On the Olympic trail

We finally tackled the Olympic trail. We've been putting it off because the name sounded like it would be an Olympian effort. But it turned out surprisingly easy... there were even families with toddlers walking the trail. Actually, the only bit that we found difficult was walking over the saddle from the Silvermine Caves.

Once you get to the rain shelter, it's mainly downhill or flat.  

Pat Mong village awaits on the other side of the trail. It is home to the famous Sword Sharpening Stone (so called because the stones look like they were cleft in two).

 And the village watch tower, which doubled as the village school after World War II.

The rest of the walk to Tung Chung was relatively blah... but if you walk through the underpass at Pat Mong, at least you get the views of the sea and the airport. It took us about two hours to cover the trail and another hour trying to find our way to Tung Chung.

Going local in Fu Tung

We were getting a bit tired of Citygate – there is only so much outlet shopping we can do – so we decided to try Fu Tung Shopping Centre on the other side of Tung Chung MTR station.

It has such a different atmosphere from the slick Citygate. For one, most of the offerings were very local.

The wet market portion came as a surprise. It sold everything from cooked food to duvets and toiletries.

Even kimchi.

The shopping centre itself has a disproportionate number of restaurants, clothes shops and mobile phone stores. There's even an entire shop dedicated to frozen food, which you can reheat on the spot.

And a supermarket selling health food and other unusual products such as this leg of cured meat.

Treasures of Lantau

Spotted at Hotel Novotel in Tung Chung. Wonder how a Treasures of Lantau buffet is different from a Treasures of Anywhere Else in Hong Kong buffet. Mui Wo clams? Tai O pink dolphins?

We weren't about to spend HK$208 to find out, though.

Gosh, free books

Next time you're in Tung Chung for shopping, be sure to check out the shelf of books at Pacific Coffee.

Buffalo Wilbur and I are such bookworms and we spend a fortune on our books so it was wonderful to find this shelf of free books.

Part of the self-explanatory Read More movement, the principle is simple: Take a book you want off the shelf, read it then return it when you're done to any Read More shelves.

You'd think that people would be grabbing the books and leaving nothing but, say, 101 Ways to Regrout Your Bathroom on the shelf but some of them are new novels and travel books.

Worth checking out, I think.

Mui Wo guide book

We've been curious to read up more on Mui Wo ever since we moved here but there hasn't been much information about the place in English. So we've been reduced to reading the heritage boards scattered around the villages for to glean more about Mui Wo.

A few days ago, Buffalo Wilbur found an Island Series book on Mui Wo for HK$60 at The Bookshop and we've been happily devouring the little factoids in the tri-lingual (English, Chinese, Japanese) book.

Produced by the same people who publish hiking maps on nature trails and guides, it is a fount of information and photos. I like the historical tidbits and village-by-village guide of the Tung Chung-Mui Wo and Discovery Bay-Mui Wo trails.

Don't expect scintillating writing - there are some bloopers (Jesus was "resuscitated", not resurrected, according to the authors) and the English is clunky in places. But it does fulfill a need, by satisfying our curiosity on some Mui Wo curiosities.

You better hurry if you want to lay your hands on one in Mui Wo. Terry at The Bookshop only has a few left - they sell out almost as soon as he brings them in.

Outlet shopping

We don't have malls in Mui Wo but one great consolation is that the nearest, Citygate in Tung Chung, also happens to be an outlet mall.

So on the rare occasions we need something slightly more upmarket, at least we are still getting it at a hefty discount.

Buffalo Wilbur needed running shoes (his last one lost its sole during an amber rainstorm) so, seeing as the weather is still too crap for outdoor activities, we hopped on the 3M.

We haven't stepped into a mall for months and I'd forgotten what fun it is to wander around, aimlessly sucking up the aircon.

Highlight of the day? Getting Buffalo Wilbur's shoes for close to 75 percent off because it was the last pair in stock.

New hiking trail

Looks like Mui Wo has got a new trail, called the Islands Nature Heritage Trail. That's a picture of Mui Wo from Mong To Au, taken from the government website.

We caught glimpses of the opening ceremony at the Nam Shan picnic area from the bus but thought it was just another marathon or something.

The new trail starts in Mui Wo and goes all the way to Pat Mong in Tung Chung and is supposed to take three hours (most likely all day for people like me).

We may just steel ourselves for a walk. But can anyone tell me exactly where the trail begins in Mui Wo?

Town mouse, country mouse

In her Little House books, Laura Ingalls Wilder writes about how going to town is an adventure and how the town people stare at the plainly dressed farm girls. I feel a bit country mouse-like when I schlep over to Tung Chung on my day off in my track bottoms and T-shirts.

Mui Wo isn't exactly hicksville but it does have a wonderful small-town feel, where people walk into restaurants in their cycling gear or hiking boots. I often wander about the place in shorts and T-shirts and Buffalo Wilbur swears he's seen people in their pyjamas in the supermarket.

But once in a while, it's nice to go back to "civilisation" again. Thank goodness my favourite shopping place, Citygate Mall in Tung Chung, is only a bus ride away. I like the fact that it's an outlet mall so I don't have to wait for a sale to get cheap stuff.

And we have out little routine now. It's lunch at Golden Siam Thai Restaurant (Tel: 2109-4418), where they serve authentic-tasting Thai goodies.

Then Buffalo Wilbur sets up base camp in Pacific Coffee while I shop. Before leaving, we make a quick visit to Taste to get stuff that we can't get in Mui Wo (yes, despite having two supermarkets, I can never get good beef broth).