A cracking read

Occasionally I pick up a book that holds my attention so well that it just gets read cover to cover in one sitting (fortunately my semi-retiredness means that staying awake all night isn’t a big deal). The latest such work is Craig Murray’s Murder in Samarkand (known in its American edition as “Dirty Diplomacy“) which I thoroughly recommend to anyone with an interest in the “War on Terror”, British diplomacy and politics, or Uzbekistan. (Apparently the US version names a few more names directly since it doesn’t have to deal with the UK’s over-protective libel laws.)

A great new restaurant in Tong Fuk

Having got bored with finishing our Lantau hikes at the China Bear in Mui Wo, my hiking buddy and I decided to check out the new(-ish) Eddie’s restaurant in Tong Fuk yesterday. South Lantau Road is between it and the beach, so its “beach bistro” tag is a little bit of marketing licence, but this is a very welcome option indeed for quality food at reasonable prices on Lantau.

eddie's restaurant in Tong Fuk, Lantau Island

We arrived only a few minutes after the 6pm opening time, and were greeted by the very friendly and competent waiter.

If you go down to the woods today…

… you’ll find something quite fascinating, if you happen to be on Section 3 of the Wilson Trail (at distance post 026, grid reference KK163701, just above Ma Yau Tong), as I was yesterday.

There is a large collection of brightly coloured sculptures featuring people (apparently of various races) and animals, many of them labelled in English, as well as a shrine with some sort of deity in it. The sculptures are getting a little dilapidated, but the shrine itself is still clearly maintained on a regular basis. Here are some examples:

A very big tortoise!