Fantastic Friends

St Stephen’s Bay

Yesterday, we were treated to a slice of Hong Kong hospitality by some of the local graduates of the Plas Menai instructor development program and by Michael Lee in particular.
Michael and his daughter Daisy met us at the pier in Central, Hong Kong and were thoughtful enough to bring custard tarts for our early start. Will and Ellie had enjoyed meeting Daisy on our arrival in Hong Kong and so were particularly happy to have the prospect of playing with her all day.

With Dennis, Jo and Michael at St Stephen’s centre

At our first stop, St Stephen’s watersports centre, the kids immediately made for the lovely sandy beach and I caught up with Dennis and Jo who work at the centre. While they showed me round and we watched an RS500 blasting across the bay, mostly upright, the 3 children proceeded to build a sandcastle on the beach. I would add (my) Jo as the fourth child in the troupe but she was more the general, organising the building of the defence against the sea. By the time Michael and I returned with Dennis and Jo, both Daisy and Will were running around blissfully in their (wet) underwear. Will and Ellie were desperate to go swimming until we pointed out the shark warning flag. Although not flying, it gave Ellie second thoughts about going into the water. Will, of course, was as blasé as ever (in fact, later on, having turned our backs for a couple of moments, we were surprised to spot a little pile of clothes and a small child with wild hair sprinting down the beach.)

Stanley Main Beach

The view from Victor’s office

Just a stone’s throw from St Stephen’s is Stanley Main Beach so we walked across to meet Victor at his centre. I have to say the sight of all those windsurfers in blue, warm waters left me somewhat missing my kit and very jealous of Victor’s office. Yes I know the view from my office is pretty exceptional but Victor’s view would beat Jamie’s even if he cleaned his windows. It was nice to catch up with Victor and we met his 10 yr old son coming in from windsurfing – Ellie May will have to do better!

Bubbles in Stanley

We had lunch near the famous Stanley market, a mixture of rice, noodle and dim sum type dishes. Delicious. The guys wouldn’t allow me to contribute and then left us to return to work whilst Michael and Daisy took us through the market and around the bay. The weather was bright and sunny and the kids enjoyed playing along the front. The waterfront was quite busy with some sort of dog show, an art exhibition and lots of (apparently mainly British) people out enjoying the Sunday sun. We got a great view across St Stephen’s Bay to the busy watersports centre and it was good to chat with Michael as we strolled along.

Ambrose at JC Wong Shek

Unfortunately, with the children enjoying the beach, it was now getting rather late so we hurried them along (in a mixture of dry and wet clothes) back to the car and headed away from Stanely, off the island and toward Sai Kung. Our first stop, at the Lions Nature Centre, was a little hurried because of the time but we saw a great exhibition of shells that Will could relate to those he’s seen on the beach or in the restaurant tanks and Ellie and I found a display of rock ores that matched some of the things she’s been learning about the elements. After a quick snack, we made our way further east and north through increasingly remote mountainous forests. We passed the place that Michael now works and he pointed out the area where we’re hoping to go for a hike on Wednesday. The scenery is simply stunning and there were walkers everywhere. In fact, we eventually passed into the park where traffic was limited to public transport and it was only the fact that Michael worked there that enabled us to drive on. Finally we reached the JC Wong Shek centre and were met by Ambrose. They had just completed a large topper and laser race and I must say that looking out across the inlet to Tap Mun island, I was envious of the sailors. Not only do they have some stunning locations but the HK government provide some great facilities (at very little cost). The guys are all rightly proud of the service they provide.
Ambrose showed us round his centre and office and then produced some gifts. He had read about our attempts at calligraphy and gave Jo and I brushes, ink and practice paper. It was very thoughtful and touching. I threatened to write to him in Chinese, but despite him and Jo later pointing out some basic characters, I rather think that will be forever beyond me! He also gave Will and Ellie cuddly toys that have already become favourites at bed time.
We continued our tour through the New Territories past Michael and Daisy’s home in Ma On Shan and to Sha Tin where we met up with everyone again for dinner. Roy also joined us and we ate at a restaurant that specialised in serving whole pig that had been stuffed with rice and roasted. It was very tasty and the guys also chose a selection of other dishes including scallops, a seafood soup and the claypot aubergine that has become one of our favourites in southern China. Will kept everyone entertained trying to get to grips with his new angry bird, children’s chopsticks that Michael had bought him. With Daisy’s help, he did finally manage to get some pickled pig’s ear into his mouth (I know, there’s a joke in there somewhere). To be honest, he’s such a messy eater that he probably had no more food down his t-shirt than normal!
The meal was delicious and the company even better. Once again, I wasn’t allowed to get my wallet out and Michael returned us to the station where Ambrose and Jo made sure that we made it safely back to our ferry. We got back to Lamma having had a fantastic day and feeling spoiled by our friends. It was a real pleasure to catch up with them all and to see them in their own environment. Hong Kong has some beautiful scenery and jaw dropping architecture but it is the welcome and kindness of these friends that I think I’ll remember most.