For example, after reading on Journey to Hong Kong about a hike that the blogger took from Ma On Shan Village to Tai Shui Hang via the Ma On Shan Country Park's Ngong Ping plateau and a century old village path, I decided to go with a friend along that village path from Mau Ping down to Mui Tsz Lam.
But rather than end at Tai Shui Hang, we swung left after passing by Chevalier Garden to Shek Mun (from where we got on the MTR to go to a restaurant for our post-hike dinner). Also, instead of starting the hike at Ma On Shan Village (like one would do when hiking the Ma On Shan Country Trail), we opted to start instead from Tai Ping Tsuen (like what one would do if hiking that official trail in reverse) -- which made for a steeper ascent but also a route that offered more scenic views early on:-
View from inside Ma On Shan Country Park of non-country park
and country park sections of the Sai Kung Peninsula
and country park sections of the Sai Kung Peninsula
to fly about and away pretty well! :O
and also the nice grassy ground -- at Ngong Ping plateau
a trail that I hitherto had never been on
were abandoned a while back
-- and, in fact, appears to be growing, with
some construction going on when we passed by it
one of which made creative use of this windmill-like device
fashioned from a plastic bottle to scare away pests! ;b
6 comments:
Cool walk! I wonder about the history of the abandoned house...
Hi Yvonne,
Your enthusiasm for hiking in Hong Kong (and improvising new routes) obviously hasn't diminished, as this blog is every bit as good as your best ones...Third photo from the bottom, is a worthy addition to your other photos of abandoned villages.
"Haunting" is the only way to describe this photo-essay, as the surroundings have an aged quality about them...Glad you included a link to AnnaTam, a site I visit pretty often.
I read an online article this week about a brave woman in Sai Kung West Country Park who rescued her dog from the deadly grip of a Burmese python!
Bill
Echoing Bill, I think the photo of the ruined building in the abandoned village is terrific. It brings to mind a line from Goldsmith's The Deserted Village: "Sunk are thy bowers in shapeless ruin all/ And the long grass o'ertops the mouldering wall;"
Hi Mike --
I don't know about the history of that specific abandoned house but there are many villages in northern and north-eastern Hong Kong that got abandoned in the latter part of the 20th century because they proved too remote for their inhabitants' comfort -- and this appears to be the case with this one.
Hi Bill --
Yep, my enthusiasm for hiking in Hong Kong is undiminished -- in fact, I think the opportunities for hiking is one of the best things of living in Hong Kong!
Re the brave woman: indeed -- and it serves as a reminder that there are indeed snakes in Hong Kong, including large pythons!! :O
Hi ewaffle --
Great to see you commenting again on this blog -- and thanks for bringing to attention that quote from Goldsmith. :)
Hi Mike, the abandoned house in Mo Ping belongs to my great uncle Lau Pun Shing and my dad helped him build it in 1964. In the late 60s, the villagers found it too inconvenient to walk to Sai Kung to buy their food so the villagers started to abandon the village, and relocated to Sai Kung where they started a new village called Mo Ping New Village.
Hi Mimi --
Thank you for providing the interesting information you did. I hope Mike checks this post sometime and sees it. (By the way, the villages you refer to also are written in Romanized script as Mau Ping, right?)
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