新界 - 新天地 (New Territory)

This is the second time that we have decided to tread the "not-so-touristy" place.  This time, we went to Lung Yeuk Tua Heritage Trail - even the name sound "ulu" to many of us right? The place is at Fanling and we need to take a mini bus there too.  There supposed to be several walled villages and ancestral halls dated 1700s.  Didnt know Hong Kong still has such places.
The journey to the Heritage Trail was quite smooth but we went on Boxing Day - supposed to be holiday for Hong Kong. So no crowd, quite quiet. The first walled city we saw was guarded by a big fierce dog - we have to retreat instead of moving into the city. There was also a warning sign on the wall alerting visitors not to enter and disturb the local habitants.  We chanced upon a pair of friends who also came to visit the place - they informed us that during weekdays, there would be tour guide who could allow us in. Next time bah, they said.
Hmm... the Tung Ching Ling Ancestral Hall was also closed when we were there. So, we decided to wander around following 2 caucasians ahead of us. Fierce dogs barking along the way - as usual my tripod would be a "shield" to protect against any risk :P.  Hee, I was amazed by my "spider tripod" though - so happy to have bought it as it was really handy and flexible. Dear said it caught the attention of many when I used it to take pics.

We strolled slowly along the rural areas of Hong Kong - quite peaceful feeling without noisy traffic, horns, skyscapers... I enjoyed the stroll with my dear especially during the cool cool weather. We occassionally saw some country folks passing by and wondered if they realised we were foreigners or just city dwellers coming back to home town for holidays hee. 
I was told that I didnt take "photographs" this trip ... the kind of photographs that we used to take. One reason was my dear's D80 was on medical leave - dunno what happened.  Actually, I was putting on the hat of a wedding photographer, trying to capture some nice shots for our wedding mah. Well, I did feel a bit "lost" when my Canon D400 was unable to partner my dear's Nikon D80...
At the turning point of the path where we chanced upon a group of letter boxes, I started to appreciate our own letter boxes. Hee. We saw another walled village and I wanted to follow a group of people into the village but dear dear said they were the local inhabitants. Well, must listen to dear dear and also obey the rules stated on the walled village.
Dunno when I started to enjoy looking at old heritage stuff - a different aspect of modern life. Maybe the old buildings and old way of enjoying life can slow down the busy pace of modern life, giving us a sense of real rest and real peace. Hee, I do hope next time we can bring our kids to backpack and trek the old routes as well... and hopefully I can be a competent tour guide then *grin grin*