It makes you forget that you live in a metropolis; it makes you forget that life moves more quickly now. It makes you forget all reason of why you aren't there right now.
At the end of the weekend SB and I were having a tasty (and very reasonably priced breakfast) at 2 Rooms Cafe when we realized that we did not actually have any plans for the rest of our day. Quickly scrolling through the lists of places and things to do, I determined that it would be a perfect day to go on a nice hike from the valley to Shek O. Our friend Tony had moved into a flat there and was raving about life in the village. SB crossed the hike off the list because he was too bruised from his game but was definitely up for a trip to the beach.
There are only one bus and one minibus that serve Shek O but they were easy to pick up and we arrived forty-five minutes later. Tony met us at the parking lot with another teammate, Xavier, on the back of his bike. It turned out that after months of searching, Xavier had finally found a home for rent and was moving in that day. The problem was that his 500 cc scooter had a dead battery. This was the first great sign for me. I love tinkering with machines. This is a great American pastime. We immediately put the beach excursion on hold to walk the three blocks it took to get to the other end of the village and assist Xavier. I have previously mentioned that I am the mechanically inclined one in the relationship but that does not get revealed when SB is having manly time. So there they were, an American, a Frenchman, and a Welsh, all united to fix the scooter. What was supposed to happen was that we would try to push start it, and failing that, would switch out Xavier and Tony's batteries, charge Xavier's with Tony's bike, and off they would go into the sunset. Fifteen minutes were spent pushing the large scooter up and down the road and trying not to hit the tourists. Then the battery switch ended with SB dropping the nut and the bolt for a battery down into the scooter's body. I went to look for a parts store but there was none. Ten minutes later they were able to pry out the nut but SB forgot that mobile phones exist so instead of calling me back, Xavier was dispatched to find me. Twenty minutes later we were back to square one. Then we charged the battery. Then Tony lost his bolt, which he had just set on the ground. We spent five more minutes searching before Tony realized that something was embedded in the bottom of his shoe. Slightly over an hour later the mission was completed. I will not tell you how long it would have taken for me to have done this alone, but let's say that I am not a big oaf. Oh, and Xavier learned a new word. Oaf.
So then the guys left to go furniture shopping while SB and I finished off at the beach. As it began to get dark I laid down on the sand and became so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. SB splashed around in the waves and made friends with a surfer. When it became too dark we met up with Tony and Xavier again for dinner and ran into the surfer with his family. That was the second great thing. Shek O is actually a place where where the population is small enough that you can really get to know the neighbors.
The third great thing was that if you are able to find housing, it is cheap. Tony's place was slightly less than what SB and I are paying, and almost twice as big. Now I know that I said that I am happy with our shoebox, and I am, but you have to forgive me for momentarily forgetting that while I coveted Tony's square footage. And his large patio. And the fact that the beach was 30 meters outside the front door.
SB noticed that I was quiet on the ride back from dinner and immediately knew what I was thinking. He quickly brought me to Moon's Kitchen for a glass on mango juice and almond tofu. As we sat at our outdoor table and watched all the neighborhood dogs congregate under the "no dogs" sign like they do every night he reminded me of why we love living where we do. Yes, I do enjoy our neighborhood. I love that Wanchai and Causeway bay are just around the corner. I love the food options here. It is small enough that although we can't know all the people who live here, we do know who our food providers are. And we know most of the local dogs :)
Yeah, he has succeeded in reminding me of why we love where we are. But once in a while, the lure of the waves and a large living room gnaw at me and I need another frothy mango juice to remind me of what's important to us.
At the end of the weekend SB and I were having a tasty (and very reasonably priced breakfast) at 2 Rooms Cafe when we realized that we did not actually have any plans for the rest of our day. Quickly scrolling through the lists of places and things to do, I determined that it would be a perfect day to go on a nice hike from the valley to Shek O. Our friend Tony had moved into a flat there and was raving about life in the village. SB crossed the hike off the list because he was too bruised from his game but was definitely up for a trip to the beach.
There are only one bus and one minibus that serve Shek O but they were easy to pick up and we arrived forty-five minutes later. Tony met us at the parking lot with another teammate, Xavier, on the back of his bike. It turned out that after months of searching, Xavier had finally found a home for rent and was moving in that day. The problem was that his 500 cc scooter had a dead battery. This was the first great sign for me. I love tinkering with machines. This is a great American pastime. We immediately put the beach excursion on hold to walk the three blocks it took to get to the other end of the village and assist Xavier. I have previously mentioned that I am the mechanically inclined one in the relationship but that does not get revealed when SB is having manly time. So there they were, an American, a Frenchman, and a Welsh, all united to fix the scooter. What was supposed to happen was that we would try to push start it, and failing that, would switch out Xavier and Tony's batteries, charge Xavier's with Tony's bike, and off they would go into the sunset. Fifteen minutes were spent pushing the large scooter up and down the road and trying not to hit the tourists. Then the battery switch ended with SB dropping the nut and the bolt for a battery down into the scooter's body. I went to look for a parts store but there was none. Ten minutes later they were able to pry out the nut but SB forgot that mobile phones exist so instead of calling me back, Xavier was dispatched to find me. Twenty minutes later we were back to square one. Then we charged the battery. Then Tony lost his bolt, which he had just set on the ground. We spent five more minutes searching before Tony realized that something was embedded in the bottom of his shoe. Slightly over an hour later the mission was completed. I will not tell you how long it would have taken for me to have done this alone, but let's say that I am not a big oaf. Oh, and Xavier learned a new word. Oaf.
So then the guys left to go furniture shopping while SB and I finished off at the beach. As it began to get dark I laid down on the sand and became so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. SB splashed around in the waves and made friends with a surfer. When it became too dark we met up with Tony and Xavier again for dinner and ran into the surfer with his family. That was the second great thing. Shek O is actually a place where where the population is small enough that you can really get to know the neighbors.
The third great thing was that if you are able to find housing, it is cheap. Tony's place was slightly less than what SB and I are paying, and almost twice as big. Now I know that I said that I am happy with our shoebox, and I am, but you have to forgive me for momentarily forgetting that while I coveted Tony's square footage. And his large patio. And the fact that the beach was 30 meters outside the front door.
SB noticed that I was quiet on the ride back from dinner and immediately knew what I was thinking. He quickly brought me to Moon's Kitchen for a glass on mango juice and almond tofu. As we sat at our outdoor table and watched all the neighborhood dogs congregate under the "no dogs" sign like they do every night he reminded me of why we love living where we do. Yes, I do enjoy our neighborhood. I love that Wanchai and Causeway bay are just around the corner. I love the food options here. It is small enough that although we can't know all the people who live here, we do know who our food providers are. And we know most of the local dogs :)
Yeah, he has succeeded in reminding me of why we love where we are. But once in a while, the lure of the waves and a large living room gnaw at me and I need another frothy mango juice to remind me of what's important to us.
Comments