I was not aware that such encounters in Hong Kong were possible (and most likely you weren’t either) until we decided to go camping… But I am getting ahead of my self with this title, so let’s take a couple steps back to how in the world this unexpected intrusion was even possible.
First we flew into Hong Kong from Taiwan (you will notice my drying socks tied to the top of my backpack completing the unique topography of my already cumbersome luggage, you definitely get some funny looks on travel days). We were on mission to get Chinese visas. So, on arriving, we stayed for a couple of days in Harbor City, Hong Kong, where the Chinese consulate is.
It is an amazing city! The huge skyscrapers and extensive highways were wonderful to see and more of what I expected Hong Kong to look like. But what I didn’t know is that Hong Kong isn’t just one big city, it also has many expansive places for camping (which are all free to camp at).
It seemed like fairly normal camping conditions at first. The views from the walking trails (seen above) were gorgeous and the area was nice and spacious. But then the cows came on the scene and initiated our teams first time in camping as… a competitive sport
…
So we had been told a little bit about the cows before arriving, but we were not aware that they would walk right up to our table and join us in our meal! That’s right, one of the cows even opened a bag of black pepper potato chips and consumed the whole thing! Also one of the cows put half of it’s body in Ari’s tent to get a loaf of bread. To say we were not feeling very neighborly would be a slight understatement… but it wasn’t until after dark a night or two latter that our other neighbors, the wild boars, came.
Being a uninitiated and naïve soul in the world of “competitive camping” I figured that the box of slightly bruised bananas would be safe inside my tent. This is what my tent looked like when I came back to go to bed that night.
Fortunately our three foot tall piggish neighbors didn’t make a larger incision then necessary in extricating the box and two of my squad mates (Heidi and Ari) were able to sew and Gorilla tape it back together. I found out it was even still waterproof, when it rain heavily a day later!
(this picture made me laugh after all the other things that had happened)
But in all of this we were not deterred from our goal of getting visas. Neither rain nor dark nor cows nor pigs nor red tape nor signs of snakes; kept us from our goal. We made it to China!
I wasn’t able to use the internet much when we were in China (I am writing this from Mongolia) and I couldn’t share much at the time even if things on my computer had been more favorable. So this is part of my frantic effort to catch you guys back up before I loose connection to wifi for two more weeks (more on that latter). If all goes well I will have another blog in the next 36 hours.
Lastly, HAPPY EASTER EVERY BODY! HE IS RISEN!
I love you all and thank you so much for you prayers.
