Friday, September 30, 2011

Inspiration Park

One Sunday the church had a picnic day at a beautiful park called Inspiration Lake, which is part of the Disneyland grounds.  Here we are getting instructions to find the buses before heading out.

People on our bus.
Coming into the park grounds.
Reminds me of Moses leading the children of Israel, as we all follow along.
Spraying for the hated little biting black flies.  Didn't work, as l had many bites.  I counted around 10 on each arm and leg.  Miserable little creatures!!!  Thank goodness they will soon be gone.
There were these cool bikes for rent, but alas they were all booked.
I love these Bird of Paradise flowers that are everywhere.
Too hot to walk without an umbrella!
There's our bike!!
Relaxing in a gazebo.
 This hibiscus shrub was really covered with flowers.  Lovely!
Don't know what the three towers are for.
Panorama of the lake.


There are a lot of interesting trees here. I think this one might be the Gulmohar .  They have kind of a ferny leaf and get covered in these bright flowers. 
The Irises must have been beautiful in full bloom.

The paddle boats looked like fun too!
The Disneyland train going by.
Beautiful place to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon.
This couple, who are originally from the U.S., have lived and worked as missionaries throughout Asia, and Taiwan their whole life.  They have an amazing wealth of  knowledge and are so interesting to visit with.
This couple are amazed that they are here even for a short time!!!
There were bridal parties having their photos done throughout the park.  
Heading home.  Except for the biting flies it was a great afternoon!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Pui O


Kylie and Jocelyn invited us to go along with some other teachers to Pui O for an afternoon at the beach.

From our place you take a taxi or bus to catch the train to Tung Chung and then take a bus which winds along the mountain side to Pui O which is on Lantau Island.
A little village on the way to the beach.  It's a beautiful trip winding up and down the mountain sides with views of the ocean and little villages nestled in the trees.
It was quite hot that day so needed an umbrella to block the sun.  This path leads through a back way to the beach.
Beautiful flowers nestled in the grass.  Don't know what they were.
This is not so beautiful!!   You need to watch your step along the path as the wild water buffaloes also use it!!
We're still winding our way through the pasture.
The beast who left the present on the sidewalk!!  He owns a pair of sharp looking horns!
These water buffaloes are laying all over in the pasture cooling themselves in the mud holes.  I'm not sure what they use them for.  They didn't seem to care that people were wandering through their pasture.  It's quit a large area with a lot of buffaloes!!
Ahhhhhhh the ocean!!
Looking for a spot under a tree, and some shade!
Playing Frisbee!
I think it's that way!!  Have no idea what they were talking about!
It felt so good to stand in the water and cool off!  Should have brought our bathing suits!
Pretty little shell!
These guys were all digging for clams.
Rachel doesn't like the feel of the sand on her feet so she wore her socks, and stayed close to her blanket!!
Making sandcastles!!
This is one of the prettiest beaches we've seen so far.  The water is clean and so is the beach and has beautiful sand.  You can camp here also.
Important discussion!!
Feels good to lay in the shade with the lovely cool breezes coming off the ocean!
Rachel finally decided she would venture out onto the sand if she had her shoes on!!
Looking for shells.
The Ooh La La restaurant.  They had really good food!!
Inside the restaurant.  Not too busy at two in the afternoon!  From around 4 to midnight and later is when everything is hopping in Hong Kong!!
This couple are from around Edmonton and this is their first year here.  Their oldest daughter is the same age as Hunter and started kindergarten also.
It's so relaxing to sit and watch the waves roll in.  We were there early enough that there were hardly any people on the beach.
If you were just looking at the front of the restaurant, it could be on any beach, but then you find little touches of  Asia, which make it unique.
We went a different route back to catch the bus and there was this little store where you could stock up on beach accessories!
Beach houses and apartments along the main street.  It's great to get out of the city and into such a pretty rural area.  It's a great place to go for a relaxing day.