Scene:
Sunday morning, Mar 12 2006, Yung Shue Wan Main Street, Lung Wah restaurant, window seat, Dim Sum brunch, sun filtering through the leaves of the Banyan Tree besides the Policebox, loads of Sunday papers being sold outside, relaxed and peaceful atmosphere.
Spontaneously, I decided to jot down who's walking by, a true slice of Lamma village life on a sunny Sunday morning:<UL COMPACT><LI>Eager, fit hikers with enormous but stylish backpacks with dozens of straps hanging down.
<LI>Mountain bikers in ludicrously fashionable, tight outfits in garish technicolour, black spandex shorts and groovy biking helmets.
<LI>Bored tour guide with flag and megaphone shepherding yet another group of sticker-wearing Kowloon housing estate tourists.
<LI>Spoiled pooches and poodles in pullovers carried in the arms of their cooing owners.
<LI>Greying writer with a pram loaded full of shopping (and a baby).
<LI>Ex-Kung Fu movie star swaggering down the street in very loose-fitting cotton clothes.
<LI>A Filipina domestic helper with her university-educated daughter on the way to church in town.
<LI>A couple of local artsy, intellectual types (bald, goatee, little, round glasses).
<LI>Spiderboy riding atop his tall father, almost touching the Banyan tree branches.
<LI>Scraggy, rugged, bearded long-time residents in shorts/socks/sandals; w/Chin. wife and child in tow, on way to their regular Sunday morning Dim Sum table.
<LI>Ah-Hay serving Dim Sum in his Sunday's best clothes (meaning his usual ones), losing his unique look after a recent shave and haircut.
<LI>Down-trodden Indonesian maid loaded with plastic bags on her way to her Sunday picnic in Central, joining tens of thousands of other maids.
<LI>Local, stocky Dragonboater with closely cropped blond hair with long ponytail swaggering to meet his mates before another short rowing session, followed by an extended drinking session.
<LI>Tall, balding, unemployed, local man taking a break from his relentless, almost full-time gardening by reading the Sunday paper.
<LI>Restaurant proprietor, impeccably dressed in a charcoal-black suit, scurrying around to set up the many outside displays of his restaurant.
<LI>A large, 3-generation, local family on a weekend outing, studiously studying the map mounted on a lamp post full of direction signs.
<LI>Blond teenage boy rushing through the village on yet another one of his many bike errands to stock up his pocket money.
<LI>Mainland tour group playing follow-the-flag, while ooh-ing and aah-ing at the sheer quaintness around them.
<LI>Group of adolescents from several countries enjoying their Dim Sum while people-watching and -judging, then commenting to their friends.
<LI>Shutterbugs with flat pocket cameras pointing them at anything and anybody.
<LI>Four neatly uniformed hawker patrol officers leisurely strolling, chatting and occasionally harassing a hawker who's just trying to make a few bucks off the weekend tourist crowds.
<LI>Local tourists wandering around slowly, randomly and aimlessly, blocking the local residents' in their determined, straight paths.
<LI>Dogs and children of all ages running free, uninhibited but safe.
<LI>Our valiant police force on their fancy high-tech bikes, riding from Hung Shing Yeh Police Station to the Policebox where they can hide from their superiors.
<LI>Very young police constable gazing out from the Policebox, checking if it's safe to come out yet?
<LI>One-handed biker lady w/coffee mug in free hand.
<LI>Lap Sap ladies with veiled Hakka hats pushing trolleys.
<LI>100-strong HK tour group strolling in a tight column, staring at us village yokels.
<LI>Gwaipo with long, flowing white hair in a Kung Fu dress and a cane.
<LI>Smart-looking, bespectacled Indian guy on his way to play cricket in town.
<LI>A black-suited, young, dynamic executive with his tall morning latte in a paper cup on his way to catch up on some paperwork in his office?
<LI>Blonde, long-haired, little princesses in pink, frilly, flowing frocks and the occasional, grown-up cow girl.
<LI>Smart-casual Gwaipo with smart sunglasses and a smart designer rolling suitcase (hand luggage size) in a rush to catch a business trip flight.
<LI>Dim Sum-stuffed expat waddling home to transcribe his observations above into this blog, getting the readers guessing on who exactly he described...</UL>Did I forget somebody?
_________________ Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week: Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.
|