Monday, April 18, 2016

Sheung Shui to Yuen Long via Castle Peak Road

Yesterday I started in Sheung Shui and ended up in Yuen Long, running along Castle Peak Road (青山公路).  


Progress was very slow because I was feeling lethargic and stopped too many times to take photographs.  Right outside Sheung Shui MTR station parallel importers (水貨) were packing/unpacking.  It seems they are as busy as ever.   I didn’t stare - they probably wouldn’t like it. 


There was a big celebration of the opening of a new Cha Chan Tang.  You don’t see these kind of multi-storey-high flower plaques (花牌) in the city too often.  But in the New Territories they are still very popular.   


There are still many old temples.  This one was dedicated to one of the ancestors of the Man clan (文氏).  


Outside one of the smaller temples, there was an army of gods, Guan Gong (關公),  Guan Yin (觀音), …  You have to wonder why you need so many of them in one place.  


People were unhurriedly waiting at bus stops, set against lush thickets of bamboo and assorted other trees.  This is how I remember the Castle Peak Road of old.  


Then I stumbled against this.  At first I thought it was a church.  But many things were not quite right.  It seemed too small to have such an elaborate facade.  There were no signs in front, even thought there were several empty metal frames that were presumably designed to hold signs.  And the place looked so desolate.   Apparently it is (was?) a themed restaurant - where people are (were?) supposed to go to have wedding photographs taken (against a fake church?).  But it did not seem to be in business, judging from the state it was in, and it was a Sunday, …


A traffic police motorcycle flashed its lights and sounded its siren, stopping a motor vehicle on the highway.  Perhaps the car was speeding?


Just before arriving in Yuen Long, there was a factory where our sauces are made.  I hope these local brands stay and flourish.  


Running outside does have a lot of benefits.  You get to see so many sights of Hong Kong that you don’t normally get to see.  I have many other photographs.  But then this post would be too long.  








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