of light-chasing...LoL

Juz before 6pm, I finally located the Kwun Tong Pier... it seems like taking ferries is one of the normal mode of transport for folks living on this part of Kowloon. It's certainly time-saving by taking a ferry to HK Island vs taking the MTR. Alamak! My egg tart was smashed juz by my brisk walk here! But it still tasted so good wif the aroma of the egg custard & now not-so-crispy puff! Sunset seems extremely short due to the clouds hidding it & some fog. Time to practice my long exposures again! By 6.30pm, i took my last shot as it's already very dark! Cold wind was blowing & seriously I had never encountered such degree of coldness in HK before.

Bused back to Kwun Tong MTR & went over to APM Mall for dinner. Alot of ppl as it's after-work, hence it's so hard to even locate a place to eat. Ended up at KFC & realised how environmentally-conscious their KFC was... they still used glass for their Pepsi & a plastic tray for the chicken! Over at their convenience stores & supermarkets, u r expected to bring your own shopping bag too. Headed home to rest to recharge for tomorrow's hiking...

HK Day 2: Exploring Lantau Island （大嶼山）

Woke up by noisy neighbours & decided to get up earlier for a good breakfast! My area was veri convenient & today was my 1st visit to 富豪茶餐廳 located juz 2 mins away... Had a hard time deciding wat shall i eat...hmm, end up wif my preferred hk breakfast ~ soupy macaroni wif ham but the set meal was a huge portion! It came wif double sunny-side ups + bread. Wow! I like how the Siamese twins eggs were done, so pretty! 看了都開胃！

Got bored at standing in the Q...

Started a long journey heading to Tung Chung MTR station & when i reached the Ngong Ping (昂平) 360 Cable Car station, OMG! Such a long snaking Q! It was an hour long Q as after buy the tix, still need to re-queue for the cable car. There's 2 types of cable car, wif the crystal cabin (see thru' flooring) cost more... While queuing, i couldn't help but notice a veri cool gal behind me...she was holding a Canon 7D! Wif her shades on, she have abit of Sammi lookalike pattern lo, haha! I was wondering if we would be in the same cabin... Upon re-queuing, seems unlikely as there were 10ppl in-bet us! But when we were assigned the cabin, she & her bf ended up wif me... Great, I've someone who noe how to use dslr to take pic for me lo ^o^

It was extremely foggy & the skies was juz greyish white...couldn't even make out any clouds ah! I agreed wif the gal who said that today's pics won't be fantastic... But i still tried veri hard to make the best out of the situation. Abt 20mins or so, we finally alighted fr the cable car. Today is Monday but still no lack of tourists thronging Lantau Island!  I was waiting for my turn to snap a view of the Giant Buddha at a platform, when a Chinese couple requested me to snap for them. When I asked the aunty to help me take, she still asked me put up my hand to strike a pose, haha!

It's noon time & I continued my stroll past Ngong Ping Village ... along the way i took quite a number of pics. As I had visited Lantau wif my mom before, I din wan to ascend the long flight of steps to the Giant Buddha lah! Remember 8 yrs ago, when we came was drizzling... okie, so i shld be thankful there's no rain today despite the weather forecast predicted rain for these 3 days! I decided to look for the route leading to Wisdom Path （心經閒林）, yes ah, i need to attain more wisdom! As majority of the ppl opt to go up the Giant Buddha, this is the path less travelled... I also missed it the last round.  According to the itinerary, u need 7 hours to cover the temples, Widsom Path & Tai O! Haiz, i'm abit behind time due to the tix Q.

It's veri cooling & relax walking the forested path, hence i could slowly admire the surroundings... like how the leaves branched out & I utilised the back-light to photograph silhouette of the leaves. Along the way, there were clear signages... so no worry of getting lost. At the end of the path, it led me to a mountainous area ~ filled wif tall pillars engraved wif buddha scriptures. It's magnificent & I wonder how they engraved the words till so nice! Then, I heard a lady saying that these were actually tree trunks, which were chopped into halves before the scriptures were written! Amazing! There were steps leading up & due to the magnificent heights & strong wind, it posed a challenge to photograph too...

After enjoying this scenic view, i descended the mountain & returned to the main village place to wait for the bus. According to my research, the bus to Tai O runs every 1 hr! Thankfully, I din need to wait too long & I was looking forward to eating the street snacks there.... When I reached Tai O （大澳）, i ventured fr its main streets & wanted to find some snacks... I had wanted to find the famous 雞蛋仔叔叔 mentioned on forum, but all i could spot was 山水豆腐花 & sponge cake.... So disappointing! Perhaps they only operate on wkends... A sleepy fishing village on wkdays indeed.

Simply luv this retro letter-box!

The magnificent view fr someone's backyard

Beyond's 《海濶天空》很適合這裡!

First time 'shooting' a bird in the wild!

Ah Po cleaning the fish to make salted fish. Sharp-eyed fiesty Ah Po chopped a bee wif her knife! Dun play play!

As I strolled down the streets, I started to find interesting stuff to snap & then i stumbled upon an opening. I cut thru' someone's backyard & came closer to the stilt houses & river! This was really a great retreat... away fr the hustle & bustle of HK's city! Walking further, I walked past a BBQ pit area... if having a BBQ in this cold weather would be fantastic! Then i came to the end of the path where there's a temple. I could see the swift currents sweeping fr the sea & diverging into rivers.... only the sounds of running water & wind, I felt abit in paradise, haahaa! It's nearing sunset, hence i better make my way out before dusk.

Back at the pier, there was only a tiny streak of sunlight to be seen... I would imagine how pretty this would be during summer! Next, boarded a 40min roller-coaster bus back to Tung Chung....OMG! I felt so dizzy at the end of the ride. After buying my dinner, I couldn't even stomach down, I was wondering if i could make it home.... luckily i did ultimately! I learnt my lesson today ~ Never underestimate the distance needed to walk & not to go hungry again!