Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

In a week or so some of those weeds will be shasta daisies, blooming their heads off!

Back in London after just about three years of working abroad. It was hard to leave Vietnam, because I did love it there. I loved my work and my colleagues and the amazing resilience of the Vietnamese people and the wonderful students I came into contact with. But, Canada is my home and my family, house and pets are here and I had been away a long time. I will have to come up with short-term adventures from now on!

Gentle sunrise, leaving Saigon ... may there always be peaceful sunrises there.

So since I have been back, there has been a process of readjustment, for sure. I am very aware of the greying of Canada, compared to the youthful energy of Vietnam. Prices are higher, undoubtedly, but the scale of consumption is definitely larger here. And while litter is less obvious, I do think the amount of refuse per person is much higher here, so I will try and keep my acquisitive tendencies in check ... after I finish all my gardening purchases, that is.

A pale poppy ... so interesting when you take a closer look

Impssible to catch the vibrancy of this clematis ... purpleness personified!

My gardens are out of control, so my solution to that is to buy more plants. It has been a late and cool Spring in London, so it is not too late to buy plants that would normally go in the garden in May, and ignore the fact that 80 percent of my yard is infested with binderweed, grape ivy, creeping Charlie, and buckthorn ... you name it, I’ve got plenty of it. I shouldn’t complain too much, as the peonies are in bloom as well as delphiniums. I caught the tail end of the Siberian iris, and my clematis vines have been stunning. I do love meddling in nature. I have seen lots of birds in the backyard and butterflies and dragonflies as well. We have the hummingbird and oriole feeders filled and the tomatoes and green peppers planted and the chives and mint have minds of their own ... so, it’s a happening place, that is for sure ...(^_^)...

What a beautiful peony ... I love it

Siberian iris ... lovely, lovely

As far as family and friends are concerned, everyone seems to be bopping along. Errol has a number of doctor’s appointments that are helping him to understand more about what ails him. And perhaps I can be helpful with that. Cait will be heading off to Whitehorse in a couple of weeks to catch up with an old friend and her family. My mother, Lenore, is in relatively good spirits, despite declining vision and various other health issues. And Errol and I hope to make a quick trip to Oklahoma to see what’s going on there and to bring his brother Joe back for a visit.

Stephen and Rachel at Big Buddha

On my way back from Vietnam, I stopped off in Hong Kong for the nicest visit. I had only been there once, about ten years ago with a group of people I was teaching with in China, and had really enjoyed it. I really loved loved loved it this time – largely because I had the best tour guides possible – my former students Rachel and Stephen.

Rachel and Stephen at Ocean Park

Rachel and Stephen studied English at Fanshawe College a few years ago and are such a sweet pair. They are both very artistic and were extremely active when we were doing a lot of origami crafts to raise money for various causes. Their work was the best, as they are both very precise and extremely careful. At any rate, we stayed in touch over the years and I suggested we have yum cha when I got to Hong Kong. However, they really took me under their wings and showed me all over their amazing city. As it happened, Monday was a holiday and we spent 3 days looking at many different parts of Hong Kong. We travelled everywhere by public transit and I was so happy to have my own Octopus card, which allowed me access on all manner of public transport, as well as the ability to buy things in various shops. Stephen and Rachel were absolutely wonderful about telling me how to get places and although they live at the farthest possible stop from where I had booked my hotel, they invariably came to where I was to begin our day’s adventures.

First dim sum ... YUM cha

Rachel's little nephew playing on the iPad

The first evening, we had a lovely home-made dinner at Rachel’s sister’s place and met Rachel’s cute little nephew, who is amazingly adept at using the iPad (and he is just 3 or 4.) We went to Sai Kung, a small fishing village where we saw fishers selling their catch to people on the pier. They transferred both the fish and the money via long-handled fishing nets. It seemed as though the vendors had to skedaddle at one point and most of them added passengers before making their getaway. It was a lot of fun to walk around and see the Phoenix trees in bloom and I caught my first glimpse of black kites flying over the harbour ... the first of several sightings. I tried and tried to take good pictures, but ... to no avail. Like the flying foxes of Cairns, the sand hill cranes of Arizona, and the pelicans of Cuba, they are just black, blurry blobs on the backdrop of the sky.

Sai Kung

Transaction

Black Kite

Phoenix Blossom

We also went to the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island and had a wonderful time there.  Although the cable car was being serviced, the ride up on the bus was most pleasant and the day was glorious.  Wonderful mist floated about the mountain tops and there were lots of places to stop and drink in the glorious views. A saucy little girl showed us how to make water dance in a brass bowl.  I think she got her kicks from seeing people who couldn't do it ... haha. Hong Kong is a physically beautiful setting ... really a gem of a place!

Big Buddha on Lantau Island

One of 12 Devas that surround the Buddha

Making water dance

Another day we went to Ocean Park, a large park with a maritime theme ... some rides and lots of interesting features, among which were two panda enclosures, a huge aquarium, bird and dolphin shows and an amazing jellyfish centre. I hadn’t seen pandas in ages and I don’t think I had ever seen a red panda, so it was great to see them, although I am not really a fan of zoos. Rather, I should say I am conflicted; the redeeming element at Ocean Park is that most of the focus seems on educating the public, especially about preserving and maintaining water and getting people to recognize how important our water supply is.

Red Panda at Ocean Park

Great Panda at Ocean Park

It is an amazing place and seems to have two major parts separated by a mountain. Stephen had everything organized and planned and we went up and over the mountain on the cable car and back in a funicular railway vehicle. He did a great job of timing where we went and when! We went up the rotating observation tower and had a spectacular view of the city, harbour, and the sun just beginning to set. It was wonderful ... I didn’t have to plan or think about anything. He and Rachel said they were seeing things they hadn’t seen in a few years as well, so I am hoping they weren’t just being polite.

View from Cable Car, Ocean Park

We also went to the waterfront and went on the Star Ferry and had a boat ride and visited another fishing village, Tai O, where there are a lot of stilt houses and amazing fish markets and food stalls. And we saw Women’s Street, which is an amazing street of shops and booths and kiosks full of everything! And, of course, we had to eat. I had been looking forward to eating Cantonese food for a long time and Stephen and Rachel made sure that I had lots of interesting things to try. They were just amazing hosts.

Tai O Fishing Village

Tai O

Oyster Rockefeller ... high end street food!

Fisherman's Altar ... such a dangerous job, especially in a land of typhoons

I went on my own to the art museum and had another browse around the harbour front area. I really enjoyed browsing the art museum and the man in the gallery shop directed me to a place nearby to get dim sum. I had gone with my group to a dim sum place near the waterfront ten years previous and had loved a turnip pastry that has stayed in my mind ever since. Go figure, but it was really good! It turned out the place the man recommended was the same one and they had the turnip pastry. Still delicious!

Waterfront

Tourist junk on harbour

Delicious turnip pastries!

I spent another day visiting the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Garden complex. What a beautiful place! All the buildings are constructed in a traditional style that involves no nails.  Everything is dry fit.  The birdlife in the garden was amazing. I really thought that perhaps the birdsong was a recording being played through speakers in the park, but there were just a large number of incredibly happy and chirpy birds there. It reminded me of a park I had been to in Tokyo, which also had a huge number of birds in an urban oasis. There were lots of ponds and fountains and water features and I really enjoyed watching some cute birds having baths.  Oh, and a beautiful restaurant with another delicious vegetarian meal.

Chi Lin Nunnery

Lan Nian Park

Vegetarian wontons

Birds enjoying water feature

On my final night in Hong Kong, Rachel and Stephen met me after their work and we went for dim sum at a place near my hotel that is famous for dim sum. We had to wait a while for a seat, but when we got in and started to eat, it was obvious why people stand in line for a spot at a crowded table. The food was exquisite. I was quite happy after that, but then we went to Victoria Peak to see the lights. We went up in the tram and had the loveliest evening looking at the lights of Hong Kong. Then we went back to Kowloon on the Star Ferry, to see the harbour at night ... so beautiful. My dear young friends insisted on accompanying me back to my stop, although I was practically a pro at getting around the MRT by then. I am sure it was 1 a.m. but the time they made it back to their own place. What a great way to top off five wonderful days in Hong Kong.

Beautiful evening, beautiful view ... beautiful Hong Kong ... I love it!

So, Hong Kong was a wonderful stopover on my way home from Vietnam and allowed me a bit of a breather between these two chapters of my life. I couldn’t have asked for two nicer hosts than Stephen and Rachel. I love them dearly and wish them all the best.

Rachel, so cute

Stephen, also so cute

I have lots and lots and too many pictures on my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/raven_chick) and perhaps you would like to see more pictures of the pandas or the Big Buddha. I hope this post finds everyone well, wherever you are, Please stay in touch and let me know how you are doing.

Tai O