Foray into the New Territories

Hong Kong comprises of three sections - Hong Kong Island, Kowloon peninsula and New Territories (from south to north). A large part of the New Territories (NT) area is protected natural preserve. New townships have also been planned all around NT in an effort to prevent Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from bursting at the seams.

Some like to call these towns 'suburbs', but if you're thinking cookie-cutter sprawl, think again. The towns in NT grow vertically rather than in girth. Add mass transit (made affordable by the high density), and protected greens all around, and you have something quite remarkable. One thing these towns do have common with sprawl, relatively lower rents than what one would find in downtown.

The one I visited is called Yuen Long. Needless to say, it felt very different from Central (part of city on HK Island, deriving its name from its location, no extra points for creativity there) . Yuen Long is a less controlled environment - vendors on sidewalks, shops spilling on to the street, people calling prices, bicycles, less razzmatazz, more organic, more real.

On a friend's recommendation I tried Turtle Jelly (Guilinggao). I think it's made with the shell of the turtle, which is first turned into powder form and mixed with medicinal herbs and such. The jelly tasted flat with a somewhat bitter aftertaste. But they have syrup and sugar to make it more tolerable. I finished half and took the rest to go.

Also visited 'Kadoorie Farms' - botanical garden and mini zoo. Beautiful views, no concrete for miles, greenery and waterfalls. The antithesis of Hong Kong. I think I might like to go back. The animals weren't particularly impressive, but then this place doesn't claim to be a full-fledged zoo. Some nice birds to be seen though - particularly the owls and parakeets. Oh, and if someone reading this decides to make the trip - take plenty of water along, or buy at the entry point, its hard to come by further along.