20-something Trampers showed up today for a day of waterfall exploration. There were several new faces too, including combat-ready Kevin from the UK, who had evidently paid utmost attention to the Tramper rucksack details listed on the website. He was wearing camouflage pants, had sturdy waterproof hiking boots on and several pouches containing life-saving equipments like a torch were attached to his belt.
We left at 10.45 AM to embark on a 20-minute walk that led to the base of the stream. As we approached the stream, the fragrant smell of fresh stream water hit our noses and the sound of the water hitting against the boulders intensified.
Shoes and socks came off and many of us immersed our bare feet in the purifying stream water. We were all like children in nature’s playground as we hopped from one boulder onto another in order to reach the Wong Lung Hang waterfalls. The water current was very strong because of the previous day rains and there were several challenging boulder hops on the course to the waterfalls. While the gentlemen offered their helping hands to those who needed, Francis seized on this opportunity to help a beautiful lady Tramper by giving her a Stream Hiking 101 lesson. In fact, we could hear the conversation. It went something like this:
Francis: Put your leg here, hand there and gently move forward. Be careful of this rock (blah, blah)
After 2 minutes, I could hear her say “But we should have gone THAT way!”
About one grueling hour later, we reached the mesmerizing waterfalls. Many of us simply couldn’t resist a dip in the enticing water. At this point Francis approached me with an unusual request. He wanted me to buy some very unique cloth made of jute from my upcoming trip to India. He came to me bringing a cigarette lighter and a piece of cloth. That conversation went something like this.
Francis: You see, this is a genuine cloth made of jute. Can you observe the natural color? Feel the cloth. (He then brings another cloth for comparison). Now, this is artificial. If I burn it, you’ll notice that the strands turn black and the feeling will be of burnt plastic. That’s why it is artificial.
Arianna, who was sitting 2 rocks away, came closer to me and confessed her curiosity. She felt the specimen cloth too.
“Is this guy in the fashion industry?” she asked in amazement.
As I burst into laughter, I asked her to look at his green shorts, his unusual hat and rethink her question. She then retorted “You know you can get a lot of strange guys in the fashion industry”.
A refreshing swim and a couple of group photos later, Dominic and I were off to high speed yet exhausting finish.
Tags: Hiking in Hong Kong, Wong Lung Hang
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Tags: Wong Lung Hang