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Post by tyuti1668 on Oct 14, 2008 18:13:35 GMT -5
douglaslam. Those were the days- Remeber 嵐霞 slope (~45 degree!!!) b4 thorn down by Macao builder. Flooding road btw 小洋 & 崗背站 when heavy rainfall
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Post by douglaslam on Oct 15, 2008 2:45:17 GMT -5
Hello tyuti1668, I left my home village for HK when I was a little boy. I certainly remember going to Shekki via Sar Kay and the steep climb. Going to Shekki was a big deal then, travelling as a pillon passenger on bicycle or on a steam-powered bus which carried a boiler at the tail end. At the steep gradient, everyone had to get off and walk up the incline. There was also a pavillion selling tea to wash down the dust. I was mesmerised by the whirling ceiling fans in Shekki town. Now, I cannot make out any of the landmarks. I miss the old world, I miss things like the smell of the buffalos and watching them frolicking in the muddy stream after a hard day's work.
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Post by tyuti1668 on Oct 15, 2008 9:14:53 GMT -5
Ah Gin will passing through that memorial climb (part of provincial road S268 & thorned down to ~35 degree) if taking KP-ZS bus. 崗背 still had 1 old buffalo wandering in abandoned field near the highway when in June. Typical impression from 上方佬 [Sar Kay ppl] about 安堂 was "dirty" - Our "animal right friendly" method : pig wanders in street instead in the pigsty(poor man don't have space in packed village ) , that pig came home for feed & sleep (kitchen) ONLY. Typical 大涌's dry toilet that grow tons of fly ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Ah Gin on Oct 15, 2008 21:44:08 GMT -5
tyuti1668,
Yeah, give me the old time, anytime. Perhaps I am getting old. I recall two years ago when I visited our ancestral home at 石海 our place still did not have running water, town gas or a bathroom. The pigsty was just adjacent the main house, next to the village square. Chicken was roaming about the house, mostly around the kitchen. We did have bottle gas for cooking, but the old faithful was charcoal, or coal brick. The upstairs living room was accessed with a simple ladder. Importantly, the Family Alter was maintained. gggf, gf and my father occupied positions on the alter. I am pleased and proud that the place was maintained to be a living place. Very humbling indeed.
Douglas: I recall one trip we made to the Buddhist grottoes of Datong. To get from the town to the grotto, we hired a farm-machine-little-truck. The carbon monoxide from the contraption surely have stunted my brain -- which explains a lot about my current bain power, which is quite low. We came across an accident. A piglet was wondering across a busy road, got killed, and was very soon taken home to be eatern, of course. That's free range piglet. We were fortunate enough to be invited to a private home, to have a look see. It sure was a good way to bring all of us, especially my Sydney-born son, about life in the village, and the sort of humble beginnings. We were back packing, of course. We hate organised tours. Ah yes, I also miss the old way of travel.
Regards, Ah Gin
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Post by douglaslam on Oct 16, 2008 5:35:10 GMT -5
Ah Gin and tyuti1668, Just about every household used to keep a pig or two in the front porch, to supplement income. Sometimes it's hard to sell the pigs off because you got to know them well , you knew their temperament, and they became very affectionate. Up to a few years ago, my late mother used to have a few hens roaming the laneways and byways, just to keep herself happy. The villagers usually left them alone. Not so with the internal migrants. The hens simply disappeared one by one. We suspect the mongrels from the north knocked them off. It was too good to pass up a free lunch. My mother gave up when the hens kept on disappearing time after time.
Douglas
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