Thursday, June 3, 2004
A walk on the wildlife side
By Sherry Lee
THINK OF MAINLAND tourists in Hong Kong and images of flag-wielding chaperones leading groups into gold shops and designer-label boutiques spring to mind. 内地游客在香港旅游时, 往往让我们联想到旅行团的领队带着他们进入金店或时装名店购物
Since last July, when individual mainland tourists were granted access to Hong Kong, more have been flocking across the border. In January, 1,115,151 mainlanders visited, compared with 750,929 in the same month last year. 自从去年7月, 香港政府放宽内地个人游以后, 来港内地人数不断增加, 相对于去年一月同期的750,929人次, 本年一月已上升至1,115,151人次
But, little known to the average Hongkonger, other groups of mainland tourists - more interested in the rare black-faced spoonbill than a rare Hermes Birkin bag - are taking to the hills. Rather than lining the pockets of local merchants (the average mainland tourist spends $5,600), they prefer to hitch a ride on the Dragon's Back, straddle Horse Saddle Mountain or roar over Lion Rock. 但少数香港人会知道, 一批另类的内地游客, 是喜爱观赏野外的黑脸琵鹭多于搜罗欧洲名牌手袋, 喜欢走到山上而不喜欢在商店购物(内地旅客平均在港消费5600港元), 那一批旅客选择在山脉上奔驰、跨在马上游历于山中、或是走到狮子山上像狮子般咆哮
One Sunday a month, Richy Luk puts on his hiking boots and shows mainland tourists an alternative to money-hungry Hong Kong. "A lot of mainlanders think Hong Kong is just a financial and commercial city," says the 35-year-old technical officer with the Housing Authority. "I want to show them the other side of Hong Kong." 每月的其中一个星期日, Richy 都会穿上他的行山鞋, 带给一些内地游客观赏香港的另一个面貌, 他表示 :“很多内地人都祇知道香港是一个商业城市, 所以我希望可以把香港的另一面带给他们看”
Luk takes his groups into the great outdoors of Hong Kong's walking trails, and increasing numbers are enthusiastically embracing the free service he offers. "I didn't know we could hike in Hong Kong," says Danny Xue, a female manager of a Shenzhen logistics company. "I used to come here to shop, but after a few visits I got bored. The walking tours are great, and offer us something other than shopping." 他带领他们走进香港最有名的行山径, 由于不收分文, 参加人数不断增加。一名在深圳任职物流业经理的Danny女士说:“其实我并不知道香港也可以行山的, 以前我来香港都是购物, 但去了几次后, 我已经感觉厌倦, 但这个行山活动真好, 他可以给了我一些购物以外的东西”。
A male companion, Jedy Woo Hai-zhong, who works in marketing at a Shenzhen chemical company, agrees. He marvels at the facilities and information the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department provides for hikers. "The management of Hong Kong country parks is great," he says. "They provide barbecue places for free. You have public toilets, and places for camping." The two were part of a 60-strong group that turned up for last Sunday's eight-hour walk, starting from Tai Wai KCR station in Sha Tin and taking in the Shing Mun Reservoir and Lion Rock on the way to Tze Wan Shan in Kowloon. Although a few wore jeans and sandals, others donned the attire of professional hikers: boots, backpacks, waterproof hats, jackets and trousers, sunglasses and walking sticks. 他的其中一名战友"宇宙公民", 是一名深圳化工原料公司的职员, 赞叹香港郊外的配套设施十分完备, 宇宙公民说:“香港的郊野公园的管理相当好, 而且免费提供烧烤场地、厕所和露营的地方”, 当日他们一行60多人, 由沙田徒步至慈云山, 途经城门水塘和狮子山, 虽然部虽然部份人祇穿着牛仔裤和凉鞋, 但亦有部份人士穿着较专业的行山鞋、背包、防水帽子、户外衣物、太阳眼镜和行山杖。
Although many didn't know each other, they soon became friendly and joked with each other along the route, while taking in the spectacular scenery. Afterwards, Luk took them into the city - but only to see a light show on the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade and to dine at a Shanghainese restaurant, before it was time to return across the border. The amount spent at local emporiums? Zero. 起初的时侯, 参加者彼此都不认识, 但不久他们都在旅途中有讲有笑, 在美丽的风景下成为好朋友, 在旅程的末段, Richy 带领队伍走进闹市中 -- 但祇是在尖沙咀的海滨观看激光表演, 然后他们在一所上海菜馆吃晚饭, 一天的行程总共消费? 零元
Born in a Tuen Mun village, Luk started hiking as a child. "I followed my father to get herbs from the mountains," he says. "I also picked up wood for fuel." At 14, he started hiking with classmates. As an adult, Luk - who now lives in Yuen Long - continued his interest, but mainly on his own. Now, the mainland hikers have become his companions, he says. 在香港屯门出生的Richy, 自小已经开始行山, 他说:“我自小要跟爸爸到山上采药, 而且也要拾柴枝来烧”, 他开始组织行山活动是始于14岁那年, 当时是和他的中学同学一起登山。 现在, 他住在元朗并没有停止他的爱好, 但很多时都是独自上山, 现在, 那些内地行山朋友已经成为了他的行山良伴。
Luk's inspiration for the tours started last year, when he tapped into a Shenzhen-based website that organises weekly hiking trips. He discovered a section in which visitors exchange information about outdoor activities in Hong Kong. In October, a few months after the individual visas were permitted for residents in a limited number of mainland cities, inquiries about Hong Kong trail walking started to appear, including a request for information about how to get to Tai Mo Shan. "I replied and pasted a map and pictures. Then, they asked if I could take them there." Luk didn't think twice. 他的灵感是始于去年, 当时他正浏览深圳的户外活动网站, 那里有一个香港讨论区, 当时正好自由行开放了, 查询香港的户外活动的贴子亦开始出现, 当时有些人正在查询如何游览大帽山, Richy 说:“ 当时我贴了一些路线图及资料出来, 之后他们便要求我作领队带领他们, 当然我没有想便答应了”。
It wasn't long before he was waiting outside the Sheung Shui KCR station for his new mainland friends. "I wasn't nervous," he says. "I just treated it as taking my friends for a hike." Later, Woo and He Jun, a 43-year-old Shenzhen shop salesman who was on his first eco-tour, as Luk calls them, volunteered to escort people from the Shenzhen border building to various walking trails. “每次集合的时候, 我并不会十分担心, 我祇会把他们视作普通的行山友”, 到了集合时间, 宇宙公民和河马哥出现了(河马哥是一名43岁从事零售业的深圳居民), 他们二人会在深圳联检大楼那边负责召集深圳的朋友。
Today, interest in Luk's tours is growing, with about 70 to 80 inquiries for each outing, and at least 50 turning up each month. The hikers are mostly office workers in their 20s. There are IT technicians, computer engineers, office clerks, insurance agents and shop assistants. Luk says the greatest interest so far has been from people from Shenzhen, with one hiker travelling from Guangzhou. But his tours also attract mainlanders working and studying at Hong Kong universities. 今天, 参加在港拉磨的人数不断增加, 大概每次也有70至80个查询, 而成行亦会有约50人, 大部份参加者均为20余岁的人, 他们一般都是电脑/电讯从业人员、文职人员、保险从业人员及营业员, Richy 说 : “大部份有兴趣的参加者均来自深圳, 也曾有一名是由广州来的朋友, 而那活动亦吸引了一批在港工作及读书的内地人”。
Several Hong Kong hikers have also joined the tours, and there's even interest emerging the other way. Local accountant Bill Wong Sin-yung says he'd like to meet someone who'll help him explore walks in rural Shenzhen, known more as the home of fake brands than mountain streams. 一些香港的行山友亦会参加拉磨, 本地会计师Bill Wong称, 他希望借此认识一些内地行山友, 从而认识深圳一带的名山大川。
Xue might be able to help him. She used to drive for about two hours to reach good walks along Shenzhen's coast or in its rural areas. But now she's happier popping into Hong Kong to hit the trails. "The hills in Shenzhen are high and dangerous, but Hong Kong hills are lower. And with one linking another, there are more scenes to see, and the sea view is beautiful." 阿Bill的愿望也许可以由薜小姐为他实现, 因为她曾经自驾两小时, 到达深圳东岸的一些村落来徒步, 现在, 她亦很高兴在香港的活动, 她说 :“深圳的山比香港的较高而且危险, 但香港则不一样, 而且香港的山连山, 山上和海岸风光都很美”。
Beautiful landscapes are one attraction of Hong Kong trails. Safety is another. Despite a series of recent muggings and robberies on some of Hong Kong's hiking tails, mainland hikers still say Hong Kong is safer. "Shenzhen hikers were robbed at times," Woo says. "When we camp, we have to get one to two men to guard our camp throughout the night." 行山径上美丽的海岸风光故固然吸引, 安全亦是很重要的, 近日香港虽然接二连三发生郊野公园行劫案, 内地行山人士仍然觉得香港是比较安全, 宇宙公民说 :“深圳经常出现行山人士遇劫事件, 所以当我们在深圳露营时, 我们必须在晚上留下两个男生在营外守护, 整夜不睡”。
Human resources manager Christine Ru is a newcomer to Hong Kong mountain hiking. "I've been visiting Hong Kong since 1997 and usually shop for clothes with friends. Sometimes, I go the movies. I'm not tired of this yet, but I want to try something different," the 33-year-old says. 三十三岁人力资源部经理Christine是第一次参加香港拉磨的活动, 她称:“我在1997就已经来香港旅游了, 一般我会跟朋友一起来香港买衣服, 或去看电影, 对此我并不感到厌倦, 但是我亦希望在香港认识到一些不同的事物”。
While local walkers usually carry bread, biscuits and water, mainlanders often eat differently. Luk recalls one hiker who took a whole salty preserved duck and shared it. 一般行山者都会带备面包、饼干和水来充饥, 但内地行山者往往有所不同, Richy 回忆大刀屻那一次行山, 其中一个参加者竟拿出一只酱板鸭来分给大家吃。
Despite not charging for his services ("If I charge, the nature will turn bad," he says), Luk does a thorough job preparing the hikes, walking the trail and taking photographs of it to check the environment, reminding people via the Do You Hike website what they need to bring. He puts details, including photos, a map, dates and times on the site a month in advance. Before setting out on the day, he divides hikers into three small groups, with himself, Woo and He in charge. 尽管这并不是一项收费的活动(Richy称:若是收费的话, 整个意义就会变质), 他仍然为整个行程作出详细的预备, 包括事前准备, 预走拍照及留意环境的变化, 并透过磨房及大本营网站提醒参加者, 这些资料很多时都会在出发前一个月已经预备好了。当出发之前, 他亦会把队伍分成3小队, 由他本人、河马哥及宇宙公民分领及管理。
"Twice along the way, I check names against a list to make sure we haven't lost anyone," he says. "Some people walk so fast, much faster than me, so I have to make sure everyone travels at the same pace." 他说 :“我会在行程中点名两次, 以因为部份驴子走得太快, 透过点名便可以确保不会走失”。
So far, he has taken six tours to places such as Tai Po, the Peak, and Lantau Island, and more locations are on the cards. He makes sure the routes have attractions, so visitors can learn more about local life and culture. He introduces them to the interesting flora and fauna and discusses Hong Kong and Shenzhen current affairs and social life. 至今, 他总共召集了6次拉磨活动, 例如有去大埔、山顶、大屿山及其他路线, 设计路线时他必须确保有一些名胜可观赏, 以致参加者从中可以了解香港的生活及文化, 他亦会介绍香港的动植物生态给他们认识, 当然亦会讨论深港之间的人和事。
During the Peak hike, he took his group to the doorway of Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's home, walked to Government House, Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, St John's Cathedral and the Court of Final Appeal, before reaching Lan Kwai Fong for a drink. At Tai Po, hikers visited the Fung Shui Tree (fortune tree) in Lam Tsuen, Kadoorie Farm and a People's Liberation Army camp. Of course, the Lantau hike centred on the Big Buddha.在其中一次的港岛山顶拉磨活动, 他带领队伍走到政务司司长的官邸门前参观, 也走过前港督府、动植物公园、圣约翰大教堂和终审法院。而另外一次大埔之旅, 他们游览林村许愿树、嘉道理农场和解放军军营。而大屿山之旅, 参观大佛当然不可缺少。
With the warmer weather, Luk is changing his eco-tour tactics. Last month, for the first time, he took mainland visitors snorkelling in Sai Kung. To protect the environment from pollution and damage, he asked the visitors to promise not to tell others where they had snorkelled, so as not to encourage irresponsible divers. And he made sure they didn't litter and didn't smoke. 随着天气转热, Richy 亦开始改变活动形式, 在上一个月, 他第一次召集西贡浮潜活动, 为了尽可能保护环境, 他要求参加者不要在网上公布浮潜的地点及如何到达, 以确保那些珊瑚不会被恶意破坏。
The experience has opened his eyes. "I have learnt mainland slang and culture. This has broadened my eyes," he says. 透过举办活动, Richy 从中学会很多东西, 他说:“从中我可以学到很多内地人惯用的术语及文化, (例如FB等同吃饭等等..)”。
His guide friend, He, is full of praise for the walking tours, saying they've pushed the cultural exchange between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. And already others are following in Luk's footsteps.他的老拍档河马哥对在港的拉磨活动以充满赞赏的语气说 :“我们正在推动深港间的文化交流”
"Recently, a mainland female migrant who joined one of my tours brought people to Cheung Chau, too," says Luk. "More people may follow suit."
Richy称:“近日亦开始有一些曾参加活动的朋友, 开始组织活动, 好像5月26日的长洲之旅, 相信会越来越多这样的召集”。
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