When the most serious Covid wave hit Hong Kong in Spring 2022, I was chucked out of the hotel that I had been living in for 3 months. No, funnily enough, it was not my doing. They were just turning it into a community isolation facility.
All things considered, I decided to move to my family's countryside house, located in the outer skirts of the NE New Territories. The location was surrounded by the mountainous Pat Sin Leng Country Park on three sides.
Vantage Point of Luk Keng Village 鹿頸
The village brings back happy memories of prior visits with my family. I liked to imagine what life was like during my dad's childhood in the 1960s. In those days, my grandparents were farmers and lived in extreme poverty. They scraped by with minimum necessities and worked incredibly hard to get a better life.
My dad tells me stories, one of which involved a cricket fight and him swimming in the river. Nearly 50 years on, perhaps I was destined to go and live in the house that my dad grew up in (albeit by myself).
Community Life
Luk Keng village was permanently populated by a handful of people, most of whom were linked to shared ancestors. These were the Chan 陳 and Wong 黃families. During the time here, I got the chance to talk at length with many members of the community.
It had a real communal feel that had been missing in places I had lived before, both in the UK and elsewhere in the city. The village was popular with domestic tourists because it was a refreshing contrast to the bustle of the city, often devoid of purified air and wildlife orchestras.
Long term residents immediately recognised who was an outsider and they very quickly took me in as one of their own.
People were very friendly and welcoming, like a big family. I called them "Uncles", "Aunties", "Great-Uncles" and "Great-Aunties" in the Hakka language. Some of my family's closer relatives invited me to their dinners on several occasions. They played along with my curiosity and we talked about life in the village.
The village was basically devoid of the young generation because they had all moved to the city for work or education. I was certainly one of the younger persons to live there for an extended period of time. I learnt a lot of things from the older generation.
My house did not have an internet connection as no one was living there permanently. On the first day of my arrival, I tested out the strength of the mobile signal.
It was quite bad in most parts of the house but fortunately, it was fairly strong in my upstairs bedroom where I would be spending most of my time. It was good enough to have video calls (for more details, please read my article "Is It Practical to use Mobile Hotspots instead of home Wi-Fi?")
YouTube Video - My Commentary on the Village House
How Far Away and Convenient Is It?
It typically took between 1 to 1.5 hours to travel from the village to get to the heart of the city. I had to walk a fair distance from the house to the bus stop, taking around 10-15 minutes even at my brisk walking pace.
The minibus came every 30 minutes so if you missed it, you had to wait another half hour. At certain times of the day/week, you needed to be there early because each minibus only took 16 passengers.
Once I arrived at the terminus, I had to then take the suburban metro towards the city. Depending on my destination, I sometimes needed to change lines. There was no other easy option apart from the taxi which was a good $100 HKD every time.
But I didn't mind, I had never before lived in the deep countryside and it was the first time I had ever lived in a house all by myself. Living here would somewhat test my survival skills and independence. Plus it was the middle of a very serious Covid wave so I was practically meeting up with nobody.
Coexisting with Animals, Plants and Landscapes
Brown Cattle chilling by the bus stop
There were plenty of animals, big and small, roaming about on the grasslands, mountains, ponds, waterfalls, trails and occasionally inside houses. Without being a biologist, I could identify brown cattle, water buffalo, wild boars, macaque monkeys, egrets, frogs, butterflies, lizards, grasshoppers, crickets, mosquitoes, spiders and various bird species.
Most families also had dogs to guard the house although I would argue they guarded the village as well. On some days after midnight, I would lie in my bed and hear swarms of bats overhead. They were seemingly on a mission of migration or food hunting.
There were nocturnal birds singing in the middle of the night, which I assumed was either a mating call or some kind of warning signal to tribes. I was very glad that I was sleeping within an enclosed environment. On wet days, I could hear the vivid croaks of toads and other amphibious wildlife.
On two occasions, I heard very loud thuds outside the house where I thought something had crashed into the house. Eventually I concluded that it was some large animal moving around and refrained from exploring further.
To my horror, one of my "uncles" showed me a picture of a highly venomous snake which he had chased away. It was during a dinner that was taking place around 100 metres away from my house. I immediately got the shakes, fearing that I would run into a snake on the way home. Apparently they preferred to come out during night time.
One of the more annoying things about living in the countryside was that I got bitten by mosquitoes countless times. I went on a hunt for mosquito lotion and repellent.
"Ricques" peppermint oil and "Mopidick" lotion both do wonders for me, instantly relieving the itchiness. I also bought insect sprays to deter and kill ants, cockroaches, crickets and spiders inside the house.
Hiking, Exploring and Discovering Villages
During my temporary stay in Luk Keng, I went on hikes, often for several hours. I stuck to popular trails so that I was always within shouting distance of other places.
Kuk Po Trail
Every weekend, thousands of people flocked here from the city to take a much-needed break. Nature and village life had much to offer. At dusk, it was common sight to see hundreds of people lining up for the minibuses to return to the city. Fortunately for me, I could just stroll back home.
Along the way, I visited several Hakka villages for the first time. These included Fung Hang and Kuk Po. Despite visiting my family village countless times, I had never been here before. The scenery was breathtaking.
I waded along the shoreline of north-eastern Hong Kong with the sea on one side and mountains on the other. I could see the skyline of Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen's Yantian District in the distance. I've done a video on this, some of which you can find on my YouTube channel "YenKid".
Shenzhen Yantian District
I saw some people selling local Hakka desserts. I went up to one of them and started talking in Hakka. They were taken aback as I looked younger than the typical Hakka native.
I explained that I grew up in England and used the language every day with my family. They told me that even their children can't speak it despite being in Hong Kong for all of their lives.
Upon leaving, I bought a couple of the desserts they were selling. They gave me one for free. When I tried it, it gave memories of the desserts that my grandma made. It was certainly a unique experience that I look forward to enjoying again when the weather is cooler.
YouTube video - A Walking Tour of Fung Hang and Kuk Po, Spring 2022
Comments