That Holiday Feeling

The end of a long working week makes you feel in need of a holiday - we've all been there. Wanting to get away. Be somewhere else. Be somewhere different. Feel entirely removed from the city and workplace. I may now be living on the other side of the world but in Hong Kong, a tiny Island a fraction the size of the County I grew up in, I have found that holiday feeling half an hour from my front door. My holidays name is Stanley. (And it was about time there were more photos added to this blog - I must thank google for them all!)

All I need to do is hop on the double-decker bus and for c. 80p each way wend my way along the narrow winding roads to Stanley, putting all my faith in the driver of the vehicle that is far too big for the road. It sometimes feels like the attitude to road building here was at times similar to the mindset of those who built the multi-story car park in Kendal: not quite big enough for vehicles. This put-your-life-in-the-drivers-hands feeling is more than worth the initial trauma (after a few journeys you get used to the renegade branches and sudden breaking... it's all about rolling with it!)You leave the city quickly and there doesn't seem to be any gradual change from city to countryside. It is very much a *bam* and you're in it kind of journey.

The bus journey to Stanley from either direction also allows for excellent beach viewing. Not being a huge beach lover (I still haven't properly "been to the beach" yet) I wouldn't know what to look for, but a few of the beaches I have seen on the way to Stanley have made me want to hop out of the bus and straight into the sea. Turtle cove beach is on the top of my list, being slightly removed and nicely enclosed:

Stanley itself has changed dramatically in the years between family visits (but then we are talking a healthy 35 year gap) though Stanley market remains essentially unchanged and the post office looks pretty original:

With the water and the sun and the relaxed feel of the place, any time spent in Stanley is like having a holiday - made better by the the knowledge that it doesn't matter if you don't "do everything" as you can always pop down again next week and you never know what you're going to find anyway!