Swimming With The Old Timers

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

I start most of my Sunday mornings off by biking to a bridge near Ma On Shan and meeting my friend Gary there at 6:30 am.  We then pedal on till we get to an area by the ocean which has a small beach and pier.  This place has great views of mountains, ocean and dozens of old Chinese people bobbing in the water.  All of them are attired in various swim wear, many have bathing caps, some have face masks, not sure why, and a floatation device attached, via a string, to an ankle. Weather: rain, wind, cold (plus 20) does not deter these guys.  Apparently some are out every day and some are in the water for hours bobbing merrily along until they are minute dots in the ocean's horizon.

 Gary and I head to the pier where we park our bikes with several others.  The old people on the pier and in the water are very friendly, greeting us with a hearty Jo Sahn (good morning).  Some speak a little English, some speak to us in Cantonese like we are fluent and understand every word.  We just nod politely.  Gary and I are hearty Canadians and we forsake the bathing caps, body suits, and floatation devices and just hop into the very salty and very warm water.  The water is so salty you can literally go into a sitting position and never sink.  Both Gary and I experience great joy listening to the happy Cantonese spoken between the old timers, soaking in the great views, and riding the occasional swell that gently comes along.  It is a grand time and when the sun pokes through the clouds and lights up the water it gets even more grand. After about twenty minutes of this we head on out and bike back home.  By 7:30 most of the old timers are heading out too.  

There is a reason why Hong Kongers have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world.  Good weather allowing almost year round outdoor activities, a culture where it seems every senior citizen in Hong Kong exercises in the morning and, most important, happy relationships with family and friends.  Also the diet tends to be healthier here than in North America.

Have a great week everyone.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk

Bridge at Ma On Shan.

Gary.

Some Characters seen on the Pier:

Mr. Muscle

Aquaman.

Silver hair

Miss Nutcase

The Pier.

On the pier.  The white thing way in the distance across the water on the right is a statue of a giant buddha.  

Chinese old timers.

The water by the way is relatively clean.

Going off the pier.

Beautiful view off the pier.