Rock Path, Anyone?

Happy Monday! So I got back to Michigan and my sweet husband last thursday. I think my sleep cycle is finally getting back to normal. Yay! Now that I am recuperated, I'll write some posts on my adventures in Hong Kong. You already saw some of the things I ate, so here are some of the things I did. 

One day, my father took me to his high school. From there we walked the route he would take to go home. Pretty nostalgic for him. I loved imagining the teenager version of my Dad as I walked the roads he walked so many years ago. This trip was all about reconnecting with family and also cherishing the memories of my grandparents. We reached the place where his old home used to be, we found a rock path. For those of you who are not familiar with rock paths, they are made with rounded rocks put sideways into cement and are meant to be used for exercise. However, don't let its pretty appearance fool you. You're supposed to walk on these paths without shoes and it hurts like nothing you've ever felt before. Your feet supposedly have many pressure points that are connected to other parts of your body and if you feel immense pain while walking on the path, your body is REALLY out of balance. I guess Dad and I have some work to do. The video is of my poor Dad. I have a video of myself, but I can't load it for some reason. Sorry the video is poor quality. In the video I say "rock garden," but I meant "rock path." I can't watch this video without laughing. 

My Dad in front of his high school

We also went to pay our respects to several of our deceased relatives. I took pictures so that I can keep a record of these places. So much of this family history is being forgotten. Since we live in the US and don't speak the language well, our ties to Hong Kong are becoming fainter. This trip made me realize I have some sort of duty to keep these ties alive, or at least record the family history somewhere for our future generations here in the US. 

A lot of cemeteries are set on a hill like this one.

This gravestone is for my great-grandfather on my Dad's side.

This is my grandmother. My father's mom. This plaque is inside a temple. She was cremated.

As you can see there are lots of plaques on the walls, and many people coming to pay their respects. It was crowded.

A lot of people go to shops like this one to buy paper goods to burn for their deceased. You can see there are paper clothes and purses. They have all kinds of things in there that are made from paper. I think I even saw a yacht. The big thing is paper money. I'm not sure if people actually believe that if they burn these items, their deceased will get them. My Dad says it's more like a tradition than a religious belief.  

Anyway, that is all I will share in this post. More to come!

Jessie