Saturday, January 19, 2013

Haven and Show Something Yellow (This week's Photo Hunt themes)


In what can feel like another lifetime ago, I spent several months living and working in an East African city whose name translates from Arabic into Haven of Peace.  Although Dar es Salaam and Hong Kong can seem like they have nothing in common -- not least on account of their being located on different continents and thousands of miles away from each other -- it's worth noting that, at the very least, they both are home to beautiful and historically useful harbors, natural havens for ships and boats, and also have some pretty beaches!

In addition, there's a place in Hong Kong that also has the word 'haven' in its name. Also known as Pak Sha Wan (trans.White Sand Bay) in Cantonese, Hebe Haven is a harbor in the southern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula that's home to the exclusive Hebe Haven Yacht Club and the also Shelter Cove section of the prestigious Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club that's one of the few Hong Kong institutions to keep the "Royal" prefix after Hong Kong's return to China in 1997.

One day last fall, I went sailing with three friends in Hebe Haven. Two of us were obvious landlubbers but the two others were folks who had grown up sailing boats and obviously enjoyed doing so.  Fortunately, the latter didn't mind doing the bulk of the work on board.  So aside from occasionally taking the till, I had plenty of opportunity to sit back, look around and take photos!

Even so, I have to admit that what with the boat bobbing and tilting about and such, sailing's not quite my cup of tea.  Instead, I feel much more at peace while doing such as strolling about one of Hong Kong's many beaches -- even while higher land are even more natural havens for me (as can be witnessed by my hiking preferences)!

Getting back to the subject of Dar es Salaam: the most beach I most often frequented there was Oyster Beach.  I have photos of the place -- but pre-digital ones, so won't be sharing them on this blog.  But rest assured that if I did, they undoubtedly would have something yellow in them just like all three photos at the top of this entry.  So even without trying all that hard, it really was easy to combine Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunt themes this week! :b

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

you have an interesting life. i'm glad you shared this part of your life about working in africa.

Gattina said...

Dar es Salam says something to me isn't it in Tanzania ? Looks beautiful !

eastcoastlife said...

I almost wanted to blog about our exclusive waterfront city but settle for the quiet countryside of Bali. For city weary folks, there is life outside the city.

I am curious to find out about your stay in Africa. Any posts about it?

YTSL said...

Hi ewok1993 --

Thanks for reading. And yes, I have to admit that often, I think that I may not have achieved much in my life but, at least, I've had interesting times and experiences! :)

Hi Gattina --

Yup, Dar es Salaam is indeed in Tanzania. Re the beautiful comments: are those of my pics or the ones you saw upon clicking onto the Tanzania links I provided? ;b

Hi EastCoastLife --

There is indeed life outside the city. My (almost) weekly hikes in Hong Kong help to remind me of that!

Re my times in Africa: you could try clicking on the Tanzania labels... but it's true I haven't written that much exclusively about my time in Tanzania (or for that matter, my visits to Kenya and Zimbabwe). Still, try this for a taste...

http://webs-of-significance.blogspot.hk/search/label/Tanzania?updated-max=2009-11-21T11:41:00%2B08:00&max-results=20&start=15&by-date=false

:)

Trekcapri said...

Hi YTSL, how cool that you had lived in Africa. What a great experience. I would love to visit one day. Lovely take on the two themes. I like that name, Haven of Peace.

Have a wonderful weekend.

magiceye said...

Lovely takes!

YTSL said...

Hi Trekcapri --

Didn't realize that you didn't know that I had lived in Africa! Guess I don't mention it much in my blog... less so than in "meat space"! ;b

Hi magiceye --

Thanks -- and I'm hoping you mean my photos *and* writing. :)

Susan Demeter said...

Beautiful pics! I wish I was on the beach somewhere warm and sunny such as your pic of Oyster Beach on this cold January day year in Canada. :)

Annie said...

I have a friend who lived in Dar es Salaam for a while! Very interesting to compare it with Hong Kong (and you did a great job combining these two themes). Have a great weekend.

peppylady (Dora) said...

wow you been to wide variety of places..Nothing like that around here at all.

Mine is up and the coffee is on.

fredamans said...

Lovely views of the bay!

A. said...

Agree, it wasn't too hard to combine the themes this week. Next week may be more difficult - knitted architecture?

I love the bridges in your final photo, very elegant.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

I thought of a haven for ships too!
Beautiful.
Happy Hunting ~

Carver said...

I used to love sailing and did quite a bit of it in my younger years. I even had a sailboat (just a day sailer) and went on some long trips with friends who had large sailboats with cabins. That's so cool that you had a place to use for this post that has haven in its name.

Felipa Monteverde said...

Love your photos, very peaceful haven!

YTSL said...

Hi Sue --

Oops, that's actually not a picture of Oyster Beach -- instead, it's actually a photo of Lido Beach in Hong Kong! ;S

Hi Annie --

Granted that there are a lot of differences between Hong Kong and Dar es Salaam but it's often struck me that most of my life has been lived in port cities (with others being George Town, Penang, and Zanzibar, Tanzania -- and, I guess, you can also count Philadelphia and London! ;b)

Hi peppylady --

There are still so many places in the world I've not been to but it's true that I've been to my share... maybe more! ;b

Hi fredamans --

Thanks! :)

Hi A. --

Yeah, next week will be challenging... am already thinking about it and thus far coming up with nothing that can really combine the two themes! ;(

Hi Sandi --

I think you also thought of a haven for yourself. :)

Hi Carver --

I get the feeling that sailing's something it's hard to grow to love as an adult. Seems that it's one of those things that is easier to pick up when young(er)...

Hi Felipa M. --

Thank you. :)

Vane M. said...

Lindo, lugar que me passa muita tranquilidade! Beijos!

http://compiladodeideia.blogspot.com.br/2013/01/haven.html

YTSL said...

Hi Vane M. -

A peaceful haven is indeed a good place to have about, eh? :)