What I did besides bug hunting

[ismart]

They appear to be. THe three keels on the carapace is your clue. Very sad to see them there. No offense but they should not be kept as pets for most people. Largest freshwater turltes in the world. They need a HUGE enclosure.

I found mine in a lake in NY. Someone must of had it as a pet and did not want it anymore and let it free. This species of snapper is not native to NY. I have had her for the last 10 years now. She has grown very big. I'm planing on donateing her to the bronx zoo.

 

[Katnapper]

I'm amazed at all those fish already packaged up in bags like that! The sellers must get up every morning, and bag them up, then put in tanks what they don't sell... to refresh for the next day? They couldn't keep them in the bags like that for very long, you wouldn't think. I thought they could only survive a few hours like that... not even all day. Hmmm.... ???

 

[[email protected]]

[SIZE=14pt]some times days, fish farm bag 1 day then ship next day, then over night to where ever, but that out here, there I don't know but it makes you think :huh: [/SIZE]

 

[yen_saw]

I'm amazed at all those fish already packaged up in bags like that! The sellers must get up every morning, and bag them up, then put in tanks what they don't sell... to refresh for the next day? They couldn't keep them in the bags like that for very long, you wouldn't think. I thought they could only survive a few hours like that... not even all day. Hmmm.... ???

Those fish in the small bags don't appear to be suffocated so i assumed the water is highly oxidized so fish could survive a long trip.

Few days after arriving Hong Kong there was this Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival). We were invited to the yearly Dragon Boat race at Tai Po (a fishing port in Hong Kong). i was reluctunt to go as i had plan collecting in Tai Po Kau on the same day, but since we got the VIP seats and it is actually not too far from the collecting ground I have decided to take a look. So lets go!

Arriving at the scene...

We were promptly seated and handed a brochure.... there were plenty of free delicious food too (i regretted taking breakfast that day!)

My VIP card ha!

Security was tight, but i wonder what for?

Looking out to near the finishing line

Trophy

 

[yen_saw]

So the race is on!!!

Row row row a boat, gently down the stream......

Fish eye view on the other side of the sea

My 4-yr old adorable niece giving me a shoulder massage.. can't complain!

There was actually teams representing "Lee" associate (my wife's last name is Lee) while there was also teams representing "So" associate that's actually my last name (Saw = So / Hokkien vs Cantonese), so me and my wife were cheering for team representing our last name..... at the end, the Lee family won, bummer.... "So" came second, not bad

Some paddlers of "So" associate collecting their medal... doesn't look happy coming second

Medal stand

Made a small movie clip out of it... hope it works

 

[revmdn]

I really like the "race is on" photo's effect, cool. I can't reduce the size of my pics and here you are adding effects. Show off Yeah, it's better to let her team win, otherwise she'd be angry with you all day. Cute kid. Keep the mantid and non-mantid photos coming. I know you mentioned (maybe in another thread) that you erased some pics off a memory card by accident. You may be able to take it somewhere and have them restored? Does it work like a computer, where it's not really gone till you write over it? I hope not.

 

[Katnapper]

I liked the photos, Yen. And the video worked fine. But strangely.... I couldn't understand a word of it, lol!

 

[agent A]

I'm amazed at all those fish already packaged up in bags like that! The sellers must get up every morning, and bag them up, then put in tanks what they don't sell... to refresh for the next day? They couldn't keep them in the bags like that for very long, you wouldn't think. I thought they could only survive a few hours like that... not even all day. Hmmm.... ???

They are ready to boil and eat in those convienient microvave steamer bags!! Yum yum yum!!! :lol:

 

[yen_saw]

Surprise (and glad) to know many members responded well to my trip and interested to see more! so i will share more here... i have a feeling this will be a long thread if you all don't mind me pouring pics on it

I really like the "race is on" photo's effect, cool. I can't reduce the size of my pics and here you are adding effects. Show off Yeah, it's better to let her team win, otherwise she'd be angry with you all day. Cute kid. Keep the mantid and non-mantid photos coming. I know you mentioned (maybe in another thread) that you erased some pics off a memory card by accident. You may be able to take it somewhere and have them restored? Does it work like a computer, where it's not really gone till you write over it? I hope not.

Unfortunately i don't know if there is a way to recover any pics once the memory card from the camera been erased. honestly i think it is lost forever, which is a bummer and that includes both mantid and non-mantid related pics too

I liked the photos, Yen. And the video worked fine. But strangely.... I couldn't understand a word of it, lol!

Ah sorry i should have mentioned the commentator was using cantonese, a language everyone converses in Hong Kong.... well it sounds like he was commenting on a horse race! but it is kind of a horse race on the sea . it took me a few yrs to master it, through my best teacher... my "boss"(she's 100% Canto!)!! but don't think i have a choice there don't expect her to learn Hokkien or Malay you know

So my next destination was checking out the Big Buddha at Lantau island in HK. I don't practise buddhism actually, just want to experience the climb up to the bronze buddha stature and enjoy the panaromic view (wish i have my SLR camera).

There are few ways to get to the island, but we decided to go with the cable, a gondola lift ride.

here is the entrance to the cable station

We noticed there is this new crystal cable available..yay!!

Well, the special crystal cable does cost extra!

Need a wristband for the ride

and have to wait for it too bummer, but we were early so there was no queue for it (only 1 "crystal" in every 10 cable car)

Ah ha... so we could see through the cabin floor..cool

So here we go, lifting off the ground

We passed by a river and at some point elevated way above ground, probably 300-400 ft above. As the Big Buddha located at Ngong Ping is near the island peak we could feel the temperature drop.

Along the way i can see landslide on side of mountain

i can also see the airport (through land reclaimation on Lantau island) from the above, and also trails for jungle trekking.

 

[yen_saw]

After about 25-30 minutes of gondola ride and passing a few stations. We can see the buddha stature from far...yay!

Finally the last station... my son was probably getting bored of the view (even the see through floor doesn't get him excited after a while) and busy playing PSP, didn't realize we are close to the end.

Apparently, based on the arriving board, we have to walk through a small shopping village before reaching the Big buddha... i can see my wife's eyes shining lights!!

The village reminds me of the Disneyland "Toontown", but with extra "oriental" flavor

The little village has cinema, museum, tea restaurant, vegetarian restaurant, sourvenier shop, etc... lot more to see than i first thought

 

[revmdn]

Keep them coming. I don't like heights, no way I would get on that thing.

 

[OGIGA]

Looks like you had way too much fun in HK. I only ever did what the locals do, which isn't much. Haha.

Haha! Rice burgers? Hong Kong's answer to MacDonald's (though actually Coral opened in Hong Kong about a decade before MacDonald's)!!So Ogiga, what are those foreign squiggles, anyway? Arabic?

They're Chinese characters. Umm, I guess we're using different encoding schemes so they're not showing up right on your side.

 

[ABbuggin]

Great pics. I'd love to go to HK. Looks like a lot of fun. B)

 

[PhilinYuma]

Looks like you had way too much fun in HK. I only ever did what the locals do, which isn't much. Haha.They're Chinese characters. Umm, I guess we're using different encoding schemes so they're not showing up right on your side.

Sorry, Calvin! I was just being silly; they came out fine. My first wife, Mai Liu, was from the New Territories (God knows what they are called now), but as Yen has noted of residents of Hong Kong, she spoke fluent Cantonese. I was in Hong Kong some years after her death, in the late 60s, when Coral opened its first store, with many banners, streamers and free food.

 

[Katnapper]

I did not realize the statue of Budda was that huge!!! :blink:

Your progression of pictures make me feel like I was there, Yen. And I very much enjoy your descriptions and comments too... they add so much!

 

[yen_saw]

Wow Phil.... Where on earth you haven't been? :blink:

Thanks Becky, the bronze stature of Big Buddha is more than 100 ft tall. As you can see in later thread....

So my wife starting to shop for sourvenier. I was also looking for some for my mom.

Some of the stuff we bought

I have to stop my wife before she burns too big of a hole in my pocket! So we went to this shop full of buddha statures and artifact

My son was kind of shy about this...

NOt me obviously!

We took a break in a tea house

and continue the journey... the road to Buddha seems to take forever, i guess they want to make sure you spent some money before the "Main event".

 

[yen_saw]

We decided to skip a few restaurants, but i was kind of hungary actually :mellow:

Hmmm what is this Italian ice cream shop doing here?!?! very "out-standing", probably the only non-oriental shop in the village

Saw a booth promoting tourism on lantau island. Since the island is also well known for its flora and fauna i got to see it.

A scale model of the island. there were the airport and the gondola lift too! cool.

and i saw a book about insects on this island.... mantis was on my mind

sadly one label a Leptomantella sp/Tropidomantis sp as Hierodula patellifera (see top right mantis in pic below) so i let the book go and continue my journey

Finally i can see the Budhha at the end of the road

Getting closer now... i am starting to worry if i have the energy to climb up

 

[yen_saw]

Oh man.... it is going to take a long time for me getting up there!

imitating the buddha at the foot hill

Step by step..... i lost count how on steps and finally had to stop to catch my breath, thinking i didn't do so bad afterall. but when i look up, there was this lady (probably in 50s) taking a break but well ahead of me... shame!

So i got to act up like i am taking pic around but i was running out of breath actually hehe!

Looking down ...

Suddenly my attention was caught by a cool leaf mimic butterfly

closer look

the closest i can zoom in with my digital

Continue my way up, and this is probably the same vision i had when i got up there... i was dizzy

A cool looking stature i have to say... ah i can also see my wife taking picture of my son there ha!

 

[yen_saw]

besides the Buddha, there are also some otehr 10 ft statures around.

Sadly, we were not allowed to go further up inside the buddha....

So we started our descent. Kenny (on far right) starting to count the steps....

Back into the cabin ride....

A family pic before leaving

When we got back to the mainland. I was starving..... any dim sum will do!

 

[Katnapper]

I continue to love the pics of your journey. It's very sad you lost so many others!

Some of my favorites were these: the one of you not shy, like Kenny, hehe! ; the leaf mimic butterfly; looking up at the Budda very large; your family pic (nice to see your wife ). But my very favorites are the ones of the 10 ft. statues... these are absolutely beautiful! I love statues like these, and these particular ones are amazing. I would really like to see these in person!

It's a shame they mislabel the species in the book too. <_<