It’s been almost two months since packing up and moving to the village of Kam Tin, Yuen Long. It’s never been my thing to live in a big city or in the middle of an ex-pat community. Why travel and live in a different country only to surround oneself in the same as back home but more expensive and the quality not the same.
I lived in Tai Po for 10 years and loved it. When my love left Hong Kong, it was time for a change, and I moved to Kam Tin, a small village near Yuen Long or on the other side of Hong Kong from where I was.
The village has a train or MTR station (Kam Shan Road MTR), making it easy to come in and get out. A major highway is nearby, and a busy road runs through the village. Yet there is still this village charm with no building being over 4 stores, except the school. There is some convenience of grocery stores, small shops, and a few local restaurants and local bakeries.
The area is inexpensive for rent, drawing a lot of non-Chinese people as well. A Filipino family below me has lived here for as long as I have been in Hong Kong. They work at one of the big hotels in the city. There are a lot of asylum seekers in the nearby villages making the community different. At night, when the barbeques are going, it feels like Thailand or somewhere else with the smells and the various people about.
It is easy to get to my new work in Yuen Long either by bus, minibus or MTR. My house is huge, on the second floor with a balcony and am paying the same amount as the smaller place back in Tai Po. I still do not spend as much time there as I should and continue to wander around the city at night, taking pictures and seeing what is out there.
The local people are very local and have been in Hong Kong for generations – maybe even longer than the city itself. They are proud to be Chinese and part of China, which makes me uncomfortable. Still, any form of patriotism makes me uncomfortable, even from my home country. I was yelled at for wearing a black mask being told, ‘if you love Hong Kong, you shouldn’t wear black or yellow masks.’ I ignorantly shrugged my shoulder and tended to avoid him. It is part of the area and being in a village in Hong Kong.
The only issues I have are the old man and the heat. Shade is hard to find, and my home feels hot…too hot. There aren’t a lot of tall buildings or mountains to soak in the warmth. It will get cooler soon, and I hope to sit out on the balcony or go to the many hiking trails around to begin to fully enjoy the wonders of Kam Tin.