Tuen Mun, Lam Tei, Hung Shui Kiu, & Yuen Long

Ok! Here comes a long post with a lot of pictures! We had a great day on Thursday. We were able to get out of here early because Calvin didn't have a seminar that day. He gets out of class at 1, but on 2-3 days a week, he has a seminar he has to attend at 4. So, we were able to head out as soon as he got out of class. We took the minibus down to Central (the minibus comes by usually every 10 minutes or less and costs $5.50 HKD, which is about $.70 USD. It is usually our starting point for transportation, take the minibus down to central, then hop on a different bus, ferry, etc.). We then got on a bus to take us to Tuen Mun (pronounced toon moon). When we got to Tuen Mun, we walked over to the Pier to take a look at the ocean, seen above. They have this cool promenade that has a sidewalk along the ocean that goes quite a way.

I told Camden to look at me and smile for the camera, and after I took the first picture, he said, more, and kept smiling. How could I resist?

We then hopped on the light rail over to Lam Tei where there is a Buddhist temple. Camden was pretty excited about having his own seat, although he didn't stay there long. He wanted to try every seat and every hand railing.

When we got off, it was so hot outside! There was this cool little market that we walked down and got a few juice drinks (black currant is the best!) and a hat for me ($15 HKD, just less than $2 USD). I was a little resistant to the idea of wearing a straw hat, but as soon as I put it on, I was so grateful to have it! We then walked over to the Buddhist temple. We took some pictures outside, but you weren't allowed to take pictures inside.

These were filled with some kind of sand and then people or monks would stick incense in them and offer prayers.

Inside the temple, we walked up to this room; it was a prayer room. It had high ceilings and was decorated so intricately! It was very beautiful. There were also all of these different glass cases where people could pay to have this placard type thing with their ancestors name on it so the monks could pray for their ancestors. They would also offer them things like fruit and had incense burning. It was all really neat to see!

We were really lucky to make it in time to see the temple; as soon as we left and walked across the street, they shut the gates! We then got back on the light rail and headed to Yuen Long. On the way, we passed Hung Shui Kiu, a place Calvin had lived on his mission. It has been so fun to see places Calvin has talked about or shown me pictures of.

When we got to Yuen Long, we stopped at a McDonalds and got some Fanta Freeze Floats (pretty much like an orange rainbow from Paces, for those of you from Bountiful). We walked over to this nice little park to sit down for a little bit and drink our floats.

Thursday was a public holiday celebrating the day Hong Kong was turned back over to China. All over the place, in parks or other gathering areas, you could see women gathered together, playing card games, talking, eating, etc. Most of them were women from other countries like the Philippines and Indonesia who come to Hong Kong to work as family helpers-nannies or cleaners. On days off, they gather together all over the city.

We then walked through the market in Yuen Long. Some parts were inside and some were outside. They were selling all kinds of things. There were all kinds of live fish, shrimp, seafood, etc. Chinese people like things really fresh, so they would pick out the live fish and then it would be prepared there. They also had these-bags of live frogs and turtles...

In other stalls, they were selling vegetables, fruit, clothes, and many other things.

After walking through the market, we went and ate at this amazing Indian place called Shaffi's. Calvin had eaten there on his mission. It was so good. We had samosas, curry, rice, and naan (bread). I would go there every day if it were closer, and cheaper.

Then after dinner, we walked over to see this walled city (community). There were these small walkways and then were doors to houses all through there. It was really interesting to see the different types of lives people lead and different lifestyles.

We then went and got on another bus to take us back to Central and back to our minibus, Bus #3. When we got back home, there was a little something waiting for Camden there with his mickey mouse and pillow! There is a guy here who comes to clean our room every day who is so nice to Camden. He gives him candies and whistles to him when we're walking around. It was a great day and so nice to go to sleep in our nice, air conditioned room at the end of the day.