Mui Wo and Cam On Ms Ha !

OK, the standard reader and speaker of English will not get much out of the above title except the word AND ;-)

I'm waiting for news from my stomach to tell me what to do next.  Take it slowly for a day  and only eat yogurt accompanied by apple juice and then see whether I should try again?  Or contact the airline to see whether I can go home early to see a doctor?

I'm also noticing that I'm getting confused about the time line. It's Wednesday morning now; I've been here since Friday evening, and I had 3 bouts of 12 hour toilet-hugging time in that short time.  No wonder I find it so hard to write this blog and to figure out which pictures belong to which post- or pre-puke period.

Be that as it may, if my stomach allows, I will switch hotels today. Nice as it is, this hotel has become too much of a reminder of sickness and  death.  And here is where the first part of the title will be explained: My abode for the next night will be in Mui Wo.  But first I have to get there ! Ideally without any stomach interference.  

Until check-out time I stick with my diet of yogurt and apple juice. Seems to work ;-)

I  make my way down Des Voeux Road towards Central; double-deckers seem to be blocked somewhere so I walk and take the MTR for one stop. The Hong Kong Main Post Office is located at Central and I stock up on stamps. From the post office it is only a 5 minute walk to the Mui Wo Ferry Terminal.

I have to ask what luxury the almost double price for deluxe class will earn me and quickly decline when informed that the 'deluxe' part of the ship has air conditioning.  I refrain from pointing out that I come from a cold country and why would I pay extra to travel in a freezer now, in particular since the open windows and sea air should bring more than enough cooling in the 28 degree weather.

Not my ride; yet another Star Ferry

My ride, the non-deluxe, non-air-conditioned wood (plastic) class of First Ferries

A nice side effect of travelling without A/C is that the windows open, which much reduces reflections and glare for those trying to take photographs of the journey ;-)

Kennedytown, the last outskirts of Hong Kong Island

No longer Hong Kong Island

That's the bay!

Say hello to the new GAP shorts

Here we go: Mui  Wo, beach, and hotel

The trip on the regular ferry took 55 minutes; the fast ferry can do it in half that time. MANY of  the ferry passengers seem to commute here by bicycle.

I've been to Mui Wo twice before:

The first time I discovered the part right at the ferry terminal, home to old style queeny Expats that hate Chinese food, have a Philippine maid, and eat at a Turkish restaurant facing the bus stop that serves fish from New Zealand on it's fish sandwich.  I kid you not!

The second time I discovered the 'cooked food market', the gorgeous beach, and realized that the Lantau Buddha needs its evening rest at 5 pm.

Today I've booked a hotel here.  Overpriced for sure.  Also full of tourists (about evenly split between Europeans and Mainland Chinese). But it's yet another Hong Kong I hope to discover here.  The cooked food market with 180 degree ocean view is right next to the ferry terminal.  Look at those opening hours !

I wiggle may way along the beach towards the hotel.

Symbols of a more glorious resort past have decomposed into beach sculptures

After checking in, I realize that it is already 3 pm and that I haven't consumed anything besides yogurt and apple juice all day.  My friend Yiman tells me that in instances of an upset stomach she goes and eats at places she doesn't like but considers safe, like MacDonald's or Subway. YUK!  
There is a MacDonald's right at the ferry terminal,  but I want FOOD, not PLASTIC.  

The left side off the table is right at the edge of the bay ;-)

So I completely ignore Yiman's advice and go to the food market and order fried fish on steamed rice with Chinese Something (fried cactus?)

The portion is HUGE, costs me HK$ 48, and tastes truly divine (Where else to eat Chinese  food but in China? :-). Why would anyone eat at the phony European restaurants with their imported fish (I'm right in the South China Sea, for frigg's sake!) with this delicious food here?

The owner of this bike apparently doesn't believe in the necessity of air cushioning.

Old bike,  old tree ...

add old man about to twirl the tree hangings out of the way so he can sit on the wall.

I''m amazed that there are any fish left in the water ....

Why do I look so happy in the above picture?  That'll get us to the second part of the title. At 7:45 this morning I was supposed to stand in front of my hotel in Hanoi to be picked up by the shuttle bus of the tour company offering the Junk Cruise.  I e-mailed the company in the very early a.m. today to tell them that they wouldn't have to stop by my hotel because I wouldn't be there.
An e-mail a few hours later asked me whether I wanted to change the date of my cruise.
Not whether I wanted to book it again, but whether I wanted to change the date!  If that means what I think it means then this Vietnamese company is most generous and hospitable. So there, Ms Ha is the name of the person writing the e-mails and Cam On  simply means Thank You in Vietnamese.

Don't try this at home: Your bath-tub water might not be as warm as the South China Sea