Taking public transportation only?
Cooking your own meals and never eating outside?
The funny thing about humans is that we often think that the grass is always greener on the other side; those living a simple life yearn to have more material possessions while those who have material possessions yearn to live a simple life. Yet, leading a simple life does not equate to being poor; it just means using resources only when you need it. That's something I would need to practice more.
This camp was conducted by the school's General Education department and hosted by the Nature Network. Let the photos do the talking!
(Photos by me & from GE Facebook Page)
Buying ingredients for our subsequent meals at the Shek Wu Hui Market.
Groupmates!
Once we reached Shek Wu Hui Market, we were split into groups and tasked to plan our menu for the upcoming dinner + tomorrow's breakfast + tomorrow's lunch.
The rules:
- All dishes should be meat free.
- Ingredients should not be wrapped in any disposable wrapping.
(Which is why we were told to bring lunch boxes and clean used plastic bags to hold our purchases.)
Clearing abandoned farmland to have an empty space for lunch.
Sharing of our lunch boxes, buffet style.
Pitching our tents.
Our tents are actually recoveries from the Umbrella Movement. It's a pity that so many usable materials were disposed during the clearing of the streets.
Tent-mates!
Crops.
Chilling on the side of the hill, which is situated behind the farm/ camp grounds.
See the silhouette of a mountain and some colourful buildings on the far-most left? That's already China.
Chilling with CH early morning because only a handful of us were awake and we had nothing to do yet.
The adjacent farm and goat pen.
(Goat pen as in the goats can run all over the hills.)
Day 2 recreational activity: Making bamboo chopsticks.
Bamboo as in those recovered from bamboo scaffolding. (°ｏ°)
Steps:
1. Saw the huge bamboo poles into chunks.
2. Split each chunk into smaller sticks using an axe.
3. Shave the sticks into shape using a sharp knife.
4. Finish by sanding with sandpaper.
Steps:
1. Saw the huge bamboo poles into chunks.
2. Split each chunk into smaller sticks using an axe.
3. Shave the sticks into shape using a sharp knife.
4. Finish by sanding with sandpaper.
Ear stud for scale.
Cannot imagine the chopsticks being a bamboo pole previously right?!
Wood fired meals.
Last meal = surprisingly delicious spinach spaghetti aglio e olio + mega fruit salad + lemongrass drink
That's all folks!
Honestly, I was a little bit apprehensive of the 2D1N camp because I think I am too urban for the wilderness. While I admire how our instructor could lead such a simple lifestyle, I had to admit that I'll still be one who create stress for the environment; the urban life is far too comfortable to give up. (´⌒｀)