March 21, 2021
Yesterday I was not feeling well as my both arm's muscles were still in pain. I even thought of going home so I can rest well and treat the pains. I almost want to cry while thinking of my mother who is always there for me every time I am in pain or I need someone by my side.
Then my boss invited me to go with them to an island. I have been to that island before so I refused her invitation. But she resisted and so I just go with them, but in my mind, I prefer to stay at home alone so I can rest well. On our way, I was not really feeling well. And the girl beside me felt bored as well. Boys in front and girls at the back.
Until she decided to talk anything to kill her boredom and deviate my mind from feeling unwell. Every time I am with this girl, my mind is always working as she kept on talking and talking and I need to answer her as well. She is a smart girl and a talkative. I even call her "a girl with a 24/7 mouth" as she said that she feels bored if she doesn't talk. I'm not a talkative person but if I'm with her, I become talkative as well.
The Lantau Island that they were referring to is the biggest and the prettiest among all islands here in Hong Kong. You can find many tourist attractions on this island. And I don't actually know where exactly we were heading to.
On our way to our destination was relaxing seeing pretty views outside - water dam, beaches, colorful flowers, and greeny trees, mountains, and lakes.
We were talking about the tv series she has watched when we saw this pretty tree along the road then she took a photo of it. The girl was really talkative as she talked a lot until we reached our destination, which entertained me and I did not feel dizzy at all.
After more than an hour, we have reached our destination at past noon and I've stepped on a familiar place that I have actually visited before, the Tai O Fisherman's Village on the southwest part of Lantau Island.
After eating our lunch in a seafood restaurant, we roamed around the village heading anywhere until our feet got tired. By the way, if you have read my article about Cheung Chau Island, the Tai O Village is quite similar to it except for the houses of the village.
The village seemed to be the oldest human settlement on Lantau island since they said that not much has changed since the first settlement on this village, and people still live of salt fish and shrimp paste. Since fishing plays a big role in the lives of the locals even today, you can see salt pans everywhere on the coast which seemed to be not moved from their spots for decades. And that's how they got its nickname "Little Venice of Hongkong or Venice of the Orient"
They call this village "Little Venice" also because the houses are quite similar to the stilt houses of Venice, it's like a low version of Venice stilt houses. Among the houses of the village, this one caught our attention, it is simple yet artistic.
The house was styled with wood-crafted fish decorations and with this big, which I don' know if fishermen's ship or a pirate's ship, displayed outside the house. Well, the village somewhat looks like an old Chinese version of Pirates of the Caribbean where Johny Deep could show up anytime behind the next boat.
Just a few steps from it was a huge house with traditional Chinese design. I wasn't sure if this house was built decades ago or they purposely made the concept like an old Chinese traditional house. And many tourists were taking photos outside this house.
We continued our walk until we reached the back part of the village. I was fascinated by the beauty of the mountains and lakes, and the first words that came out from my mouth were, "wow, so pretty."
A place that I can only see from the movies, and a perfect place to unwind while being close to nature. I have visited this village before but not this part of the village. I always feel happy every time I am close to nature and every time I saw relaxing and mesmerizing views.
Who won't be amazed by this view anyway? Even that swan on the photo doesn't want to leave its spot and stayed there for a long time. I thought they scraped off the trees on this mountain for building establishments and condominiums, as you can see, half of the mountain is treeless and the other half is green. But when I asked the girl, she said that there might be an incident in the past that causes the mountain to be treeless, perhaps a wildfire incident due to deforestation.
The place was really full of green that anyone can't resist staying for a longer time, adoring the relaxing view of nature while savoring its fresh air. A place that anyone would visit again and again and would build a vacation.
After we visited a temple near this area, we decided to head back to the car as they planned to visit another temple on Lantau Island.
And on our way to the parking area, we saw lots of cows along the highway. It is their year, so they are free to roam around the village and wouldn't mind about the cars and people passing by, because they are being protected by the government.
It was past three in the afternoon when we visited another temple of Lantau Island, one of the biggest and popular tourist destinations of Hong Kong - the To Po Lin Monastery where the famous Big Buddha is located just around this area. But the Big Buddha was under repair so we just went to the monastery. This place is similar to China province and Japan that you can see in the movies, isn't it?
Po Li Monastery is a Buddhist monastery founded in 1906. Not all tourists can go inside this area, but my boss' friend has an access to this place, so we were able to enter the monastery but taking photos wasn't allowed inside. The monastery houses three big bronze buddhas which are said to represent the past, present, and future, as well as many other Buddhist scriptures. I have been to the Big Buddha before but not to this area.
From above we saw a mini pool with big koi fishes. And just beside this monastery is a dining place with vegetarian dishes and Chinese delicacies.
We also saw some cows around the place, indeed they are allowed to roam around, and the tourists like taking photos with them.
After visiting the monastery, we head back home as the journey would take a long time. We took a different route on our way back home but still, the views were captivating that I and the girl can't resist taking photos.
And one of the best spot that we've captured was this beach along the way where some tourists were picking up seashells while others were enjoying swimming in the water to beat the heat of the day.
It was a tiring yet happy getaway that I forgot about my pain temporarily. Sometimes we really need to escape from a tiring job to relieve our weary feelings and pain. And as I've said to Colette, in every place we take, let's paint the photos in our memories.
Have a blessed Sunny everyone
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