15.2.2011 Hong Kong & The Land in between

Weather: worst day so far. Raining, damp and bitterly cold. Unfortunately we could not add any more layers of clothing.

We wanted to how it all looks behind the sky scrapers. So we booked a day trip "The land between", i.e. going north right to the border to mainland China.

The Chineses are supersticious. Meaning: pray to the ancestors daily to keep them happy. The number "8" is the lucky number (we were 8 people on the tour). Red is the colour of luck. White the colour of misfortune (many Chinese still marry in white because of us Honkies doing the same). Apparantly there is trumendous pressure to do better than the neigbour or friend or family member.

Keep the ancestors happy: so we went to the Yuen Yuen Institute Temple dedicated to the main religions (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism. P.S. there are also some christians AND catholics). This temple is their version of cemetry.

 in above list you will find your birth sign. beware of  the cycle of 60 years:
ex. May 1947 is fire (cycle) & boar (1947)

 You can book your place now. It's an investment because of a shortage of space the prices soar. The places with cardboard covers are not occupied yet, but pre-booked during the persons lifetime.
Cost HKD >100'000.

From the temple we made our way to the Tai Mo Shan Lookout. Actually no need to get out of the bus because of rain and mist (on good day you can see to mainland China). If you can enlarge the photo you can decipher the imaginary places)

Fanling Village. An 600 year old village with walls and watch tower. Apparently the clans lived very close together (you can shake hand accross the alley way). After the Chinees New Year they celebrate the Lantern Festival. A place to get together and pray for your ancestors and have a good time together.

Above next stop in the mist "Luk Keng Road" lookout point.

 Bride's Pool Falls: constantly flowing all year round water fall. In nice weather a lovely picnic and grill spot.

Sam Mun Tsai Fishing Village.

Then back to Kowloon. Firstly last floats used in the Chinese New Year. And did you know the even for large construction the use bamboo for the scuffolding?

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Malheuresement les Dieux ne nous etaient pas favorable. Même étant dans un temple au début de notre tour du "Territoire entre 2" (soit Hong Kong et la république Chinoise). La journée était lamentable pour des raisons météo. autrement très intéressant de voir comment ils utilisent l'espace derrière le centre. Beaucoup de construction. Il semblait que rien est jamais terminé.


Im Prinzip war unser Ausflug sehr interessant, aber leider hat uns das Wetter einen Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht. Winterkleidung wäre angesagt gewesen.