On a day off, Lindsey, Michael, and Rex of Cheung Chau gathered for an expedition to the 10,000 Buddhas Temple. I had been before, but I was all for going again. All went well--we ate at the vegetarian restaurant there, got chastised for trying to enter a condemned building--the usual.
When it was time to descend from the rather steep hill, I suggested that we take an alternate route to spice it up a bit. About half way down, Rex spotted a monkey! I was ecstatic--a rapidly took many pictures:
After we had our fill of watching the monkeys, we attempted to continue the descent. I stopped everyone and pointed out this large monkey, positioned on the very hand rail we were to walk past:
Suddenly and without warning, this monkey charged at us, brandishing sharp teeth accompanied by an unearthly hiss. After about 3 such charges, we ultimately turned around and descended on the other side. As we passed people, I told all of them (in Cantonese) to be aware of the very angry monkeys. Michael assisted by mimicking what the monkey had done, which I found extensively entertaining.
No one was injured in the attack, but we learned a valuable lesson that day. Don't make eye contact with monkeys. It is a sign of aggression.
In other news, I just hosted a swell guy from Illinois--Jordan is on a 6 week tour of China/Nepal/India, and HK was his first stop. He joined us for Dim Sum, where I deemed him safe enough to sleep on my couch. He was a great guest and really went out on his own to explore (I had work and rehearsal nearly the whole time he was here). Check out his blog: www.themeehangdynasty.wordpress.com
I renewed my visa today. Once again on the form, I found the marital status section mildly offensive in a humorous way, as the options were Married, Divorced, Widowed, or SPINSTER.
It was actually "Bachelor/Spinster"...this is linguistically unfair. Men are bachelors...they're sexy and eligible. Women are spinsters...drab and smell like cat litter.
It's Typhoon season! There's one happening right now. I went to the gym, it was closed, and on the walk home, I saw a heavy bus stop sign fall inches away from an innocent passer by.
We've had a few photo shoots for the new Penguin show---I'll put more up, but here's a sneak peak:
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9 comments:
"swell guy"? This must be circa 1957. Do those flipper lifts! Go Camber!
re: the penguin suit. Is there some sort of neck brace in that thing? It looks amazing but unwearable in any unairconditioned places. Thanks for the updates. I loved the TIE team photo. Love, Mom
No wonder your shoulders look so stong. That is one serious penguin suit. I fear my hopes of becoming buff by wearing something like that are diminshing. My penguin suit dreams look frail in comparision.
The monkey story is the stuff of my nightmares, however. Monkeys weird me out and scare the scat out of me. I would have had to be carried out and then bathed and put to bed with a stiff drink and sitcom with a generous laugh track. Yikes.
Caitlin had a boy sleeping on her couch (i.e floor)this past week or so, too. You crazy spinsters. Living large.
your pal,
d
I had to read this posting twice. The first time through I used the Evelyn Wood method and understood that a large, but trusted monkey was sleeping on your couch. Really glad I am keeping up with your blogs because I could never wait for the novel to come out.
That is one great picture, I think I'll enlarge it, print it and hang it by the mirror so I can see it every morning and start the day with a big SMILE!
We once had a monkey incident too, in Manaus, Brazil. We saw a cute little monkey and my friend and I stood by it to take a picture.
The photo shows: the monkey pulling my hair, my facial expression of terror, and my friend already taking off.
I would like to hear more about the condemned building.
The,
Dad.
Does the condemned building happen to be... a red building?
Oh, Paloma--best part of HK, the condemned red building.
This one is white. It was damaged after a major mudslide a few years ago and now they use it to store broken Buddhas in. In my defense, the lock wasn't even engaged when I tried to open the door.
And Deirdre,
Don't give up on your penguin suit dreams. Not ever. Before you visit Caitlin, stop in HK and I'll let you wear the suit for a while to build up the strength necessary to survive in Mongolia.
Thank you. But how does a Buddha get broken? You need to find out what THAT RED BUILDING really is. Pray let me know.
The,
Dad.
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