I strolled along a barely paved path that eventually led to the woods with a modest Chinese pavilion perching on a hilly western tip and commanding a faint view seaward to the airport sitting in the valley afar. Unlike weekends, the sight of visitors was few and far between on the way. A few friendly locals might have passed me by. I, turning at far many more bends than expected, saw time and again tall trees drag out of the ground enormously entangled roots as if waiting aimlessly to be untangled, electricity poles spontaneously point to the sky as if inviting passers-by to cloud-gazing, and raw banana bunches overhang earthy parapets as if yearning for a peek of the path and the world beyond.
Twists and turns lay ahead and as unprepared as I could be this picture was unfolded to me. A smart red mailbox, however makeshift it might be, stood atop a melancholic pile of bamboos wanting to join their peers and discharge their rightful duties whether on the bridge or in the opera hall. I almost heard them lament. I paused, feeling the camera hanging on my neck, and reached for the mailbox. No sooner had I instantly held up my camera than a boy shouted to her mum through a window at the end of the adjoining alley, "Mum, what is he taking?"
I took the picture, smiled back to the boy, with whom the mother was too engrossed in her washing to give him an answer, and walked on.
And so this closes the last instalment of the Tai O series. The slow progression of this series in five instalments is intended to give readers an impression that there is also a very slow pace of life existing in Hong Kong. If you wish to review the previous instalments, here are no. 1, 2, 3 and 4. (All photos taken with Minolta Dynax 7)
If you're interested in visiting Tai O the next time in Hong Kong, its location is illustrated below (Tai O is accessible by bus from the Tung Chung bus terminus next to the Tung Chung MTR Station. The HK Int'l Airport is close to Tung Chung):
Comments